(a) When the Secretariat or delegate of the Secretariat has denied a request for records in whole or in part, the requester may, within 90 calendar days after the date of the denial or partial denial, appeal the denial to the General Counsel of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, attention of the Secretariat. Appeals may be submitted through any of the following methods: the e-FOIA Public Access Link at https://www.cpsc.gov; email to cpsc-foia@cpsc.gov; mail to 4330 East West Highway, Room 820, Bethesda, MD 20814; or facsimile to 301-504-0127.

(b) The General Counsel, or the Secretariat upon reconsideration, will act upon an appeal within 20 working days of its receipt. The time limitations on an appeal submitted by mail shall begin to run at the time an appeal is received and date stamped by the Office of the Secretariat. The Office of the Secretariat will date stamp the appeal the same day that it receives the appeal. The time limitations on an appeal submitted electronically during working hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST) shall begin to run at the time the appeal was electronically received, and the time limitations on appeals submitted electronically during non-working hours will begin to run when working hours resume.

(c) After reviewing the appeal, the Secretariat will reconsider his/her initial denial. If the Secretariat upon reconsideration decides to release any or all of the information requested on appeal, an appeal as to the information released will be considered moot; and the Secretariat will so inform the requester and submitter of the information in accordance with §§1015.6(a) and 1015.18(b). If the Secretariat decides to affirm the initial denial, in whole or in part, the General Counsel will decide the appeal within the 20-day time limit or any extension thereof in accordance with §1015.5.

(d) The General Counsel shall have the authority to grant or deny all appeals and, as an exercise of discretion, to disclose records exempt from mandatory disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). In unusual or difficult cases the General Counsel may, in his/her discretion, refer an appeal to the Commissioners for determination.

(e) The General Counsel's action on appeal shall be in writing, shall be signed by the General Counsel, and shall constitute final agency action. A denial in whole or in part of a request on appeal shall set forth the exemption relied upon; a brief explanation, consistent with the purpose of the exemption, of how the exemption applies to the records withheld; and the reasons for asserting it. The decision will inform the requester of the right to seek dispute resolution services from the Commission's FOIA Liaison or the Office of Government Information Services. A denial in whole or in part shall also inform the requester of his/her right to seek judicial review of the Commission's final determination in a United States district court, as specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B).

(f) If no response is made to the requester within 20 working days or any extension thereof, the requester may consider his/her administrative remedies exhausted and seek judicial relief in a United States district court. When no response can be made within the applicable time limit, the General Counsel shall inform the requester of the reason for the delay, of the date by which a response may be expected, and of the requester's right to seek judicial review as specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B).

(g) Copies of all appeals and copies of all actions on appeal shall be furnished to and maintained in a public file by the Secretariat.

(5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(A); 5 U.S.C. 553; 15 U.S.C. 2076(b)(10))

[50 FR 7753, Feb. 26, 1985, as amended at 82 FR 37009, Aug. 8, 2017]