(a) General. This section is issued in accordance with §§ 1.1 through 1.23 of the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture in part 1, subpart A, of subtitle A of title 7 (7 CFR 1.1 through 1.23), and appendix A thereto, implementing the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). The Secretary's regulations, as implemented by this section, govern the availability of records of the Service to the public.

(b) Public inspection and copying. Materials maintained by the Service, including those described in 7 CFR 1.5, will be made available, upon a request which has not been denied, for public inspection and copying at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, at 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, D.C. 20250. The public may request access to these materials during regular working hours, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., est, Monday through Friday except for holidays.

(c) Indexes. FGIS shall maintain an index of all material required to be made available in 7 CFR 1.5. Copies of these indexes will be maintained at the location given in paragraph (b) of this section. Notice is hereby given that quarterly publication of these indexes is unnecessary and impracticable, because the material is voluminous and does not change often enough to justify the expense of quarterly publication. However, upon specific request, copies of any index will be provided at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication.

(d) Requests for records. Requests for records under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) shall be made in accordance with 7 CFR 1.6 and shall be addressed as follows: AMS FOIA Officer, Agricultural Marketing Service, FOIA Request, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 2095-S, Stop 0203, Washington, DC 20250-0203.

(e) Appeals. Any person whose request under paragraph (d) of this section is denied shall have the right to appeal such denial in accordance with 7 CFR 1.13. Appeals shall be addressed to the Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service, FOIA Appeal, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 3071-S, Stop 0201, Washington, DC 20250-0201.