SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT

Q: How long will it take for the Corps to Respond to my request?

A: Under the FOIA statute, Corps of Engineer FOIA Office have twenty business days to respond to a FOIA request.  This time period begins when the request is received by the FOIA Office that maintains the documents requested.

Many requests require a detailed review of hundreds or even thousands of pages of documents. Although the San Francisco District makes every effort to respond to FOIA requests as quickly as possible, in some cases it is simply impossible to do so within the specified time period. This may be due to the size of the request, the location of the documents, or a backlog of previously received requests awaiting processing.

Q: How can I find out about the status of a current request?

Q: Can I appeal the response to my FOIA Request?

A: Yes. You may file an appeal if you are not satisfied with a FOIA office's initial response. You should be advised of your right to file an appeal in the initial denial/determination letter sent by the FOIA Office. Ordinarily, your appeal must be received within 60 days of the date of the component's determination letter. All appeals must be made in writing and addressed to the local FOIA office. The office will prepare an appeal package to send through the FOIA Program Office to the Army General Counsel. Both the front of the envelope and the appeal letter should contain the notation "Freedom of Information Act Appeal." There is no specific form or particular language needed to file an appeal.

You may explain the reason or reasons why you disagree with the component's action, but a simple statement that you are appealing the decision is normally sufficient. If, however, you are appealing because you believe there are additional records that have not been located in response to your request,