(a) In general, TVA shall charge for processing requests under the FOIA in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, except where fees are limited under paragraph (d) of this section or where a waiver or reduction of fees is granted under paragraph (k) of this section. If the applicable fees are $100 or more, TVA ordinarily will collect all applicable fees before sending copies of requested records to a requester. If the applicable fees are less than $100, TVA ordinarily will bill the requester for the fees in the letter responding to the request and enclosing the requested records. Requesters must pay fees by check or money order made payable to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(1) Commercial use request means a request from or on behalf of a person who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers his or her commercial, trade, or profit interests, which can include furthering those interests through litigation. TVA shall determine, whenever reasonably possible, the use to which a requester will put the requested records. When it appears that the requester will put the records to a commercial use, either because of the nature of the request itself or because TVA has reasonable cause to doubt a requester's stated use, TVA shall provide the requester a reasonable opportunity to submit further clarification.
(2) Direct costs means those expenses that TVA actually incurs in searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial use requests, reviewing) records to respond to a FOIA request. Direct costs include, for example, the salary of the employee performing the work (the basic rate of pay for the employee, plus 16 percent of that rate to cover benefits, unless the fee is a standard TVA fee as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section) and the cost of operating duplication machinery. Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as the costs of space and heating or lighting of the facility in which the records are kept.
(3) Duplication means the making of a copy of a record, or of the information contained in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA request. Copies can take the form of paper, microform, audiovisual materials, or electronic records (for example, magnetic tape or disk), among others. TVA shall honor a requester's specified preference of form or format of disclosure if the record is readily reproducible with reasonable efforts in the requested form or format.
(4) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of graduate higher education, or an institution of professional education, or an institution of vocational education, that operates a program of scholarly research. To be in this category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for commercial or private use, but are sought to further scholarly research.
(5) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that is not operated on a ``commercial'' basis, as that term is defined in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and that is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. To be in this category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial or private use but are sought to further scientific research.
(6) Representative of the news media, or news media requester, means any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this subsection, the term ``news'' means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances where they can qualify as disseminators of ``news'') who make their products available for purchase by or subscription by or free distribution to the general public. These examples are not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of news delivery evolve (for example, the adoption of the electronic dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications services), such alternative media shall be considered to be new media entities. For ``freelance'' journalists to be regarded as working for a news organization, they must demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but TVA shall also look to the past publication record of a requester in making this determination. To be in this category, a requester must not be seeking the requested records for a commercial or private use. However, a request for records supporting the news-dissemination function of the requester shall not be considered to be for a commercial use.
(7) Review means the examination of a record located in response to a request in order to determine whether any portion of it is exempt from disclosure. It also includes processing any record for disclosure--for example, doing all that is necessary to redact it and prepare it for disclosure. Review costs are recoverable even if a record ultimately is not disclosed. Review time includes time spent considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a business submitter under Sec. 1301.8, but does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.
(8) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving records or information responsive to a request. It includes page-by-page or line-by-line identification of information within records and also includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from records maintained in electronic form or format. TVA shall ensure that searches are done in the most efficient and least expensive manner reasonably possible. For example, TVA shall not search line-by-line where duplicating an entire document would be quicker and less expensive.
(c) Fees. In responding to a FOIA request, TVA shall charge the following fees unless a waiver or reduction of fees has been granted under paragraph (k) of this section:
(1) Search time charges for other than computer searches. For time spent by clerical employees in searching files, the charge is $14.90 per hour. For time spent by supervisory and professional employees, the charge is $34.30 per hour.
(2) Duplication charges. For photostatic reproduction of requested material which consists of sheets no larger than 8\1/2\ by 14 inches, the charge is 10 cents per page. For copies produced by computer, such as tapes or printouts, TVA will charge the direct costs, including operator time, of producing the copy. For other forms of duplication, TVA will charge the direct cost of that duplication.
(3) Review charges. Review fees will be charged to requesters who make a commercial use request. Review fees will be charged only for the initial record review--in other words, the review done when TVA determines whether an exemption applies to a particular record or record portion at the initial request level. No charge will be made for review at the administrative appeal level for an exemption already applied. However, record or record portions withheld under an exemption that is subsequently determined not to apply may be reviewed again to determine whether any other exemption not previously considered applies; the costs of that review are chargeable where it is made necessary by a change of circumstances. Review fees will be charged at the same rates as those charged for a search under paragraph (c)(1) of this section.
(d) Limitations on charging fees. (1) No search fee will be charged for requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media.
(1) No search fee will be charged for requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media.
(2) No search fee or review fee will be charged for a quarter-hour period unless more than half of that period is required for search or review.
(3) Except for requesters seeking records for a commercial use, TVA will provide the following without charge:
(i) The first 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent); and
(ii) The first two hours of search (or the cost equivalent).
(4) No fee is charged to any requester if the cost of collecting the fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself.
(5) The provisions of paragraphs (d)(3) and (4) of this section work together. This means that for requesters other than those seeking records for a commercial use, no fee will be charged unless the cost of search in excess of two hours plus the cost of duplication in excess of 100 pages is equal to or greater than the fee itself.
