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interpretations of general applicability formulated and adopted by DOT; and

(e) Each amendment, revision, or repeal of any material listed in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section. 87.4 Publication required.

(a) General. The material described in §7.3 will be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. For the purposes of this paragraph, material that will reasonably be available to the class of persons affected by it will be considered to be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER if it has been incorporated by reference with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register.

(b) Effect of nonpublication. Except to the extent that he/she has actual and timely notice of the terms thereof, a person may not in any manner be required to resort to, or be adversely affected by, any procedure or matter required to be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, but not so published.

§ 7.5 Availability of opinions, orders, staff manuals, statements of policy, and interpretations and indices.

(a) This section implements 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). It prescribes the rules governing the availability for public inspection and copying of the following reading room materials:

(1) Any final opinion (including a concurring or dissenting opinion) or order made in the adjudication of a

case.

(2) Any policy or interpretation that has been adopted under DOT authority, including any policy or interpretation concerning a particular factual situation, if that policy or interpretation can reasonably be expected to have precedential value in any case involving a member of the public in a similar situation.

(3) Any administrative staff manual or instruction to staff that affects any member of the public, including the prescribing of any standard, procedure, or policy that, when implemented, requires or limits any action of any member of the public or prescribes the manner of performance of any activity by any member of the public. However, this does not include staff manuals or instructions to staff concerning internal operating rules, practices, guide

lines, and procedures for DOT inspectors, investigators, law enforcement officers, examiners, auditors, and negotiators and other information developed predominantly for internal use, the release of which could significantly risk circumvention of agency regulations or statutes.

(4) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, that have been released to any person under subpart C of this part and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, a DOT component determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records.

(5) A general index of the records listed in this paragraph.

(b) Any material listed in paragraph (a) of this section that is not made available for public inspection and copying, or that is not indexed as required by §7.7, may not be cited, relied on, or used as precedent by DOT to affect any member of the public adversely unless the person to whose detriment it is relied on, used, or cited has had actual timely notice of the material.

(c) This section does not apply to material that is published in the FEDERAL REGISTER or covered by subpart C of this part.

§7.6 Deletion of identifying detail.

Whenever it is determined to be necessary to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, identifying details will be deleted from any record covered by this subpart that is published or made available for inspection. Whenever it is determined to be necessary to prevent the disclosure of information required or authorized to be withheld by another Federal statute, such information shall be deleted from any record covered by this subpart that is published or made available for inspection. A full explanation of the justification for the deletion will accompany the record published or made available for inspection.

§7.7 Access to materials and indices.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, material listed in §7.5 will be made available for inspection and copying to any member of the

public at DOT document inspection facilities. It has been determined that it is unnecessary and impracticable to publish the index of materials in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Information as to the kinds of materials available at each facility may be obtained from the facility or the headquarters of the DOT component of which it is a part.

(b) The material listed in §7.5 that is published and offered for sale will be indexed, but is not required to be kept available for public inspection. Whenever practicable, however, it will be made available for public inspection at the appropriate DOT reading room.

(c) Each DOT component will also make the reading room records identified in section 7.5(a) that are created by DOT on or after November 1, 1996, available electronically. This includes indices of its reading room records as required by law after December 1, 1999.

§7.8 Copies

Copies of any material covered by this subpart that is not published and offered for sale may be ordered, upon payment of the appropriate fee, from the Docket Offices listed in §7.10. Copies will be certified upon request and payment of the fee prescribed in §7.43(f).

$7.9 Protection of records.

(a) Records made available for inspection and copying may not be removed, altered, destroyed, or mutilated.

(b) 18 U.S.C. 641 provides for criminal penalties for embezzlement or theft of government records.

(c) 18 U.S.C. 2071 provides for criminal penalties for the willful and unlawful concealment, mutilation or destruction of, or the attempt to conceal, mutilate, or destroy, government records.

$7.10 Public Records.

Publicly available records are located in DOT's Primary Electronic Access Facility at 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

(a) The Primary Electronic Access Facility maintains materials for the Office of the Secretary, including former Civil Aeronautics Board material, and materials for the DOT compo

nents. This facility is located at Plaza Level 401, and the hours of operation are 10:00-17:00.

