Subpart B Subpart E Subpart G
Subpart C Subpart F Subpart H
Subpart D
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TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
PART 2--RECORDS AND TESTIMONY; FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT--Table of Contents
Subpart A--General Information
Source: 67 FR 64530, Oct. 21, 2002, unless otherwise noted.
Sec. 2.1 What do the regulations cover?
(a) The regulations implement the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),
5 U.S.C. 552, and contain the procedures by which the public may inspect
and obtain copies of Department of the Interior (DOI or Department)
records through the FOIA or by other means.
(b) They apply to all agency records as defined in Sec. 2.3(c).
(c) The policy and procedures set forth in these regulations apply
to all bureaus and offices of the Department.
(d) Nothing in the regulations will entitle you to any service or
any record that is not required to be provided under the FOIA.
(e) These regulations do not apply to records that fall under the
law enforcement exclusions contained in 5 U.S.C. 552(c).
Sec. 2.2 What is DOI's policy regarding release of records under the
FOIA?
It is our policy to make records of the Department available to the
public consistent with the spirit of the FOIA and the Privacy Act.
Sec. 2.3 What terms do I need to know?
For the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a) Act and FOIA mean the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552,
as amended.
(b) Agency means any executive department, military department,
Government corporation, Government-controlled corporation, or other
establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any
independent regulatory agency.
(c) Agency record means any documentary material which is either
created or obtained by an agency in the transaction of agency business
and under agency control. See Secs. 2.21 and 2.25.
(1) Agency records include:
(i) Books, papers, maps, charts, plats, plans, architectural
drawings, photographs, and microfilm;
(ii) Machine-readable materials such as magnetic tape and disks;
(iii) Electronic records (including e-mail messages);
(iv) Audiovisual material such as still pictures, sound and video
recordings; and
(v) All other documentary materials, regardless of physical form,
format or characteristics.
(2) This definition generally does not cover records of an
individual which are:
(i) Created and maintained primarily for an individual's
convenience;
(ii) Not subject to agency creation or retention requirements; and
(iii) Not distributed to other agency employees for their official
use.
(d) Bureau means any major component of the Department administering
its own FOIA program. A list of these
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components is contained in Appendix A to this part.
(e) Commercial-use request means a request from or on behalf of a
person who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the
commercial, trade or profit interests of the requester or the person on
whose behalf the request is made. In determining whether a requester
falls into this category, the bureau will consider the identity of the
requester and intended use of the records in addition to any other
available information about the requester.
(f) Direct costs means those expenses that a bureau actually incurs
in searching for and duplicating (and in the case of commercial-use
requests, reviewing) records to respond to a FOIA request. Direct costs
include, for example, the salary and benefits of the employee performing
the work and the cost of operating duplicating equipment. Not included
in direct costs are overhead expenses such as the costs of space and
heating or lighting of the facility in which the records are kept.
(g) Duplication means making a copy of a record, or the information
contained in it, to respond to a FOIA request. Copies can take the form
of paper, microform, photographs, audiovisual materials, or electronic
records (for example, magnetic tape or disk), among others.
(h) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private
elementary or secondary school, or an institution of undergraduate
higher education, an institution of graduate higher education, an
institution of professional education, or an institution of vocational
education, which operates a program of scholarly research. To be in this
category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and is
made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records
are not sought for a commercial use but are sought to further scholarly
research.
(i) Expedited processing means giving a FOIA request priority, and
processing it ahead of other requests pending in the bureau because a
requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records (see
Sec. 2.14).
(j) FOIA request means a written request (this includes facsimile
(fax) and electronic mail (e-mail)) made by any member of the public for
Federal agency records.
(k) Free-lance journalist means a representative of the news media
who is able to demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication
through a news organization, even though not actually employed by it. A
publication contract or past record of publication, or evidence of a
specific free-lance assignment from a news organization may indicate a
solid basis for expecting publication.
(l) Frequently requested documents means documents that have been
requested at least three times under the FOIA. It also includes
documents the agency anticipates would likely be the subject of three or
more requests.
(m) Multitrack processing means placing simple requests, requiring
relatively minimal review, in one processing track and more voluminous
and complex requests in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track
are processed on a first-in/first-out basis.
(n) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that
is not operated for commerce, trade or profit, and that is operated
solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research the results of
which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. To
be in this category, a requester must show that the request is
authorized by and is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution
and that the records are not sought for a commercial use but are sought
to further scientific research.
(o) Privacy Act request means a written request (paper copy with an
original signature) made by an individual for information about himself
or herself that is contained in a Privacy Act system of records. The
Privacy Act applies only to U.S. citizens and aliens lawfully admitted
for permanent residence. Therefore, only those individuals may make
Privacy Act requests.
(p) Published research findings means research findings that are
either:
(1) Published in a peer-reviewed scientific or technical journal; or
(2) Publicly and officially cited by a Federal agency in support of
an agency action that has the force and effect of law.
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(q) Reading room materials means records (paper or electronic) that
are required to be made available to the public under 5 U.S.C.
552(a)(2), as well as other records that a bureau, at its discretion,
makes available to the public for inspection and copying without
requiring the filing of a FOIA request.
(r) Representative of the news media means any person actively
gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish
or broadcast news to the public. The term ``news'' means information
that is about current events or that is (or would be) of current
interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include, but are
not limited to, newspapers, television or radio stations broadcasting to
the public at large, and publishers of periodicals (but only in those
instances when they can qualify as disseminators of ``news'') who make
their products available for purchase or subscription by the general
public. To be in this category, a requester must not be seeking the
requested records for a commercial use. Further, a bureau normally will
not consider requests for records involving news dissemination to be
commercial-use requests.
(s) Research data means the recorded factual material commonly
accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research
findings, but not such things as trade secrets, commercial information,
personnel and medical information and any similar information which is
protected under law.
(t) Review means the examination of a record located in response to
a request in order to determine whether any portion of it is exempt from
disclosure. It also includes the deletion of exempt material or other
processing necessary to prepare the record(s) for disclosure, including
routine consultation among bureau staff and attorneys regarding the
applicability of exemptions; and time spent considering any formal
objection to disclosure made by a submitter under Sec. 2.23(f).
(u) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving agency
records and information responsive to a request (manually or by
automated means).
(v) Submitter means any person or entity outside the Federal
Government from whom the Department directly or indirectly obtains
commercial or financial information. The term includes, but is not
limited to individuals, corporations, and state, local, tribal, and
foreign governments.
(w) Workday means a regular Federal workday. It does not include
Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal legal public holidays.
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