Opinion ID: 552329
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: National Archives and Records Administration

Text: 52 Appellant sent his request to NARA on September 19, 1985. NARA's military headquarters and military field office responded separately to the request: the military headquarters responded on October 1, 1985, and the military field office responded on November 14, 1985. See Letter to Carl Oglesby from Wilbert Mahoney (Oct. 1, 1985), reprinted in J.A. at 73; Letter to Carl Oglesby from Edwin A. Thompson (Nov. 14, 1985), reprinted in J.A. at 74-75. 53 The response from the military headquarters indicated that no records were found relating to meetings between General Gehlen and U.S. officials, or to Operation Rusty, and that records relating to Werewolf activities and the Odessa Movement would be furnished subject to fees for copying the documents. In addition, the headquarters indicated that records relating to Operation Sunrise were too numerous to search, but that these records would be made available in their entirety in the NARA research room for appellant to review for himself. Appellant contends that NARA did not fulfill its FOIA obligation when it merely provided records for appellant's review in its public reading room. We find that NARA's response was adequate under the FOIA. 54 NARA did not deny appellant any records; all relevant records were made available to him. In Tax Analysts v. United States Department of Justice, 845 F.2d 1060 (D.C.Cir.1988), affirmed, 492 U.S. 136, 109 S.Ct. 2841, 106 L.Ed.2d 112 (1989), we held that an agency need not respond to a FOIA request for copies of documents where the agency itself has provided an alternative form of access, for example, making records available in a reading room. Tax Analysts, 845 F.2d at 1065, 1066-67; 109 S.Ct. at 2852; see also Grunfeld & Herrick v. United States Customs Service, 709 F.2d 41, 42 (11th Cir.1983) (holding that the Customs Service complied with FOIA by posting the requested information at the customshouse); Lead Industries Association, Inc. v. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 610 F.2d 70, 86 (2d Cir.1979) (agency not required under FOIA to send requester copies of records that had appeared previously in a report published by the agency); Eason v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1 G.D.S. p 80,092 (D.D.C.1980) (a daily compilation of current newspaper and magazine articles on nuclear energy made available to the public in the Commission's Public Document Room was sufficient), cited with approval in Tax Analysts, 845 F.2d at 1065 n. 10. An agency is not required by the FOIA to mail copies of records, nor even to provide a requester-convenient location for access. Tax Analysts, 845 F.2d at 1067; see also Nolen v. Rumsfeld, 535 F.2d 890, 892 (5th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1104, 97 S.Ct. 1133, 51 L.Ed.2d 555 (1977) (agency not required to mail copies of requested records or pay travel expenses to obtain the requested records). While the agency may not send the FOIA requester on a scavenger hunt, Tax Analysts, 109 S.Ct. at 2852, in this case NARA has not done so; it has made all responsive records available in one central location for appellant's perusal. This satisfied the requirement under the FOIA to make records available to the public. 55 Appellant also challenges the adequacy of NARA's search and the denial of his fee waiver request; however, he did not pursue any of these challenges administratively. Until appellant exhausts his administrative remedies by appealing his challenges to the head of the agency, judicial review of any challenge is precluded. 17 56 NARA's military field office responded on November 14, 1985, releasing one index card of information, but withholding three other index cards pursuant to exemption 1, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552(b)(1). The November 14 letter properly informed appellant of his right to appeal and the process and deadline for doing so. Appellant did not appeal NARA's decision administratively, however. Therefore, appellant did not exhaust his administrative remedies as required before seeking judicial review.