(b) Certain DOT components also maintain public record units at regional offices and at the offices of the Commandant and District Commanders of the United States Coast Guard. These facilities are open to the public Monday through Friday except Federal holidays, during regular working hours. The Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation has facilities at 180 Andrews Street, Massena, New York 13662-0520.

(c) Operating Administrations may have separate facilities for manual records. Additional information on the location and hours of operations for Docket Offices and inspection facilities can be obtained through DOT's Primary Electronic Access Facility, at (202) 366–9322.

Subpart C-Availability of Reasonably Described Records Under the Freedom of Information Act

§7.11 Applicability.

(a) This subpart implements 5 U.S.C 552(a)(3), and prescribes the regulations governing public inspection and copying of reasonably described records under FOIA.

(b) This subpart does not apply to:

(1) Records published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, opinions in the adjudication of cases, statements of policy and interpretations, and administrative staff manuals that have been published or made available under subpart B of this part.

(2) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes and covered by the disclosure exemption described in § 7.13(c)(7) if—

(i) The investigation or proceeding involves a possible violation of criminal law; and

(ii) There is reason to believe that(A) The subject of the investigation or proceeding is not aware of its pendency, and

(B) Disclosure of the existence of the records could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.

(3) Informant records maintained by a criminal law enforcement component of DOT under an informant's name or personal identifier, if requested by a third party according to the informant's name or personal identifier, unless the informant's status as an informant has been officially confirmed. §7.12 Administration of subpart.

Authority to administer this subpart and to issue determinations with respect to initial requests is delegated as follows:

(a) To the General Counsel for the records of the Office of the Secretary other than the Office of Inspector General.

(b) To the Inspector General for records of the Office of Inspector General.

(c) To the Administrator of each DOT component, who may redelegate to officers of that administration the authority to administer this part in connection with defined groups of records. However, each Administrator may redelegate the duties under subpart D of this part to consider appeals of initial denials of requests for records only to his or her deputy or to not more than one other officer who reports directly to the Administrator and who is located at the headquarters of that DOT component.

§7.13 Records available.

(a) Policy. It is DOT policy to make its records available to the public to the greatest extent possible, in keeping with the spirit of FOIA. This includes providing reasonably segregable information from documents that contain information that may be withheld.

(b) Statutory disclosure requirement. FOIA requires that DOT, on a request from a member of the public submitted in accordance with this subpart, make requested records available for inspection and copying.

(c) Statutory exemptions. Exempted from FOIA's statutory disclosure requirement are matters that are:

(1)(i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy, and

(ii) In fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) Related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agenсу;

(3) Specifically exempted from mandatory disclosure by statute (other than the Privacy Act or the Government in the Sunshine Act), provided that such statute

(i) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave not any discretion on the issue, or

(ii) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information—

(i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,

(ii) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair or an impartial adjudication,

(iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,

(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, iocal, Tribal, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution that furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information 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, information furnished by a confidential source,

(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such

disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or

(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;

(8) Contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or

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

(d) Deleted information. The amount of information deleted from frequentlyrequested electronic records that are available in a public reading room will be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless doing so would harm an interest protected by the exemption concerned. If technically feasible, the amount of information deleted will be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion is made.

$7.14 Requests for records.

(a) Each person desiring access to or a copy of a record covered by this subpart shall comply with the following provisions:

(1) A written request must be made for the record.

(2) Such request should indicate that it is being made under FOIA.

(3) The envelope in which a mailed request is sent should be prominently marked: "FOIA."

(4) The request should be addressed to the appropriate office as set forth in §7.15.

(5) The request should state the format (e.g., paper, microfiche, computer diskette, etc.) in which the information is sought, if the requestor has a preference.

(b) If the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section are not met, treatment of the request will be at the discretion of the agency. The twenty-day limit for responding to requests, described in §7.31, will not start to run until the request has been identified, or would have been identified with the exercise of due diligence, by an employee of DOT as a request pursuant to FOIA and has been received by the office to

which it should have been originally sent.

