§ 303.9 - Exemptions for withholding records.

§ 303.9 Exemptions for withholding records.

(a) The Peace Corps may withhold information in part or in its entirety using FOIA exemptions listed in 5 U.S.C. 552 (b), when the Initial Denial Authority (IDA) reasonably foresees that the disclosure of such information would cause harm to an interest protected by the exemption or exemptions, or if disclosure is prohibited by law. The Peace Corps will take reasonable steps necessary to segregate and release nonexempt information. The Peace Corps may withhold a requested record from public disclosure only if the record fits within one or more of the following FOIA exemptions:

(1) Matter specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and is in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive Order;

(2) Matter which is related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Peace Corps;

(3) Matter which is specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than exemptions under FOIA at 5 U.S.C. 552(b)), provided that such statute requires that the matter be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or establishes particular criteria for withholding, or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the Peace Corps, except that the deliberative process privilege shall not apply to records created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested;

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes including enforcing the Peace Corps Act or any other law, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information:

(i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings;

(ii) Would deprive a person or a recipient of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;

(iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis; and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, information furnished by a confidential source;

(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or

(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.

(8) Contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or

(9) Geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.

(b) The IDA may also withhold information applicable under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and (k) when the records are managed within a system of records; see 22 CFR part 308. In the event that one or more of the exemptions in paragraph (a) of this section apply, any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to the requester after deletion of the portions that are exempt. The Peace Corps shall indicate, if technically feasible, the precise amount of information deleted and the exemption under which the deletion is made at the place in the record where the deletion is made, and indicate the exemption under which a deletion is made on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption. At the discretion of the Peace Corps officials authorized to grant or deny a request for records, it may be possible to provide a requester with:

(1) A summary of information in the exempt portion of a record; or

(2) An oral description of the exempt portion of a record.

(c) No requester shall have a right to insist that any or all of the techniques in paragraph (b) of this section should be employed in order to satisfy a request.

(d) Records that may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section may be made available at the discretion of the Peace Corps.

(e) Proprietary information.

(1) It is the policy of the Peace Corps to withhold proprietary information that falls within the protection of paragraph (a)(4) of this section. Proprietary information includes trade secrets, or commercial or financial information obtained from a person, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm.

(2) It is also the policy of the Peace Corps to give submitters of arguably proprietary information an adequate opportunity to provide information to the Peace Corps to establish that the information constitutes protected proprietary information.

(3) A person submitting arguably proprietary information to the Peace Corps will be notified in writing by the Peace Corps if there is a FOIA request for the information, unless:

(i) The Peace Corps has already decided that the information should be withheld;

(ii) The information has been lawfully published or has been officially made available to the public; or

(iii) Disclosure of the information is required by law.

(4) The notice shall afford the submitter at least ten business days in which to object to the disclosure of any requested information. Whenever the Peace Corps provides such notice to the submitter, it shall also notify the requester that notice and an opportunity to comment are being provided to the submitter.

(5) A submitter's request for protection for information under paragraph (a)(4) of this section shall:

(i) Specifically identify the exact material claimed to be confidential proprietary information;

(ii) State whether the information identified has ever been released to a person who is not in a confidential relationship with the submitter;

(iii) State the basis for the submitter's belief that the information is not commonly known or readily ascertainable by outside persons; and

(iv) State how release of the information would cause harm to the submitter's competitive position.

(6) The Peace Corps shall consider the submitter's objections and specific grounds for non-disclosure when deciding whether to disclose the information. If the Peace Corps decides to disclose the information, it shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the submitter at least ten business days notice of its decision before the information is disclosed and a statement of its reasons for not sustaining the objection to disclosure. Whenever the Peace Corps notifies the submitter of its final decision, it shall also notify the requester.

(7) Whenever a FOIA requester brings suit seeking to compel disclosure of proprietary information, the Peace Corps shall promptly notify the submitter.

(f) The IDA may also withhold information applicable under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and (k) when the records are managed within a system of records; see 22 CFR part 308.

[68 FR 66008, Nov. 25, 2003; 68 FR 68695, Dec. 9, 2003, as amended at 79 FR 19819, Apr. 10, 2014; 89 FR 25525, Apr. 11, 2024; 89 FR 50522, June 14, 2024]