Revision of Tennessee Valley Authority Freedom of Information Act Regulations and Implementation of Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4044-4050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1870]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

18 CFR Part 1301


Revision of Tennessee Valley Authority Freedom of Information Act 
Regulations and Implementation of Electronic Freedom of Information Act 
Amendments of 1996

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends TVA's regulations under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA regulations contain new provisions 
implementing the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) of 1996. 
Additionally, the regulations include updated cost figures to be used 
in calculating and charging fees.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 26, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wilma H. McCauley, FOIA Officer, 
Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 Market Street (WR 4Q), Chattanooga, 
Tennessee 37402-2801, telephone number (423) 751-2523.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background Information

    On September 8, 1998, TVA published a proposed rule that revised 
its existing regulations under the FOIA and added new provisions 
implementing the Electronic FOIA Amendments. See 63 FR 47448, Sept. 8, 
1998. Interested persons were afforded an opportunity to participate in 
the rulemaking through submission of written comments on the proposed 
rule. TVA received no comments to its proposed rule.
    New provisions implementing the Electronic FOIA Amendments are 
found at Sec. 1301.2 (electronic reading room), Sec. 1301.5(b) 
(multitrack processing), Sec. 1301.5(c) (processing under unusual 
circumstances), Sec. 1301.5(d) (expedited processing), Section 
1301.6(b) (deletion marking), Sec. 1301.6(c) (appeal of format 
determinations), Sec. 1301.6(c)(3) (volume estimation), Sec. 
1301.10(b)(3) (format of disclosure), and Sec. 1301.10(b)(8) 
(electronic searches). Revisions to TVA's fee schedule are found at 
Sec. 1301.10(c) and (d).

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    We certify that these rules will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities because these rules 
affect primarily individuals, not small entities, and for the most part 
simply implement the language of the EFOIA amendments. There is no 
reason to believe that the revised rules will impose any costs on FOIA 
requesters beyond those nominal costs imposed under TVA's former rules. 
Further, the ``small entities'' that make FOIA requests, as compared 
with individual requesters and other requesters, are relatively few in 
number.

List of Subjects in 18 CFR Part 1301

    Freedom of Information, Privacy, Sunshine Act.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, TVA amends 18 CFR Part 1301 
to read as follows:

PART 1301--PROCEDURES

    1. The authority citation for part 1301 Subpart A continues to read 
as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 831-831dd, 5 U.S.C. 552.

    2. Subpart A of Part 1301 is revised to read as follows:

Subpart A--Freedom of Information Act

Sec.
1301.1  General provisions.
1301.2  Public reading rooms.
1301.3  Requirements for making requests.
1301.4   Responsibility for responding to requests.
1301.5  Timing of responses to requests.
1301.6  Responses to requests.
1301.7  Exempt records.
1301.8  Business information.
1301.9  Appeals.
1301.10  Fees.


Sec. 1301.1  General provisions.

    (a) This subpart contains the rules that TVA follows in processing 
requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 
U.S.C. 552. These rules should be read together with the FOIA, which 
provides additional information about access to records maintained by 
TVA. Requests made by individuals for records about themselves under 
the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, which are processed under 
subpart B of this part, are processed under this subpart also. 
Information routinely provided to the

[[Page 4045]]

public as part of a regular TVA activity (for example, press releases) 
may be provided to the public without the need for a FOIA request under 
this subpart. As a matter of policy, TVA makes discretionary 
disclosures of records or information exempt from disclosure under the 
FOIA whenever disclosure would not foreseeably harm an interest 
protected by a FOIA exemption, but this policy does not create any 
right enforceable in court.
    (b) Nothing in this subpart shall be construed to entitle any 
person, as of right, to any service or to the disclosure of any record 
to which such person is not entitled under the FOIA.


Sec. 1301.2  Public reading rooms.

    TVA maintains a public electronic reading room accessible in its 
Corporate Libraries at 400 Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37902-1499 
and 1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801. This electronic 
reading room contains the records that the FOIA requires to be made 
regularly available for public inspection and copying. Each TVA 
organization is responsible for determining which of the records it 
generates are required to be made available in this way and for 
ensuring that those records are available in TVA's reading room. TVA's 
FOIA Officer will maintain a current subject-matter index of TVA's 
reading room records. The index will be updated regularly, at least 
quarterly, with respect to newly included records.


