[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: 43CFR2.7]

[Page 12]
 
                    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. 2.7  What do I need to know before filing a FOIA request?

    Source: 67 FR 64530, Oct. 21, 2002, unless otherwise noted.


    (a) If the records you are seeking are not routinely available as 
described in Subpart B of this part, you must submit a FOIA request to 
the FOIA Contact at the bureau office where you believe the records are 
maintained (see Appendix A to this part). FOIA requests must be 
submitted in writing (this includes fax and e-mail)--DOI does not accept 
oral FOIA requests. Before submitting a request, you may find it useful 
to contact the appropriate bureau FOIA Contact or the Departmental FOIA 
Officer for additional information concerning DOI's FOIA Program. You 
may find the Department's Reference Guide, which is available 
electronically through the FOIA home page and in paper form as well, 
helpful in making your request.
    (b) The FOIA requires that we release records unless they are 
protected by one of nine exemptions (see Appendix E to this part).
    (c) The Act does not require a bureau to answer questions that may 
be asked in a FOIA request.
    (d)(1) In order for a record to be considered subject to your FOIA 
request, it must be in the bureau's possession and control at the time 
the bureau begins its search for responsive records. There is no 
obligation for the bureau to create or compile a record to satisfy a 
FOIA request (for example, by combining or compiling selected items from 
manual files, preparing a new computer program, calculating proportions, 
percentages, frequency distributions, trends and comparisons, or 
creating maps). Normally if a bureau is extracting information from an 
existing computer database, this would not constitute the creation of a 
new record. However, a bureau has the option of creating a new record 
if--
    (i) Doing so will provide a more useful response to the requester,
    (ii) It is less burdensome than providing the existing records, and
    (iii) The newly created record is fully responsive to the request.
    (2) The fee in this case will not be more than the fee for the 
individual records. Fees will be charged consistent with the schedule in 
Appendix C to this part.