(a) The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall, upon any request for records which reasonably describes them and is made in accordance with the provisions of this subpart, make the records available as promptly as practicable to any person, except exempt records, which include the following:

(1) Records specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;

(2) Records related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, including matters which are for the guidance of agency personnel;

(3) Records which are specifically exempted from disclosure by statute;

(4) Trade secret, commercial, proprietary, or financial information obtained from any person or organization and privileged or confidential;

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a private party in litigation with the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation or in litigation in which the United States, as a real party in interest on behalf of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, is a party;

(6) Personnel and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information:

(i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings;

(ii) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;

(iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source;

(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or

(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; and

(8) Records of or related to examination, operation, reports of condition and performance, or reports of or related to Farm Credit System institutions and that are prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation.

(b) Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this section.

(c) This section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as specifically stated in this section. This section is not authority to withhold information from Congress.

The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation will make available for public inspection and copying a current index to provide identifying information as to any matter required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2)(C) to be made available or published in the Federal Register. Because of the anticipated infrequency of requests for material required to be indexed, it is determined that the publication of the index in the Federal Register is unnecessary and impracticable. However, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation will provide a copy of such index to a member of the public upon request therefor at a cost not in excess of the direct cost of duplication.

A member of the public who requests records from the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall provide a reasonable description of the records sought including, where possible, specific information as to dates, titles, and subject matter, so that such records may be located without undue search or inquiry. If a record is not identified by a reasonable description, the request therefor may be denied.

Requests for records shall be in writing and addressed to the attention of the Freedom of Information Officer, Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, McLean, Virginia 22102. A request improperly addressed will be deemed not to have been received for purposes of the 20-day time period set forth in § 1402.14(a) of this part until it is received, or would have been received, by the Freedom of Information Officer, with the exercise of due diligence by Corporation personnel. Records requested in conformance with this subpart and which are not exempt records may be received in person or by mail as specified in the request. Records to be received in person will be available for inspection or copying during business hours on a regular business day in the office of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, 1501 Farm Credit Drive, McLean, Virginia, 22102.

(a) Within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays), or any extensions thereof as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, of the receipt of a request by the Freedom of Information Officer, the Freedom of Information Officer shall determine whether to comply with or deny such a request and transmit a written notice thereof to the requester.

(b) Within 90 days of the receipt of a notice denying, in whole or in part, a request for records, the requester may appeal the denial. The appeal shall be in writing addressed to the Chief Financial Officer, Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, McLean, Virginia 22102, and both the letter and envelope shall clearly be marked “FOIA Appeal.” An appeal improperly addressed shall be deemed not to have been received for purposes of the 20-day time period set forth in paragraph (c) of this section until it is received, or would have been received with the exercise of due diligence by Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation personnel. You also have the right to seek dispute resolution services from the Corporation's FOIA Public Liaison, McLean, Virginia 22102, and the Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road—OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001.

(c) Within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays), or any extension thereof as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, of the receipt of an appeal, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall act upon the appeal and place a notice of the determination thereof in writing in the mail addressed to the requester. If the determination on the appeal upholds in whole or in part the denial of the request for records, or, if a determination on the appeal has not been mailed at the end of the 20-day period or the last extension thereof, the requester is deemed to have exhausted that person's administrative remedies, giving rise to a right of review in a district court of the United States as specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4). When a determination cannot be mailed within the applicable time limit, the appeal will nevertheless be processed. In such case, upon the expiration of the time limit, the requester will be informed of the reason for the delay, of the date on which a determination may be expected to be mailed, and of that person's right to seek judicial review. The requester may be asked to forego judicial review until determination of the appeal.

(d) In “unusual circumstances,” the 20-day time limit prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (c) of this section, or both, may be extended by the Freedom of Information Officer or, in the case of an appeal, by the General Counsel, provided that the total of all extensions does not exceed 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). Extensions shall be made by written notice to the requester setting forth the reason for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. As used in this paragraph, “unusual circumstances” means, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the request:

(1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;

(2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in a single request; or

(3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the agency having a substantial subject matter interest therein.

(e) A requester may obtain, upon request, expedited processing of a request for records when the requester demonstrates a “compelling need” for the information. The Freedom of Information Officer will notify the requester within 10 calendar days after receipt of such a request whether the Corporation granted expedited processing. If expedited processing was granted, the request will be processed as soon as practicable.

(1) For the purposes of this paragraph, “compelling need” means:

(i) That a failure to obtain requested records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or

(ii) With respect to a request made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information, urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity.

(2) A requester shall demonstrate a compelling need by a statement certified by the requester to be true and correct to the best of such person's knowledge and belief.

(3) The procedures of this paragraph (e) for expedited processing apply to both requests for information and to administrative appeals.

(a) Business information provided to the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation by a business submitter shall not be disclosed pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request except in accordance with this section. The requirements of this section shall not apply if:

(1) The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation determines that the information should not be disclosed;

(2) The information lawfully has been published or otherwise made available to the public; or

(3) Disclosure of the information is required by law (other than 5 U.S.C. 552).

(b) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply.

(1) Business information means trade secrets or other commercial or financial information.

(2) Business submitter means any person or entity which provides business information to the government.

(3) Requester means the person or entity making the Freedom of Information Act request.

(c)(1) The Freedom of Information Officer shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide a business submitter with prompt written notice of a request encompassing its business information whenever required under paragraph (d) of this section. Such notice shall either describe the exact nature of the business information requested or provide copies of the records or portions thereof containing the business information.

(2) Whenever the Freedom of Information Officer provides a business submitter with the notice set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the Freedom of Information Officer shall notify the requester that the request includes information that may arguably be exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and that the person or entity who submitted the information to the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation has been given the opportunity to comment on the proposed disclosure of information.

(d)(1) The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall provide a business submitter with notice of a request whenever:

(i) The business submitter has in good faith designated the information as commercially or financially sensitive information; or

(ii) The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation has reason to believe that the disclosure of the information may result in commercial or financial injury to the business submitter.

(2) Notice of a request for business information falling within paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section shall be required for a period of not more than 10 years after the date of submission unless the business submitter requests and provides acceptable justification for a specific notice period of greater duration.

(3) Whenever possible, the business submitter's claim of confidentiality should be supported by a statement or certification by an officer or authorized representative of the business submitter that the information in question is in fact a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.

(e) Through the notice described in paragraph (c) of this section, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall, to the extent permitted by law, afford a business submitter a reasonable period within which it can provide the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation with a detailed statement of any objection to disclosure. Such statement shall specify all grounds for withholding any of the information under any exemption of the Freedom of Information Act and, in the case of the exemption provided by 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), shall demonstrate why the information is contended to be a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. Information provided by a business submitter pursuant to this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

(f)(1) The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall consider carefully a business submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure prior to determining whether to disclose business information. Whenever the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation decides to disclose business information over the objection of a business submitter, the Freedom of Information Officer shall forward to the business submitter a written notice which shall include:

(i) A statement of the reasons for which the business submitter's disclosure objections were not sustained;

(ii) A description of the business information to be disclosed; and

(iii) A specified disclosure date.

(2) The notice of intent to disclose required by this paragraph shall be sent, to the extent permitted by law, within a reasonable number of days prior to the specified date upon which disclosure is intended.

(3) The Freedom of Information Officer shall send a copy of such disclosure notice to the requester at the same time the notice is sent to the business submitter.

(g) Whenever a requester brings suit seeking to compel disclosure of business information covered by paragraph (d) of this section, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation shall promptly notify the business submitter of such action.