2013 Annual FOIA Report

FEDERAL MINE SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION
ANNUAL FOIA REPORT
FY 2013

I. BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

1. Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with questions about the report:

  Linda H. Ghosal, Esq.
  Chief FOIA Officer
  1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 520N
  Washington, D.C. 20004
  ph: (202) 434-9935
  fx: (202) 434-9944
  email: foia@fmshrc.gov

2. Electronic address for report on the World Wide Web:

  http://www.fmshrc.gov/foia/reports

3. How to obtain a copy of the report in paper form.

Contact the Chief FOIA Officer at the address, telephone number, or email address above.

II. MAKING A FOIA REQUEST

1. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA requests.

All FOIA requests to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission are made to the Chief FOIA Officer at the address above.  

2.  Brief description of why some requests are not granted.

The most frequent reason why requests are not granted is that no records responsive to the request were located.

3.  Electronic address for FMSHRC FOIA regulations:

http://www.fmshrc.gov/rules/foia

III. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS

1. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.

  a. Commission — Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

  b. FMSHRC — Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

  c. Mine Act — Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

2. Basic terms, expressed in common terminology

a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.

b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group.  For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.

c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.

d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a “component” is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests.  The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.

e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document.  Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it.  That agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester. 

f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a “third-party” request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest.  FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., “first-party” requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens.  Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act “systems of records” or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access.  All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. 
Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester.  It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency.  (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)

h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.

j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number.  For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

k. Multi-Track Processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.  Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track.  Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.

1. Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.

2.  Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

3. Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.

q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

The following are concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

a. Exemption 1:  classified national defense and foreign relations information

b. Exemption 2:  internal agency rules and practices

c. Exemption 3:  information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

d. Exemption 4:  trade secrets and other confidential business information

e. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges

f. Exemption 6:  information involving matters of personal privacy

g. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

h. Exemption 8:  information relating to the supervision of financial institutions

i. Exemption 9: geological information on wells

 

Statute	Type of Information Withheld	Case Citation	Agency / Component	Number of Times Relied upon by Agency / Component	Total Number of Times Relied upon by Agency Overall
					0

 

Agency / Component	Number of Requests Pending as of Start of Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Received in Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Processed in Fiscal Year	Number of Requests Pending as of End of Fiscal Year
FMSHRC	3	176	174	5
				0
AGENCY OVERALL	3	176	174	5

 

Agency / Component	Number of Full Grants	Number of Partial Grants / Partial Denials	Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions	Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions
				No Records	All Records Referred to Another Component or Agency	Request Withdrawn	Fee-Related Reason	Records not Reasonably Described	Improper FOIA Request for Other Reason	Not Agency Record	Duplicate Request	Other *Explain in Chart Below	TOTAL
FMSHRC	166	1	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	174
													0
AGENCY OVERALL	166	1	0	5	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	174

 

Agency / Component	Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B(1)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	TOTAL
FMSHRC	N/A	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL			0

 

Agency / Component	Ex. 1	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(B)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(D)	Ex. 7(E)	Ex. 7(F)	Ex. 8	Ex. 9
FMSHRC	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component	Number of Appeals Pending as of Start of Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Received in Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Processed in Fiscal Year	Number of Appeals Pending as of End of Fiscal Year
FMSHRC	0	1	1	0
				0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	1	1	0

 

Agency / Component	Number Affirmed on Appeal	Number Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	Number Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal	Number of Appeals Closed for Other Reasons	TOTAL
FMSHRC	0	1	0	0	1
					0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	1	0	0	1

 

Agency / Component	Ex. 1	Ex. 2	Ex. 3	Ex. 4	Ex. 5	Ex. 6	Ex. 7(A)	Ex. 7(B)	Ex. 7(C)	Ex. 7(D)	Ex. 7(E)	Ex. 7(F)	Ex. 8	Ex. 9
FMSHRC	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component	No Records	Records Referred at Initial Request Level	Request Withdrawn	Fee-Related Reason	Records not Reasonably Described	Improper Request for Other Reasons	Not Agency Record	Duplicate Request or Appeal	Request in Litigation	Appeal Based Solely on Denial of Request for Expedited Processing	Other *Explain in chart below
FMSHRC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component	Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C(2)	Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Relied Upon	TOTAL
FMSHRC	N/A	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL			0