(c) Form of requests. (1) Each request should describe the particular record to the fullest extent possible. The request should describe the subject matter of the record, and, if known, indicate the date when it was made, the place where it was made, and the person or office that made it. If the description does not enable the office handling the request to identify or locate the record sought, that office will notify the requestor and, to the extent possible, indicate the additional data required. (2) Each request shall

(i) Specify the fee category (commercial use, news media, educational institution, noncommercial scientific institution, or other) in which the requestor claims the request to fall and the basis of this claim (see subpart F of this part for fees and fee waiver requirements),

(ii) State the maximum amount of fees that the requestor is willing to pay or include a request for a fee waiver, and

(iii) A request seeking a fee waiver shall, to the extent possible, address why the requestor believes that the criteria for fee waivers set out in §7.44(f) are met.

(3) Requesters are advised that the time for responding to requests set forth in subpart E will not begin to

run

(i) If a requestor has not sufficiently identified the fee category applicable to the request,

(ii) If a requestor has not stated a willingness to pay fees as high as anticipated by DOT,

(iii) If a fee waiver request is denied and the requestor has not included an alternative statement of willingness to pay fees as high as anticipated by DOT,

or

(iv) If a fee waiver request does not address fee waiver criteria.

(d) Creation of records. A request may seek only records that are in existence at the time the request is received. A request may not seek records that come into existence after the date on which it is received and may not require that new records be created in response to the request by, for example, combining or compiling selected items from manual files, preparing a new

computer program, or calculating proportions, percentages, frequency distributions, trends, or comparisons. In those instances where DOT determines that creating a new record will be less burdensome than disclosing large volumes of unassembled material, DOT may, in its discretion, agree to creation of a new record as an alternative to disclosing existing records. Records will be provided in the form or format sought by the requestor if the record is readily reproducible in the requested format.

(e) Search for records. (1) Each record made available under this subpart will be made available for inspection and copying during regular business hours at the place where it is located, or photocopying may be arranged with the copied materials being mailed to the requestor upon payment of the appropriate fee. Original records ordinarily will be copied except in this instance where, in DOT's judgment, copying would endanger the quality of the original or raise the reasonable possibility of irreparable harm to the record. In these instances, copying of the original would not be in the public interest. In any event, original records will not be released from DOT custody. Original records, regardless of format, may be returned to agency service upon provision of a copy of the record to the requestor, or, in the case of a denial, upon creation and retention of a copy of the original for purposes of FOIA processing.

(2) DOT will make a reasonable effort to search for requested records in electronic form or format, unless doing so would significantly interfere with operation of the affected automated information system.

(f) If a requested record is known not to exist in the files of the agency, or to have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of, the requestor will be so notified.

(g) Fees will be determined in accordance with subpart F of this part.

(h) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section, informational material, such as news releases, pamphlets, and other materials of that nature that are ordinarily made available to the public as a part of any information program of the Government

will be available upon oral or written request. A fee will be not be charged for individual copies of that material so long as the material is in supply. In addition DOT will continue to respond, without charge, to routine oral or written inquiries that do not involve the furnishing of records.

§7.15 Contacts for records requested under the FOIA.

Each person desiring a record under this subpart should submit a request in writing (via paper, facsimile, or electronic mail) to the DOT component where the records are located:

(a) FOIA Offices at 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590:

(1) Office of the Secretary of Transportation, Room 5432.

(2) Federal Highway Administration, Room 4428.

(3) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5221.

(4) Federal Transit Administration, Room 9400.

(5) Maritime Administration, Room 7221.

(6) Research and Special Programs Administration, Room 8419.

(7) Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Room 3430.

(8) Office of Inspector General, Room 9210.

(b) Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 906A, Washington, DC 20591.

(c) United States Coast Guard, 2100 2nd Street, S.W., Room 6106, Washington, DC 20593-0001.

(d) Director, Office of Finance, Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, 180 Andrews Street, P.O. Box 520, Massena, New York 13662-0520.

(e) Federal Railroad Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue NW, 7th Floor, Washington, DC. (Mailing address: 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590.)

(f) Certain DOT components also maintain FOIA contacts at regional offices and at the offices of the Commandant and District Commanders of the United States Coast Guard. Additional information on the location of these offices can be obtained through the FOIA contact offices listed in this section.

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