FOIA Regulations and Guidelines for Requesters and Officers (Federal Emergency Management Agency)
| Submitted | March 28, 2016 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Beryl Lipton
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
• The manual that this FOIA office uses to process FOIA requests, or, if no manual exists, other guiding documentation/protocols for processing Freedom of Information Requests.
• All guides to agency Freedom of Information Act request regulations (For reference, see the Department of Justice's Guidance on FOIA Regulations [https://www.justice.gov/oip/oipguidance/guidanceagencyfoiaregulations] and the associated template [https://www.justice.gov/oip/templateagencyfoiaregulations])
• All guidelines and regulations regarding the submission and processing of appeals, including but not limited to:
- The appropriate person or position to whom an appeal should be submitted
- The appropriate address to which an appeal should be submitted
- Any appropriate fax numbers and email addresses available for the submission of appeals All guidelines regarding the processing time and procedures for appeals
- All rights related to the submission of appeals, including those related to appeal rights for constructive denial
If any responses include direction to an online location or similarly publicly-available material, please provide direct links or file downloads.
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: FEMA-FOIA
Dear Mr. Lipton:
This acknowledges receipt of your March 28, 2016 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Your request was received in this office on March 29, 2016. You are seeking copy of the following records:
* The manual that this FOIA office uses to process FOIA requests, or, if no manual exists, other guiding documentation/protocols for processing Freedom of Information Requests
* All guides to agency Freedom of Information Act request regulations (For reference, see the Department of Justice's Guidance on FOIA Regulations [https://www.justice.gov/oip/oip-guidance/guidance¬agency¬foia¬regulations] and the associated template [https://www.justice.gov/oip/template¬agency¬foia¬regulations])
* All guidelines and regulations regarding the submission and processing of appeals, including but not limited to:
*
1. The appropriate person or position to whom an appeal should be submitted
2. The appropriate address to which an appeal should be submitted
3. Any appropriate fax numbers and email addresses available for the submission of appeals All guidelines regarding the processing time and procedures for appeals
4. All rights related to the submission of appeals, including those related to appeal rights for constructive denial
Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your request. Per Section 5.5(a) of the DHS FOIA regulations, 6 C.F.R. Part 5, the Department processes FOIA requests according to their order of receipt. Although FEMA’s goal is to respond within 20 business days of receipt of your request, the FOIA does permit a 10-day extension of this time period. As your request seeks numerous documents that will necessitate a thorough and wide-ranging search, DHS/FEMA will invoke a 10-day extension for your request, as allowed by Title 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B). If you care to narrow the scope of your request, please contact our office. We will make every effort to comply with your request in a timely manner; however, there are currently 1623 open requests ahead of yours.
Provisions of the Act allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. We shall charge you for records in accordance with the DHS Interim FOIA regulations as they apply to media requestors. As a media requestor you will be charged 10-cents a page for duplication, although the first 100 pages are free. We will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00. You will be contacted before any further fees are accrued.
We have queried the appropriate program offices of FEMA for responsive records. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for determination of releasability. Please be assured that one of the FOIA Specialist in our office will respond to your request expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with your request.
To check the status of your FOIA requests you may use the online check status capability at http://www.dhs.gov/foia-status. Simply enter your request number and click the “Check Status” button. More information concerning the FOIA and implementing DHS regulations is available on-line at: www.dhs.gov/xfoia/editorial_0318.shtm<http://www.dhs.gov/xfoia/editorial_0318.shtm>.
Your request has been assigned reference number FEMA 2016-FEFO-01281. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence. If you need to contact our office concerning this request, please call (202) 646-3323 or electronically at FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov>.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Disclosure Branch
Records Management Division
Mission Support Bureau
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning,
I will forward your status check email to Mr. Hawkins to response to your status check.
Tonya Blackwell
Disclosure Branch (FOIA)
Mission Support Bureau
Records Management Division
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Direct: 202-212-3771
Mobile:202-802-2645
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning
I will forward your email to Chris Hawkins and put comment in your file. That you would like a status check.
Tonya Blackwell
Disclosure Branch (FOIA)
Mission Support Bureau
Records Management Division
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Direct: 202-212-3771
Mobile:202-802-2645
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning,
I will forward your email to Mr. Hawkins to response to your status check.
FEMA-FOIA
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning,
Your email was forward to Mr. Hawkins to response to your status check.
FEMA-FOIA
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning,
Your email will be forward to Chris Hawkins to response to your status check.
FEMA-FOIA
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on March 28, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FEMA-FOIA
Good Morning,
I will forward your email to Mr. Hawkins to response to your status check.
FEMA-FOIA
From:
Good Afternoon, Attached is our final response to your request. If you need to contact FEMA again concerning your request, please provide the FEMA reference number. This will enable FEMA to quickly retrieve the information you are seeking and reduce their response time. FEMA can be reached at 202-646-3323. Regards, DHS Privacy Office
Files
pages