[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR701.14]

[Page 68-69]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 701_AVAILABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RECORDS AND PUBLICATION 
OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DOCUMENTS AFFECTING THE PUBLIC--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart B_FOIA Definitions and Terms
 
Sec. 701.14  5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) materials.

    Section (a)(2) of the FOIA requires that certain materials routinely 
be made available for public inspection and copying. The (a)(2) 
materials are commonly referred to as ``reading room'' materials and are 
required to be indexed to facilitate public inspection. (a)(2) materials 
consist of:
    (a) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(A) records. Final opinions, including 
concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders made in the adjudication 
of cases, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551, that may be cited, used, or relied 
upon as precedents in future adjudications.
    (b) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(B) records. Statements of policy and 
interpretations that have been adopted by the agency and are not 
published in the Federal Register.
    (c) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(C) records. Administrative staff manuals and 
instructions, or portions thereof, that establish DON policy or 
interpretations of policy that affect a member of the public. This 
provision does not apply to instructions for employees on tactics and 
techniques to be used in performing their duties, or to instructions 
relating only to the internal management of the DON activity. Examples 
of manuals

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and instructions not normally made available are:
    (1) Those issued for audit, investigation, and inspection purposes, 
or those that prescribe operational tactics, standards of performance, 
or criteria for defense, prosecution, or settlement of cases.
    (2) Operations and maintenance manuals and technical information 
concerning munitions, equipment, systems, and foreign intelligence 
operations.
    (d) 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(D) records. Those (a)(2) records, which 
because of the nature of the subject matter, have become or are likely 
to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same 
records. These records are referred to as FOIA-processed (a)(2) records. 
DON activities shall decide on a case-by-case basis whether records fall 
into this category based on the following factors: previous experience 
of the DON activity with similar records; particular circumstances of 
the records involved, including their nature and the type of information 
contained in them; and/or the identity and number of requesters and 
whether there is widespread press, historic, or commercial interest in 
the records.
    (1) This provision is intended for situations where public access in 
a timely manner is important and it is not intended to apply where there 
may be a limited number of requests over a short period of time from a 
few requesters. DON activities may remove the records from this access 
medium when the appropriate officials determine that access is no longer 
necessary.
    (2) Should a requester submit a FOIA request for FOIA-processed 
(a)(2) records and insist that the request be processed under FOIA, DON 
activities shall process the FOIA request. However, DON activities have 
no obligation to process a FOIA request for (a)(2)(A), (B) and (C) 
records because these records are required to be made public and not 
FOIA-processed under paragraph (a)(3) of the FOIA.
    (e) However, agency records that are withheld under FOIA from public 
disclosure, based on one or more of the FOIA exemptions, do not qualify 
as (a)(2) materials and need not be published in the Federal Register or 
made available in a library reading room.