When documents that would be responsive to a request are maintained for distribution by agencies operating statutory-based fee schedule programs, the Agency shall inform requesters of the steps necessary to obtain records from those sources. (b) Definitions. The Agency adopts the following definitions contained in OMB's "Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee Schedule and Guidelines," that relate to this section: (1) The term direct costs means those expenditures which an agency actually incurs in searching for and duplicating (and in the case of commercial requesters, reviewing) documents to respond to an FOIA request. (2) The term search includes all time spent looking for material that is responsive to a request, including pageby-page or line-by-line identification of material within documents. (3) The term duplication refers to the process of making a copy of a document necessary to respond to an FOIA request. Such copies can take the form of paper copy, microform, audio-visual materials, or machine readable documentation (e.g., magnetic tape or disk), among others. (4) The term review refers to the process of examining documents located in response to a request that is for a commercial use to determine whether any portion of any document located is permitted to be withheld. It also includes processing any documents for disclosure, e.g., doing all that is necessary to excise them and otherwise prepare them for release. Review does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. (5) The term 'commercial use' request refers to a request from or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade or profit interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made. (6) The term educational institution refers to a preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, an institution of graduate higher education, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of professional education, and an institution of vocational education, which operates a program or programs of scholarly research. (7) The term non-commercial scientific institution refers to an institution that is not operated on a "commercial" basis as that term is referenced in paragraph (b)(5) of this section and which is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. (8) The term representative of the news media refers to 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 when they can qualify as disseminators of "news") who made their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. These examples are not intended to be all-inclusive. Moreover, as traditional methods of news delivery evolve (e.g., electronic dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications services), such alternative media would be included in this category. In the case of freelance journalists, they will be regarded as working for a news organization if they can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization, even though not actually employed by it. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but the Agency will also look to the past publication record of a requester in making a determination. (c) Fees to be charged-(1) Manual searches for records. Whenever feasible, the Agency will charge at the salary rate(s) (i.e. basic pay plus 16 percent) of the employee(s) making the search. However, where a homogeneous class of personnel is used exclusively (e.g., all administrative/clerical, or all professional/executive), the Agency may establish an average rate for the range of grades typically involved. (2) Computer searches for records. The Agency will charge at the actual direct cost of providing the service. This will include the cost of operating the central processing unit (CPU) for that portion of operating time that is directly attributable to searching for records responsive to an FOIA request and operator/programmer salary apportionable to the search. When the Agency can establish a reasonable Agency-wide average rate for CPU operating costs and operator/programmer salaries involved in FOIA searches, it may do so and charge accordingly. (3) Review of records. Only requesters who are seeking documents for commercial use will be charged for time spent reviewing records to determine whether they are exempt from mandatory disclosure. Charges shall be assessed only for the initial review; i.e., the review undertaken the first time the Agency analyzes the applicability of a specific exemption to a particular record or portion of a record. The Agency will not charge for review at the administrative appeal level of an exemption already applied. However, if records or portions of records withheld in full under an exemption which is subsequently determined not to apply are reviewed again to determine the applicability of other exemptions not previously considered, the cost for such a subsequent review is properly assessable. Where a single class of reviewers is typically involved in the review process, the Agency may establish a reasonable Agency-wide average and charge accordingly. (4) Duplication of records. The charge for paper copy reproduction of documents as of the date of publication is three cents per page. This charge represents the average Agency-wide direct cost of making such copies, taking into account the salary of the operators as well as the cost of the reproduction machinery. The rate shall be adjusted annually. Current rates may be requested from the Director, Office of Administrative Services. For copies prepared by computer, such as tapes or printouts, the Agency will charge the actual cost, including operator time, of production of the tape or printout. For other methods of reproduction or duplication, the Agency will charge the actual direct costs of producing the document or documents. (5) Other charges. (i) The Agency shall recover the full cost of certifying that records are true copies. The Agency will charge the salary rate(s) (i.e. basic pay plus 16 percent) of the employee(s) certifying the records. (ii) The Agency shall recover the full cost of sending records by special methods such as express mail, etc. The Agency shall not furnish the records until payment for such service has been received by the Agency. The Agency is not required to comply with requests for special mailing services. (6) Restrictions on assessing fees. (1) With