Chief,

Forest and Wildlife Resources Branch, Grade M-7.

Chief, Administrative and Protective Services, Grade M-6.

Facilities Manager, Facilities Management Services, Grade M-6.

Projects Manager, Reclamation, Revegetation, and Tree Improvement, Grade M-6. Projects Manager, Resources Projects Management, Grade M-6.

Personnel Officer, Grade M-5.

Staff Forester (reclamation compliance), Grade M-5.

[33 FR 19168, Dec. 24, 1968, as amended 42 FR 65143, Dec. 30, 1977]

§300.735-41a Employee's complaint on filing requirement.

An employee who believes that his position has been improperly included under the regulations in this subpart as one requiring the submission of a statement of employment and financial interests may make a complaint to that official who has been designated under $300.735-4 to review the employee's statement. If the employee is not satisfied with the decision by the reviewing officer on his complaint, he may complain to the reviewing officer for the next higher organizational level within TVA whose decision will be final.

§ 300.735-41b Interests not required to be reported.

An employee is not required to report financial interests which are ex

cluded from the disclosure requirements under § 301.4 of this chapter which were established pursuant to section 208 of title 18, United States Code.

§ 300.735-42 Time and place for submission of employees' statements.

(a) An employee required to submit a statement of employment and financial interests under the regulations in this part shall submit it not later than 30 days after his entrance on duty.

(b) Statements of employment and financial interests shall be submitted as follows:

(1) A statement submitted by the General Manager shall be submitted to the Board; and

(2) Statements submitted by other employees shall be submitted to the General Manager or officials he designates.

§ 300.735-43 Supplementary statements.

Changes in, or additions to, the information contained in an employee's statement of employment and financial interests shall be reported in a supplementary statement as of June 30 each year. If no changes or additions occur, a negative report is required. Notwithstanding the filing of the annual report required by this section, each employee shall at all times avoid acquiring a financial interest that could result, or taking an action that would result, in a violation of the conflicts-of-interest provisions of section 208 of title 18, United States Code, the regulations under § 301.4 of this chapter, or Subpart B of this part.

§ 300.735-44 Interests of employees' relatives.

The interest of a spouse, minor child, or other member of an employ. ee's immediate household is considered to be an interest of the employee. For the purpose of this section, "member of an employee's immediate household" means those blood relations who are residents of the employee's household.

§ 300.735-45 Information not known by employees.

If any information required to be included on a statement of employment and financial interests or supplementary statement, including holdings placed in trust, is not known to the employee but is known to another person, the employee shall request that other person to submit information in his behalf.

§ 300.735-46 Information prohibited.

The regulations in this part do not require an employee to submit on a statement of employment and financial interests or supplementary statement any information relating to the employee's connection with, or interest in, a professional society or a charitable, religious, social, fraternal, recreational, public service, civic, or political organization or a similar organization not conducted as a business enterprise. For the purpose of this section, educational and other institutions doing research and development or related work involving grants of money from or contracts with the Government are deemed "business enterprises" and are required to be included in an employee's statement of employment and financial interests.

§ 300.735-47 Confidentiality of employees' statements.

Each statement of employment and financial interests and each supplementary statement shall be held in confidence. To insure this confidentiality each official designated under § 300.735-4 to review statements assures that the statements are maintained in confidence and that there shall not be access to, or information disclosed from, a statement except to carry out the purpose of this part. Information from a statement will not be disclosed, except as the U.S. Civil Service Commission or the General Manager may determine for good cause shown.

§ 300.735-48 Effect of employees' statements on other requirements.

The statements of employment and financial interests and supplementary statements required of employees are

in addition to, and not in substitution for, or in derogation of, any similar requirement imposed by law, order, or regulation. The submission of a statement or supplementary statement by an employee does not permit him or any other person to participate in a matter in which his or the other person's participation is prohibited by law, order, or regulation.

§ 300.735-49 TVA regulations for special Government employees.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, each special Government employee is required to submit a statement of employment and financial interests on a TVA form entitled, "Confidential Statement of Employment and Financial Interest (For Use by Special Government Employees)," which reports:

(1) All other employment; and

(2) The financial interests of the special Government employee which relate either directly or indirectly to the duties and responsibilities of the special Government employee except such financial interests which are excluded from the disclosure requirements under § 301.4 of this chapter which were established pursuant to section 208 of title 18, United States Code.

(b) TVA may waive the requirement in paragraph (a) of this section for the submission of a statement of employment and financial interests in the case of a special Government employee who is not a consultant or expert when TVA finds that the duties of the position held by that special Government employee are of a nature and at such a level of responsibility that the submission of the statement by the incumbent is not necessary to protect the integrity of the Government. For the purpose of this paragraph, the terms "consultant" and "expert" have the following meanings:

(1) "Consultant" means an individual who serves as an adviser to TVA as distinguished from an employee who carries out TVA's duties and responsibilities. He gives his views or opinions on problems or questions presented him by TVA, but he neither performs nor supervises performance of operat

ing functions. Ordinarily, he is expert in the field in which he advises, but he need not be a specialist. His expertness may lie in his possession of a high order of broad administrative, professional, or technical experience indicating that his ability and knowledge make his advice distinctively valuable to TVA.

(2) "Expert" means a person with excellent qualifications and a high degree of attainment in a professional, scientific, technical, or other field. His knowledge and mastery of the principles, practices, problems, methods, and techniques of his field of activity, or of a specialized area in the field, are clearly superior to those usually possessed by ordinarily competent individuals in that activity. His attainment is such that he usually is regarded as an authority or as a practitioner of unusual competence and skill by other individuals in the profession, occupation, or activity.

