§ 1700.7 - Administrative appeals.

§ 1700.7 Processing of requests for recordsAdministrative appeals.

(a) In general. Requests meeting the requirements of § 1700.3 through § 1700.6 shall be accepted as formal requests and processed under the FOIA and this Part. A request will not be considered received until it reaches the IMO. Ordinarily upon its receipt a request will be date-stamped as received. It is this date that establishes when your request is received for administrative purposes, not any earlier date such as the date of the letter or its postmark date. For the quickest possible handling, both the request letter and the envelope A requester may appeal any adverse determination to a person designated by the Director of National Intelligence (the “Designee”). The Designee will act on behalf of the Director of National Intelligence on all appeals under this section.

(b) An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes subject to litigation.

(c) The appeal must be transmitted if sent by email, or postmarked if sent by U.S. mail, within 90 days after the date of the adverse determination letter. The appeal shall clearly identify the ODNI determination that is being appealed, including the assigned ODNI case request number. For the most expeditious handling, the subject line of the electronic transmission, or appeal letter and envelope, should be marked “Freedom of Information Act

Request

Appeal.”

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b) Electronic Reading Room. ODNI maintains an online FOIA Reading Room on the ODNI Web site which contains the information that the FOIA requires be routinely made available for public inspection and copying as well as other information determined to be of general public interest.

(c) Confirming the existence of certain documents. In processing a request, ODNI shall decline to confirm or deny the existence of responsive records whenever the fact of their existence or nonexistence is itself classified under Executive Order 12,958 and its amending orders, reveals intelligence sources and methods protected pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 403–1(i)(1), or would be an invasion of the personal privacy of third parties. In such circumstances, ODNI, in its final written response, shall so inform the requester and advise of his or her right to file an administrative appeal.

(d) Time for response. Whenever the statutory time limits for processing a request cannot be met because of “unusual circumstances,” as defined in the FOIA, and the component determines to extend the time limits on that basis, ODNI will inform the requester in writing and advise the requester of the right to narrow the scope of his or her request or agree to an alternative timeframe for processing.

(e) Multitrack processing. ODNI may use two or more processing tracks by distinguishing between simple and more complex requests based on the amount of work and/or time needed to process the request, including through limits based on the number of pages involved. ODNI may provide requesters in its slower track with an opportunity to limit the scope of their requests in order to qualify for faster processing within the specified limits of its faster track

d) On receipt of any appeal involving classified information, the Designee must take appropriate action to ensure compliance with applicable classification rules.

(e) ODNI's decision on an appeal shall be in writing. A decision upholding ODNI's original determination will contain a statement that identifies the reasons for affirmance, including any FOIA exemptions applied. The decision will provide the requester with notification of the statutory right to file a lawsuit and will inform the requester of the mediation services offered by OGIS as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If ODNI's decision is remanded or modified on appeal, the requester will be notified of that determination in writing. ODNI will thereafter further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination.