[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 17, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 17CFR145.9]

[Page 525-532]
 
              TITLE 17--COMMODITY AND SECURITIES EXCHANGES
 
             CHAPTER I--COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
 
PART 145_COMMISSION RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  145.9  Petition for confidential treatment of information 
submitted to the Commission.

    (a) Purpose. This section provides a procedure by which persons 
submitting information in any form to the Commission can request that 
the information not be disclosed pursuant to a request under the Freedom 
of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. This section does not affect the 
Commission's right, authority, or obligation to disclose information in 
any other context.
    (b) Scope. The provisions of this section shall apply only where the 
Commission has not specified that an alternative procedure be utilized 
in connection with a particular study, report, investigation, or other 
matter.
    (c) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section:
    (1) Submitter. A ``submitter'' is any person who submits any 
information or material to the Commission or who permits any information 
or material to be submitted to the Commission. For purposes of paragraph 
(d)(1)(ii) of this section only, ``submitter'' includes any person whose 
information has been submitted to a designated contract market or 
registered futures association that in turn has submitted the 
information to the Commission.
    (2) FOIA requester. A ``FOIA requester'' is any person who files 
with the Commission a request to inspect or

[[Page 526]]

copy Commission records or documents pursuant to the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
    (d) Written request for confidential treatment. (1) Any submitter 
may request in writing that the Commission afford confidential treatment 
under the Freedom of Information Act to any information that he or she 
submits to the Commission. Except as provided in paragraph (d)(4) of 
this section, no oral requests for confidential treatment will be 
accepted by the Commission. The submitter shall specify the grounds on 
which confidential treatment is being requested but need not provide a 
detailed written justification of the request unless requird to do so 
under paragraph (e) of this section. Confidential treatment may be 
requested only on the grounds that disclosure:
    (i) Is specifically exempted by a statute that either requires that 
the matters be withheld from the public in such manner as to leave no 
discretion on the issue or establishes particular criteria for 
withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld.
    (ii) Would reveal the submitter's trade secrets or confidential 
commercial or financial information.
    (iii) Would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the 
submitter's personal privacy.
    (iv) Would reveal investigatory records compiled for law enforcement 
purposes whose disclosure would deprive the submitter of a right to a 
fair trial or an impartial adjudication.
    (v) Would reveal investigatory records compiled for law enforcement 
purposes whose disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
the personal privacy of the submitter.
    (vi) Would reveal investigatory records compiled for law enforcement 
purposes when disclosure would interfere with enforcement proceedings or 
disclose investigative techniques and procedures, provided that the 
claim may be made only by a designated contract market or registered 
futures association with regard to its own investigatory records.
    (2) The original of any written request for confidential treatment 
must be sent to the Assistant Secretary of the Commission for FOI, 
Privacy and Sunshine Acts Compliance. A copy of any request for 
confidential treatment shall be sent to the Commission division or 
office receiving the original of any material for which confidential 
treatment is being sought.
    (3) A request for confidential treatment shall be clearly marked 
``FOIA Confidential Treatment Request'' and shall contain the name, 
address, and telephone number of the submitter. The submitter is 
responsible for informing the Assistant Secretary of the Commission for 
FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Acts Compliance of any changes in his or her 
name, address, and telephone number.
    (4) A request for confidential treatment should accompany the 
material for which confidential treatment is being sought. If a request 
for confidential treatment is filed after the filing of such material, 
the submitter shall have the burden of showing that it was not possible 
to request confidential treatment for that material at the time the 
material was filed. A request for confidential treatment of a future 
submission will not be processed. All records which contain information 
for which a request for confidential treatment is made or the 
appropriate segregable portions thereof should be marked by the person 
submitting the records with a prominent stamp, typed legend, or other 
suitable form of notice on each page or segregable portion of each page 
stating ``Confidential Treatment Requested by [name].'' If such marking 
is impractical under the circumstances, a cover sheet prominently marked 
``Confidential Treatment Requested by [name]'' should be securely 
attached to each group of records submitted for which confidential 
treatment is requested. Each of the records transmitted in this matter 
should be individually marked with an identifying number and code so 
that they are separately identifiable. In some circumstances, such as 
when a person is testifying in the course of a Commission investigation 
or providing documents requested in the course of a Commission 
inspection, it may be impractical to submit a written request for 
confidential treatment at the time the information is first provided to 
the

