(a) When the Agency informs you of its decision to comply with a request by granting, partially granting, or denying the request, it will do so in writing and in accordance with the deadlines in subpart D of this part. The Agency's written response will include a statement about the services offered by its FOIA Public Liaison. The Agency's written response will also include a statement about the services offered by the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS).

(b) If the Agency determines that your request will take longer than 10 workdays to process, the Agency immediately will send you a written acknowledgment that includes the request's individualized tracking number and processing track (see § 2105.14(e)). The acknowledgement may also include a brief description of the subject of your request.

(a) Once the Agency makes a determination to grant a request in full or in part, it must notify you in writing.

(b) The notification will inform you of the availability of its FOIA Public Liaison to offer assistance, and of any fees charged under subpart G of this part.

(c) The Agency will release records (or portions of records) to you promptly upon payment of any applicable fees (or before then, at its discretion).

(d) If the records (or portions of records) are not included with the Agency's notification, the Agency will advise you how, when, and where the records will be released or made available.

(a) The Agency denies a request when it makes a decision that:

(1) A requested record is exempt, in full or in part;

(2) The request does not reasonably describe the records sought;

(3) A requested record does not exist, cannot be located, or is not in the Agency's possession and/or control; or

(4) A requested record is not readily reproducible in the form or format you seek.

(b) The Agency denies a procedural benefit only, and not access to the underlying records, when it makes a decision that:

(1) A fee waiver, or another fee-related issue, will not be granted; or

(2) Expedited processing will not be provided.

(c) The Agency must consult with legal counsel before it denies a fee waiver request or withholds all or part of a requested record.

(a) The Agency must notify you in writing of any denial of your request.

(b) The denial notification must include:

(1) The name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial, along with an office phone number or email address;

(2) A statement of the reasons for the denial;

(3) A reference to any FOIA exemption applied by the Agency to withhold records in full or in part, along with a statement that the Agency reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by the applied exemption(s) or disclosure is prohibited by law;

(4) An estimate of the volume of any records withheld in full or in part (for example, by providing the number of pages or some other reasonable form of estimation), unless including an estimate would harm an interest protected by an exemption used to withhold the records and the Agency explains this harm to you;

(5) The name and title of legal counsel consulted (if the Agency is denying a fee waiver request or withholding all or part of a requested record);

(6) Advisement of the right to seek dispute resolution services from the Agency's FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information Services (OIGS); and

(7) A statement that the denial may be appealed under subpart H of this part and a description of the procedures in subpart H of this part.

If responsive records contain both exempt and nonexempt material, the Agency will consult with legal counsel, as discussed in § 2105.21(c). After consultation, the Agency will partially grant and partially deny the request by:

(a) Segregating and releasing the nonexempt information, unless the nonexempt material is so intertwined with the exempt material that disclosure of it would leave only meaningless words and phrases;

(b) Indicating on the released portion of the record the amount of information deleted and the FOIA exemption under which the deletion was made, unless doing so would harm an interest protected by the FOIA exemption used to withhold the information; and

(c) If technically feasible, indicating the amount of information deleted and the FOIA exemption under which the deletion was made at the place in the record where the deletion was made.