in writing to the applicant or recipient, and to the complainant, if any.

(d) Rulings required. Each decision of a hearing officer, panel, or responsible Foundation official shall set forth the ruling on each finding, conclusion, or exception presented, and shall identify the requirement or requirements imposed by or pursuant to this part with which it is found that the applicant or recipient has failed to comply.

(e) Approval by Director and National Science Board. Any final decision of a responsible Foundation official (other than the Director) which provides for the suspension or termination of, or the refusal to grant or continue Federal financial assistance, or the imposition of any other sanction available under this part or the Act, shall promptly be transmitted to the Director who may approve such decision, may vacate it, or remit or mitigate any sanction imposed. In the event that the imposition of a sanction is considered appropriate by the Director, such decision will be forwarded to the National Science Board for approval before any sanction is imposed.

(f) Content of orders. The final decision may provide for suspension or termination of, or refusal to grant or continue Federal financial assistance, in whole or in part, under the program involved, and may contain such terms, conditions, and other provisions as are consistent with and will effectuate the purposes of the Act and this part, including provisions designed to assure that no Federal financial assistance will thereafter be extended under such program to the applicant or recipient determined by such decision to be in default in its performance of an assurance given by it pursuant to this part, or to have otherwise failed to comply with this part, unless and until it corrects its noncompliance and satisfies the responsible Foundation official that it will fully comply with this part. (g) Posttermination proceedings. (1) An applicant or recipient adversely affected by an order issued under paragraph (f) of this section shall be restored to full eligibility to receive Federal financial assistance if it satisfies the terms and conditions of that order for such eligibility or if it brings itself into compliance with this regulation

assurance

and provides reasonable that it will fully comply with this regulation.

(2) Any applicant or recipient adversely affected by an order entered pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section may at any time request the responsible Foundation official to restore fully its eligibility to receive Federal financial assistance. Any such request shall be supported by information showing that the applicant or recipient has met the requirements of paragraph (g)(1) of this section. If the responsible Foundation official determines that those requirements have been satisfied, he shall restore such eligibility.

(3) If the responsible Foundation official denies any such request, the applicant or recipient may submit a request for a hearing in writing, specifying why it believes such official to have been in error. It shall thereupon be given an expeditious hearing, with a decision on the record, in accordance with rules of procedure issued by the responsible Foundation official. The applicant or recipient will be restored to such eligibility if it proves at such a hearing that it satisfied the requirements of paragraph (g)(1) of this section. While proceedings under this paragraph are pending, the sanctions imposed by the order issued under paragraph (f) of this section shall remain in effect.

[29 FR 16305, Dec. 4, 1964, as amended at 38 FR 17985, July 5, 1973]

§ 611.11 Judicial review.

Action taken pursuant to section 602 of the Act is subject to judicial review as provided in section 603 of the Act.

§ 611.12 Effect on other regulations; forms and instructions.

(a) Effect on other regulations. All regulations, orders, or like directions heretofore issued by any officer of the Foundation which impose requirements designed to prohibit any discrimination against individuals on the ground of race, color, or national origin under any program to which this part applies, and which authorize the suspension or termination of or refusal to grant or to continue Federal

financial assistance to any applicant for or recipient of such assistance under such program for failure to comply with such requirements, are hereby superseded to the extent that such discrimination is prohibited by this part, except that nothing in this part shall be deemed to relieve any person of any obligation assumed or imposed under any such superseded regulation, order, instruction, or like direction prior to the effective date of this part. Nothing in this part, however, supersedes any of the following (including future amendments thereof): (1) Executive Order 11246 and regulation issued thereunder, or (2) any other orders, regulations, or instructions, insofar as such orders, regulations, or instructions prohibit discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in any program or situation to which this part is inapplicable, or prohibit discrimination on any other ground.

(b) Forms and instructions. Each responsible Foundation official shall issue and promptly make available to interested persons forms and detailed instructions and procedures for effectuating this part as applied to programs to which this part applies and for which he is responsible.

(c) Supervision and coordination. The Director may from time to time assign to officials of other departments or agencies of the Government, with the consent of such departments or agencies, responsibilities in connection with the effectuation of the purposes of Title VI of the Act and this part (other than responsibility for final decision as provided in § 611.10), including the achievement of effective coordination and maximum uniformity within the Foundation and within the Executive Branch of the Government in the application of Title VI and this regulation to similar programs and in similar situations. Any action taken, determination made, or requirement imposed by an official of another Department or agency acting pursuant to an assignment of responsibility under this subsection shall have the same effect as though such action had been taken by the responsible official of this agency.

