FOIA March Madness 2019 - Exhibition bracket - FOIA funding, staffing, and activities (Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining)
| Tracking # |
OSMRE-2019-00081 |
| Multi Request | FOIA March Madness 2019 - Exhibition bracket - FOIA funding, staffing, and activities |
| Submitted | March 15, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | Nov. 8, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
The following materials related to the funding, staffing, and activities of this FOIA office:
***Budget materials***
- - - > > > for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019, all budget materials or plans applicable to offices responsible for processing and response to FOIA requests and appeals submitted to this Bureau and its offices.
***Staffing orders/reports/contacts***
- - - > > > for the years 2017 and 2018, staffing reports and plans, including the count of employee numbers and for offices responsible for processing and responses to FOIA requests and appeals submitted to this Bureau and its offices.
- If this report is available in a form that includes the total number of hours worked for FOIA personnel, that version would be preferred.
- If reports are available for each month, that version is preferred.
- According to this agency’s “About Us” website (https://www.doi.gov/foia/About-Us):
“The Department has decentralized its FOIA operations among 13 bureaus and offices, each of which has a Bureau/Office FOIA Officer leading its separately managed and resourced FOIA Program. Secretarial Order 3244 (November 12, 2002) anchored Bureau/Office FOIA Offices within their respective CIOs' Offices. That order was superseded by Secretarial Order 3309 (December 14, 2010), which replaced Bureau/Office CIOs with Assistant Directors for Information Resources and initiated a series of significant ongoing organizational changes as part of the Department's IT Transformation.
Bureau/office FOIA Officers are responsible for tracking, managing and responding to FOIA requests for records in their organization's possession and control, and administering their organization's FOIA programs. In addition to Bureau/Office FOIA Officers, some bureaus/offices also have Regional FOIA Coordinators and Field Offices that process requests. Some bureaus/offices have their program offices (i.e., the offices whose records are the subject of the requests) prepare the responses to FOIA requests. These responses are reviewed by the FOIA Officer or Regional FOIA Coordinator and the appropriate FOIA attorney (when the decision is to withhold information, make a discretionary release, or deny a fee waiver).”
- - - > > > all staffing reports and plans for the year 2019
- If reports are available for each month, such a version is preferred.
- - - > > > contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers (if available), for each FOIA officer currently tasked with an open public records request
***FOIA requester categories***
- - - > > > for the years 2017 and 2018, the designated category of each requester of a FOIA request to this office, including those assigned to the following categories:
* commercial;
* educational and noncommercial scientific institutions;
* representative of news media requester;
* all other requesters
- If this information is kept in an aggregate form including the number of requesters by fee category by year, a copy of this report will suffice to fulfill this element of the request.
***FOIA fee waivers***
- - - > > > for the years 2017 and 2018, the number of fee waivers granted by this office and, if available, the tracking numbers for the FOIA requests to which waivers were granted
***FOIA fee collection***
- - - > > > for the years 2017 and 2018, any report capturing the following information:
* total estimated processing and copy fees quoted to FOIA requesters
* total processing and copy fees collected by this Bureau from each fee category
- If this information is kept in an aggregate form, such as a FOIA log, that material would be sufficient to satisfy the bullet points “FOIA requester categories” and “FOIA fee collection” if it captures the following information:
* FOIA tracking number
* requester fee category
* amount processing and copy fees associated with the request
* the status of the requester’s payment for the request
***FOIA Policy Staff audit reports or summaries***
- - - > > > for the years 2017 and 2018, any and all reports of self-assessments conducted by FOIA Policy Staff
- According to the U.S. Department of the Interior 2018 Chief FOIA Officer Report, “Department FOIA Policy Staff regularly conduct self- assessments of the Department’s FOIA program, by reviewing Annual Report data, conducting audits of each bureau at least bi-annually, and reviewing and updating processing procedures, including its FOIA regulations.”
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Beryl Lipton
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining
Dear Ms. Lipton
Your request was received in the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and
Enforcement (“OSMRE”) FOIA office for processing and assigned control number
* OSMRE-2019-00081*. Please cite this number in any future communications
with our office regarding your request.
