U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REPORT
FISCAL YEAR 2003

I. Basic Information Regarding Report

A.�Person to be contacted with questions about the report:

Kathy Ray, FOIA Officer
U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of General Counsel (C-12)
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5432
Washington, D.C.� 20590
(202) 366-5546

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

www.dot.gov/foia/

C. Person to be contacted for a copy of the report in paper form:

Darlene Wallace, Paralegal Specialist
U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of General Counsel (C-12)
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5432
Washington, D.C.� 20590
(202) 366-4245

II. How to Make a FOIA Request

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

Kathy Ray, FOIA Officer
Office of the Secretary (C-12)
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5432
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-5546
Fax (202) 366-8536

Jeffrey W. Davis, FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
Office of Inspector General (J-3)
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 9210
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-8751
Fax (202) 366-1975

Robert A. Monniere, Attorney
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (K-2)
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 3105
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-5498
Fax (202) 366-3640

James Kabel, FOIA Officer
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 4428
Washington, D.C. 20590
Tel (202) 366-0534
Fax (202) 366-3235

Theresa M. Rowlett, Division Chief
Business Information and Operations Division (MC-MBI)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 385-2323
Fax (202) 385-2335

Lauren Price, FOIA Officer
Office of Chief Counsel
Federal Railroad Administration
1120 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Stop-10
Washington, D.C.� 20005
Tel (202) 493-6103
Fax (202) 493-6068

Inga Reeder, FOIA Officer
Federal Transit Administration
TAD-10, Room 9107
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Tel (202) 366-2494
Fax (202) 366-7164

Christine S. Gurland
FOIA Officer
Maritime Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 7228
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-5181
Fax (202) 366-7485

Executive Secretariat
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 5221
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-2370
Fax (202) 366-3820

Gail Mayhew
Office of Chief Counsel
Research and Special Programs Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Room 8407
Washington, D.C.� 20590
Tel (202) 366-4353
Fax (202) 366-7041

Edward Margosian
Senior FOIA Official
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
PO Box 520
Massena, NY� 13662-0520
Tel (315) 764-3275
Fax (315) 764-3235

Tracy Paquin, Acting Manager
National FOIA Staff (ARC-40)
Federal Aviation Administration
800 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20591
Tel (202) 267-9165
Fax (202) 493-5032

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Field Offices:

B. Brief description of the agency's response-time ranges.

We answered most requests within 20 to 30 working days.� If a request could not be answered within this period of time, it usually meant that the request was either voluminous or complex in nature.�

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

Some requested records were withheld pursuant to the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. �� 552(b)(1)-(9)).� Other reasons for not granting requests for records included:

• The requestor did not seek records.� Rather, he or she was seeking answers to questions under the guise of a FOIA request.
• DOT did not have the records sought.
• The records sought were not described so as to make a search possible.
• The information from the records sought was publicly available.
• The request was the province of another statute such as the Privacy Act.
• Outstanding fees for previous requests had not been paid.� ����

III.�Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report

A.���� Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.�

* Note:� Transferred to the Department of Homeland Security pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. 107-296.

B.� Basic terms expressed in common terminology.

1. FOIA / PA Request-Freedom of Information Act / Privacy Act request.� A FOIA request is generally a request for access to records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular topic of interest.� A Privacy Act request is a request for records concerning oneself; such requests may also be treated as FOIA requests.

2. Initial Request-a request to a federal agency for access to records under the FOIA.

3. Appeal-a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a full denial or partial denial of access to records under the FOIA, or any other FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.

4. Processed Request or Appeal-a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action on the request or the appeal in all respects.

5. 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 in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for records may request expedited processing (see below).

6. Expedited Processing-an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants prioritization of the request over other requests that were made earlier.

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

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

9. Grant-an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

10. Partial Grant-an agency decision to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting information determined to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in their entirety, but to withhold others in whole or in part.

11. Denial-an agency decision not to release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or for some procedural reason (such as no record is located in response to a FOIA request).

12. Time Limits-the time period pursuant to the FOIA for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a "perfected" FOIA request).

13. Perfected Request-a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.

14. Exemption 3 Statute-a separate federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type of information and authorizing its withholding under FOIA subsection (b)(3).

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

16. 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.

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes

A. List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current fiscal year.

V.� Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests

A. Numbers of Initial Requests:

*Note:� The number of pending shown on our FY 2002 report was 3,885.�� This number included 1,209 pending from the USCG and 193 pending from TSA.� Since both of those agencies are now part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), we subtracted 1,402 from the 3,885, which leaves 2,483 pending.�

The remaining discrepancy of 63 (the difference between the 2,420 we show above as pending and 2,483-the figure after the USCG and TSA pending were subtracted from last year's total pending of 3,885) was reported by FAA and is the result of FY 2002 closures that were not entered into the database until FY 2003.

B. Disposition of initial requests.

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per request).

VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests

A. Number of appeals.

B. Disposition of appeals.

a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used:

VII.�Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests

A. Median processing time for requests processed during the year. *

B. Status of pending requests.

* Note: �All of the numbers in this section (VII) reflect a combination of medians and averages from the various operating administrations and field offices within DOT.� In our FY 2004 report, we plan to show a break-down by operating administration so that true medians can be shown by operating administration.

VIII.�Comparisons with Previous Year

D. Other narrative statements describing agency efforts to improve timeliness of FOIA performance and to make records available to the public (e.g., backlog-reduction efforts; specification of average number of hours per processed request; training activities and public availability of new categories of records).

During FY 2003, the Department received approximately 400 requests for expedited processing.� Of those requests, 103 were accorded expedited processing.

The FAA continues to increase the types and volume of non-sensitive information available to the public on the Internet.

The OIG continues to improve their website by providing high profile products on the website as promptly as possible.� They also continue to provide all of their public audit reports, Congressional testimonies, and correspondence on the website.� The OIG communicates with requesters to effectively scope out their request to better target more efficient searches.

NHTSA has hired 2 full-time employees who carry out the agency's responsibilities under the FOIA.� Additionally, one of the FOIA Specialists attended USDA's week-long FOIA training class.� Finally, the agency continues to update and provide a significant amount of information on the agency's website, including but not limited to a list of all FOIA requests received by the agency from January 2000 through the present.

The FMCSA FOIA staff has reduced its FOIA backlog from approximately 8 months to approximately 1-2 months.� The staff also utilizes e-mail responses and electronic documentation to further optimize their efficiency and to the benefit of the public.

IX. Costs / FOIA Staffing

A. Staffing Levels

B. Total costs (including staff and all resources).

X.�Fees

XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)

Attached is a copy of the Department of Transportation FOIA Regulations, 49 CFR Part 7, Public Availability of Information.