[29 FR 16305, Dec. 4, 1964, as amended at 38 FR 17985, July 5, 1973]

§ 611.13 Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) The term "Foundation" means the National Science Foundation, and includes each of its organizational units.

(b) The term "Director" means the Director of the National Science Foundation.

(c) The term “responsible Foundation official" with respect to any program receiving Federal financial assistance means the Director or other official of the Foundation designated by the Director.

(d) The term "United States" means the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the American Virgin Islands, Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, the Canal Zone, and the territories and possessions of the United States, and the term "State" means any one of the foregoing.

(e) The term "Federal financial assistance" includes (1) grants and loans of Federal funds, (2) the grant or the donation of Federal property and interests in property, (3) the detail of Federal personnel, (4) the sale and lease of, and the permission to use (on other than a casual or transient basis), Federal property or any interest in such property without consideration or at a nominal consideration, or at a consideration which is reduced for the purpose of assisting the recipient, or in recognition of the public interest to be served by such sale or lease to the recipient, and (5) any Federal agreement, arrangement, or other contract which has as one of its purposes the provision of assistance.

(f) The term "program" includes any program, project, or activity involving the provision of services, financial aid, or other benefits to individuals (including education or training, health, housing, or other services, whether provided through employees of the recipient of Federal financial assistance or provided by others through contracts or other arrangements with the recipient, and including work opportunities and cash or loan or other assistance to individuals), or for the provi

sion of facilities for furnishing services, financial aid or other benefits to individuals. The services, financial aid, or other benefits provided under a program receiving Federal financial assistance shall be deemed to include any services, financial aid, or other benefits provided with the aid of Federal financial assistance or with the aid of any non-Federal funds, property, or other resources required to be expended or made available for the program to meet matching requirements or other conditions which must be met in order to receive the Federal financial assistance, and to include any services, financial aid, or other benefits provided in or through a facility provided with the aid of Federal financial assistance or such non-Federal resources.

(g) The term “facility” includes all or any portion of structures, equipment, or other real or personal property or interests therein, and the provision of facilities includes the construction, expansion, renovation, remodeling, alteration or acquisition of facilities.

(h) The term "recipient" means any State, political subdivision of any State, or instrumentality of any State or political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, or organization, or other entity or any individual, in any State, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended, directly or through another recipient, for any program, including any successor, assign, or transferee thereof, but such term does not include any ultimate beneficiary under any such program.

(i) The term "primary recipient" means any recipient which is authorized or required to extend Federal financial assistance to another recipient for the purpose of carrying out a program.

(j) The term "applicant" means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by a responsible Foundation official, or by a primary recipient, as a condition to eligibility for Federal financial assistance, and the term "application" means such an application, request, or plan.

This part establishes procedures for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to implement the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 552(a)) relating to the availability to the public of records of NSF. § 612.2 Information policy.

(a) It is the policy of NSF to make the fullest possible disclosure of information to any person who requests information, without unnecessary expense or delay. The Deputy Director, NSF, may, in particular instances except where prohibited by law, order disclosure in the public interest of records exempt from mandatory disclosure under § 612.9 of this regulation.

1All the above programs listed are conducted pursuant to authority contained in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1861-1875.

(b) A collection of NSF policy documents, staff instructions, and of agency opinions and orders in the adjudication of cases, with respective indices, shall be physically located in the National Science Foundation library at 1800 G Street, NW., Washington, D.C. where they will be available for inspection by the public during regular working hours on Monday through Friday. Copies of such documents shall be furnished in accordance with these regulations.

(c) The Assistant Director for Administrative Operations (AD/AO) shall be responsible for maintaining, publishing, distributing and making available for inspection and copying the current indexes and supplements thereto which are required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). Such indexes shall promptly be published, quarterly or more frequently, unless the ADAO determines by order published in the FEDERAL REGISTER that the publication would be unnecessary. The fee for furnishing copies of indexes and supplements shall not exceed the direct cost of duplication.

§ 612.3 Procedures

the

to applicable public-requests and appeals. (a) Publications excluded. For the purpose of public requests for records the term "record" does not include publications which are available to the public in the FEDERAL REGISTER, or by sale or free distribution. Such publications may be obtained from the Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, the NSF Distribution Section or NSF grantees or contractors. Requests for such publications will be referred to or the requester informed of the appropriate source. The booklet, Publications of the National Science Foundation, which is available without charge from the Central Processing Section, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 20550, identifies Annual Reports, Descriptive Brochures, Program Announcements, Science Resources Studies, Special Studies, and Periodicals descriptive of Foundation activities, policies, and procedures, sets forth the cost of each, and tells how copies may be obtained.

