§ 2.100 - General provisions.

§ 2.100 General provisions.

(a) General. This Subpart subpart contains the rules that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) follows in processing requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552. The Agency also has rules that it follows in processing FOIA requests for records submitted to it as Confidential Business Information (CBI). Such records are covered in Subpart B of this Part. Requests made by individuals for records about themselves under the Privacy Act of 1974, which are processed under 40 CFR part 16, will also be treated as FOIA requests under this Subpart. This ensures that the requestor has access to all responsive records. Information routinely provided to the public as part of a regular EPA activity may be provided to the public without following this Subpartsubpart.

(b) Other regulatory provisions.

(1) Subpart B of this part contains requirements pertaining to the confidentiality of business information.

(2) 40 CFR part 16 contains requirements pertaining to Privacy Act requests.

(c) Statutory-based fee schedule programs. EPA will inform the requester of the steps necessary to obtain records from agencies operating statutory-based fee schedule programs, such as, but not limited to, the Government Printing Office or the National Technical Information Service.

(

c

d) National FOIA Office. The Chief FOIA Officer designates the office that performs the duties of the National FOIA Office. The National FOIA Office reports to the Chief FOIA Officer.

(

d

e) FOIA Public Liaison. The Chief FOIA Officer designates the FOIA Public Liaisons. The FOIA Public Liaisons report to the Chief FOIA Officer. A FOIA Public Liaison is

an official to whom a requester can raise concerns about the service the requester received from the FOIA Requester Service Center. A FOIA Public Liaison is

responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the resolution of disputes. A FOIA Public Liaison is an official to whom a requester can raise concerns about the service the requester received from the FOIA Requester Service Center. The public can find more information about the FOIA Public Liaisons at EPA's website.

(f) Other record availability. Records required by FOIA to be made available for public inspection and copying are accessible through EPA's FOIA website, http://www.epa.gov/foia. EPA also proactively discloses records and information through the Agency's website, www.epa.gov.