FOIA March Madness 2019 - FOIA funding, staffing, and activities (National Archives and Records Administration)

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=NARA-NGC-2019-000353&type=request)
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2019-000353
* Requester Name: Beryl Lipton
* Date Submitted: 03/25/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: Please See attachment for description

The FOIA request - NARA-NGC-2019-000353 description has been modified. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2019-000353
* Requester: Beryl Lipton
* Submitted Date: 03/25/2019
* Description: Please See attachment for description

The FOIA request - NARA-NGC-2019-000353 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2019-000353
* Requester: Beryl Lipton
* Submitted Date: 03/25/2019
* Description: Please See attachment for description

NARA-NGC-2019-000353 has been processed with the following final disposition: No Records

March 28, 2019

Beryl Lipton
MuckRock News
Dept. MR 70832
411 A Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02144

RE: Freedom of Information Act Request NGC19-237

Dear Beryl Lipton:

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated March 25, 2019, which we received in our office on the same date via FOIAonline. We assigned your request the above internal tracking number in addition to your FOIAonline tracking number NARA-NGC-2019-000353. In your request, you asked for:

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.”

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the repository for documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by agencies of the Executive branch of the United States Federal government. We estimate that less than 5% of these records are retained permanently for legal or historical purposes. Federal agencies usually transfer their permanent records to NARA no earlier than 15 years from the date of creation, but we receive many well after 30 years from the date of creation. The transfer takes place under agency record schedules pursuant to the Federal Records Act.

Unfortunately, we do not have the records that you seek. According to your request, it looks like you are requesting records that are in the custody of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). You should file a FOIA request with the DOI FOIA office. For more information on how to file a FOIA request with DOI, please see the following webpage: https://www.doi.gov/foia/contacts.

This completes the processing of your FOIA request to us.

If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this letter via regular U.S. mail or email. By filing an appeal, you preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider your request and the agency’s decision. If you submit your appeal in writing, please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” If you submit your appeal by e-mail please send it to FOIA@nara.gov, also addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. Please be sure to explain why you believe this response does not meet the requirements of the FOIA. All correspondence should reference your case tracking number NGC19-237 and your FOIAonline tracking number.

If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process, you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison Gary M. Stern for assistance at:

National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 3110
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-1750
garym.stern@nara.gov

If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal FOIA Ombudsman’s office, offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The contact information for OGIS is noted below:

Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road–OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
ogis@nara.gov
ogis.archives.gov
202-741-5770
1-877-684-6448

Thank you for contacting the National Archives and Records Administration. I may also be reached directly at the number and email address below.

Sincerely,

Jodi Foor
Deputy FOIA Officer
Office of General Counsel
Tel: 301-837-2099
Email: jodi.foor@nara.gov

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=NARA-NGC-2019-000377&type=request)
* Tracking Number: NARA-NGC-2019-000377
* Requester Name: Ms. Beryl Lipton
* Date Submitted: 04/01/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: See attached email. Records of FOIA budget, staff time, requester categories, fee waivers and fee collection.

Beryl Lipton
MuckRock News
Dept. MR 70832
411 A Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA 02144
Re:  Freedom of Information Act NGC19-253
Dear Ms. Lipton:
This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated, April 1, 2019, to the Office of General Counsel, National Archives and records Administration (NARA), where you are seeking:
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, or if reports are available for each month, that version is preferred. 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.)
Your request was received in this office and assigned the above tracking number in addition to the FOIAonline case number NARA-NGC-2019-000353.
The National Archives does not have a centralized FOIA processing office, but rather has numerous offices that process FOIAs as one part of other archival or related functions.  Because the budget of each such office is not based on or broken down with respect to the processing of FOIAs, NARA does not have any directly responsive records regarding your request for budget material for the three years you requested.  However, I have included two spreadsheets that were used for answering the FY 2017 and 2018 Annual FOIA Reports, Section IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs.  (The reports themselves can be accessed here: https://www.archives.gov/foia/reports.)
A list of the NARA offices that process FOIA requests, with their main contact information can be found online in our FOIA Reference Guide, located here: https://www.archives.gov/foia/foia-guide.
NARA does not track FOIA requesters by fee category, and therefore we do not have any responsive records.
I have included a report that shows the Fee waivers adjudicated in the Office of General Counsel at NARA during 2017-2018.  All other offices in NARA process accessioned, archival records that are subject to a separate statutory fee provision, 44 U.S.C. § 2116(c), and are therefore exempt from the FOIA fee and fee waiver provision, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §552(a)(4)(A)(vi).  Please note that NARA does not charge for search or review under the FOIA with regards to historical records.
NARA does not have an automated tracking system for the collection of FOIA fees and therefore we do not have any responsive records.
This completes the processing of your request.
If you are not satisfied with our action on this request, you have the right to file an administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of this letter via regular U.S. mail or email.  By filing an appeal, you preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and reconsider your request and the agency’s decision.  If you submit your appeal in writing, please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740.  Both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”  If you submit your appeal by e-mail please send it to FOIA@nara.gov, also addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. Please be sure to explain why you believe this response does not meet the requirements of the FOIA.  All correspondence should reference your case tracking number NGC 19-253.
If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process, you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison Gary M. Stern for assistance at:
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of General Counsel
Room 3110
College Park, MD 20740-6001
(301) 837-1750
garym.stern@nara.gov
If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal FOIA Ombudsman’s office, offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The contact information for OGIS is:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road–OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
ogis@nara.gov
ogis.archives.gov
202-741-5770
1-877-684-6448
Sincerely,
JOSEPH A. SCANLON
FOIA & Privacy Officer
Office of General Counsel
(301) 837-0583
joseph.scanlon@nara.gov