in accordance with determinations that material of such a nature is exempt and should be withheld as a matter of sound policy, a fee may be assessed for the time consumed in such examination. Where such examination can be performed by clerical personnel, time will be charged for at the rate of $1.25 per quarter hour, and where higher level personnel are required, time will be charged for at the rate of $3.75 per quarter hour.

(6) Computerized Records. Fees for services in processing requests maintained in whole or in part in computerized form shall be in accordance with this section so far as practicable. Services of personnel in the nature of a search shall be charged for at rates prescribed in paragraph (c)(4) of this section unless the level of personnel involved permits rates in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section. A charge shall be made for the direct cost of the computer time involved, based upon the prevailing level of costs to governmental organizations and upon the particular types of computer and associated equipments and the amounts of time on such equipments that are utilized. A charge shall also be made for the direct costs of special supplies or materials used to contain, present, or make available the output of the computers. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to entitle any person as of right, to any special processing of computerized records such as a reordered listing of or special summaries of file contents.

(c) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25. Where it is anticipated that the fees chargeable under this section will amount to more than $25, and the requester has not indicated in advance his willingness to pay fees as high as are anticipated, the requester shall be notified of the amount of the anticipated charges. In appropriate cases, an advance deposit may be required. The notice or request for an advance deposit shall extend an offer to the requester to confer with knowledgeable NSF personnel in an attempt to reformulate the request in a manner which will reduce the fees and meet the needs of the requester.

(d) Form of payment. Payment should be made by check or money

order payable to the National Science Foundation.

§ 612.7 Agency actions on receipt of a properly presented request for record.

(a) Monitoring of requests. The NSF Public Information Office (PIO) will serve as central office for internal administration of these regulations. PIO will control incoming requests, assign them to appropriate action offices, monitor compliance, consult with action offices on disclosure, approve unavoidable extensions, dispatch denial letters, and maintain administrative records.

(b) Action offices. Upon assignment of a particular request, the head of the action office shall be responsible to obtain the requested record so that appropriate agency action can be completed within 10 days (excepting the date of receipt, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). In a situation where the record may exist only in a retired file which has been placed in storage, the head of the action office shall immediately notify the requester by letter that the record has been ordered from storage and that the time limit for acting on the request is extended by the length of time required to obtain the record, setting forth the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. If the request seeks a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records requiring an unusual length of time for search, collection, and appropriate examination, and determination on the request cannot be made within 10 working days after agency receipt, the office head shall within such tenday period furnish to the requester written notice extending the period for not more than ten working days. This notice shall set forth the reasons for such extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. If the record has not been obtained and examined and notice of the determination whether to comply with the request has not been given by the last day of the period as extended, the requester shall be notified on that last day that the request is denied because the record has not yet been found and examined.

Such denial shall state that NSF will reconsider the denial as soon as the search and examination is complete, which should be within a specifically stated number of days, but that the requester may, if he wishes, file an administrative appeal as provided in § 612.3 of this regulation. This same procedure for extending the period shall be followed if the nature of the record requires consultation with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or requires consultation among two or more components of NSF having substantial subject-matter interest therein.

(c) Denial of request. No written request for record shall be denied except by the Director of the Office of Government and Public Programs. Notice of the denial of a request shall briefly set forth the reasons therefor which shall be based solely upon one or more of the exemptions specified in § 612.9 of this regulation. Each notice of denial also shall set forth the names and title or positions of each person responsible for the denial and shall inform the requester of the right to appeal as provided in § 612.3 of the regulation.

(d) Oral requests. Nothing in these regulations shall be deemed to preclude NSF from honoring oral requests for information where feasible, but if the requester is dissatisfied with the disposition of such a request, he shall be asked to put the request in writing.

§ 612.8 Records available.

The following categories of records shall, unless exempted under the provisions of § 612.9, be made available in addition to the policy documents and final opinions and orders in adjudicated cases specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a) (1) and (2).

(a) Correspondence. Correspondence between NSF or any official of NSF and individuals or organizations outside the Federal Government relating to or resulting from the conduct of the official business of the agency.

(b) Records pertaining to grants and fellowships. (1) Portions of funded grant applications and other supporting documents submitted by appli

cants which are not exempt from disclosure under this regulation; (2) Grant award documents; and (3) Portions of funded fellowship applications and other supporting documents submitted by applicants, the disclosure of which would not constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal pri

vacy.

