§ 171.13 - Responses to requests.

§ 171.13 Appeal of denial of request for recordsResponses to requests.

(a) Any denial, in whole or in part, of a request for Department records under the FOIA may be administratively appealed to the Appeals Review Panel of the Department. This appeal right includes the right to appeal the determination that no records responsive to the request exist in Department files. Appeals must be postmarked within 60 calendar days of the date of the Department's denial letter and sent to: Appeals Officer, Appeals Review Panel, Office of Information Programs and Services, at the address set forth in § 171.4, or faxed to (202) 261–8571. The time limit for a response to an appeal is 20 working days, which may be extended in unusual circumstances, as defined in § 171.11(b). The time limit begins to run on the day the appeal is received by IPS. Appeals from denials of requests for expedited processing and for a fee reduction or waiver must be postmarked within 30 calendar days of the date of the Department's denial letter. See §§ 171.11(f)(4) (expedited processing appeals) and 171.16(e) (fee reduction/waiver appeals) of this subpart. See also § 171.4 for address information.

(b) Requesters may decide to litigate a request that is in the appeal stage. Once a summons and complaint is received by the Department in connection with a particular request, the Department will administratively close any open appeal regarding such request.

(c) Requesters should submit an administrative appeal, to IPS at the above address, of any denial, in whole or in part, of a request for access to FSGB records under the FOIA. IPS will assign a tracking number to the appeal and forward it to the FSGB, which is an independent body, for adjudication.

(d) Decisions on appeals. A decision on an appeal must be made in writing. A decision that upholds the Department's determination will contain a statement that identifies the reasons for the affirmance, including any FOIA and Privacy Act 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

In general. The Department will, to the extent practicable, communicate with requesters having access to the internet using electronic means, such as email or a web portal.

(b) Acknowledgment of requests. The Department must acknowledge the request in writing and assign it an individualized tracking number if it will take longer than 10 working days to process. The Department must include in the acknowledgment a brief description of the records sought to allow requesters to more easily keep track of their requests. The Department may in its discretion divide a multi-part request into multiple requests in order to facilitate processing.

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

(d) Grants of requests. Once the Department makes a determination to grant a request in full or in part, it must notify the requester in writing. The Department also must inform the requester of any fees charged under § 171.16 and must disclose the requested records to the requester promptly upon payment of any applicable fees. The Department must inform the requester of the availability of the FOIA Public Liaison to offer assistance.

(e) Adverse determinations of requests. If the Department makes an adverse determination denying a request in any respect, it must notify the requester of that determination in writing. Adverse determinations, or denials of requests, include decisions that: the requested record is exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part; the request does not reasonably describe the records sought; the information requested is not a record subject to the FOIA; the requested record does not exist, cannot be located, or has been destroyed; or 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 waiver matters or denials of requests for expedited processing.

(f) Content of denial. The denial must be signed by the head of the component processing the request, or designee, and must include:

(1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial;

(2) A brief statement of the reasons for the denial, including any FOIA exemptions applied in denying the request;

(3) An estimate of the volume of any records or information withheld, such as the number of pages or some other reasonable form of estimation, although such an estimate is not required if the volume is otherwise indicated by deletions marked on records that are disclosed in part or if providing an estimate would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption;

(4) A statement that the denial may be appealed under § 171.15 and a description of the requirements set forth therein; and

(5) A statement notifying the requester of the assistance available from the Department's FOIA Public Liaison and the dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services of the National Archives and Records Administration.

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OGIS) as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If the Department's decision is remanded or modified on appeal, the requester will be notified of that determination in writing. The Department will thereafter further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination and respond directly to the requester. When the Department of State engages in the mediation services offered by OGIS, it will work in good faith as a partner to the mediation process in an attempt to resolve the dispute. The Department reserves its right to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to enter into formal mediation offered by OGIS

g) Markings on released documents. Markings on released documents must be clearly visible to the requester. Records disclosed in part must be marked to show the amount of information deleted and the exemption under which the deletion was made unless doing so would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption. The location of the information deleted must also be indicated on the record, if technically feasible.

(h) Use of record exclusions.

(1) In the event that the Department identifies records that may be subject to exclusion from the requirements of the FOIA pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(c), A/GIS/IPS or OIG must confer with the Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy to obtain approval to apply the exclusion.

(2) Any time the Department invokes an exclusion, it must maintain an administrative record of the process of invocation and approval of the exclusion by OIP.