§ 3004.5 - Appeals.

(a) A requester who seeks to appeal any denial must file an appeal in writing with the Commission. The Commission may review any decision of the Secretary on its own initiative. The Commission will grant or deny the appeal in writing, within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) of the date the appeal is received. If on appeal the denial of the request for records is upheld, the Commission will notify the person making such request of the provisions for judicial review of that determination pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(c). The Commission will expeditiously consider an appeal of a denial of expedited processing.

(b) If warranted by the unusual circumstances specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B)(iii), the Commission may extend the time for a response to an appeal for up to ten working days. The Commission will notify the requester of any extension, and the reason for the extension, in writing. The Commission will also provide the requester with an opportunity to limit the scope of the request or to arrange an alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified request.