(c) Contracts. (1) Contract instruments, (2) Portions of offers reflecting final prices submitted in negotiated procurements.

(d) Reports on grantee or contractor performance. Final reports of audits, surveys, reviews, or evaluations by, for, or on behalf of NSF or performance by any grantee or contractor under any NSF financed or supported program or activity, which reports have been transmitted to the grantee or contractor.

(e) Reports and other items prepared by grantees and contractors. The final report of a grantee or contractor of the performance under any grant or contract. To the extent that NSF has taken delivery of other items produced in connection with grants and contracts, such as films, computer software, other copyrightable materials and reports of inventions, such materials will be made available except that considerations relating to obtaining copyright and patent protection may require delay in disclosure for such period as necessary to accomplish such protection. Release of records which are copyrightable or which disclose patentable inventions shall not confer upon the requester any license or other interest in the subject matter or the expression thereof.

§ 612.9 Records not available.

(a) Exemptions. The following types of records are not normally available for inspection and copying:

(1) Records specifically authorized and in fact properly classified pursuant to Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.

(2) Records related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of NSF. This exemption does not apply to rules relating to the work hours, leave, and working conditions of NSF

personnel, or similar matters, to the extent that they can be disclosed without harm to the functions to which they pertain. Examples of exempt records of the type specified in the first sentence of this paragraph include, but are not limited to:

(i) Operating rules, guidelines, manuals on internal procedure, schedules and methods utilized by NSF auditors and examiners;

(ii) Negotiating positions and limitations involved in a negotiation prior to the execution of a contract or the completion of the action to which the negotiating positions or limitations were applicable except as they may be exempt pursuant to other provisions of this section.

(iii) Personnel policies, procedures and instructions, internal staffing plans, requirements, authorizations, controls, and supporting data relating to position management and manpower utilization and information involved in the determination of the qualifications of candidates for employment or advancement.

(3) Records specifically exempted from disclosure by statute such as 18 U.S.C. 1905 which prohibits disclosure of information which concerns or relates to the trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus or to the identity, confidential statistical data, amount or source of any income, profits, losses, or expenditures of any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association.

(4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential. Matter subject to this exemption is that which is customarily held in confidence by the originator without regard to whether or not the originator is, or is not employed by, a nonprofit organization. It includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Information received in confidence, such as grant applications, fellowship applications and research proposals prior to award;

(ii) Statistical data or information if received in confidence from a contractor or potential contractor concerning contract performance, income, profits, losses, and expenditures.

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would not be available by law to a private party in litigation with NSF. To the extent not so available by law, examples include, but are not limited to:

(i) Reports, memoranda, correspondence, workpapers, minutes of meetings (other than those governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act), and staff papers prepared for use within NSF or within the Executive Branch of the Government by personnel and consultants of NSF, or any Government agency.

(ii) Advance information on proposed NSF plans to procure, lease, or otherwise acquire, or dispose of materials, real estate, facilities, services or functions, when such information would provide undue or unfair competitive advantage to any person;

(iii) Records prepared for use in proceedings before any Federal or State court or administrative body;

(iv) Evaluations of and comments on specific grant applications, research proposals, or potential contractors, whether made by NSF personnel or by external reviewers acting either individually or in committees;

(v) Preliminary, draft unapproved recommendations, evaluations, and opinions, such as evaluations of invention disclosures, of research projects, and of incomplete studies conducted or supported by NSF;

(vi) Proposed budget requests and supporting projections used or arising in the preparation and/or execution of a budget; proposed annual and multiyear policy, priorities, program and financial plan and supporting papers.

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Information in such files which is not otherwise exempt from disclosure pursuant to other provisions of this section will be released to the subject or to his designated legal representative, and it may be disclosed to others with his written consent. Examples of personnel files exempt from disclosure include, but are not limited to, file containing reports, records and other materials pertaining to individual cases in which disciplinary or other adminis

trative action has been or may be taken. Similar files include reports and evaluations which reflect upon the qualifications or competence of individuals. Opinions and orders resulting from those proceedings shall be disclosed without identifying details if used, cited, or relied upon as precedent.

