Peace Corps TG 840: Prevention of Malaria

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

Copies of all available editions of Peace Corps Office of Health Services TG 840: Prevention of Malaria, including the 2013 edition referenced in the MMWR article "Notes from the Field: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Antimalarial Chemoprophylaxis in U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers — Africa, 2013" (see: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6323a4.htm).

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 fees cannot be waived, 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,

Dr. Remington Nevin

Hello Ms. Allgaier,

We would like to confirm that the communication from your office copied below, in which you indicate that this request has been assigned tracking number FOIA 16-0048, is in reference to this particular FOIA request, which was submitted on December 13, 2015 and specifically asked for:

Copies of all available editions of Peace Corps Office of Health Services TG 840: Prevention of Malaria, including the 2013 edition referenced in the MMWR article "Notes from the Field: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Antimalarial Chemoprophylaxis in U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers — Africa, 2013" (see: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6323a4.htm).

Your response was sent to another email address for a different request. The appropriate email address for this request is requests@muckrock.com.

Thank you.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT APPEAL

Chief FOIA Officer
Peace Corps
1111 20th Street NW
Washington, DC 20526
Fax: 202-692-1385
Email: FOIA@peacecorps.gov

Re: Appeal of Constructive Denial of FOIA Request 16-0048

Dear Sir or Madam,

This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I am writing to appeal the constructive denial of a request made under the FOIA.

On December 13, 2015, I submitted a FOIA request (the “Request”) to the Peace Corps seeking:

“Copies of all available editions of Peace Corps Office of Health Services TG 840: Prevention of Malaria, including the 2013 edition referenced in the MMWR article "Notes from the Field: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Antimalarial Chemoprophylaxis in U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers — Africa, 2013".

On December 14, 2015, the Peace Corps acknowledged this request, assigning it request number 16-0048. The acknowledgement stated “You will receive a response within 20 business days”.

Since that time, I have made numerous attempts to follow up with Peace Corps, to no avail. Nearly two months have passed since I submitted my Request, and the Peace Corps has not provided any documents responsive to my Request, nor has it identified any basis for withholding such documents. Indeed, it is possible that the Peace Corps has failed to even begin the search for responsive documents.

The FOIA requires an agency to respond to a request for records within 20 days. [See 5 USC § 552(a)(6)(A)(i)]. Where an agency invokes a need to consult with “two or more components of [an] agency having substantial subject-matter interest” in a request, the FOIA permits a 10-day extension of time to respond. The Peace Corps has not sent me any documentation claiming invocation of this extension. Similarly, the Peace Corps has not asserted that “extraordinary circumstances” exist to justify its refusal to respond to this request within the time period required by the FOIA. Therefore, the Peace Corps’ response to this request was due on or about January 13, 2016.

The Peace Corps’ failure to response to this request within the time period required by the FOIA serves as a constructive denial of the request, and I am therefore deemed to have exhausted my administrative remedies [See 5 USC § 552(a)(6)(C)]. In light of the foregoing, I can be left with no other impression that the Peace Corps is not exercising due diligence in responding to this Request.

I respectfully request that the Peace Corps respond to this appeal within 20 business days [see 5 USC § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii)]. If you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Remington Nevin

Dear Peace Corps FOIA Staff,

Thank you very much for your assistance with FOIA Request No 16-0048. I have received copies of responsive documents sent to me March 11, 2016. This satisfies my request and I consider both my original request dated December 13, 2015 and my appeal dated February 19, 2016 closed.

Sincerely,

Dr. Remington Nevin