Sec. 1301.3  Requirements for making requests.

    (a) How made and addressed. You may make a request for records of 
TVA by writing to the Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA FOIA Officer, 
Enterprise Document Management (EDM), 1101 Market Street (WR 4Q), 
Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801. You may find TVA's ``Guide to Information 
About TVA''--which is available electronically at TVA's World Wide Web 
site, and is available in paper form as well--helpful in making your 
request. For additional information about the FOIA, you may refer 
directly to the statute. If you are making a request for records about 
yourself, see Subpart B Privacy Act for additional requirements. If you 
are making a request for records about another individual, either a 
written authorization signed by that individual permitting disclosure 
of those records to you or proof that that individual is deceased (for 
example, a copy of a death certificate or an obituary) will help the 
processing of your request. Your request will be considered received as 
of the date it is received by the FOIA Officer. For the quickest 
possible handling, you should mark both your request letter and the 
envelope ``Freedom of Information Act Request.''
    (b) Descriptions of records sought. You must describe the records 
that you seek in enough detail to enable TVA personnel to locate them 
with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, your request 
should include specific information about each record sought, such as 
the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the 
record. If known, you should include any file designations or 
descriptions for the records that you want. As a general rule, the more 
specific you are about the records or type of records that you want, 
the more likely TVA will be able to locate those records in response to 
your request. If TVA determines that your request does not reasonably 
describe records, it shall tell you either what additional information 
is needed or why your request is otherwise insufficient. TVA shall also 
give you an opportunity to discuss your request so that you may modify 
it to meet the requirements of this section. If your request does not 
reasonably describe the records you seek, the agency's response to your 
request may be delayed.
    (c) Agreement to pay fees. If you make a FOIA request, it shall be 
considered an agreement by you to pay all applicable fees charged under 
Sec. 1301.11, up to $25.00, unless you seek a waiver of fees. TVA's 
FOIA Officer will confirm this agreement in an acknowledgement letter. 
When making a request, you may specify a willingness to pay a greater 
or lesser amount.


1301.4  Responsibility for responding to requests.

    (a) TVA's FOIA Officer, or the FOIA Officer's designee, is 
responsible for responding to all FOIA requests. In determining which 
records are responsive to a request, TVA will include only records in 
its possession as of the date the request is received by the FOIA 
Officer. If any other date is used, the FOIA Officer shall inform the 
requester of that date.
    (b) Authority to grant or deny requests. TVA's FOIA Officer, or the 
FOIA Officer's designee, is authorized to grant or deny any request for 
a TVA record.
    (c) Consultations and referrals. When the FOIA Officer receives a 
request for a record in TVA's possession, the FOIA Officer shall 
determine whether another agency of the Federal Government is better 
able to determine whether the record is exempt from disclosure under 
the FOIA and, if so, whether it should be disclosed as a matter of 
administrative discretion. If the FOIA Officer determines that TVA is 
not best able to process the record, the FOIA Officer shall either:
    (1) Respond to the request regarding that record, after consulting 
with the agency best able to determine whether to disclose it and with 
any other agency that has a substantial interest in it; or
    (2) Refer the responsibility for responding to the request 
regarding that record to the agency that originated the record (but 
only if that agency is subject to the FOIA). Ordinarily, the agency 
that originated a record will be presumed to be best able to determine 
whether to disclose it.
    (d) Notice of referral. Whenever TVA refers all or any part of the 
responsibility for responding to a request to another agency, it 
ordinarily shall notify the requester of the referral and inform the 
requester of the name of each agency to which the request has been 
referred and of the part of the request that has been referred.
    (e) Timing of responses to consultations and referrals. All 
consultations and referrals will be handled according to the date the 
FOIA request initially was received by the FOIA Officer, not any later 
date.
    (f) Agreements regarding consultations and referrals. TVA may make 
agreements with other agencies to eliminate the need for consultations 
or referrals for particular types of records.


