Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, in coordination with the Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications, the Director of each NASA Center or the Official-in-Charge of each Center, is responsible for ensuring the following:

(a) The Director of Public Affairs or the Head of the Public Affairs Office at the Center has delegated authority to process all FOIA requests at their respective Center.

(b) This delegated authority has further been delegated to the FOIA Officers who are designated to work at NASA Centers and supervised by the Director of Public Affairs or Head of the Public Affairs Office for that Center. If a FOIA Officer working at a particular NASA Center vacates the position, the Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications will designate a new FOIA Officer, supervised by the Principal Chief FOIA Officer, to process FOIA requests for that particular Center.

(c) When denying records in whole or in part, the FOIA Officer designated to process records for the Center will consult with the Chief Counsel or the Counsel charged with providing legal advice to that FOIA office before releasing an initial determination under §1206.307.

[79 FR 46678, Aug. 11, 2014, as amended at NASA-2019-0005, 84 FR 54779, Oct. 11, 2019]