201.11—Requirements for waiver or reduction of fees.
(a)
Fees for processing your request may be waived if you meet the criteria listed in paragraph (b) of this section. The burden is on you to justify entitlement to a fee waiver. Requests for fee waivers are decided on a case-by-case basis. The fact that you have received a fee waiver in the past does not mean you are automatically entitled to a fee waiver for every request you may submit, because the essential element of any fee waiver determination is whether the release of the particular documents sought in the request will likely contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government. The Board will rely on the fee waiver justification you have submitted in your request letter. If you do not submit sufficient justification, your fee waiver request will be denied. The Board may, at its discretion, communicate with you to request additional information if necessary. However, the Board must make a determination on the fee waiver request within the statutory time limit, even if the Board has not received such additional information. In certain circumstances, a partial fee waiver may be appropriate, if some, but not all, of the requested records are likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government.
(b)
The Board will waive fees (in whole or part) if disclosure of all or part of the information is in the public interest because its release:
(1)
Is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government; and