Sec. 1301.5  Timing of responses to requests.

    (a) In general, TVA ordinarily shall respond to requests according 
to their order of receipt and placement in an appropriate processing 
track, as follows:
    (b) Multi-track processing procedures. TVA has established three 
tracks for handling requests and the track to which a request is 
assigned will depend on the nature of the request and the estimated 
processing time, including a consideration of the number of pages 
involved. If TVA places a request in a track other than Track 1, it 
will advise requesters of the limits of its faster track(s). TVA may 
provide requesters in its tracks 2 and 3 with an opportunity to limit 
the scope of their requests in order to qualify for faster processing 
within the specified limits of TVA's faster track(s). When doing so, 
TVA may contact the requester either by telephone or by letter, 
whichever is most efficient in each case.
    (1) Track 1. Requests that can be answered with readily available 
records or information. These are the fastest to process. These 
requests ordinarily will be responded to within 20 working days of 
receipt of a request by the FOIA

[[Page 4046]]

Officer. The 20 working day time limit provided in this paragraph may 
be extended by TVA for unusual circumstances, as defined in paragraph 
(c) of this section, upon written notice to the person requesting the 
records.
    (2) Track 2. Requests where we need records or information from 
other offices throughout TVA, where we must consult with other 
Governmental agencies, or when we must process a submitter notice as 
described in Sec. 1301.8(d), but we do not expect that the decision on 
disclosure will be as time consuming as for requests in Tract 3.
    (3) Tract 3. Requests which require a decision or input from 
another office or agency, extensive submitter notifications because of 
the presence of Business Information as defined in Sec. 1301.8(b)(1), 
and a considerable amount of time will be needed for that, or the 
request is complicated or involves a large number of records. Usually, 
these cases will take the longest to process.
    (c) Unusual circumstances. (1) Where the time limits for processing 
a request cannot be met because of unusual circumstances and TVA 
determines to extend the time limits on that basis, TVA shall as soon 
as practicable notify the requester in writing of the unusual 
circumstances and of the date by which processing of the request can be 
expected to be completed. Where the extension is for more than ten 
working days, TVA shall provide the requester with an opportunity 
either to modify the request so that it may be processed within the 
time limits or to arrange an alternative time period with TVA for 
processing the request or a modified request. As used in this 
paragraph, `unusual circumstances' means, but only to the extent 
reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular 
requests:
    (i) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the 
office processing the request;
    (ii) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a 
voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded 
in a single request; or
    (iii) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all 
practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in 
the determination of the request or among two or more components of the 
agency having substantial subject matter interest therein.
    (2) When TVA reasonably believes that multiple requests submitted 
by a requester, or by a group of requesters acting in concert, 
constitute a single request that would otherwise involve unusual 
circumstances, and the requests involve clearly related matters, they 
may be aggregated, as defined in Sec. 1301.10(h). Multiple requests by 
a requester involving unrelated matters will not be aggregated.
    (d) Expedited processing. (1) Requests and appeals will be taken 
out of order and given expedited treatment whenever TVA determines that 
they involve:
    (i) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could 
reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or 
physical safety of an individual;
    (ii) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged 
federal government activity, if made by a person primarily engaged in 
disseminating information;
    (iii) The loss of substantial due process rights; or
    (iv) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which 
there exist possible questions about the government's integrity which 
affect public confidence.
    (2) A request for expedited processing may be made at the time of 
the initial request for records or at any later time. For a prompt 
determination, a request for expedited processing must be sent to and 
received by TVA's FOIA Officer.
    (3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a 
statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of that 
person's knowledge and belief, explaining in detail the basis for 
requesting expedited processing. For example, a requester within the 
category in paragraph (d)(1)(ii) of this section, if not a full-time 
member of the news media, must establish that he or she is a person 
whose main professional activity or occupation is information 
dissemination, though it need not be his or her sole occupation. A 
requester within the category in paragraph (d)(1)(ii) of this section 
also must establish a particular urgency to inform the public about the 
government activity involved in the request, beyond the public's right 
to know about government activity generally. The formality of 
certification may be waived as a matter of administrative discretion.
    (4) Within ten calendar days of receipt of a request for expedited 
processing, TVA's FOIA Officer shall decide whether to grant it and 
shall notify the requester of the decision. If a request for expedited 
treatment is granted, the request shall be given priority and shall be 
processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing 
is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted upon 
expeditiously.