the exception of requesters seeking documents for a commercial use, the Agency will provide the first 100 pages of duplication and the first two hours of search time without charge. The Agency will not charge fees to any requester, including commercial use requesters, if the cost of collecting the fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself. Except for commercial use requesters, the Agency will not begin to assess fees until after the free search and reproduction services have been provided. (ii) The elements to be considered in determining the "cost of collecting a fee," are the administrative costs to the Agency of receiving and recording a requester's remittance, and processing the fee for deposit in the Treasury Department's special account. The pertransaction cost to the Treasury to handle such remittance will not be considered in the Agency's determination. (iii) For purposes of these restrictions on assessment of fees, the word "pages" refers to paper copies of a standard agency size which will normally be "81⁄2 x 11" or "11 by 14.” (iv) The term search time in this context means manual search. To apply this term to searches made by computer, the Agency will determine the hourly cost of operating the central processing unit and the operator's hourly salary plus 16 percent. When the cost of the search (including the operator time and the cost of operating the computer to process a request) equals the equivalent dollar amount of two hours of the salary of the person performing the search, i.e., the operator, the Agency will begin assessing charges for computer search. (d) Payment of Cost. (1) A request for documents must state that the requester will pay any or all reasonably necessary costs, or costs up to an amount specified in such request. If the head of the unit or the Director of Administrative Services determines that the anticipated cost for search and duplication of the records requested will be in excess of $25, or in excess of the limit specified in the request, the Director of Administrative Services shall advise the requester promptly after receipt of the initial request. Such notification shall specify the anticipated cost of search and reproduction of the records requested. The requester may thereafter amend his or her request to specify fewer documents or agree to accept the estimate of anticipated costs, in which case the request shall be deemed received by the Agency upon the receipt date of the requester's response. A requester may, prior to making a request, ask for an estimate of cost from the Director of Administrative Services who shall promptly respond to such request. (2) Method of Payment. Payment shall be sent or delivered to the Collections Officer, Accounting Division. Such payment must be by check or money order payable to Peace Corps-FOIA. A receipt for fees shall be provided upon request. (e) Fees to be Charged-Categories of requesters. There are four categories of FOIA requesters: Commercial use requesters; educational and non-commercial scientific institutions; representatives of the news media; and all other requesters. The Act prescribes specific levels of fees for each of these categories: (1) Commercial use requesters. The Agency will assess charges which recover the full direct costs of searching for, reviewing for release, and duplicating the records sought for commercial use. Commercial use requesters are not entitled to two hours of free search time nor 100 free pages of reproduction of documents. (2) Educational and non-commercial scientific institution requesters. The Agency will provide documents to requesters in this category for the cost of reproduction alone, excluding charges for the first 100 pages. To be eligible for inclu sion in this category, requesters must show that the request is being made as authorized by and under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use, but are sought in furtherance of scholarly (if the request is from an educational institution) or scientific (if the request is from a non-commercial scientific institution) research. (3) Requesters who are representatives of the news media. The Agency will provide documents to requesters in this category for the cost of reproduction alone excluding charges for the first 100 pages. To be eligible for inclusion in this category, a requester must meet the definition described in paragraph (b)(8) of this section, and his or her request must not be made for a commercial use. In reference to this class of requester, a request for records supporting the news dissemination function of the requester shall not be considered to be a request that is for a commercial use. (4) All other requesters. Requesters who do not fit into any of the categories above will be charged fees which recover the full direct cost of searching for and reproducing records that are responsive to the request, except that the first 100 pages of reproduction and the first two hours of search time will be furnished without charge. Requests from individuals for records about themselves filed in the Agency's systems of records will continue to be treated under the fee provisions published in the Agency's Privacy Act regulations (22 CFR part 308). (f) Waiving or Reducing Fees-(1) General. The Agency will furnish documents without charge or at reduced charges if disclosure of the 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 is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. A requester may, in his or her original request, or subsequently, ask for a fee waiver or that documents be furnished at a reduced charge. A request for documents shall not be deemed to have been received until a determination of the question of fee waiver or reduction has been made, provided however, that such de termination shall be made within five working days from the receipt of a fee waiver request. A request for waiver or reduction of fees shall specify the amount of reduction requested and the reasons which cause the requester to feel that the criteria for waiver or reduction of fees have been met. (2) Procedures. (i) Upon receipt of a fee waiver or fee reduction request the Director of Administrative Services will promptly determine whether such request should be granted in whole or in part. The request shall be reviewed in accordance with the following Statutory Freedom of