§7.24. How do I submit a FOIA request? — Inbound Citations

(b) When the responsible DOT official denies, in whole or in part, a request for a waiver of fees made pursuant to § 7.24(b) or § 7.43(c), DOT provides the requester with written notification of that determination, the reasons for the determination, the right of the requester to appeal the determination within DOT, and the requester's right to seek assistance in resolution of disputes from the FOIA Public Liaison or Office of Government Information Services.

(c) DOT waives or reduces the fees described in § 7.42(i) and (j) when the requester makes a fee waiver or reduction request as provided in § 7.24(b) and establishes that disclosure of the information is in the public interest as provided in 5 U.S.C. 552 and this paragraph, and the DOT official having initial denial authority determines that disclosure of the information is in the public interest and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. The requester must establish all of the following factors to DOT's satisfaction to show that the request is in the public interest:

(1) That the subject matter of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the Federal Government;

(2) That the disclosure is likely to contribute to an understanding of Federal Government operations or activities;

(3) That disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the understanding of the individual requester or a narrow segment of interested persons (to establish this factor, the requester must show an intent and ability to disseminate the requested information to a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject);

(4) That the contribution to public understanding of Federal Government operations or activities will be significant; and

(5) That the requester does not have a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure or that the magnitude of any identified commercial interest to the requester is not sufficiently large in comparison with the public interest in disclosure to render the disclosure one that is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

(1) If DOT has determined that unusual circumstances apply (as defined in § 7.34(a)), 5,000 pages or less are necessary to respond to the request, and DOT has provided a timely written notice to the requester in accordance with § 7.34(a), a failure to comply with the time limits under § 7.31 or § 7.33 is excused for an additional 10 days. If DOT does not comply with the extended time limit, DOT does not assess search fees otherwise chargeable under § 7.42(h) and (j) or duplication fees otherwise chargeable under § 7.24(i);