[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 9]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR2702.7]

[Page 701-702]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
     CHAPTER XXVII--FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
 
PART 2702_REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 2702.7  No fees; waiver or reduction of fees.

    (a) No fees shall be charged to any requester, including commercial 
use requesters, if the anticipated cost of processing and collecting the 
fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself. Accordingly, the 
Commission has determined that fees of less than $10 shall be waived.
    (b) Documents shall be furnished without any charge, or at a charge 
reduced below the fees otherwise applicable, if disclosure of the 
information is determined to be in the public interest because it is 
likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the 
operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the 
commercial interest of the requester.
    (1) The following six factors will be employed in determining when 
such fees shall be waived or reduced:
    (i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested 
records concerns ``the operations or activities of the government'';
    (ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: 
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding 
of government operations or activities;
    (iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the 
general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of 
the requested information will contribute to ``public understanding'';
    (iv) The significance of contribution to public understanding: 
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to 
public understanding of government operations or activities;
    (v) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether 
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the 
requested disclosure; and, if so
    (vi) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of 
the identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently 
large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that 
disclosure is ``primarily

[[Page 702]]

in the commerical interest of the requester.''
    (2) The Executive Director, upon request, shall determine whether a 
waiver or reduction of fees is warranted. Requests shall be made 
concurrently with requests for information under Sec. 2702.3. Appeals 
of adverse decisions may be made to the Chairman within 5 working days. 
Determination of appeals will be made by the Chairman within 10 working 
days of receipt.

[54 FR 3022, Jan. 23, 1989, as amended at 62 FR 55336, Oct. 24, 1997]