[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 6]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR1800.13]
[Page 379-381]
TITLE 32-NATIONAL DEFENSE
CHAPTER XVIII--NATIONAL COUNTERINTELLIGENCE CENTER
PART 1800_PUBLIC ACCESS TO NACIC RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ACT (FOIA)--Table of Contents
Subpart B_Filing of FOIA Requests
Sec. 1800.13 Fees for record services.
(a) In general. Search, review, and reproduction fees will be
charged in accordance with the provisions below relating to schedule,
limitations, and category of requester. Applicable fees will be due even
if our search locates no responsive records or some or all of the
responsive records must be denied under one or more of the exemptions of
the Freedom of Information Act.
[[Page 380]]
(b) Fee waiver requests. Records will be furnished without charge or
at a reduced rate whenever NACIC determines:
(1) That, as a matter of administrative discretion, the interest of
the United States Government would be served, or
(2) That it is in the public interest because it is likely to
contribute significantly to the public understanding of the operations
or activities of the United States Government and is not primarily in
the commercial interest of the requester; NACIC shall consider the
following factors when making this determination:
(i) Whether the subject of the request concerns the operations or
activities of the United States Government; and, if so,
(ii) Whether the disclosure of the requested documents is likely to
contribute to an understanding of United States Government operations or
activities; and, if so,
(iii) Whether the disclosure of the requested documents will
contribute to public understanding of United States Government
operations or activities; and, if so,
(iv) Whether the disclosure of the requested documents is likely to
contribute significantly to public understanding of United States
Government operations and activities; and
(v) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be
furthered by the requested disclosure; and, if so,
(vi) Whether the disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest
of the requester.
(c) Fee waiver appeals. Denials of requests for fee waivers or
reductions may be appealed to the Director, NACIC via the Coordinator. A
requester is encouraged to provide any explanation or argument as to how
his or her request satisfies the statutory requirement set forth in
paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) Time for fee waiver requests and appeals. It is suggested that
such requests and appeals be made and resolved prior to the initiation
of processing and the incurring of costs. However, fee waiver requests
will be accepted at any time prior to the release of documents or the
completion of a case, and fee waiver appeals within forty-five (45) days
of our initial decision subject to the following condition: if
processing has been initiated, then the requester must agree to be
responsible for costs in the event of an adverse administrative or
judicial decision.
(e) Agreement to pay fees. In order to protect requesters from large
and/or unanticipated charges, NACIC will request specific commitment
when it estimates that fees will exceed $100.00. NACIC will hold in
abeyance for forty-five (45) days requests requiring such agreement and
will thereafter deem the request closed. This action, of course, would
not prevent an individual from refiling his or her FOIA request with a
fee commitment at a subsequent date.
(f) Deposits. NACIC may require an advance deposit of up to 100
percent of the estimated fees when fees may exceed $250.00 and the
requester has no history of payment, or when, for fees of any amount,
there is evidence that the requester may not pay the fees which would be
accrued by processing the request. NACIC will hold in abeyance for
forty-five (45) days those requests where deposits have been requested.
(g) Schedule of fees--(1) In general. The schedule of fees for
services performed in responding to requests for records is established
as follows:
(i) Personnel Search and Review
Clerical/Technical--Quarter hour--$ 5.00--Professional/Supervisory--
Quarter hour-- 10.00----Manager/Senior Professional--Quarter hour--18.00
(ii) Computer Search and Production
Search (on-line)--Flat rate--10.00--Search (off-line)--Flat rate--
30.00--Other activity--Per minute--10.00--Tapes (mainframe cassette)--
Each--9.00--Tapes (mainframe cartridge)--Each--9.00--Tapes (mainframe
reel)--Each--20.00--Tapes (PC 9mm)--Each--25.00--Diskette
(3.5)
--Each--4.00--CD (bulk recorded)--Each--10.00--CD (recordable)--Each--
20.00-- Telecommunications --Per minute--.50-- Paper (mainframe
printer)--Per page--.10--Paper (PC b&w laser printer)--Per page--.10--
Paper (PC color printer)--Per page--1.00
(iii) Paper Production
Photocopy (standard or legal)--Per page--.10--Microfiche--Per
frame--.20--Pre-
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printed (if available)--Per 100 pages--5.00--Published (if available)--
Per item--NTIS--
(2) Application of schedule. Personnel search time includes time
expended in either manual paper records searches, indices searches,
review of computer search results for relevance, personal computer
system searches, and various reproduction services. In any event where
the actual cost to NACIC of a particular item is less than the above
schedule (e.g., a large production run of a document resulted in a cost
less than $5.00 per hundred pages), then the actual lesser cost will be
charged.
(3) Other services. For all other types of output, production, or
reproduction (e.g., photographs, maps, or published reports), actual
cost or amounts authorized by statute. Determinations of actual cost
shall include the commercial cost of the media, the personnel time
expended in making the item to be released, and an allocated cost of the
equipment used in making the item, or, if the production is effected by
a commercial service, then that charge shall be deemed the actual cost
for purposes of this part.
(h) Limitations on collection of fees--(1) In general. No fees will
be charged if the cost of collecting the fee is equal to or greater than
the fee itself. That cost includes the administrative costs to NACIC of
billing, receiving, recording, and processing the fee for deposit to the
Treasury Department and, as of the date of these regulations, is deemed
to be $10.00.
(2) Requests for personal information. No fees will be charged for
requesters seeking records about themselves under the FOIA; such
requests are processed in accordance with both the FOIA and the Privacy
Act in order to ensure the maximum disclosure without charge.
(i) Fee categories. There are four categories of FOIA requesters for
fee purposes: ``commercial use'' requesters, ``educational and non-
commercial scientific institution'' requesters, ``representatives of the
news media'' requesters, and ``all other'' requesters. The categories
are defined in Sec. 1800.2, and applicable fees, which are the same in
two of the categories, will be assessed as follows:
(1) ``Commercial use'' requesters: Charges which recover the full
direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and duplicating responsive
records (if any);
(2) ``Educational and non-commercial scientific institution''
requesters as well as ``representatives of the news media'' requesters:
Only charges for reproduction beyond the first 100 pages;
(3) ``All other'' requesters: Charges which recover the full direct
cost of searching for and reproducing responsive records (if any) beyond
the first 100 pages of reproduction and the first two hours of search
time which will be furnished without charge.
(j) Associated requests. A requester or associated requesters may
not file a series of multiple requests, which are merely discrete
subdivisions of the information actually sought for the purpose of
avoiding or reducing applicable fees. In such instances, NACIC may
aggregate the requests and charge the applicable fees.