Sec. 0.459, one copy of the request will be mailed by the custodian of 
the records to the person who originally submitted the materials to the 
Commission.
    (e) When the request is received by the Managing Director, it will 
be assigned to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Control Office, 
where it will be date-stamped and assigned to the custodian of the 
records.
    (f) Requests for inspection of records will be acted on as follows 
by the custodian of the records.
    (1) If the Commission is prohibited from disclosing the records in 
question, the request for inspection will be denied with a statement 
setting forth the specific grounds for denial.
    (2) If the records are the property of another agency, the request 
will be referred to that agency and the person who submitted the request 
will be so advised, with the reasons therefor.
    (3) If it is determined that the Commission does not have authority 
to withhold the records from public inspection, the request will be 
granted.
    (4) If it is determined that the Commission does have authority to 
withhold the records from public inspection, the considerations favoring 
disclosure and non-disclosure will be weighed in light of the facts 
presented, and the request will be granted, either conditionally or 
unconditionally, or denied.
    (5) If there is a statutory basis for withholding part of a document 
only from inspection, that part will be deleted and the remainder will 
be made available for inspection.
    (6) In locating and recovering records responsive to a FOIA request, 
only those records within the Commission's possession and control as of 
the date of its receipt of the request shall be considered.
    (g) The custodian of the records will make every effort to act on 
the request within 10 working days after it is received by the FOIA 
Control Office. If it is not possible to locate the records and to 
determine whether they should be made available for inspection within 10 
working days, the custodian may, in any of the following circumstances, 
extend the time for action by up to 10 working days:
    (1) It is necessary to search for and collect the requested records 
from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the 
office processing the request.
    (2) It is necessary to search for, collect and appropriately examine 
a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded 
in a single request; or
    (3) It is necessary to consult with another agency having a 
substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or 
more components of the Commission.

If these circumstances are not present or if it is not possible to 
locate the records and make the determination within the extended 
period, the person or persons who made the request will be advised of 
their rights and asked to consent to an extension or further extension. 
If the requestor agrees to an extension, the custodian of the records 
will confirm the agreement in a letter specifying the length of the 
agreed-upon extension. If he does not agree to an extension, the request 
will be denied, on the grounds that the custodian has not been able to 
locate the records and/or to make the determination within the period 
for a ruling mandated by the Freedom of Information Act, 4 U.S.C. 552. 
In that event, the custodian will continue to search for and/or assess 
the records and will advise the person who made the request of further 
developments; but that person may file an application for review by the 
Commission. When action is taken by the custodian of the records, 
written notice of the action will be given.
    (h)(1) If a request for inspection of records submitted to the 
Commission in confidence under Sec. 0.457(d) or Sec. 0.459 is granted, 
an application for review of the action may be filed only by the person 
who submitted the records to the Commission. The application for review 
and the envelope containing it (if any) shall be captioned ``Review of 
Freedom of Information Action.'' The application for review shall be 
filed within 10 working days after the date of the written ruling, shall 
be delivered or mailed to the General Counsel, and shall be served on 
the person who filed the request for inspection of records.

[[Page 69]]