[[Page 527]]

Commission. In no circumstances can the need to comply with the 
requirements of this section justify or excuse any delay in submitting 
information to the Commission. Rather, in such circumstances, the person 
testifying or otherwise submitting information should inform the 
Commission employee receiving the information, at the time the 
information is submitted or as soon thereafter as practicable, that the 
person is requesting confidential treatment for the information. The 
person shall then submit a written request for confidential treatment 
within 30 days of the submission of the information. If access is 
requested under the Freedom of Information Act with respect to material 
for which no timely request for confidential treatment has been made, it 
may be presumed that the submitter of the information has waived any 
interest in asserting that the material is confidential.
    (5) A request for confidential treatment shall state the length of 
time for which confidential treatment is being sought.
    (6) A request for confidential treatment (as distinguishing from the 
material that is the subject of the request) shall be considered a 
public document. When a submitter deems it necessary to include, in its 
request for confidential treatment, information for which it seeks 
confidential treatment, the submitter shall place that information in an 
appendix to the request.
    (7) On 10 business days notice from the Assistant Secretary, a 
submitter shall submit a detailed written justification of a request for 
confidential treatment, as specified in paragraph (e) of this section. 
Upon request and for good cause shown, the Assistant Secretary may grant 
an extension of such time. The Assistant Secretary will notify the 
submitter that failure to provide timely a detailed written 
justification will be deemed a waiver of the submitter's opportunity to 
appeal an adverse determination.
    (8)(i) Requests for confidential treatment for any reasonably 
segregable material that is not exempt from public disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, as implemented in Sec.  145.5, shall be 
summarily rejected under Sec.  145.9(d)(9). Requests for confidential 
treatment of public information contained in financial reports as 
specified in Sec.  1.10 shall not be processed. A submitter has the 
burden of specifying clearly and precisely the material that is the 
subject of the confidential treatment request. A submitter may be able 
to meet this burden in various ways, including:
    (A) Segregating material for which confidential treatment is being 
sought;
    (B) Submitting two copies of the submission: a copy from which 
material for which confidential treatment is being sought has been 
obliterated, deleted, or clearly marked and an unmarked copy; and
    (C) Clearly describing the material within a submission for which 
confidential treatment is being sought.
    (ii) A submitter shall not employ a method of specifying the 
material for which confidential treatment is being sought if that method 
makes it unduly difficult for the Commission to read the full 
submission, including all portion claimed to be confidential, in its 
entirely.
    (9) If a submitter fails to follow the procedures set forth in 
paragraphs (d)(1) through (d)(8) of this section, the Assistant 
Secretary of the Commission for FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Acts 
Compliance or his or her designee may summarily reject the submitter's 
request for confidential treatment with leave to the submitter to refile 
a proper petition. Failure of the Assistant Secretary or his or her 
designee summarily to reject a confidential treatment request pursuant 
to this paragraph shall not be construed to indicate that the submitter 
has complied with the procedures set forth in paragraphs (d)(1) through 
(d)(8) of this section.
    (10) Except as provided in paragraph (d)(9) of this section, no 
determination with respect to any request for confidential treatment 
will be made until the Commission receives a Freedom of Information Act 
request for the material for which confidential treatment is being 
sought.
    (e) Detailed written justification of request for confidential 
treatment. (1) If the Assistant Secretary or his or her designee 
determines that a FOIA request seeks material for which confidential

