I. Basic Information Regarding Report

A. Person to be contacted with questions about the report:

Patricia M. Riep-Dice, Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division, C-12/5432,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-4542

B. Electronic address for report on the World Wide Web:

http://www.dot.gov/foia/2000annual_foia_report.html

C. Person to be contacted for a copy of the report in paper form:

Patricia M. Riep-Dice, Chief, Freedom of Information Act Division, C-12/5432
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-4542

II. How to Make a FOIA Request

A. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA requests.

Name/Title
Address
Telephone/Facsimile^[1]

Patricia M. Riep-Dice, Chief FOIA Division
Office of the Secretary
C-12/5432
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-4542/(202) 366-8536

Jeffrey W. Davis, FOIA Officer
Office of Inspector General
JC-1/9208
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-1971

Commandant
G-SII-2/6106
United States Coast Guard
2100 Second Street, SW
Washington, DC 20593
(202) 267-1086

Valerie Collins, Manager
National FOIA Staff, ARC-40
Federal Aviation Administration
800 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20591
(202) 267-3108

Ms. Jean Mahoney, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Alaskan Region, AAL-7
222 West 7th Avenue, #14
Anchorage, AL 99513-7587
(907) 271-5269/(907) 271-2800

Ms. Veronica Bailey, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Central Region, ACE-3B
901 Locust
Kansas City, MO 64106-2641
(816) 329-2425/(816) 329-2431

Ms. Trina Hankerson, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Eastern Region, AEA-60
1 Aviation Plaza
Jamaica, NY 11434-4809
(718) 553-3361/(718) 995-5663

Ms. Sandra Lee, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Great Lakes Region, AGL-4
2300 E. Devon Avenue
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 294-7105/(847) 294-7184

Ms. Carol Goodsell, FOIA Coordinator
FAA New England Region, ANE-40
12 New England Exec. Park
Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 238-7393/(781) 238-7380

Ms. Connie Coleman-Lacadie, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Northwest Mountain Region, ANM-4
1601 Lind Avenue SW
Renton, WA 98055-4056
(425) 227-2065/(425) 227-1005

Ms. Linda Chatman, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Southern Region, ASO-65D
Post Office Box 20636
Atlanta, GA 30320
(404) 305-5906/(404) 305-5854

Ms. Nancy Reilly, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Southwest Region, ASW-41A
2601 Meacham Boulevard
Ft. Worth, TX 76137-4298
(817) 222-5450/(817) 222-5952

Ms. Carlette Young, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Western-Pacific Region, AWP-4
15000 Aviation Boulevard
Hawthorne, CA 90261
(310) 725-3809/(310) 725-6813

Ms. Beth Henson, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute
Office of Aviation Medicine, AAM-3
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-1002/(405) 954-1010

Ms. Maureen Carroll, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Technical Center, ACT-4
Atlantic City International
Airport, NJ 08405
(609) 485-4854/(609) 485-4011

Mr. Doug Burdette, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Flight Standards Service
Operational Services Branch, AFS-600
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-6501/(405) 954-4655

Ms. Kelly Zamarripa, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Civil Aviation Registry, AFS-700
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-4331/(405) 954-5759

Ms. Margaret Fee, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Aviation System Standards
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-8926/(405) 954-3436

Ms. Joey Muth, FOIA Coordinator
FAA Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center,
AMC-2
Post Office Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-5054/(405) 954-3360

Kathy Ray, FOIA Team Leader
Federal Highway Administration
HAIM-11
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-0534/(202) 366-3235

Dolores Jones, FOIA Officer
Federal Railroad Administration
1120 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 493-6039

Heidi Coleman, Assistant Chief Counsel for General Law
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NCC-30/5219
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-1834

Velvet Snow, FOIA Officer
Federal Transit Administration
TPA-1/9400
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-0782/(202) 366-3472

Francis Mardula, FOIA Officer
Maritime Administration
MAR-224/7221
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-5181

Gail Mayhew, FOIA Coordinator
Research and Special Programs Administration
DCC-1/8407
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-4353

Mary C. Fregoe, FOIA Officer
St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Post Office Box 520
Massena, NY 13662-0520
(315) 764-3210

Bernard Stankus, FOIA Officer
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
K-10/3430
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-4387

Joy Dunlap, FOIA Officer
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
MC-MBM, Room 4432
400 Seventy Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
(202) 366-2960

B. Brief description of the agency’s response-time ranges.

Most components in DOT administer a decentralized FOIA program. FOIA coordinators and responding program offices acknowledge receipt of FOIA requests promptly. Response time for a request varies according to the clarity and complexity of the request, the volume of documents requested, the number of facilities assigned to respond to the request and any respective FOIA backlogs. Response time is facilitated when requesters are specific about the records they seek, and identify the organization(s) where the records may be located. FOIA Coordinators and program offices contact requesters by telephone or in writing to clarify any uncertainties in a FOIA request, and to resolve any fee issues with the request, so that they may provide a response as soon as possible.