The first day to be counted in computing the time period for filing the 
application for review is the day after the date of the written ruling. 
If an application for review is not filed within this period, the 
records will be produced for inspection. The person who filed the 
request for inspection of records may respond to the application for 
review within 10 working days after it is filed.
    (2) If the request for inspection of records submitted to the 
Commission in confidence under Sec. 0.457(d) or Sec. 0.459 is partially 
granted and partially denied, the person who submitted the records to 
the Commission and the person who filed the request for inspection of 
those records may file an application for review within the 10 working 
days after the date of the written ruling. The application for review 
and the envelope containing it (if any) shall be captioned ``REVIEW OF 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACTION.'' The application for review shall be 
delivered or mailed to the General Counsel. If either person files an 
application for review, it shall be served upon the other person.
    (3) If the application for review filed by either person is denied, 
that person will be notified in writing and advised of their rights.
    (4) If an application for review filed by the person who submitted 
the records to the Commission is denied, or if the records are made 
available on review which were not initially made available, the person 
who submitted the records to the Commission will be afforded 10 working 
days from the date of the written ruling in which to move for a judicial 
stay of the Commission's action. The first day to be counted in 
computing the time period for seeking a judicial stay is the day after 
the date of the written ruling. If a motion for stay is not made within 
this period, the record will be produced for inspection.
    (5) Because of the statutory constraints imposed upon the 
Commission, no extensions of time will be granted to seek either 
Commission review or a judicial stay.
    (i) Except as provided in paragraph (h) of this section, an 
application for review of an initial action on a request for inspection 
may be filed only by the person who made the request. The application 
shall be filed within 30 days after the date of the written ruling by 
the custodian of records, and shall be captioned, ``Review of Freedom of 
Information Action.'' The envelope (if any) shall also be so captioned. 
The application shall be delivered or mailed to the General Counsel and 
shall be served on the person (if any) who originally submitted the 
materials to the Commission. That person may file a response within 10 
working days after the application for review is filed. If the records 
are made available on review, the person who submitted them to the 
Commission (if any) will be afforded 10 working days after the date of 
the written ruling to seek a judicial stay. See paragraph (h) of this 
section. The first day to be counted in computing the time period for 
filing the application for review or seeking a judicial stay is the day 
after the date of the written ruling. (For general procedures relating 
to applications for review, see Sec. 1.115 of this chapter.)
    (j) [Reserved]
    (k) The Commission will make every effort to act on an application 
for review of an action on a request for inspection of records within 20 
working days after it is filed. See, however, paragraph (h)(2) of this 
section. If it is not possible to locate the records and to determine 
whether they should be made available for inspection within 20 working 
days, the General Counsel may, in the following circumstances and to the 
extent time has not been extended under paragraphs (g) (1), (2), and (3) 
of this section, extend the time for action up to 10 working days. (The 
total period of extensions taken under this paragraph and under paragrah 
(g) of this section without the consent of the person who submitted the 
request shall not exceed 10 working days.):
    (1) It is necessary to search for and collect the requested records 
from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the 
office processing the request;
    (2) It is necessary to search for, collect and appropriately examine 
a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded 
in a single request; or

[[Page 70]]

    (3) It is necessary to consult with another agency having a 
substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or 
more components of the Commission.

If these circumstances are not present or if it is not possible to 
locate the records and make the determination within the extended 
period, the person who made the request will be advised of his/her 
rights and asked to consent to an extension or further extension. If the 
requester or person who made the request agrees to an extension, the 
General Counsel will confirm the agreement in a letter specifying the 
length of the agreed-upon extension. If the requestor or person who made 
the request does not agree to an extension, the Commission will continue 
to search for and/or assess the record and will advise the person who 
made the request of further developments; but that person may file a 
complaint in an appropriate United States district court.
    (l) Subject to the application for review and judicial stay 
provisions of paragraphs (h) and (i) of this section, if the request is 
granted, the records will be produced for inspection at the earliest 
possible time.
    (m) Staff orders and letters denying requests for inspection are 
signed by the official (or officials) who give final approval of their 
contents. If a request is denied by the Commission, notice of denial 
will set forth the names of the Commissioners participating in the 
decision.
    (n) Records shall be inspected within 7 days after notice is given 
that they have been located and are available for inspection. After that 
period, they will be returned to storage, and additional charges may be 
imposed for again producing them.

(Secs. 4, 303, 307, 48 Stat., as amended, 1066, 1082, 1083; 47 U.S.C. 
154, 303, 397;  47 FR 0 .(d))
[4 231 FR 39507 , Aug. 28, 1975, as amended at  40 FR 59439 , Dec. 24, 1975; 
 45 FR 85028 , Dec. 24, 1980;  49 FR 13367 , Apr. 4, 1984;  49 FR 38122 , 
Sept. 27, 1984;  53 FR 39093 , Oct. 5, 1988;  55 FR 8951 , Mar. 9, 1990;  55 FR 9445 , Mar. 14, 1990]