[[Page 528]]

treatment has been requested pursuant to Sec.  145.9, the Assistant 
Secretary or his or her designee shall require the submitter to file a 
detailed written justification of the confidential request within ten 
business days (unless under Sec.  145.9(d)(7) an extension of time has 
been granted) of that determination unless, pursuant to an earlier FOIA 
request, a prior determination to release or withhold the material has 
been made, the submitter has already provided sufficient information to 
grant the request for confidential treatment; or the material is 
otherwise in the public domain. The detailed written justification shall 
be filed with the Assistant Secretary of the Commission for FOI, Privacy 
and Sunshine Acts Compliance. It shall be clearly marked ``Detailed 
Written Justification of FOIA Confidential Treatment Request'' and shall 
contain the request number supplied by the Commission. The submitter 
shall also send a copy of the detailed written justification to the FOIA 
requester at the address specified by the Commission.
    (2) The period for filing a detailed written justification may be 
extended upon request and for good cause shown.
    (3) The detailed written justification of the confidential treatment 
request shall contain:
    (i) The reasons, referring to the specific exemptive provisions of 
the Freedom of Information Act listed in paragraph (d)(1) of this 
section, why the information that is the subject of the FOIA request 
should be withheld from access under the Freedom of Information Act;
    (ii) The applicability of any specific statutory or regulatory 
provisions that govern or may govern the treatment of the information;
    (iii) The existence and applicability of prior determinations by the 
Commission, other federal agencies, or courts concerning the specific 
exemptive provisions of the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to which 
confidential treatment is being requested. Submitters shall satisfy any 
evidentiary burdens imposed upon them by applicable Freedom of 
Information Act case law.
    (iv) Such additional facts and authorities as the submitter may 
consider appropriate.
    (4) The detailed written justification of a confidential treatment 
request shall be accompanied by affidavits to the extent necessary to 
establish the facts necessary to satisfy the submitter's evidentiary 
burden.
    (5) The detailed written justification of a confidential treatment 
request (as distinguished from the material that is the subject of the 
request) shall be considered a public document. However, a submitter 
will be permitted to submit to the Commission supplementary confidential 
affidavits with his or her detailed written justification if that is the 
only way in which he or she can convincingly demonstrate that the 
material that is the subject of the confidential treatment request 
should not be disclosed to the FOIA requester.
    (f) Initial determination with respect to petition for confidential 
treatment. (1) The Assistant Secretary for FOI, Privacy and Sunshine 
Acts Compliance or his or her designee, in consultation with the Office 
in which the record was located, shall issue an initial determination 
with respect to a confidential treatment request for material that is 
responsive to the FOIA request. This determination shall be issued at 
the same time as the initial determination with respect to the FOIA 
request. See Sec.  145.7(g). To the extent that the initial 
determination grants a confidential treatment request in full or in 
part, it should specify the FOIA exemptions upon which this 
determination is based and briefly describe the material to which each 
exemption applies. See Sec.  145.7(g)(2). To the extent that the initial 
determination denies confidential treatment to any material for which 
confidential treatment was requested, it should briefly describe the 
material for which confidential treatment is denied.
    (2) If the Assistant Secretary or his or her designee determines 
that a confidential treatment request shall be denied in full or in 
part, the submitter shall be informed of his or her right to appeal to 
the Commission's General Counsel in accordance with the procedures set 
forth in paragraph (g) of this

[[Page 529]]

