(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, as soon as possible and not later than the twentieth working day after the day on which the Freedom of Information Officer receives an appeal from an initial denial of a request for records, the General Counsel shall issue a written determination stating which of the requested records (as to which appeal was made) will and which will not be disclosed.

(b) The period of 20 working days shall be measured from the date an appeal is first received by the Freedom of Information Officer.

(c) The General Counsel may extend the basic 20-day period established under paragraph (a) of this section by a period not to exceed 10 additional working days if—

(1) He or she notifies the Freedom of Information Officer;

(2) He or she notifies the requestor in writing within the basic 20-day period stating the reasons for the extension and the date by which he or she expects to be able to issue a determination;

(3) The extension is reasonably necessary to properly process the particular request; and

(4) One or more of the following unusual circumstances require the extension:

(i) There is a need to search for and collect the records from field facilities or other establishments that are separated from the office processing the appeal;

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

(iii) There is a need for consultation with another agency or among two or more components of the A&TBCB. The General Counsel must conduct the consultation with all practicable speed.

(d) No extension of the 20-day period may be issued under paragraph (c) of this section which would cause the total of all such extensions and of any extensions issued under § 1120.33(c) to exceed 10 working days.