Sec. 1301.6  Responses to requests.

    (a) Acknowledgements of requests. On receipt of a request, the FOIA 
Officer ordinarily shall send an acknowledgement letter to the 
requester which shall confirm the requester's agreement to pay fees 
under Sec. 1301.10 and provide an assigned request number for further 
reference.
    (b) Grants of requests. Ordinarily, TVA shall have twenty business 
days from when a request is received to determine whether to grant or 
deny the request. Once TVA makes a determination to grant a request in 
whole or in part, it shall notify the requester in writing. The FOIA 
Officer shall inform the requester in the notice of any fee charged 
under Sec. 1301.10 and shall disclose records to the requester promptly 
on payment of any applicable fee, if the fee is equal to or more than 
$100. If the fee is less than $100, the FOIA officer shall disclose the 
records along with a statement of the fee. Records disclosed in part 
shall be marked or annotated to show the amount of information deleted 
unless doing so would harm an interest protected by an applicable 
exemption. The location of the information deleted also shall be 
indicated on the record, if technically feasible.
    (c) Adverse determinations of requests. If TVA makes an adverse 
determination denying a request in any respect, they shall notify the 
requester of that determination in writing. Adverse determinations, or 
denials of requests, consist of: a determination to withhold any 
requested record in whole or in part; a determination that a requested 
record does not exist or cannot be located; a determination that a 
record is not readily reproducible in the form or format sought by the 
requester; a determination that what has been requested is not a record 
subject to the FOIA; a determination on any disputed fee matter, 
including a denial of a request for a fee waiver; and a denial of a 
request for expedited treatment. The denial letter shall be signed by 
the FOIA Officer or the FOIA Officer's designee, and shall include:
    (1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for 
the denial;
    (2) A brief statement of the reason(s) for the denial, including 
any FOIA exemption applied by TVA in denying the request;
    (3) An estimate of the volume of records or information withheld, 
in number of pages or in some other reasonable form of estimation. This 
estimate does not need to be provided

[[Page 4047]]

if the volume is otherwise indicated through deletions on records 
disclosed in part, or if providing an estimate would harm an interest 
protected by an applicable exemption; and
    (4) A statement that the denial may be appealed under Sec. 1301.9 
and a description of the requirements of Sec. 1301.9.


Sec. 1301.7  Exempt records.

    (a) Records available. TVA's records will be made available for 
inspection and copying upon request as provided in this section, except 
that records are exempt and are not made available if they are:
    (1)(i) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an 
Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense 
or foreign 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) 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 trial 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, local, or foreign agency or 
authority or any private institution which 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, 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.
    (b) 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.


Sec. 1301.8  Business information.