 

Agency / Component	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
AGENCY OVERALL	27.00	27.00	27.00	27.00

 

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Appeal	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Appeal
	Date of Appeal
	Number of Days Pending
AGENCY OVERALL	Date of Appeal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Number of Days Pending	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component	SIMPLE				COMPLEX				EXPEDITED PROCESSING
	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
AGENCY OVERALL	1	3.1	1	24	6	8.9	1	34	7	5.7	1	9

 

Agency / Component	SIMPLE				COMPLEX				EXPEDITED PROCESSING
	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Lowest Number of Days	Highest Number of Days
AGENCY OVERALL	1	3	1	24	6	9.3	1	34	7	5.7	1	9

 

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	TOTAL
FMSHRC	142	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	144
														0
AGENCY OVERALL	142	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	144

 

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	TOTAL
FMSHRC	23	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26
														0
AGENCY OVERALL	23	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26

 

Agency / Component	<1-20 Days	21-40 Days	41-60 Days	61-80 Days	81-100 Days	101-120 Days	121-140 Days	141-160 Days	161-180 Days	181-200 Days	201-300 Days	301-400 Days	401+ Days	TOTAL
FMSHRC	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
														0
AGENCY OVERALL	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3

 

Agency / Component	SIMPLE			COMPLEX			EXPEDITED PROCESSING
	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days	Number Pending	Median Number of Days	Average Number of Days
AGENCY OVERALL	2	1.5	1.5	3	20	16	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Request	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Request
	Date of Receipt
	Number of Days Pending
AGENCY OVERALL	Date of Receipt	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2013-09-30	2013-09-30	2013-09-30	2013-09-24	2013-08-21
	Number of Days Pending	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	20	27

 

Agency / Component	Number Granted	Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate	Number Adjudicated Within Ten Calendar Days
AGENCY OVERALL	3	0	7	5.7	3

 

Agency / Component	Number Granted	Number Denied	Median Number of Days to Adjudicate	Average Number of Days to Adjudicate
AGENCY OVERALL	6	0	7.5	7.8

 

IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

Agency / Component	PERSONNEL			COSTS
	Number of "Full-Time FOIA Employees"	Number of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees"	Total Number of "Full-Time FOIA Staff"	Processing Costs	Litigation-Related Costs	Total Costs
FMSHRC	0	0.5	0.5	$125,000.00	$0.00	$125,000.00
			0			$0.00
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0.5	0.5	$125,000.00	$0.00	$125,000.00

 

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Agency / Component	Total Amount of Fees Collected	Percentage of Total Costs
FMSHRC	$503.50	0.40%
AGENCY OVERALL	$503.50	0.40%

 

XII.A. BACKLOGS OF FOIA REQUESTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of Fiscal Year	Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year
FMSHRC	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0

An extension was granted for the oldest pending appeal and thus is not included in backlogged

requests pending as of the end of the fiscal year.

Agency / Component	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that werePending at the Agency as of Start of the Fiscal Year	Number of ConsultationsReceived from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that wereProcessed by the Agency During the Fiscal Year	Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that werePending at the Agency as of End of the Fiscal Year
FMSHRC	0	1	1	0
				0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	1	1	0

 

Agency / Component		10th Oldest Consultation	9th	8th	7th	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	Oldest Consultation
	Date
	Number of Days
AGENCY OVERALL	Date	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Number of Days	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

Agency / Component	NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED		NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED
	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
FMSHRC	188	176	189	174
AGENCY OVERALL	188	176	189	174

 

Agency / Component	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report	Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
FMSHRC	0	0
AGENCY OVERALL	0	0

An extension was granted for the oldest pending request and thus has not been included here as a pending

backlogged request.

Agency / Component	NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED		NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED
	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report	Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
FMSHRC	0	1	0	1
AGENCY OVERALL	0	1	0	1