(e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00. When TVA determines or estimates that the fees to be charged under this section will amount to more than $25.00, TVA shall notify the requester of the actual or estimated amount of the fees, unless the requester has indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. If only a portion of the fee can be estimated readily, TVA shall advise the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total fee. In cases in which a requester has been notified that actual or estimated fees amount to more than $25.00, the request shall not be considered received and further work shall not be done on it until the requester agrees to pay the anticipated total fee. Any such agreement should be documented in writing. A notice under this paragraph will offer the requester an opportunity to discuss the matter with TVA personnel in order to reformulate the request to meet the requester's needs at a lower cost.
(f) Charges for other services. Apart from the other provisions of this section, when TVA chooses as a matter of administrative discretion to provide a special service--such as certifying that records are true copies or sending them by other than ordinary mail--the direct costs of providing the service ordinarily will be charged.
(g) Charging interest. TVA may charge interest on any unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the date of billing the requester. Interest charges will be assessed at the rate provided in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the date of the billing until payment is received by TVA.
(h) Aggregating requests. When TVA reasonably believes that a requester or a group of requesters acting together is attempting to divide a request into a series of requests for the purpose of avoiding fees, TVA may aggregate those requests and charge accordingly. TVA may presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made in order to avoid fees. Where requests are separated by a longer period, TVA will aggregate them only where there exists a solid basis for determining that aggregation is warranted under all of the circumstances involved. Multiple requests involving unrelated matters will not be aggregated.
(i) Advance payments. (1) For requests other than those described in paragraphs (i)(2) and (3) of this section, TVA shall not require the requester to make an advance payment-in other words, a payment made before work is begun or continued on a request. Payment owed for work already completed (i.e., a prepayment before copies are sent to a requester) is not an advance payment.
(1) For requests other than those described in paragraphs (i)(2) and (3) of this section, TVA shall not require the requester to make an advance payment-in other words, a payment made before work is begun or continued on a request. Payment owed for work already completed (i.e., a prepayment before copies are sent to a requester) is not an advance payment.
(2) Where TVA determines or estimates that a total fee to be charged under this section will be more than $250.00, it may require the requester to make an advance payment of an amount up to the amount of the entire anticipated fee before beginning to process the request, except where it receives a satisfactory assurance of full payment from a requester that has a history of prompt payment.
(3) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a properly charged FOIA fee to TVA or another agency within 30 days of the date of billing, TVA may require the requester to pay the full amount due, plus any applicable interest, and to make an advance payment of the full amount of any anticipated fee, before TVA begins to process a new request or continues to process a pending request from that requester.
(4) In cases in which TVA requires advance payment or payment due under paragraph (i) (2) or (3) of this section, the request shall not be considered received and further work will not be done on it until the required payment is received.
(j) Other fees for TVA published materials. The fee schedule of this section does not apply to fees charged by TVA for documents, including maps or reports and the like, which TVA sells to the public at established prices. Where records responsive to requests are maintained for distribution and sale by TVA at established prices. TVA will inform requesters of the steps for obtaining records from those sources so that they may do so most economically.
(k) Waiver or reduction of fees. (1) Records responsive to a request will be furnished without charge or at a charge reduced below that established under paragraph (c) of this section where TVA determines, based on all available information, that the requester has documented that:
(1) Records responsive to a request will be furnished without charge or at a charge reduced below that established under paragraph (c) of this section where TVA determines, based on all available information, that the requester has documented that:
(i) Disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and
(ii) Disclosure of the information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
(2) To determine whether the first fee waiver requirement is met, TVA will consider the following factors:
(i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns ``the operations or activities of the government.'' The subject of the requested records must concern identifiable operations or activities of the federal government, with a connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.
(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding of government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the requested records must be meaningfully informative about government operations or activities in order to be ``likely to contribute'' to an increased public understanding of those operations or activities. The disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in either a duplicative or a substantially identical form, would not be as likely to contribute to such understanding where nothing new would be added to the public's understanding.
(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to ``public understanding.'' The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public shall be considered. It shall be presumed that a representative of the news media will satisfy this consideration.
(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to public understanding of government operations or activities. The public's understanding of the subject in question, as compared to the level of public understanding existing prior to the disclosure, must be enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent. TVA shall not make value judgments about whether information that would contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government is ``important'' enough to be made public.
(3) To determine whether the second fee waiver requirement is met, TVA will consider the following factors:
(i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. TVA shall consider any commercial interest of the requester (with reference to the definition of ``commercial use'' in paragraph (b) (1) of this section), or of any person on whose behalf the requester may be acting, that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. Requesters shall be given an opportunity in the administrative process to provide explanatory information regarding this consideration.
(ii) The primary interest in disclosure. Whether any identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is ``primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.'' A fee waiver or reduction is justified where the public interest standard is satisfied and that public interest is greater in magnitude than that of any identified commercial interest in disclosure. TVA ordinarily shall presume that where a news media requester has satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest will be the interest primarily served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government information for direct economic return shall not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest.
(4) Where only some of the requested records satisfy the requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver shall be granted for those records.
(5) Requests for the waiver or reduction of fees should address the factors listed in paragraphs (k) (2) and (3) of this section, insofar as they apply to each request. TVA will exercise their discretion to consider the cost-effectiveness of their investment of administrative resources in this decisionmaking process, however, in deciding to grant waivers or reductions of fees. [64 FR 4044, Jan. 27, 1999, as amended at 75 FR 11735, Mar. 12, 2010]]