(a) Authority.

(1) Requests shall be decided by the FOIA Officer.

(2) A decision to withhold a requested record, to release a record that is exempt from disclosure, or to deny a fee waiver shall be made only after consultation with the General Counsel.

(b) Acknowledgement of requests.

(1) The Presidio Trust shall send the requester a written acknowledgement of the receipt of the request, provide the requester with an individualized tracking number, and provide the requester with contact information for the FOIA Officer.

(2) Requesters must include the individualized tracking number in all communications with the Presidio Trust regarding the request.

(c) Estimated dates of completion and interim responses. Upon request, the Presidio Trust will provide an estimated date by which the Presidio Trust expects to provide a response to the requester. If a request involves a voluminous amount of material, or searches in multiple locations, the Presidio Trust may provide interim responses, releasing records on a rolling basis.

(d) Form of grant.

(1) When a requested record has been determined to be available, the FOIA Officer shall notify the requester as to when and where the record is available for inspection or, as the case may be, when and how copies will be provided. If fees are due, the FOIA Officer shall state the amount of fees due and the procedures for payment, as described in §1007.9.

(2) The FOIA Officer shall honor a requester's specified preference of form or format of disclosure (e.g., paper, microform, audiovisual materials, or electronic records) if the record is readily available to the Presidio Trust in the requested form or format or if the record is reproducible by the Presidio Trust with reasonable efforts in the requested form or format.

(3) If a requested record (or portion thereof) is being made available over the objections of a submitter made in accordance with §1007.4(c), both the requester and the submitter shall be notified of the decision. The notice to the submitter (a copy of which shall be made available to the requester) shall be forwarded a reasonable number of days prior to the date on which disclosure is to be made and shall include:

(i) A statement of the reasons why the submitter's objections were not sustained;

(ii) A specification of the portions of the record to be disclosed, if the submitter's objections were sustained in part; and

(iii) A specified disclosure date.

(4) If a claim of confidentiality has been found frivolous in accordance with §1007.4(c)(7)(vi) and a determination is made to release the information without consultation with the submitter, the submitter of the information shall be notified of the decision and the reasons therefor a reasonable number of days prior to the date on which disclosure is to be made.

(e) Adverse determinations of requests. Adverse determinations, or denials of requests, include decisions that:

(1) The requester has not submitted a perfected request;

(2) The requested record is exempt, in whole or in part;

(3) The request does not reasonably describe the records sought;

(4) The information is not a record subject to the FOIA;

(5) The requested record does not exist, cannot be located, or has been destroyed; or

(6) The requested record is not readily reproducible in the form or format sought by the requester. Adverse determinations also include denials involving fees or fee waivers or denials of requests for expedited processing.

(f) Form of denial.

(1) A decision withholding a requested record shall be in writing and shall include:

(i) A list of the names and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial;

(ii) A reference to the specific exemption or exemptions authorizing the withholding;

(iii) An estimate of the volume of records or information withheld, in number of pages or in some other reasonable form of estimation. This estimate does not need to be provided if the volume is otherwise indicated through deletions on records disclosed in part, or if providing an estimate would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption;

(iv) A statement that the denial may be appealed and a reference to the procedures in §1007.7 for appeal; and

(v) A statement notifying the requester of the dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services.

(2) A decision denying a request for failure to reasonably describe requested records or for other procedural deficiency or because requested records cannot be located shall be in writing and shall include:

(i) A description of the basis of the decision;

(ii) A list of the names and titles or positions of each person responsible;

(iii) A statement that the matter may be appealed and a reference to the procedures in §1007.7 for appeal; and

(iv) A statement notifying the requester of the dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services.

(g) Expedited processing.

(1) Requests and appeals will be taken out of order and given expedited treatment whenever it is determined by the FOIA Officer that they involve:

(i) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual;

(ii) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged Federal government activity, if made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information;

(iii) The loss of substantial due process rights; or

(iv) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government's integrity that affect public confidence.

(2) A request for expedited processing may be made at the time of the initial request for records or at any later time.

(3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited processing.

(4) Within ten calendar days of receiving of a request for expedited processing, the FOIA Officer shall decide whether to grant the request for expedited processing and shall notify the requester of the decision. If a request for expedited processing is granted, the underlying FOIA request shall be given priority and shall be processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted on expeditiously.

[83 FR 50831, Oct. 10, 2018]