We have classified you as a “media-use” requester. As such, we may charge
you for some of our duplication costs, but we will not charge you for our
search or review costs; you also are entitled to up to 100 pages of
photocopies (or an equivalent volume) for freer. As such, we may charge
you for some of our search and duplication costs, but we will not charge
you for our review costs; you are also entitled to up to 2 hours of search
time and 100 pages of photocopies (or an equivalent volume) for free.
*See **43 C.F.R. § 2.37(g)
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.13>*
. If, after taking into consideration your fee category
entitlements, our processing costs are less than $50.00, we will not bill
you because the cost of collection would be greater than the fee
collected. *See **43 C.F.R. § 2.37(g)
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.13>*
Please be informed that we are conducting responsive records search based
on the subject matter of your request. You should expect to hear from us
following the completion of our records search.
If you have any questions regarding your request, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Sincerely,
Dele Awoniyi
*_________________________________________*
*Dele Awoniyi* | *FOIA Officer*
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Department of the Interior | (202) 208-5840
1849 C Street NW | Washington, D.C. | 20240
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining
Dear Ms. Lipton,
Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in responding to your
request. Please be informed that we are still processing your request. We
expect that we will dispatch our response to you by November 8, 2019.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Dele Awoniyi
Department of the Interior
Office of Surface Mining, FOIA Officer
MS MIB 200 West, 1849 C Street, N.W.
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1951+Constitution+Avenue,+N.W.+Washington,+D.C.+20240&entry=gmail&source=g>
Washington, D.C. 20240
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1951+Constitution+Avenue,+N.W.+Washington,+D.C.+20240&entry=gmail&source=g>
Telephone (202) 208-5840
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 8, 2019. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 8, 2019. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 8, 2019. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 8, 2019. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 15, 2019. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 8, 2019. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #OSMRE-2019-00081.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining
Dear Ms. Lipton
Thank you for your email. We apologize for the delay in responding to your
request.
We are writing to respond to your request. After a search of our files,
the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement did not locate
records responsive to your request.
You may appeal this response to the Department’s FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals
Officer. If you choose to appeal, the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer
must receive your FOIA appeal *no later than 30 workdays* from the date of
this letter. Appeals arriving or delivered after 5 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, will be deemed received on the next workday.
*Your appeal must be made in writing*. You may submit your appeal and
accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail,
courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning your appeal
should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL."
You must include an explanation of why you believe the Office of Surface
Mining Reclamation and Enforcement response is in error. You must also
include with your appeal copies of all correspondence between you and the
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement concerning your FOIA
request, including your original FOIA request and Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement’s response. Failure to include with your
appeal all correspondence between you and Office of Surface Mining
Reclamation and Enforcement will result in the Department's rejection of
your appeal, unless the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer determines (in the
FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer’s sole discretion) that good cause exists
to accept the defective appeal.
Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and
telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number
(if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs
additional information or clarification of your appeal.
*DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Contact Information*
Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
1849 C Street, N.W.
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, DC 20240
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov
*Office of Government Information Services Meditation*
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law
enforcement and national security records from the requirements of FOIA.
*See* 5 U.S.C. 552(c) <http://www.justice.gov/oip/amended-foia-redlined.pdf>.
This response is limited to those records that are subject to the
requirements of FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all
our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded
records do, or do not, exist.
The 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information
Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between
FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to
litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue
litigation. You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Web: https://ogis.archives.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Fax: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448
Please note that using OGIS services does not affect the timing of filing
an appeal with the Department’s FOIA & Privacy Act Appeals Officer.
If you have any questions regarding our response to your request, or any of
the issues discussed in this letter, you may contact me.
Sincerely,
Dele Awoniyi
*_________________________________________*
*Dele Awoniyi* | *FOIA Officer*
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Department of the Interior | (202) 208-5840
1849 C Street NW | Washington, D.C. | 20240
Files
There are no files associated with this request.