[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR7.21]

[Page 64-65]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
          Subtitle A--Office of the Secretary of Transportation
 
PART 7_PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart D_Procedures for Appealing Decisions Not to Disclose Records 
                            and/or Waive Fees
 
Sec.  7.21  General.


    (a) Each officer or employee of DOT who, upon a request by a member 
of the public for a record under this part, makes a determination that 
the record is not to be disclosed, either because it is subject to an 
exemption or not in DOT's custody and control, will give a written 
statement of the reasons for that determination to the person making the 
request; and indicate the names and titles or positions of each person 
responsible for the initial determination not to comply with such 
request, and the availability of an appeal within DOT. The denial letter 
will include an estimate of the volume of records or information 
withheld, in number of pages or in some other reasonable form of 
estimation. This estimate does not need to be provided if the volume is 
otherwise indicated through deletions on records disclosed in part, or 
if providing an estimate would harm an interest protected by an 
applicable exemption. Records disclosed in part will be marked or 
annotated to show both the amount and the location of the information 
deleted whenever practicable.
    (b) When a request for a waiver of fees pursuant to Sec.  7.44 has 
been denied in whole or in part, the requestor may appeal the denial.
    (c) Any person to whom a record has not been made available within 
the time limits established by Sec.  7.31 and any person who has been 
given a determination pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section that a 
record will not be disclosed may appeal to the responsible DOT official. 
Any person who has not received an initial determination on his or her 
request within the time limits established by Sec.  7.31 can seek 
immediate judicial review, which may be sought without the need first to 
submit an administrative appeal. Judicial review may be sought in the 
United States District Court for the judicial district in which the 
requestor resides or has his or her principal place of business, the 
judicial district in which the records are located, or in the District 
of Columbia. A determination that a record will not be disclosed and/or 
that a request for a fee waiver or reduction will not be granted does 
not constitute final agency action for the purposes of judicial review 
unless:
    (1) It was made by the responsible DOT official; or
    (2) The applicable time limit has passed without a determination on 
the initial request or the appeal, as the case may be, having been made.
    (d) Each appeal must be made in writing within thirty days from the 
date of receipt of the original denial and should include the DOT file 
or reference number assigned to the request and all information and 
arguments relied upon by the person making the request. (Appeals may be 
submitted via facsimile and conventional mail, but not via electronic 
mail.) Such letter should indicate that it is an appeal from a denial of 
a request made under FOIA. The envelope in which a mailed appeal is sent 
should be prominently marked: ``FOIA Appeal.'' If these requirements are 
not met, the twenty-day limit described in Sec.  7.32 will not begin to 
run until the appeal has been

[[Page 65]]

identified, or would have been identified with the exercise of due 
diligence, by a DOT employee as an appeal under FOIA, and has been 
received by the appropriate office.
    (e) Whenever the responsible DOT official determines it necessary, 
he/she may require the requestor to furnish additional information, or 
proof of factual allegations, and may order other proceedings 
appropriate in the circumstances; in any case in which a request or 
order is made, DOT's time for responding ceases to count while the 
requestor responds to the request or order. The decision of the 
responsible DOT official as to the availability of the record or the 
appropriateness of a fee waiver or reduction constitutes final agency 
action for the purpose of judicial review.
    (f) The decision of the responsible DOT official not to disclose a 
record under this part or not to grant a request for a fee waiver or 
reduction is considered to be a denial by the Secretary for the purpose 
of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B).
    (g) Any final determination by the head of an DOT component not to 
disclose a record under this part, or not to grant a request for a fee 
waiver or reduction, is subject to concurrence by a representative of 
the General Counsel.
    (h) Upon a determination that an appeal will be denied, the 
requestor will be informed in writing of the reasons for the denial of 
the request and the names and titles or positions of each person 
responsible for the determination, and that judicial review of the 
determination is available in the United States District Court for the 
judicial district in which the requestor resides or has his or her 
principal place of business, the judicial district in which the 
requested records are located, or the District of Columbia.