    (a) In general. Business information obtained by TVA from a 
submitter will be disclosed under the FOIA only under this section.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
    (1) Business information means commercial or financial information 
obtained by TVA from a submitter that may be protected from disclosure 
under Exemption 4 of the FOIA.
    (2) Submitter means any person or entity from whom TVA obtains 
business information, directly or indirectly. The term includes 
corporations; state and local governments; and foreign governments.
    (c) Designation of business information. A submitter of business 
information will use good-faith efforts to designate, by appropriate 
markings, either at the time of submission or at a reasonable time 
thereafter, any portions of its submission that it considers to be 
protected from disclosure under Exemption 4. These designations will 
expire ten years after the date of the submission unless the submitter 
requests, and provides justification for, a longer designation period.
    (d) Notice to submitters. TVA shall provide a submitter with prompt 
written notice of a FOIA request or administrative appeal that seeks 
its business information wherever required under paragraph (e) of this 
section, except as provided in paragraph (h) of this section, in order 
to give the submitter an opportunity to object to disclosure of any 
specified portion of that information under paragraph (f) of this 
section. The notice shall either describe the business information 
requested or include copies of the requested records or record portions 
containing the information. When notification of a voluminous number of 
submitters is required, notification may be made by posting or 
publishing the notice in a place reasonably likely to accomplish 
notification of submitters.
    (e) Where notice is required. Notice shall be given to a submitter 
wherever:
    (1) The information has been designated in good faith by the 
submitter as information considered protected from disclosure under 
Exemption 4; or
    (2) TVA has reason to believe that the information may be protected 
from disclosure under Exemption 4.
    (f) Opportunity to object to disclosure. TVA will allow a submitter 
a reasonable time to respond to the notice described in paragraph (d) 
of this section. If a submitter has any objection to disclosure, it is 
required to submit a detailed written statement. The statement must 
specify all grounds for withholding any portion of the information 
under any exemption of the FOIA and, in the case of Exemption 4, it 
must show why the information is a trade secret or commercial or 
financial information that is privileged or confidential. In the event 
that a submitter fails to respond to the notice within the time 
specified in it, the submitter will be considered to have no objection 
to disclosure of the information. Information provided by the submitter 
that is not received by TVA until after its disclosure decision has 
been made shall not be considered by TVA. Information provided by a 
submitter under this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure 
under the FOIA.
    (g) Notice of intent to disclose. TVA shall consider a submitter's 
objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure in deciding whether 
to disclose business information. Whenever TVA decides to disclose 
business information over the objection of a submitter, TVA shall give 
the submitter written notice, which shall include:

[[Page 4048]]

    (1) A statement of the reason(s) why each of the submitter's 
disclosure objections was not sustained;
    (2) A description of the business information to be disclosed, and
    (3) A specified disclosure date, which shall be a reasonable time 
subsequent to the notice.
    (h) Exceptions to notice requirements. The notice requirements of 
paragraphs (d) and (g) of this section shall not apply if:
    (1) TVA determines that the information should not be disclosed;
    (2) The information lawfully has been published or has been 
officially made available to the public;
    (3) Disclosure of the information is required by statute (other 
than the FOIA) or by applicable regulation; or
    (4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (c) of 
this section appears obviously frivolous--except that, in such a case, 
the component shall, within a reasonable time prior to a specified 
disclosure date, give the submitter written notice of any final 
decision to disclose the information.
    (i) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. Whenever a requester files a lawsuit 
seeking to compel the disclosure of business information, TVA shall 
promptly notify the submitter.
    (j) Corresponding notice to requesters. Whenever TVA provides a 
submitter with notice and an opportunity to object to disclosure under 
paragraph (d) of this section, TVA shall also notify the requester(s). 
Whenever TVA notifies a submitter of its intent to disclose requested 
information under paragraph (g) of this section, TVA shall also notify 
the requester(s). Whenever a submitter files a lawsuit seeking to 
prevent the disclosure of business information, TVA shall notify the 
requester(s).


Sec. 1301.9  Appeals.

    (a) Appeals of adverse determinations. If you are dissatisfied with 
TVA's response to your request, you may appeal an adverse determination 
denying your request, in any respect, to TVA's FOIA Appeal Official, 
the Senior Manager, Administrative Services, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 400 Summit Hill Drive (ET 6M), Knoxville, TN 37902-1499. You 
must make your appeal in writing and it must be received by the Senior 
Manager within 30 days of the date of the letter denying your request. 
Your appeal letter may include as much or as little related information 
as you wish, as long as it clearly identifies the TVA determination 
(including the assigned request number, if known) that you are 
appealing. An adverse determination by the TVA Appeal Official will be 
the final action of TVA.
    (b) Responses to appeals. The decision on your appeal will be made 
in writing within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 
holidays) after an appeal is received. A decision affirming an adverse 
determination in whole or in part shall contain a statement of the 
reason(s) for the affirmance, including any FOIA exemption(s) applied, 
and will inform you of the FOIA provisions for court review of the 
decision. If the adverse determination is reversed or modified on 
appeal, in whole or in part, you will be notified in a written decision 
and your request will be reprocessed in accordance with that appeal 
decision.
    (c) When appeal is required. If you wish to seek review by a court 
of any adverse determination, you must first appeal it under this 
section.


