(a) Acknowledgement of requests. Upon receipt of a request that meets the requirements of § 1301.5(b), the Council ordinarily shall assign to the request a unique tracking number and shall send an acknowledgement letter or email to the requester that contains the following information:

(1) A brief description of the request;

(2) The applicable request tracking number;

(3) The date of receipt of the request, as determined in accordance with § 1301.5(c); and

(4) A confirmation, with respect to any fees that may apply to the request pursuant to § 1301.12, that the requester has sought a waiver or reduction in such fees, has agreed to pay any and all applicable fees, or has specified an upper limit (of not less than $25) that the requester is willing to pay in fees to process the request.

(b) Initial determination to grant or deny a request—(1) In general. The Council records officer (as designated in § 1301.6(b)) shall make initial determinations to grant or to deny in whole or in part requests for records.

(2) Granting of request. If the request is granted in full or in part, the Council shall provide the requester with a copy of the releasable records, and shall do so in the format specified by the requester to the extent that the records are readily producible by the Council in the requested format. The Council also shall send the requester a statement of the applicable fees, broken down by search, review and duplication fees, either at the time of the determination or shortly thereafter. The Council shall also advise the requester of the right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison.

(3) Denial of requests. If the Council determines that the request for records should be denied in whole or in part, the Council shall notify the requester in writing. The notification shall:

(i) State the exemptions relied on in not granting the request;

(ii) If technically feasible, indicate the volume of information redacted (including the number of pages withheld in part and in full) and the exemptions under which the redaction is made at the place in the record where such redaction is made (unless providing such indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption relied upon to deny such material);

(iii) Set forth the name and title or position of the responsible official;

(iv) Advise the requester of the right to administrative appeal in accordance with § 1301.11 and specify the official or office to which such appeal shall be submitted; and

(v) Advise the requester of the right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison or seek dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services.

(4) No records found. If it is determined, after an adequate search for records by the responsible official or his/her delegate, that no records could be located, the Council shall so notify the requester in writing. The notification letter shall advise the requester of the right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison, seek dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services, and administratively appeal the Council's determination that no records could be located (i.e., to challenge the adequacy of the Council's search for responsive records) in accordance with § 1301.11. The response shall specify the official to whom the appeal shall be submitted for review.