(b) Form of request. A request need not be in any particular format, but it (1) must be in writing, (2) must be clearly identified both on the envelope and in the letter as a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA request, (3) must describe the records sought with sufficient specificity to permit identification, and (4) must state that the requester promptly will pay the fees chargeable under this regulation, Provided however, That when the requester places an inadequate limit on the amount he will pay or the requester has failed to make payment for previous requests, the notice of determination whether or not to comply with the request will be furnished within ten days as provided in § 612.7 of this regulation but no copies will be furnished until appropriate payment is received.

(c) Place of request. Any request for a record under FOIA shall be addressed to the National Science Foundation, Public Information Office, 1800 G Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20550. A request which meets the requirements of subsection (a) above and is properly addressed shall be deemed received on the date of arrival in the NSF mailroom. Since NSF liaison offices located outside of Washington, D.C. maintain no permanent records, any request received by such offices will be returned to the requester with instructions for submission as provided herein.

(d) Time for appeal. A person whose request has been denied or partially denied may initiate an appeal by filing a request for review within ten days of the receipt of the denial, Saturdays, Sundays, legal public holidays, and the date of receipt excluded.

(e) Form of appeal. The appeal shall include a copy of the written request and the denial together with any written argument the requester wishes to submit, and shall be signed by the requester.

(f) To whom appeal is made. An appeal shall be addressed to the Deputy Director, National Science Foundation, 1800 G Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20550.

(g) Decisions on appeal. Decisions on appeal shall be made by the Deputy Director in writing within 20 days (ex

cepting the date of receipt, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) from receipt of the appeal. If the decision is in favor of the requester it shall order the record made available promptly to the requester. If adverse to the requester in whole or in part it shall briefly state the reasons and notify the requester that he may seek judicial review of the decision pursuant to paragraph (4) of section 552(a), Title 5, United States Code. Before final denial the Deputy Director, acting through the Office of General Counsel, shall consult the Department of Justice concerning the proposed denial.

§ 612.4 Copies of records.

If it is determined that a requested record may be disclosed, copies will be furnished the requester as promptly as possible provided payment of fees has been arranged for pursuant to § 612.6(a) of this regulation. Copying service shall be limited to not more than two copies of any page, except that additional copies may be made where administrative considerations permit. Records shall not be released for copying by non-NSF personnel.

§ 612.5 Creation of records.

A record will not be created by compiling selected items from other documents at the request of a member of the public nor will a record be created by analysis, computation or other processing specifically for the requesting party. If such analysis or computation is available in the form of a record, copies shall be made available as provided in this regulation.

§ 612.6 Fees.

(a) General. User fees shall be charged according to the schedule contained in paragraph (b) of this section for services rendered in responding to requests for NSF records under this regulation. Copies shall be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where it is determined that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public. Fees shall be charged only where they amount to more than $3.00 in the ag

gregate for a request or series of related requests. Ordinarily, fees shall not be charged if the records requested are not found, or if all of the records located are withheld as exempt.

(b) Services charged for, and amounts charged. For the services listed below expended in locating or making available records or copies thereof, the following charges will be assessed:

(1) Copies. For photocopies of documents $0.10 per copy of each page. Where records are not susceptible to photocopying, e.g., punchcards, magnetic tapes, or oversize materials, the amount charged will be actual cost as determined on a case-by-case basis.

(2) Clerical searches. For each one quarter hour spent by clerical personnel after the first quarter hour, in searching for producing a requested record, $1.25.

(3) Certification or authentication of true copies-each: $3.00.

(4) Nonroutine, nonclerical searches. Where a search cannot be performed by clerical personnel, for example, where the task of determining which records fall within a request and collecting them requires the time of professional or managerial personnel, and where the amount of time that must be expended in the search and collection of the requested records by such higher level personnel is substantial, charges for the search may be made at a rate in excess of the clerical rate, namely for each one quarter hour spent in excess of the first quarter hour by such higher level personnel in searching for a requested record, $3.75.

(5) Examination and related tasks in screening records. No charge shall be made for the time spent in resolving legal or policy issues affecting access to records of known contents. In addition, no charge shall ordinarily be made for the time involved in examining records in connection with determining whether they are exempt from mandatory disclosure and should be withheld as a matter of sound policy. However, where a broad request requires NSF personnel to devote a substantial amount of time to examining records for the purpose of screening out certain records or portions thereof