any As used in this part the term: (a) "Department" includes bureau, office, or other unit of the Department of the Interior, whether in Washington, D.C., or in the field, and any officer or employee thereof; (b) "Solicitor" means the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or his authorized representative; (c) "Practice" includes any action taken to support or oppose the assertion of a right before the Department or to support or oppose a request that the Department grant a privilege; and the term "practice" includes any such action whether it relates to the substance of, or to the procedural aspects of handling, a particular matter. The term "practice" does not include the preparation or filing of an application, the filing without comment of documents prepared by one other than the individual making the filing, obtaining from the Department information that is available to the public generally, or the making of inquiries respecting the status of a matter pending before the Department. Also, the term "practice" does not include the representation of an employee who is the subject of disciplinary, loyalty, other personnel administrative proceedings. or § 1.3 Who may practice. (a) Only those individuals who are eligible under the provisions of this section may practice before the Department, but this provision shall not be deemed to restrict the dealings of Indian tribes or members of Indian tribes with the Department. (b) Unless disqualified under the provisions of § 1.4 or by disciplinary action taken pursuant to § 1.6: (1) Any individual who has been formally admitted to practice before the Department under any prior regulations and who is in good standing on December 31, 1963, shall be permitted to practice before the Department. (2) Attorneys at law who are admitted to practice before the courts of any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the District Court of the Virgin Islands will be permitted to practice without filing an application for such privilege. (3) An individual who is not otherwise entitled to practice before the Department may practice in connection with a particular matter on his own behalf or on behalf of (i) a member of his family; (ii) a partnership of which he is a member; (iii) a corporation, business trust, or an association, if such individual is an officer or fulltime employee; (iv) a receivership, decedent's estate, or a trust or estate of which he is the receiver, administrator, or other similar fiduciary; (v) the lessee of a mineral lease that is subject to an operating agreement or sublease which has been approved by the Department and which grants to such individual a power of attorney; (vi) a Federal, State, county, district, territorial, or local government or agency thereof, or a government corporation, or a district or advisory board established pursuant to statute; or (vii) an association or class of individuals who have no specific interest that will be directly affected by the disposition of the particular matter. § 1.4 Disqualifications. No individual may practice before the Department if such practice would violate the provisions of 18 U.S.C., sections. 203, 205, or 207. § 1.5 Signature to constitute certificate. When an individual who appears in a representative capacity signs a paper in practice before the Department, his signature shall constitute his certificate: (a) That under the provisions of this part and the law, he is authorized and qualified to represent the particular party in the matter; (b) That, if he is the partner of a present or former officer or employee, including a special Government employee, the matter in respect of which he intends to practice is not a matter in which such officer or employee of the Government or special Government employee participates or has participated personally and substantially as a Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation or otherwise and that the matter is not the subject of such partner's official Government responsibility; (c) That, if he is a former officer or employee, including a special Government employee, the matter in respect of which he intends to practice is not a matter in which he participated personally and substantially as a Government employee through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, while so employed and, if a period of one year has not passed since the termination of his employment with the Government, that the matter was not under his official responsibility as an officer or employee of the Government; and (d) That he has read the paper; that to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief there is good ground to support its contents; that it contains no scandalous or indecent matter; and that it is not interposed for delay. § 1.6 Disciplinary proceedings. (a) Disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against anyone who is practicing or has practiced before the Department on grounds that he is incompetent, unethical, or unprofessional, or that he is practicing without au thority under the provisions of this part, or that he has violated any provisions of the laws and regulations governing practice before the Department, or that he has been disbarred or suspended by any court or administrative agency. Individuals practicing before the Department should observe the Canons of Professional Ethics of the American Bar Association and those of the Federal Bar Association, by which the Department will be guided in disciplinary matters. (b) Whenever in the discretion of the Solicitor the circumstances warrant consideration of the question whether disciplinary action should be taken against an individual who is practicing or has practiced before the Department, the Solicitor shall appoint a hearing officer to consider and dispose of the case. The hearing officer shall give the individual adequate notice of, and an opportunity for a hearing on, the specific charges against him. The hearing shall afford the individual an opportunity to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The hearing officer shall render a decision either (1) dismissing the charges, or (2) reprimanding the individual or suspending or excluding him from practice before the Department. (c) Within 30 days after receipt of the decision of the hearing officer reprimanding, suspending, or excluding an individual from practice before the Department, an appeal may be filed with the Solicitor, whose decision shall be final. 2.50 FEDERAL REGISTER notices describing systems of records. 2.51 Assuring integrity of records. 2.52 Conduct of employees. 2.53 Government contracts. 2.54-2.55 [Reserved] 2.56 Disclosure of records. 2.57 Accounting for disclosures. 2.58-2.59 [Reserved] 2.60 Request for notification of existence of records: Submission. 2.61 Request for notification of existence of records: Action on. 2.62 Requests for access to records. 2.63 Requests for access to records: Submission. 2.64 Requests for access to records: Initial decision. 2.65 Requests for notification of existence of records and for access to records: Appeals. 2.66 Requests for access to records: Special situations. 2.67-2.69 [Reserved] 2.70 Amendment of records. 2.71 Petitions for amendment: Submission and form. 2.72 Petitions for amendment: Processing and initial decision. 2.73 Petitions for amendments: Time limits for processing. 2.74 Petitions for amendment: Appeals. 2.75 Petitions for amendment: Action on appeals. 2.76 [Reserved] 2.77 Statements of disagreement. 