(7) Investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such records would (i) interfere with enforcement proceedings, (ii) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (iii) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (iv) disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furInished only by the confidential source,

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(v) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel.

(8) Matters contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, or on behalf of, or for the use of any government agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.

(9) Geological and geophysical information and data (including maps) concerning wells.

(10) Records belonging to another government agency or dealing with subject matter as to which government agency, other than NSF, has exclusive or primary responsibility. Requests for such records shall be promptly forwarded to the appropriate government agency for disposition or for guidance with respect to disposition.

(b) Deletion of exempt portion and identifying details. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt. Whenever any final opinion, order, or other materials required to be made available relates to a private party or parties and the release of the name or names

or other identifying details will constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, the record shall be published or made available with such identifying details left blank, or shall be published or made available with obviously fictitious substitutes and with a notification such as the following as a preamble:

Names of parties and certain other identifying details have been removed (and fictitious names substituted) in order to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of the individuals involved.

§ 612.10 Records and reports on requests for information.

The Director of the Office of Government and Public Programs will be responsible for maintaining a record of denials of written requests for information. On or before March 1 of each year, OGPP shall prepare and submit it to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate for referral to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report concerning requests received during the preceding calendar year. The report shall include: (1) The number of determinations made not to comply with requests for records and the reasons for each such determination; (2) the number of appeals made, the result of such appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of information; (3) the names and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial of records requested under this section, and the number of instances of participation for each; (4) the results of each court order which requires the production of a record, including a report of the disciplinary action taken against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for improperly withholding records or an explanation of why disciplinary action was not taken; (5) a copy of every rule made by NSF regarding this section; (6) a copy of the fee schedule and the total amount of fees collected by the agency for making records available under this section; and (7) such other information as indicates efforts to administer fully the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 502.

This part sets forth the National Science Foundation procedures under the Privacy Act of 1974 as required by 5 USC 552a(f). Internal guidance for NSF staff and other regulations implementing the Privacy Act are contained or will be contained in NSF Circulars. § 613.2 Procedures for notification of existence of records pertaining to individuals.

(a) The systems of records, as defined in the Privacy Act of 1974, maintained by the National Science Foundation are listed annually in the FEDERAL REGISTER as required by that Act. Any person who wishes to know whether a system of records contains a record pertaining to him may either appear in person at the NSF Management Analysis Office at 1800 G St., NW., Washington, D.C. 20550, on work days between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or may write to the NSF Privacy Act Officer, Assistant Director for Administration, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 20550, it is recommended that requests be made in writing, since in many cases it will take several days to ascertain whether a record exists.

(b) Requests for notification of the existence of a record should specifically identify the system of records involved and should state, if the requester is other than the individual to whom the record pertains, the relationship of the requester to that individual. (Note that requests will not be

honored by the Foundation pursuant to the Privacy Act unless made (1) by the individual to whom the record pertains, (2) by such individual's parent if the individual is a minor, or (3) by such individual's legal guardian if the individual has been declared to be incompetent due to physical or mental incapacity or age by a court of competent jurisdiction). In cases where the NSF Notice of the System appearing in the FEDERAL REGISTER states that the system location is decentralized the special instruction in such notice pertaining to "Notification" and "Access" and "Content" must be followed.

(c) The Foundation will attempt to respond to a request as to whether a record exists within 10 working days from the time it receives the request or from the time any required identification is established, whichever is later.

§ 613.3 Procedures for requests for access to or disclosure of records pertaining to an individual.

(a) Any person may request review of records pertaining to him by appearing at the NSF Management Analysis Office at 1800 G Street, NW., Washington, D.C. on work days between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or by writing to the NSF Privacy Act Officer, Assistant Director for Administration, NSF, Washington, D.C. 20550. (See (b) and (c), below, for identification requirements.) The request should specifically identify the systems of records involved, and the request should include any special information specified in the notice of the system under "Notification" and "Access and Contest." The Foundation I will strive either to make the record available within 15 working days of the request or to inform the requester of the need for additional identification or the tendering of fees (as specified in § 613.4(e)) within 15 working days; except that if the request for access was not preceded by a notification request as provided in § 613.2, then the 15-day period shall not begin until after such time as it has been determined that the record exists.