Sec. 1301.10  Fees.

    (a) In general, TVA shall charge for processing requests under the 
FOIA in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, except where 
fees are limited under paragraph (d) of this section or where a waiver 
or reduction of fees is granted under paragraph (k) of this section. If 
the applicable fees are $100 or more, TVA ordinarily will collect all 
applicable fees before sending copies of requested records to a 
requester. If the applicable fees are less than $100, TVA ordinarily 
will bill the requester for the fees in the letter responding to the 
request and enclosing the requested records. Requesters must pay fees 
by check or money order made payable to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
    (1) Commercial use request means a request from or on behalf of a 
person who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers his or 
her commercial, trade, or profit interests, which can include 
furthering those interests through litigation. TVA shall determine, 
whenever reasonably possible, the use to which a requester will put the 
requested records. When it appears that the requester will put the 
records to a commercial use, either because of the nature of the 
request itself or because TVA has reasonable cause to doubt a 
requester's stated use, TVA shall provide the requester a reasonable 
opportunity to submit further clarification.
    (2) Direct costs means those expenses that TVA actually incurs in 
searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial use 
requests, reviewing) records to respond to a FOIA request. Direct costs 
include, for example, the salary of the employee performing the work 
(the basic rate of pay for the employee, plus 16 percent of that rate 
to cover benefits, unless the fee is a standard TVA fee as set forth in 
paragraph (c) of this section) and the cost of operating duplication 
machinery. Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as 
the costs of space and heating or lighting of the facility in which the 
records are kept.
    (3) Duplication means the making of a copy of a record, or of the 
information contained in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA request. 
Copies can take the form of paper, microform, audiovisual materials, or 
electronic records (for example, magnetic tape or disk), among others. 
TVA shall honor a requester's specified preference of form or format of 
disclosure if the record is readily reproducible with reasonable 
efforts in the requested form or format.
    (4) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private 
elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate higher 
education, an institution of graduate higher education, or an 
institution of professional education, or an institution of vocational 
education, that operates a program of scholarly research. To be in this 
category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and 
is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the 
records are not sought for commercial or private use, but are sought to 
further scholarly research.
    (5) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that 
is not operated on a ``commercial'' basis, as that term is defined in 
paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and that is operated solely for the 
purpose of conducting scientific research the results of which are not 
intended to promote any particular product or industry. To be in this 
category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and 
is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the 
records are not sought for a commercial or private use but are sought 
to further scientific research.
    (6) Representative of the news media, or news media requester, 
means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is 
organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. The 
term ``news'' means information that is about current events or that 
would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media 
entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the 
public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only in those 
instances where they can qualify as disseminators of ``news'') who make

[[Page 4049]]