2.78 [Reserved] 2.79 Exemptions. Sec. Subpart E-Compulsory Process and Testimony of Employees 2.80 Compulsory process. APPENDIX A-FEES APPENDIX B-BUREAUS AND OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AUTHORITY: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552 and 552a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; and 43 U.S.C. 1460. SOURCE: 40 FR 7305, Feb. 19, 1975, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A-Opinions in Adjudication of Cases, Administrative Manuals § 2.1 Purpose and scope. This subpart contains the regulations of the Department of the Interior concerning the availability to the public of opinions issued in the adjudication of cases and of administrative manuals. Persons interested in obtaining access to other records are directed to the procedures for submission of Freedom of Information requests set out in Subpart B of this part. § 2.2 Opinions in adjudication of cases. (a)(1) Copies of final decisions and orders issued on and after July 1, 1970, in the following categories of cases are available for inspection and copying in the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ballston Building No. 3, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203: (i) Contract appeals: (ii) Appeals from decisions rendered by departmental officials relating to the use and disposition of public lands and their resources and the use and disposition of mineral resources in certain acquired lands of the United States and in the submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf; (iii) Appeals from orders and decisions issued by departmental officials and administrative law judges in proceedings relating to mine health and safety; and (iv) Appeals from orders and decisions of administrative law judges in Indian probate matters other than those involving estates of Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes and Osage Indians. (2) Copies of final opinions and orders issued in the following categories of cases are available for inspection and copying in the Docket and Records Section, Office of the Solicitor, Interior Building, Washington, D.C. 20240: (i) Tort claims decided in the headquarters office of the Office of the Solicitor, and appeals from decisions of Regional Solicitors or Field Solicitors on tort claims; (ii) Irrigation claims under Public Works Appropriation Acts (e.g., 79 Stat., 1103) or 25 U.S.C. 388 decided in the headquarters office of the Office of the Solicitor, and appeals from decisions of Regional Solicitors on irrigation claims; (iii) Appeals under § 2.18 respecting availability of records; (iv) Appeals from decisions of officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Indian enrollment appeals; and (v) Appeals from decisions of officers of the Bureau of Land Management and of the Geological Survey in proceedings relating to lands or interests in land, contract appeals, and appeals in Indian probate proceedings, issued prior to July 1, 1970. (3) An Index-Digest is issued by the Department. All decisions, opinions and orders issued in the categories of cases described in subdivisions paragraphs (a)(1), (i), (ii), and (iii) of this section (that is, contract appeals, land appeals, and mine health and safety appeals), are covered in the IndexDigest; in addition, the Index-Digest covers the more important decisions, opinions and orders in the remaining categories of cases described in paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (a)(2) (i) through (iv) of this section, and the more important opinions of law issued by the Office of the Solicitor. The IndexDigest is available for use by the public in the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ballston Building No. 3, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203, in the Docket and Records Section, Office of the Solicitor, Interior Building, Washington, D.C. 20240, and in the offices of the Regional Solicitors and Field Solicitors. Selected decisions, opinions, and orders are published in a series entitled "Decisions of the United States Department of the Interior" (cited as I.D.), and copies may be obtained by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. (4) Copies of final opinions and orders issued by Regional Solicitors on tort claims and irrigation claims, and copies of final opinions and orders on appeals in Indian probate proceedings issued by Regional Solicitors prior to July 1, 1970, are available for inspection and copying in their respective offices. Copies of final opinions and orders issued by Field Solicitors on tort claims are available for inspection and copying in their respective offices. (b)(1) Copies of final decisions and orders issued prior to July 1, 1970, on appeals to the Director, Bureau of Land Management, and by hearing examiners of the Bureau of Land Management, in proceedings relating to lands and interests in land are available for inspection and copying in the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ballston Building No. 3, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203, and in the offices of the Departmental administrative law judges. (2) Copies of final decisions, opinions and orders issued on and after July 1, 1970, by departmental administrative law judges in all proceedings before them are available for inspection and copying in their respective offices and in the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Ballston Building No. 3, 4015 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22203. (3) Copies of final decisions, opinions and orders issued by administrative law judges in Indian probate proceedings are available for inspection and copying in their respective offices. § 2.3 Administrative manuals. The Departmental Manual is available for inspection in the Departmental Library, Interior Building, Washington, D.C., and at each of the regional offices of bureaus of the Department. The administrative manuals of those bureaus which have issued such documents are available for inspection at the headquarters officers and at the regional offices of the bu reaus. Subpart B-Inspection of Records § 2.11 Purpose and scope. (a) This subpart contains the regulations of the Department of the Interior implementing the requirement of subsection (a)(3) of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. section 552(a) (3), which provides that the Department "upon any request for records which (1) reasonably describes such records and (2) is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any), and procedures to be followed, shall make the records promptly available to any person." This subpart describes the procedures by which records may be obtained from all constituent units of the Department of the Interior. The procedures in this subpart are not applicable to requests for records published in the Federal Register or opinions in the adjudication of cases, statements of policy and interpretations and administrative staff manuals which have been published or made available under Subpart A of this part. (b) Before invoking the formal procedures set out below, persons seeking information or records of the Department may find it useful to consult with officials of the bureau possessing the information or records or the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. [40 FR 7305, Feb. 19, 1975; 40 FR 10670, Mar. 7, 1975, as amended at 47 FR 38325, Aug. 31, 1982] with the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. (b) Statutory disclosure requirement. The Freedom of Information Act requires that the Department, on a request from a member of the public to inspect or copy records made in accordance with the procedures in this subpart, shall promptly make the records available. (c) Statutory exemptions. The Act exempts nine categories of records from this disclosure requirement. The Act provides that disclosure is not required of matters that are: (1) Specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order; (2) Related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency; (3) Specifically exempt from disclosure by statute; (4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential; (5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency; (6) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) Investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such records would (i) interfere with enforcement proceedings; (ii) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (iii) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (iv) disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source, (v) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel; |