C. Brief description of why some requests are not granted.

Reasons why requests may not be granted include: the request inadequately describes records sought; the request poses questions rather than seeks documents; the information is already publicly available; the request should more properly be answered under another Act, such as the Privacy Act or the Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996; or fees for previous requests have not been paid. Other reasons for not granting requests include: requested reports were not available at time of request; records were non-existent; no records were found; records were destroyed; records revealed investigative techniques, were part of the deliberative process, constituted a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, or were duplicate requests.

III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report

A. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.

DOT -- Department of Transportation
OST -- Office of the Secretary
OIG -- Office of Inspector General
FAA -- Federal Aviation Administration
USCG -- United States Coast Guard
NHTSA -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
FHWA -- Federal Highway Administration
FRA -- Federal Railroad Administration
FTA -- Federal Transit Administration
SLSDC -- Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
MARAD -- Maritime Administration
RSPA -- Research and Special Programs Administration
BTS -- Bureau of Transportation Statistics
FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
FIS – FOIA Imaging System
PSIX – Port State Information Exchange
Remanded Appeal -- An appeal request, particularly a “no records” appeal, sent back to the original action office or forwarded to another office when the requester provides additional information either clarifying the documents sought or providing additional search parameters. The action office considers the request as if it were a new request, responding directly to the requester. Remanded appeal responses may again be appealed; appeal rights are provided if the remanded appeal response is a denial, partial denial or “no records” determination.

B. Basic terms expressed in common terminology.

1. FOIA/PA Request -- Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is generally a request for access to records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular topic of interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless of which law is cited by the requester, are included in this report.)

2. Initial Request -- a request to a federal agency for access to records under the FOIA.

3. Appeal -- a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a full denial or partial denial of access to records under the FOIA, or any other FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.

4. Processed Request or Appeal -- a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action on the request or the appeal in all respects.

5. Multi-track Processing -- a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for records may request expedited processing (see below).

6. Expedited Processing -- an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants prioritization of the request over other requests that were made earlier.

7. Simple Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity of records requested.

8. Complex Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested.

9. Grant -- an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

10. Partial Grant -- an agency decision to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting information determined to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA’s exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in their entirety, but to withhold others in whole or in part.

11. Denial -- an agency decision not to release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA’s exemptions, or for some procedural reason (such as no record is located in response to a FOIA request).

12. Time Limits -- the time period pursuant to the FOIA for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a “perfected” FOIA request).

13. “Perfected” Request -- a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.

14. Exemption 3 Statute -- a separate federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type of information and authorizing its withholding under FOIA subsection (b)(3).

15. Median Number -- the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

16. Average Number -- the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current fiscal year.

1. Brief description of type(s) of information withheld under each statute.

49 U.S.C § 40119(b) - Aviation sensitive security information.

49 U.S.C § 40115 - Information harmful to US position in international aviation negotiations, or harmful to any US international air carrier.

49 U.S.C § 46311 - Information about air carrier records.

41 U.S.C. § 253b(m) – Prohibits release of contract proposal not incorporated in contract.

46 U.S.C. § 3315(b) – Prohibits release of source of reports of defects and imperfections of vessels.

46 U.S.C. § 7319 – Prohibits release of all information contained in files maintained on each merchant mariner document issued.

49 U.S.C. §31443(b) (formerly Section 212(b), Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984) – confidential sources.

23 U.S.C. §403 (note); §106 Highway Safety Act of 1996.

2. Statement of whether a court has upheld the use of each statute.

49 U.S.C. § 31443(b) – Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press v. U.S. DOJ, 816 F.2d 730, 734 (D.C. Cir.) modified on other grounds, 831 F.2d 1124 (D.C. Cir. 987), rev’d on other grounds, 489 U.S. 749 (1989).

V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests

A. Numbers of Initial Requests.

1. Number of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year: 3,383
2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 19,750
3. Number of requests processed during current fiscal year: 19,280
4. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year: 3,853

B. Disposition of initial requests.

1. Number of total grants: 10,670
2. Number of partial grants: 2,303
3. Number of denials: 477

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per request).

(1) Exemption 1 28
(2) Exemption 2 33
(3) Exemption 3 145
(4) Exemption 4 232
(5) Exemption 5 495
(6) Exemption 6 1,193
(7) Exemption 7(A) 210
(8) Exemption 7(B) 15
(9) Exemption 7(C) 517
(10) Exemption 7(D) 105
(11) Exemption 7(E) 8
(12) Exemption 7(F) 1

4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 5,834

a. No records 3,406
b. Referrals 974
c. Request withdrawn 748
d. Fee-related reason 140
e. Records not reasonably described 316
f. Not a proper FOIA request for some other reason 133
g. Not an agency record 65
h. Duplicate request 35
i. Available from other source 6
j. Other (Specify)
Non-possession 3
Handled by telephone 1
Referred to Website 3

VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests

A. Number of appeals.

1. Number of appeals received during fiscal year: 193
2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year: 196

B. Disposition of appeals.

1. Number completely upheld: 97
2. Number partially reversed: 32
3. Number completely reversed: 3

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used:

(1) Exemption 2 3
(2) Exemption 3 3
(3) Exemption 4 21
(4) Exemption 5 21
(5) Exemption 6 31
(6) Exemption 7(A) 1
(7) Exemption 7(C) 22
(8) Exemption 7(D) 2

4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 64

a. No records 9
b. Request withdrawn 33
c. Not a proper FOIA request for some other reason 2
d. Other (specify)
Remanded appeals 17
Processed as original FOIA request 2
Fee-related issue 1

VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests

A. Median processing time for requests processed during the year.

1. Simple requests (if multiple tracks used).

a. Number of requests processed: 9,162
b. Median number of days to process: 14

2. Complex requests (specify for any and all tracks used).

a. Number of requests processed: 3,246
b. Median number of days to process: 39

3. Requests accorded expedited processing.

a. Number of requests processed: 98
b. Median number of days to process: 1

4. Requests not using multi-track processing.

a. Number of requests processed: 6,774
b. Median number of days to process: 15

B. Status of pending requests.

1. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year: 3,853
2. Median number of days that such requests were pending as of that date: 30

VIII. Comparisons with Previous Year

A. Comparison of numbers of requests received:
FY 1999 – 20,923 FY 2000 -- 19,750

B. Comparison of numbers of requests processed:
FY 1999 – 20,247 FY 2000 -- 19,280

C. Comparison of median number of days requests were pending at the end of fiscal year:
FY 1999 – 40 FY 2000 – 30

D. Other statistics significant to agency—

The number of requests received by the USCG Headquarters increased approximately 23 percent during FY 2000. One unit reported a 25 percent increase. The FMCSA handled approximately 175 non-FOIA e-mail inquires in FY 2000.

E. Other narrative statements describing agency efforts to improve timeliness of FOIA performance and to make records available to the public (e.g., backlog-reduction efforts; specification of average number of hours per processed request; training activities; public availability of new categories of records).

The OST held a 2-day FOIA training session for all DOT FOIA personnel, attorneys and program representatives that are involved with FOIA. The presentations made during those 2 days discussed current case law; procedural issues; electronic records; specific exemptions; investigatory files and Department compliance with E-FOIA. OST also held meetings with the Operating Administration’s FOIA personnel providing guidance on the FOIA Homepages. OST’s FOIA homepage is currently in the process of being updated and redesigned.

To improve timeliness of FOIA performance, the OIG will devote more time to processing complex FOIA requests and less time on collateral duties. The OIG continues to provide public audit reports, Congressional testimonies, correspondences and other public products on its website. They have plans to update the website including their homepage and the FOIA homepage.

The FAA continues to increase the types and volume of information available to the public on the Internet.

The USCG implemented a FOIA Imaging System (FIS) as a pilot program. While the pilot program was initially limited to the central FOIA office, it has been expanded to include two other units. The FIS is an image-enabled workflow system that scans FOIA requests and responses, and automates the workflow management process associated with these functions.

The USCG’s central FOIA office remands appeals to the original processor for reconsideration when it determines that the original processor failed to follow procedures. This improves the quality and timeliness of responses, while preserving requesters’ appeal rights.

The USCG made more records available to the public via Internet or other electronic media. Examples include: Marine Board Reports and oil and chemical spill data compiled by the National Response Center. The Port State Information Exchange (PSIX) is on CD-ROM, including the Merchant Vessels of the U.S. data file and Marine Casualty and Pollution database.

The FTA has now placed information pertaining to their Credit Card Holders, their FOIA Guidelines, and their FOIA Annual Report for FY 97, FY 98, and FY 99 on the Internet. In addition, the public can now e-mail their FOIA request to the FTA.

Due to the capability to transmit information electronically, RSPA has been able to expedite and reduce FOIA requests.

NHTSA has put a significant amount of information on the World Wide Web. As a result, many requesters obtain desired information themselves, without the need to file a FOIA request. In addition, when requests for this information are received, it takes less time for agency staff to search for and review the information.

IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing

A. Staffing levels.

1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 38.25
2. No. of personnel with part-time/occasional FOIA duties (in total work years): 72.45
3. Total number of personnel (in total work years): 110.7

B. Total costs (including staff and all resources).

1. FOIA processing (including appeals): $7,778,682
2. Litigation-related activities (estimated): $164,000
3. Total costs: $7,942,682

X. Fees

A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing requests: $328,356.25
B. Percentage of total costs: 4.15%

XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)

Attached is a copy of the Department of Transportation FOIA Regulations, 49 CFR Part 7, Public Availability of Information

^[1] If one number appears, it represents the office telephone number.