§ 2702.4 Response to request; processing; determinations.

(a) Response to request. Upon receipt of a request, a determination to grant, deny, or partially grant the request will be made within 20 business days by the Commission's FOIA Office, except in unusual circumstances, as described in paragraph (b) of this section. Generally, the Commission will respond to requests according to their order of receipt.

(b) Processing time —

(1) Simple track. Except in circumstances described in paragraph (b)(2) or (3) of this section, upon receipt of a request, a Commission FOIA officer will reach a determination to grant, deny, or partially grant the request within 20 business days after receipt by the Commission's FOIA Office.

(2) Complex track. In unusual circumstances, it may not be possible for the agency to reach a determination within 20 business days. When additional time is needed to respond to the initial request, the Commission shall notify the requester in writing within the 20 business day period, describe the circumstances causing the delay, and indicate the anticipated date for a substantive response that may not exceed 10 additional business days, except as provided in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section.

(i) Unusual circumstances that may warrant delay include:

(A) The need to search for and collect the requested records from facilities that are separate from the office processing the request;

(B) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are requested in a single request;

(C) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request, or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest in the request; and

(D) The need to consult with the submitter of the records being requested.

(ii) With respect to a request for which a written notice has extended the time limit by 10 additional business days, if the Commission determines that it cannot make a response determination within that additional 10 business day period, the requester will be notified and provided an opportunity to limit the scope of the request so that it may be processed within the extended time limit, or an opportunity to arrange an alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified request. See § 2702.10 for fee adjustments applicable to processing time delays.

(3) Expedited track. While it is recommended that a request for expedited services be submitted with the initial § 2702.3(a) request, such request may be made at any time. A person may request expedited processing of a § 2702.3(a) request for records in cases where the requester can demonstrate a compelling need for said records. Requesters will be notified of the determination in accordance with paragraph (d)(4) of this section. A demonstration of compelling need by a person making a request for expedited processing shall be made by a statement certified by such person to be true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(3), a “compelling need” means:

(i) That a failure to obtain the requested records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or

(ii) The information is urgently needed by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information in order to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity; or

(iii) The records are necessary to assist with meeting an impending deadline set by a Commission Judge or the Commission in a pending case to which the requester is a party.

(c) Aggregated requests. Whenever it reasonably appears that certain requests by the same requester, or a group of requesters acting in concert, actually constitute a single request that would otherwise satisfy the unusual circumstances specified in this section, and the requests involve clearly related matters, such requests may be aggregated for purposes of this paragraph (c). Multiple requests involving unrelated matters will not be aggregated.

(d) Determinations —

(1) Full grant of request. Unless a Commission FOIA officer reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of the nine statutory exemptions found at 5 U.S.C. 552(b) or determines that disclosure is prohibited by law, all relevant records obtained through reasonable search efforts shall be provided within the relevant time period described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Partial grant/denial of request. Any reasonably segregable portion(s) of a record shall be provided to the person requesting it after the deletion of any exempt portion(s) of the record. The applicable exemption(s) and the amount of information deleted shall be indicated on the released portion(s) of the record, at the place in the record the deletion is made if technically feasible, unless indicating the extent of the deletion would harm an interest protected by the exemption pursuant to which the deletion is made.

(3) Denial of request. In denying a request for records, the Commission shall state the reason for the denial and the applicable exemption; set forth the name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial of the request; make a reasonable effort to estimate the volume of the records denied; and provide this estimate to the person making the request, unless providing such an estimate would harm an interest protected by the exemption pursuant to which the request is denied.

(4) Determination of request to expedite. Notice of the determination whether to grant expedited processing in response to a requester's claim of compelling need shall be provided to the person making the request within 10 days after receipt of the request for expedited processing.

(5) Determination of fee waiver/reduction request. The Chief FOIA Officer or designated employee, upon request, shall determine whether a waiver or reduction of fees is warranted. See § 2702.10 for additional information.

(e) Dispute resolution. At any time during the processing of a request, requesters may seek dispute resolution assistance from the Commission's FOIA Public Liaison at FOIA-Liaison@fmshrc.gov. In the event of an adverse determination, requesters may file an appeal in accordance with § 2702.5 and/or obtain mediation and dispute resolution services from the Commission's FOIA Public Liaison, as well as from the Office of Government Information Services (“OGIS”) at https://archives.gov/ogis. Additional information regarding dispute resolution can be found on the Commission's website at https://www.fmshrc.gov/content/foia-public-liaison.