§ 792.2 - Information made available to the public and requests for such information.

(a) Except to the extent that the matters set forth herein relate to or contain information which is exempted from public disclosure under the FOIA as amended (5 U.S.C. 552) or are promptly published and copies are for sale, NCUA shall make available for public inspection and copying, upon request made in accordance with the provisions of § 792.2(g):

(1) The final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders, made in the adjudication of cases;

(2) Those statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by NCUA and are not published in the Federal Register; and

(3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff affecting a member of the public.

(b) To the extent required to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, NCUA may delete identifying details when an opinion, statement of policy, interpretation, or staff manual or instruction is made available or published. In each case, the justification for the deletion shall be fully explained in writing.

(c) NCUA also maintains current indices providing identifying information for the public for any matter referred to in paragraph (a) of this section issued, adopted, or promulgated after July 4, 1967. Manuals relating to general and technical information and booklets published by NCUA are listed on the “NCUA Publications List,” which indicates those items available from the Agency. The Directory of Credit Unions, published by NCUA, is also available. A list of statements of policy, NCUA Instructions, Bulletins, Letters to Credit Unions and certain internal manuals are maintained on a “Directives Control Index.” NCUA has determined that publication of the indices is unnecessary and impractical, but copies of indices will be provided on request at their duplication cost and are available for public inspection and copying. The listing of any material in any index is for the convenience of possible users of the materials and does not constitute a determination that all of the items listed will be disclosed or are subject to disclosure.

(d) The materials referred to in paragraph (a) of this section may be relied on, used, or cited as precedent by NCUA against a party, provided:

(1) The materials have been indexed and either made available or published; or

(2) The party has actual and timely notice of the materials’ contents.

(e) Except with respect to records made available under this section or published in the Federal Register, or to the extend that records relate to or contain information which is exempt from public disclosure under the FOIA, NCUA, upon a request which reasonably describes records and is made in accordance with § 792.2(g), will make such records available to any person who agrees to pay the direct costs specified in § 792.5. A “reasonable description” is one which is sufficient to enable a professional employee of NCUA, who is familiar with the subject area of the request, to locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort.

(f) Information Centers. The Central Office, Regional Office and the Asset Management and Assistance Center are the designated Information Centers for the NCUA. The Freedom of Information Officer of General Counsel is responsible for the operation of the Information Center maintained at the Central Office. The Regional Directors are responsible for the operation of the Information Centers in their Regional Offices. The President of the Asset Management and Assistance Center is responsible for the operation of the Information Center maintained there.

(g) Methods of request—(1) Indices. Requests for indices should be made to NCUA, Office of General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3428. The indices indicate how to obtain the documents listed therein.

(2) All other records. Requests for all other records made under § 792.3(e) should be addressed to the appropriate Regional Director. When the location of requested records is not known, or it is known that such records are located in the Central Office, the request should be addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer of the Office of General Counsel at the address noted in paragraph (g)(1) of this section.

(3) Improper address. Failure to properly address a request may defer the effective date of receipt by NCUA for commencement of the time limitation stated in § 792.6(a)(i), to take account of the time reasonably required to forward the request to the appropriate office or employee.