The terms "consultant" and "expert" do not include a physician, dentist, or allied medical specialist whose services are procured to provide care and service to patients or a veterinarian whose services are procured to provide care and service to animals.

(c) A statement of employment and financial interests required to be submitted under this section shall be submitted not later than the time of employment of the special Government employee. Each special Government employee shall keep his statement current throughout his employment by the submission of supplementary

statements.

The statements of employment and financial interests and supplementary statements required of special Government employees are in addition to, and not in substitution for, or in derogation of, any similar requirement imposed by law, order, or regulation. The submission of a statement or supplementary statement by an employee does not permit him or any other person to participate in a matter in which his or the other person's participation is prohibited by law, order, or regulation.

policy and (ii) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order; (2) related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of TVA; (3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute; (4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from any person and privileged or confidential; (5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a private party in litigation with TVA, including without limitation records relating to control and accounting for special nuclear material and to the physical security plans for the protection of TVA's nuclear facilities; (6) personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such records would (i) interfere with enforcement procedings, (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 furnished only by the confidential source, (v) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel; (8) contained in or related to examination, operation, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of any agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institution; or (9) geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells. The availability of certain classes of nonexempt records is deferred for such time as TVA may determine is reasonably necessary to avoid interference with the accomplishment of its statutory responsibilities. Such records include bids and information concerning the identity and number of bids received prior to bid

opening; all nonexempt records relating to bids between the time of bid opening and award; and all nonexempt records relating to negotiations in progress involving contracts or agreements for the acquisition or disposal of real or personal property by TVA prior to the conclusion of such negotiations. Any reasonably segregable portion of an available record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this paragraph.

(b) Requests. Requests to inspect and copy TVA records shall be directed to the Director of Information, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. A request shall:

(1) Be in writing;

(2) State in the text that it is a request for records pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act or the regulations in this section;

(3) Reasonably describe the records requested with sufficient specificity to permit their location and identification; and

(4) Include a statement (if such is the case) that the person making the request will pay all applicable fees under § 301.2, or a statement of the amount of the maximum applicable fee that such person is willing to pay without further notification from TVA. Requests may be made personally or by mail, but to permit expeditious processing, a mailed request should be identified on the envelope as a Freedom of Information Act request.

(c) Processing of requests—(1) Initial determination. (i) Within 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after a request is received by TVA, and subject to paragraph (c)(3) of this section, TVA shall make an initial determination as to whether to comply with the request, and shall immediately give written notice of the determination to the person making the request. Initial determinations shall be made by the Director or Assistant Director of Information. If the initial determination is not to comply with the request, the notice to the person making the request shall include a statement of the

reasons for the denial of the request; a notice of the right of the person making the request to appeal the denial to TVA's General Manager, and the time limits therefor; and the name and job title of the person responsible for the initial determination.

(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, a request is deemed to be received by TVA only when it is physically delivered to Office of the Director of Information and meets all the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section. If the request does not contain a sufficient description of the record as required by paragraph (b)(3) of this section, TVA will promptly notify the person making the request of the need for clarification, and the request will not be deemed received until clarification is obtained. If the request does not contain a statement as required by paragraph (b)(4) of this section, or if the amount of anticipated search fees exceeds the higher of the amount stated of $25, TVA will promptly notify the person making the request of the amount of the anticipated fee. Such notice shall include an offer to confer in order to determine if the request can be reformulated so as to meet the person's needs at lower cost, and the request will not be deemed received until agreement is reached concerning fees.

(2) Appeal. (i) If the initial determination is to deny the request, the person making the request may appeal such action to TVA's General Manager. Such an appeal must be taken within 30 days after the person's receipt of the initial determination, and is taken by delivering a written notice of appeal to the General Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902. Such notice shall include a statement that it is an appeal from a denial of a request under the Freedom of Information Act and shall indicate (A) the date on which the denial was issued, and (B) the date on which the denial was received by the person making the request.

(ii) Within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after an appeal is received, and subject to paragraph (c)(3) of this sec

tion, TVA shall make a final determination on the appeal. In making such a determination, TVA will consider whether or not to waive the provisions of any exemption contained in paragraph (a) of this section, except that without the written permission of the person involved, TVA will not waive the exemptions contained in paragraph (a)(4), (6) and (7) of this section. Determinations of appeals under this section shall be made by the General Manager, the Assistant General Manager, or an Assistant to the General Manager. If the determination on the appeal is to deny the request for records, TVA shall notify the person making the request of such determination, including the reason for the denial; a notice of the person's right to judicial review of the denial; and the name and job title of the TVA official responsible for the determination of the appeal.

(3) Extensions of time. (i) The 10day time limit provided in paragraph (c)(1) of this section may be extended by TVA for unusual circumstances as set forth in this paragraph upon written notice to the person making the request specifying the reason for such extension and the date on which an initial determination is expected to be dispatched to such person. Such extension may not exceed 10 working days, and a decision to make such extension shall be made by the Director of Information or the Assistant Director of Information.

(ii) The 20-day time limit provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section may be extended by TVA for unusual circumstances as set forth in this paragraph upon written notice to the person appealing a denial of a request for records. The notice shall specify the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination of the appeal is expected to be dispatched. The aggregate length of an extension under this paragraph when combined with any extension provided under paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section shall not exceed 10 working days. A decision to make an extension under this paragraph shall be made by the General Manager, Assistant General Manager,