section. The material for which confidential treatment was denied shall 
be released to the FOIA requester if the submitter does not file an 
appeal within 10 business days of the date on which his or her request 
was denied.
    (3) If the Assistant Secretary or his or her designee determines 
that a confidential treatment request shall be granted in full or in 
part, the FOIA requester shall be informed of his or her right to appeal 
to the Commission's General Counsel in accordance with the procedures 
set forth in Sec.  145.7(h).
    (g) Appeal from initial determination that confidential treatment is 
not warranted. (1) An appeal from an initial determination to deny a 
confidential treatment request in full or in part shall be filed with 
the General Counsel of the Commission. No disclosure of the material 
that is the subject of the appeal shall be made until the appeal is 
resolved. If both a submitter and a FOIA requester appeal to the General 
Counsel from a partial grant and partial denial of a confidential 
treatment request, those appeals shall be consolidated.
    (2) Any appeal of a denial of a request for confidential treatment 
shall be in writing, and shall be clearly marked ``FOIA Confidential 
Treatment Appeal.'' The appeal shall include a copy of the initial 
determination and shall clearly indicate the portions of the initial 
determination from which an appeal is being taken.
    (3) The appeal shall be sent to the Commission's Office of General 
Counsel. A copy of the appeal shall be sent to the FOIA requester. The 
General Counsel or his or her designee shall have the authority to 
consider all appeals from initial determinations of the Assistant 
Secretary of the Commission for FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Acts 
compliance. The General Counsel may, in his sole and unfettered 
discretion, refer such appeals and questions concerning stays under 
paragraph (g)(10) of this section to the Commission for decision.
    (4) In the appeal, the submitter may supply additional 
substantiation for his or her request for confidential treatment, 
including additional affidavits and additional legal argument. Such 
submissions shall be governed by paragraph (e)(5) of this section.
    (5) The FOIA requester shall have an opportunity to respond in 
writing to the appeal within 10 business days of the date of filing of 
the FOIA Confidential Treatment Appeal. The FOIA requester need not 
respond, however. Any response shall be sent to the Commission's Office 
of General Counsel. A copy shall be sent to the submitter.
    (6) All FOIA Confidential Treatment Appeals and all responses 
thereto shall be considered public documents.
    (7) The General Counsel will make a determination with respect to 
any appeal within twenty business days after receipt by the Office of 
General Counsel of such appeal or within such extended period as may be 
permitted in accordance with the standards set forth in Sec.  
145.7(g)(3). Although other procedures may be employed, to the extent 
possible the General Counsel will decide the appeal on the basis of the 
affidavits and other documentary evidence submitted by the submitter and 
the FOIA requests.
    (8) The General Counsel or his or her designee shall have the 
authority to remand any matter to the Assistant Secretary of the 
Commission for FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Acts Compliance to correct 
deficiencies in the initial processing of the confidential treatment 
request.
    (9) If the General Counsel or his or her designee denies a 
confidential treatment appeal in full or in part, the information for 
which confidential treatment is denied shall be disclosed to the FOIA 
requester 10 business days later, subject to any stay entered pursuant 
to paragraph (g)(10) of this section.
    (10) The General Counsel or his or here designee shall have the 
authority to enter and vacate stays as set forth below. If, within 10 
business days of the date of issuance of a determination by the General 
Counsel or his or her designee to disclose information for which a 
submitter sought confidential treatment, the submitter commences an 
action in federal court concerning that determination, the General 
Counsel will stay the public disclosure of the information pending final 
judicial resolution of the matter. The General

[[Page 530]]

Counsel or his or her designee may vacate a stay entered under this 
section, either on his or her own motion or at the request of the FOIA 
requester. If such a stay is vacated, the information will be released 
to the requester 10 business days after the submitter is notified of 
this action, unless a court orders otherwise.
    (h) Extensions of time limits. Any time limit under this section may 
be extended for good cause shown, in the discretion of the Commission, 
the Commission's General Counsel, or the Assistant Secretary of the 
Commission for FOI, Privacy and Sunshine Acts Compliance.
    (i) A submitter whose confidential treatment request has been upheld 
by the Commission shall, upon request of the General Counsel, aid the 
Commission in defending a court action to compel the Commission to 
disclose the information subject to the confidential treatment request. 
If the submitter is unwilling to aid the Commission in this regard, the 
General Counsel may, in appropriate cases, make the information 
available to the public.