their products available for purchase or subscription by the general 
public. For ``freelance'' journalists to be regarded as working for a 
news organization, they must demonstrate a solid basis for expecting 
publication through that organization. A publication contract would be 
the clearest proof, but TVA shall also look to the past publication 
record of a requester in making this determination. To be in this 
category, a requester must not be seeking the requested records for a 
commercial or private use. However, a request for records supporting 
the news-dissemination function of the requester shall not be 
considered to be for a commercial use.
    (7) Review means the examination of a record located in response to 
a request in order to determine whether any portion of it is exempt 
from disclosure. It also includes processing any record for 
disclosure--for example, doing all that is necessary to redact it and 
prepare it for disclosure. Review costs are recoverable even if a 
record ultimately is not disclosed. Review time includes time spent 
considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a business 
submitter under Sec. 1301.8, but does not include time spent resolving 
general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.
    (8) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving records 
or information responsive to a request. It includes page-by-page or 
line-by-line identification of information within records and also 
includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from 
records maintained in electronic form or format. TVA shall ensure that 
searches are done in the most efficient and least expensive manner 
reasonably possible. For example, TVA shall not search line-by-line 
where duplicating an entire document would be quicker and less 
expensive.
    (c) Fees. In responding to a FOIA request, TVA shall charge the 
following fees unless a waiver or reduction of fees has been granted 
under paragraph (k) of this section:
    (1) Search time charges for other than computer searches. For time 
spent by clerical employees in searching files, the charge is $14.90 
per hour. For time spent by supervisory and professional employees, the 
charge is $34.30 per hour.
    (2) Duplication charges. For photostatic reproduction of requested 
material which consists of sheets no larger than 8\1/2\ by 14 inches, 
the charge is 10 cents per page. For copies produced by computer, such 
as tapes or printouts, TVA will charge the direct costs, including 
operator time, of producing the copy. For other forms of duplication, 
TVA will charge the direct cost of that duplication.
    (3) Review charges. Review fees will be charged to requesters who 
make a commercial use request. Review fees will be charged only for the 
initial record review--in other words, the review done when TVA 
determines whether an exemption applies to a particular record or 
record portion at the initial request level. No charge will be made for 
review at the administrative appeal level for an exemption already 
applied. However, record or record portions withheld under an exemption 
that is subsequently determined not to apply may be reviewed again to 
determine whether any other exemption not previously considered 
applies; the costs of that review are chargeable where it is made 
necessary by a change of circumstances. Review fees will be charged at 
the same rates as those charged for a search under paragraph (c)(1) of 
this section.
    (d) Limitations on charging fees. (1) No search fee will be charged 
for requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific 
institutions, or representatives of the news media.
    (2) No search fee or review fee will be charged for a quarter-hour 
period unless more than half of that period is required for search or 
review.
    (3) Except for requesters seeking records for a commercial use, TVA 
will provide the following without charge:
    (i) The first 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent); 
and
    (ii) The first two hours of search (or the cost equivalent).
    (4) No fee is charged to any requester if the cost of collecting 
the fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself.
    (5) The provisions of paragraphs (d)(3) and (4) of this section 
work together. This means that for requesters other than those seeking 
records for a commercial use, no fee will be charged unless the cost of 
search in excess of two hours plus the cost of duplication in excess of 
100 pages is equal to or greater than the fee itself.
    (e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00. When TVA 
determines or estimates that the fees to be charged under this section 
will amount to more than $25.00, TVA shall notify the requester of the 
actual or estimated amount of the fees, unless the requester has 
indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. If 
only a portion of the fee can be estimated readily, TVA shall advise 
the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total 
fee. In cases in which a requester has been notified that actual or 
estimated fees amount to more than $25.00, the request shall not be 
considered received and further work shall not be done on it until the 
requester agrees to pay the anticipated total fee. Any such agreement 
should be documented in writing. A notice under this paragraph will 
offer the requester an opportunity to discuss the matter with TVA 
personnel in order to reformulate the request to meet the requester's 
needs at a lower cost.
    (f) Charges for other services. Apart from the other provisions of 
this section, when TVA chooses as a matter of administrative discretion 
to provide a special service--such as certifying that records are true 
copies or sending them by other than ordinary mail--the direct costs of 
providing the service ordinarily will be charged.
    (g) Charging interest. TVA may charge interest on any unpaid bill 
starting on the 31st day following the date of billing the requester. 
Interest charges will be assessed at the rate provided in 31 U.S.C. 
3717 and will accrue from the date of the billing until payment is 
received by TVA.
    (h) Aggregating requests. When TVA reasonably believes that a 
requester or a group of requesters acting together is attempting to 
divide a request into a series of requests for the purpose of avoiding 
fees, TVA may aggregate those requests and charge accordingly. TVA may 
presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period 
have been made in order to avoid fees. Where requests are separated by 
a longer period, TVA will aggregate them only where there exists a 
solid basis for determining that aggregation is warranted under all of 
the circumstances involved. Multiple requests involving unrelated 
matters will not be aggregated.
    (i) Advance payments. (1) For requests other than those described 
in paragraphs (i) (2) and (3) of this section, TVA shall not require 
the requester to make an advance payment-in other words, a payment made 
before work is begun or continued on a request. Payment owed for work 
already completed (i.e., a prepayment before copies are sent to a 
requester) is not an advance payment.
    (2) Where TVA determines or estimates that a total fee to be 
charged under this section will be more than $250.00, it may require 
the requester to make an advance payment of an amount up to the amount 
of the entire anticipated fee before beginning to process the request, 
except where it receives a satisfactory assurance of full payment from 
a requester that has a history of prompt payment.

