[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 14, Volume 5, Parts 1200 to end]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 14CFR1206.603]

[Page 59]
 
                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
 
                          SPACE ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 1206--AVAILABILITY OF AGENCY RECORDS TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC--Table of Contents
 
                          Subpart 6--Procedures
 
Sec. 1206.603  Procedures and time limits for initial determinations.

    (a) Except as provided in Sec. 1206.608, an initial determination on 
a request for an Agency record, addressed in accordance with 
Sec. 1206.601(a) or made in person at a NASA FOIA Office shall be made, 
and the requester shall be sent notification thereof, within 20 working 
days after receipt of the request, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6).
    (b) An initial determination on a request for an Agency record by 
mail not addressed in accordance with Sec. 1206.601(a) shall be made, 
and the requester shall be sent notification thereof, within 20 working 
days after the correspondence is recognized as a request for an Agency 
record under the ``Freedom of Information Act'' and received by the 
appropriate NASA FOIA Office. With respect to such a request, unless an 
initial determination can reasonably be made within 20 working days of 
the original receipt, the request will be promptly acknowledged and the 
requester notified of the date the request was received at that FOIA 
Office and that an initial determination on the request will be made 
within 20 working days of that date.
    (c) If it is determined that the requested record (or portion 
thereof) will be made available, and if the charges are under $250, NASA 
will either send a copy of the releasable record and a bill for the fee 
or send the initial determination and a bill for the fee to the 
requester. In the latter case, the documents will be released when the 
fee is received. If the fee chargeable is over $250, a request for 
payment of the fee will always be sent with the initial determination, 
and the records will be mailed only upon receipt of payment. When 
records are sent before payment is received, the fact that interest will 
be charged from the 31st day after the day of the response shall be 
stated in the response. The date of the mailing of an initial 
determination, with or without the records(s), shall be deemed to 
satisfy the time limit for initial determinations.
    (d) Any notification of an initial determination that does not 
comply fully with the request for an Agency record, including those 
searches that produce no documents, shall include a statement of the 
reasons for the adverse determination, include the name and title of the 
person making the initial determination, and notify the requester of the 
right to appeal to the Administrator, or the Inspector General, as 
appropriate, under Sec. 1206.605.
    (e) If the requester demonstrates a ``compelling need'' as defined 
in Sec. 1206.101(r) for records, NASA shall provide expedited processing 
of the request. NASA will inform the requester as to whether the request 
for expedited processing has been granted within 10 working days after 
the date of the request.