§ 1900.33 Allocation of resources; agreed extensions of time.

(a) In general. Agency components shall devote such personnel and other resources to the responsibilities imposed by the Freedom of Information Act as may be appropriate and reasonable considering: (1) The totality of resources available to the component; (2) The business demands imposed on the component by the DCIA or otherwise by law; (3) The information review and release demands imposed by the Congress or other governmental authority; and (4) The rights of all members of the public under the various information review and disclosure laws. (b) Discharge of FOIA responsibilities—(1) Chief FOIA Officer. The Chief FOIA Officer shall monitor the Agency's compliance with the requirements of the FOIA and administration of its FOIA program. The Chief FOIA Officer shall keep the DCIA, the General Counsel of the CIA, and other officials appropriately informed regarding the Agency's implementation of the FOIA and make recommendations, as appropriate. The Chief FOIA Officer shall designate one or more CIA FOIA Public Liaisons. The CIA FOIA Public Liaison shall be responsible for assisting in reducing delays and assisting in the resolution of disputes between requesters and the Agency. (2) Multi-track processing. The Agency shall exercise due diligence in its responsibilities under the FOIA. The Agency shall designate a specific track for requests that are granted expedited processing, as set forth in § 1900.34. In addition, although the Agency will generally process requests and administrative appeals on a “first in, first out” basis, based upon a reasonable allocation of available resources, the Agency may designate additional processing queues that distinguish between simple and more complex requests based on the estimated amount of time or work needed to complete the processing of the request. The Agency may provide requesters in a slower queue an opportunity to limit the scope of their request in order to qualify for faster processing. (c) Requests for extension of time. When the Agency is unable to meet the statutory time requirements of the FOIA due to unusual circumstances, as defined in the FOIA, and the Agency extends the time limit on that basis, the Agency shall, before the expiration of the 20-business day time limit to respond, notify the requester in writing of the unusual circumstances involved and of an estimated date by which processing of the request is expected to be completed. When the extension exceeds 10 business days, the Agency shall, as described in the FOIA, provide the requester with an opportunity to modify the scope of the request or arrange an alternative time period for processing the original or modified request. CIA's FOIA Requester Service Center or the CIA FOIA Public Liaison are available to assist in this process. The Agency shall also alert the requester to the availability of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to provide dispute resolution services.