[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR2.19]

[Page 18-19]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 2--RECORDS AND TESTIMONY; FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT--Table of Contents
 
             Subpart C--Requests for Records under the FOIA
 
Sec. 2.19  When will bureaus waive fees?

    (a) Fees for processing your request may be waived if you meet the 
criteria listed in paragraph (b) of this section and Appendix D to this 
part. The burden is on you to justify entitlement to a fee waiver. 
Requests for fee waivers are decided on a case-by-case basis. The fact 
that you have received a fee waiver in the past does not mean you are 
automatically entitled to a fee waiver for every request you may submit, 
because the essential element of any fee waiver determination is whether 
the release of the particular documents sought in the request will 
likely contribute significantly to public understanding of the 
operations or activities of the Government. The bureau will rely on the 
fee waiver justification you have submitted in your request letter. If 
you do not submit sufficient justification, your fee waiver request

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will be denied. The bureau may, at its discretion, communicate with you 
to request additional information if necessary. However the bureau must 
make a determination on the fee waiver request within the statutory time 
limit, even if the agency has not received such additional information. 
In certain circumstances, a partial fee waiver may be appropriate, if 
some, but not all, of the requested records are likely to contribute 
significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities 
of the Government.
    (b) Bureaus will waive fees (in whole or part) if disclosure of all 
or part of the information is in the public interest because its 
release--
    (1) Is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of 
the operations or activities of the Government; and
    (2) Is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
    (c) If a bureau denies your request for a fee waiver, it will notify 
you, in writing, of the following:
    (1) The basis for the denial, including a full explanation of why 
your fee waiver request did not meet DOI's fee waiver criteria (see 
paragraph (b) of this section and Appendix D to this part);
    (2) The name(s) and title(s) or position(s) of each person 
responsible for the denial;
    (3) The name and title of the Office of the Solicitor attorney 
consulted; and
    (4) A statement that the denial may be appealed within 30 workdays 
after the date of the denial letter to the FOIA Appeals Officer (see 
Appendix A to this part) under the procedures in Sec. 2.30.