[51 FR 26871, July 28, 1986, as amended at 64 FR 26, Jan. 4, 1999; 69 FR 
67507, Nov. 18, 2004]

 Appendix A to Part 145--Compilation of Commission Records Available to 
                               the Public

    The following documents are available, upon request, directly from 
the office indicated. Unless otherwise noted, the mailing address for 
the Commission offices listed below is Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20581.
    (a) Office of External Affairs. (1) Commitments of Traders Reports.
    (2) Weekly Advisory (solely available on the Commission's Web site 
at http://www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftcpressoffice.htm).
    (3) Studies Prepared by Commission staff.
    (4) Educational material (e.g., newsletters, brochures, annual 
reports, conference or advisory meetings, technical information about 
specific markets or contracts).
    (5) Press releases.
    (6) Rule enforcement and finanical reviews (public version).
    (7) CFTC litigation documents (e.g. administrative and civil 
complaints, injunctions, initial decisions, opinions and orders).
    (8) Commission rules and regulations, Federal Register notices, 
interpretative letters.
    (9) Speeches, Commissioner biographies and photographs.
    (10) Statistical data concerning the Commission's budget.
    (11) Statistical data concerning specific contracts and markets.
    (b) Office of the Secretariat (Public reading area with copying 
facilities available). (1) Comment letters and CFTC summaries of comment 
letters.
    (2) Terms and conditions of proposed contracts.
    (3) Registered entity filings relating to rules as defined in Sec.  
40.1 of this chapter, unless covered by a request for confidential 
treatment.
    (4) National Futures Association (NFA) rule amendments.
    (5) Exchange and NFA disciplinary action notifications.
    (6) Open Commission meeting minutes.
    (7) Sunshine certificates for closed Commission meetings.
    (8) CFTC Advisory Committee final reports.
    (9) Opinions and orders of the Commission.
    (10) Reparations orders and enforcement orders index.
    (11) Rulemaking index.
    (12) Exchange membership notification.
    (13) Publicly available portions of applications to become a 
registered entity including the transmittal letter, proposed rules, 
proposed bylaws, corporate documents, any overview or similar summary 
provided by the applicant, any documents pertaining to the applicant's 
legal status and governance structure, including governance fitness 
information, and any other part of the application not covered by a 
request for confidential treatment.
    (c) Office of Proceedings. (1) Documents contained in reparations 
and enforcement cases, unless subject to protective order.
    (2) Complaint packages, which contain the Reparation Rules, Brochure 
``Questions and Answers About How You Can Resolve a Commodity-Market 
Related Dispute,'' and the complaint form.
    (3) Rules of Practice concerning administrative enforcement 
proceedings.
    (d) Executive Director, Administrative Services Section. Information 
Collection requests submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. 
L. 96-511.
    (e) Division of Market Oversight. (1) Weekly stocks of grain 
reports.
    (2) Weekly cotton or call reports.
    (f) Division of Enforcement. Complaint package containing Division 
of Enforcement Questionnaire and list of federal, state and local 
enforcement authorities.
    (g) Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight. Publicly 
available portions of registration documents are available from the 
National Futures Association, 200 West

[[Page 531]]

Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. See Commission Rule 145.6.

[51 FR 26874, July 28, 1986, as amended at 57 FR 29203, July 1, 1992; 59 
FR 5528, Feb. 7, 1994; 60 FR 49335, Sept. 25, 1995; 64 FR 27, Jan. 4, 
1999; 67 FR 62353, Oct. 7, 2002; 67 FR 63539, Oct. 15, 2002; 69 FR 
67507, Nov. 18, 2004]

