(a) In general. Except for records made available under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(1) and (a)(2) and subject to the application of the FOIA exemptions and exclusions (5 U.S.C. 552(b) and (c)), the Council shall promptly make its records available to any person pursuant to a request that conforms to the rules and procedures of this section.
(b) Form and content of request. A request for records of the Council shall be made as follows:
(1) The request for records shall be made in writing and submitted by mail or via the Internet and should state, both in the request itself and on any envelope that encloses it, that it comprises a FOIA request. A request that does not explicitly state that it is a FOIA request, but clearly indicates or implies that it is a request for records, may also be processed under the FOIA.
(2) If a request is sent by mail, it shall be addressed and submitted as follows: FOIA Request - Financial Stability Oversight Council, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington DC 20220. If a request is made via the Internet, it shall be submitted as set forth on the Council's Web site.
(3) In order to ensure the Council's ability to respond in a timely manner, a FOIA request must describe the records that the requester seeks in sufficient detail to enable Council personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, the request must include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. If known, the requester must include any file designations or descriptions for the records requested. In general, a requester is encouraged to provide more specific information about the records or types of records sought to increase the likelihood that responsive records can be located.
(4) The request shall include the name of and contact information for the requester, including a mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address at which the Council may contact the requester regarding the request.
(5) For the purpose of determining any fees that may apply to processing a request, a requester shall indicate in the request whether the requester is a commercial user, an educational institution, non-commercial scientific institution, representative of the news media, or “other” requester, as those terms are defined in § 1301.12(c), or in the alternative, state how the records released will be used. The Council shall use this information solely for the purpose of determining the appropriate fee category that applies to the requester and shall not use this information to determine whether to disclose a record in response to the request.
(6) If a requester seeks a waiver or reduction of fees associated with processing a request, then the request shall include a statement to that effect, pursuant to § 1301.12(f). Any request that does not seek a waiver or reduction of fees shall constitute an agreement of the requester to pay any and all fees (of up to $25) that may apply to the request, unless or until a request for waiver is sought and granted. The requester also may specify in the request an upper limit (of not less than $25) that the requester is willing to pay to process the request.
(i) Any request for waiver or reduction of fees should be filed together with or as part of the FOIA request, or at a later time prior to the Council incurring costs to process the request.
(ii) A waiver request submitted after the Council incurs costs will be considered in accordance with § 1301.12(f); however, the requester must agree in writing to pay the fees already incurred if the waiver is denied.
(7) If a requester seeks expedited processing of a request, then the request must include a statement to that effect as is required by § 1301.7(c).
(c) Request receipt; effect of request deficiencies. The Council shall deem itself to have received a request on the date that it receives a complete request containing the information required by paragraph (b) of this section. The Council need not accept a request, process a request, or be bound by any deadlines in this subpart for processing a request that fails materially to conform to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section. If the Council determines that it cannot process a request because the request is deficient, then the Council shall return it to the requester and advise the requester in what respect the request is deficient. The requester may then resubmit the request, which the Council shall treat as a new request. A determination by the Council that a request is deficient in any respect is not a denial of a request for records, and such determinations are not subject to appeal.
(d) Processing of request containing technical deficiency. Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of this section, the Council shall not reject a request solely due to one or more technical deficiencies contained in the request. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “technical deficiency” means an error or omission with respect to an item of information required by paragraph (b) of this section which, by itself, does not prevent that part of the request from conforming to the applicable requirement, and includes without limitation a non-material error relating to the contact information for the requester, or similar error or omission regarding the date, title or name, author, recipient, or subject matter of the record requested.