Information Act fee waiver criteria: (A) Whether disclosure of the 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 (B) That disclosure of the information "is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester." (ii) There are six general factors which are considered in determining whether the statutory criteria for fee waiver have been met: (A) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns "the operations or activities of the government"; (B) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the disclosure is "likely to contribute" to an understanding of government operations or activities; (C) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to "public understanding"; and (D) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute "significantly" to public understanding of government operations or activities; (E) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and, if so (F) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of the 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." (iii) The decision to refuse to waive or reduce fees as requested under paragraph (f)(1) of this section may be appealed to the Director of the Peace Corps or such official as he or she may designate. Appeals should contain as much information and documentation as possible to support the request for a waiver or reduction of fees. The requester will be notified within ten working days from the date of which the Agency received the appeal. (g) Administrative Actions to Improve Assessment and Collection of Fees. The Agency shall ensure that procedures for assessing and collecting fees are applied consistently and uniformly. (1) Charging interest. The Agency will begin assessing interest charges on an unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the day on which the billing was sent. The fact that the fee has been received by the Agency, even if not processed, will suffice to stay the accrual of interest. Interest will be at the rate prescribed in section 3717 of title 31, United States Code, will accrue from the date of the billing. (2) Charges for unsuccessful search. The Agency will assess charges for time spent searching, even if the Agency fails to locate the records or if records located are determined to be exempt from disclosure. (3) Aggregating requests. A requester may not file multiple requests at the same time, each seeking portions of a document or documents, solely in order to avoid payment of fees. When the Agency reasonably believes that a requester or, on rare occasions, a group of requesters acting in concert, is attempting to break a request down into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, the Agency may aggregate any such requests and charge accordingly. The Agencies will not aggregate multiple requests on unrelated subjects from one requester. (4) Advance payments. (i) Advance payment, i.e., payment before work is commenced or continued on a request are not required unless: (A) The Agency estimates or determines that allowable charges that a requester may be required to pay are likely to exceed $250. Then, the Agency shall notify the requester of the likely cost and obtain satisfactory assurance of full payment where the requester has a history of prompt payment of FOIA fees, or require an advance payment of an amount up to the full estimated charges in the case of requesters with no history of payment; or (B) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged in a timely fashion (i.e. within 30 days of the date of the billing), the Agency may require the requester to pay the full amount owed plus any applicable interest as provided above, or to demonstrate that he has, in fact, paid the fee, and to make an advance payment of the full amount of the estimated fee before the Agency begins to process a new request or a pending request from that requester. (ii) When the Agency acts under paragraph (g)(4)(i) of this section, the administrative time limits prescribed in subsection (a)(6) of the FOIA (i.e., 10 working days from receipt of initial requests and 20 working days from receipt of appeals from initial denial, plus permissible extensions of these time limits) will begin only after the Agency has received fee payments described above. (5) Effect of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365). The Agency will follow those debt collection procedures published in 22 CFR part 309 where appropriate, to encourage repayment. [53 FR 8178, Mar. 14, 1988] 304.7 Authority to adjust, determine, compromise, and settle claims. 304.8 Limitations on authority. Final denial of claim. 304.12 Action on approved claim. AUTHORITY: 28 U.S.C. 2672; 28 CFR 14.11; secs. 4 and 5(h), 75 Stat. 612, 22 U.S.C. 2503; E.O. 11041, as amended, 27 FR 7859, 3 CFR 1959-1963 Comp., page 623; sec. 2(6), State Department Delegation of Authority No. 8511A, as amended. SOURCE: 34 FR 5840, Mar. 28, 1969, unless otherwise noted. GENERAL PROVISIONS §304.1 Scope; definitions. (a) This subpart applies to claims asserted under the Federal Tort Claims Act, as amended, accruing on or after January 18, 1967, for money damages against the United States for injury to or loss of property or personal injury or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of an officer or employee of the Peace Corps, a person serving the Peace Corps under invitational travel orders, or a Peace Corps Volunteer or trainee while acting within the scope of his office or employment. (b) This subpart is not applicable to claims arising in a foreign country; it is applicable to claims arising in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. (c) This subpart is issued subject to and consistent with applicable regulations on administrative claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act issued by the Attorney General (31 FR 16616; 28 CFR part 14). (d) For the purposes of this subpart, the term "General Counsel" means the General Counsel of the Peace Corps or his designee. PROCEDURES § 304.2 Administrative claim; when presented; appropriate Peace Corps Office. (a) For purposes of this subpart, a claim shall be deemed to have been presented when the Peace Corps receives, at a place designated in paragraph (b) of this section, an executed "Claim for Damages or Injury," Standard Form 95, or other written notification of an incident, accompanied by a |