[[Page 4050]]

    (3) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a properly 
charged FOIA fee to TVA or another agency within 30 days of the date of 
billing, TVA may require the requester to pay the full amount due, plus 
any applicable interest, and to make an advance payment of the full 
amount of any anticipated fee, before TVA begins to process a new 
request or continues to process a pending request from that requester.
    (4) In cases in which TVA requires advance payment or payment due 
under paragraph (i) (2) or (3) of this section, the request shall not 
be considered received and further work will not be done on it until 
the required payment is received.
    (j) Other fees for TVA published materials. The fee schedule of 
this section does not apply to fees charged by TVA for documents, 
including maps or reports and the like, which TVA sells to the public 
at established prices. Where records responsive to requests are 
maintained for distribution and sale by TVA at established prices. TVA 
will inform requesters of the steps for obtaining records from those 
sources so that they may do so most economically.
    (k) Waiver or reduction of fees. (1) Records responsive to a 
request will be furnished without charge or at a charge reduced below 
that established under paragraph (c) of this section where TVA 
determines, based on all available information, that the requester has 
documented that:
    (i) Disclosure of the requested information is in the public 
interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public 
understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and
    (ii) Disclosure of the information is not primarily in the 
commercial interest of the requester.
    (2) To determine whether the first fee waiver requirement is met, 
TVA will consider the following factors:
    (i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the 
requested records concerns ``the operations or activities of the 
government.'' The subject of the requested records must concern 
identifiable operations or activities of the federal government, with a 
connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.
    (ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: 
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding 
of government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the 
requested records must be meaningfully informative about government 
operations or activities in order to be ``likely to contribute'' to an 
increased public understanding of those operations or activities. The 
disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in 
either a duplicative or a substantially identical form, would not be as 
likely to contribute to such understanding where nothing new would be 
added to the public's understanding.
    (iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the 
public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the 
requested information will contribute to ``public understanding.'' The 
disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad 
audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the 
individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in 
the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey 
information to the public shall be considered. It shall be presumed 
that a representative of the news media will satisfy this 
consideration.
    (iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: 
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to 
public understanding of government operations or activities. The 
public's understanding of the subject in question, as compared to the 
level of public understanding existing prior to the disclosure, must be 
enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent. TVA shall not make 
value judgments about whether information that would contribute 
significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities 
of the government is ``important'' enough to be made public.
    (3) To determine whether the second fee waiver requirement is met, 
TVA will consider the following factors:
    (i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether 
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the 
requested disclosure. TVA shall consider any commercial interest of the 
requester (with reference to the definition of ``commercial use'' in 
paragraph (b) (1) of this section), or of any person on whose behalf 
the requester may be acting, that would be furthered by the requested 
disclosure. Requesters shall be given an opportunity in the 
administrative process to provide explanatory information regarding 
this consideration.
    (ii) The primary interest in disclosure. Whether any identified 
commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in 
comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is 
``primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.'' A fee waiver 
or reduction is justified where the public interest standard is 
satisfied and that public interest is greater in magnitude than that of 
any identified commercial interest in disclosure. TVA ordinarily shall 
presume that where a news media requester has satisfied the public 
interest standard, the public interest will be the interest primarily 
served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure to data brokers or 
others who merely compile and market government information for direct 
economic return shall not be presumed to primarily serve the public 
interest.
    (4) Where only some of the requested records satisfy the 
requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver shall be granted for those 
records.
    (5) Requests for the waiver or reduction of fees should address the 
factors listed in paragraphs (k) (2) and (3) of this section, insofar 
as they apply to each request. TVA will exercise their discretion to 
consider the cost-effectiveness of their investment of administrative 
resources in this decisionmaking process, however, in deciding to grant 
waivers or reductions of fees.
William S. Moore,
Senior Manager, Administrative Services.
[FR Doc. 99-1870 Filed 1-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P