                Appendix B to Part 145--Schedule of Fees

    (a) Charges for requests. The following charges may be made where 
applicable for responding to requests for records.
    (1) $4.75 for each quarter hour spent by clerical personnel in 
searching for or reviewing records.
    (2) When a search or review cannot be performed by clerical 
personnel, $10.25 for each quarter hour spent by professional personnel 
in searching or reviewing records.
    (3) When searches require the expertise of a computer specialist, 
staff time for programming and performing searches will be charged at 
$10.25 per quarter hour. For searches of records stored on personal 
computers used as workstations by Commission staff and shared access 
network servers, the computer processing time is included in the search 
time for the staff member using the workstation as set forth in 
paragraph (a) of this appendix.
    (4) Document duplication, including computer printouts, will be 
charged at $0.15 per page.
    (5) For copies of materials other than paper records, the requester 
will be charged the actual cost of materials and reproduction, including 
the time of clerical personnel at a rate of $4.75 per quarter hour.
    (6) When a request has been made and granted to examine Commission 
records at an office of the Commission other than the office in which 
the records are routinely maintained, the requester:
    (i) Will reimburse the Commission for the actual cost of 
transporting the records; and
    (ii) Will be charged at a rate of $4.75 for each quarter hour spent 
by clerical personnel in preparing the records for transit.
    (7) For certifying that requested records are true copies, the 
charge will be $3.00 per certification.
    (8) Upon request, records will be mailed by means of overnight or 
express mail at the fee of $10.00 per package mailed.
    (b) Waiver or reduction of fees. Fees will be waived or reduced by 
the Commission if:
    (1) The fee is less than or equal to $10.00, the approximate cost to 
the Commission of collecting the fee; or,
    (2) If the Commission determines that the disclosure of the 
information 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.
    (c) Applicability of fees. Fees shall be charged even if no records 
are ultimately furnished to the requester. Fees apply to various types 
of requests as follows.
    (1) Commercial use request. Fees for search time, review time and 
duplication of records will be charged to requests from or on behalf of 
one who seeks information for a user or purpose that furthers the 
commercial, trade or profit interests of the requester or the person on 
whose behalf the request is made.
    (2) Educational institution or noncommercial scientific institution. 
Only duplication fees will be charged to schools or to organizations 
which operate solely for the purpose of scientific research, the results 
of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. 
No charge will be made for the first 100 pages duplicated or for search 
or review time.
    (3) Representative of the news media. Only duplication fees will be 
charged to any person actively gathering news for an entity that is 
organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. No 
charge will be made for the first 100 pages duplicated or for search or 
review time.
    (4) Other requesters. Fees for search time and duplication will be 
charged to requesters who are not covered by one of the categories 
above. No charge will be made for the first two hours of search time, 
the first 100 pages of duplication, or for review time. If the search is 
for records stored in a computer format, a combination of computer 
operation charges and search time charges will be waived up to the 
equivalent of two hours of professional search time.
    (d) Aggregation of requests. For purposes of determining fees, the 
Commission may aggregate reasonably related requests if multiple 
requests are made within a 30-day period or if there is a solid basis 
for believing that multiple requests were made solely to avoid fees.
    (e) Notification of fees. A request for Commission records may state 
that the party is willing to pay fees up to a stated limit for services 
to be provided in searching, reviewing and duplicating requested 
records. If such a statement is made, no work will be done that will 
result in fees beyond the stated limit without written authorization. If 
no limit is stated, no work will be done that will result in fees in 
excess of $25.00 without written authorization from the requester.
    (f) Advance payment of fees. The Commission may request advance 
payment of all or part of the fee (i) when fees are expected to exceed 
$250; or (ii) when a requester has previously failed to pay fees in a 
timely fashion.
    (g) Payment of fees. Payment should be made by check or money order 
payable to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

[[Page 532]]

    (h) Interest on fees. The Commission will begin charging interest on 
unpaid bills starting on the 31th day following the day on which the 
bill was sent. Interest will be at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 
3717.
    (i) Collection of fees. If fees not paid, the Commission may 
disclose debts to appropriate authorities for collection or to consumer 
reporting agencies.

[52 FR 19308, May 22, 1987, as amended at 64 FR 27, Jan. 4, 1999; 69 FR 
67507, Nov. 18, 2004]

                    Appendix C to Part 145 [Reserved]