(a) CEQ will charge fees equal to:

(1) The basic hourly rate of pay for each employee who participates in searching for records, reviewing records, or duplicating records (including contract employees), multiplied by the total number of hours that the employee worked on your request (rounded to the nearest quarter of an hour), plus 16 percent (to account for employee benefits); plus

(2) The total direct costs that CEQ incurs in searching for, reviewing, or duplicating records, such as the cost of operating computers and other electronic equipment, but excluding overhead expenses such as the cost of office space, heating, and lighting; plus

(3) An additional fee equal to the total direct costs of any additional services that you and CEQ agree upon, such as providing multiple copies of a record.

(b) In determining the fee under paragraph (a) of this section, CEQ will use the following guidelines:

(1) “Searching for records” is the process of looking for and retrieving the records you requested (including by electronic search) and determining whether individual records contain the information that you seek. CEQ will charge fees for searching for records even if we do not locate any records that respond to your request, or even if we determine not to disclose any of the records that we locate.

(2) “Reviewing records” is the process of examining records to determine whether to withhold them, in accordance with § 1515.16, and preparing records for disclosure (for instance, by marking records to indicate which portions CEQ is withholding).

(i) “Reviewing records” also includes the time CEQ spends obtaining and considering the views of other government agencies under § 1515.17 and the time CEQ spends obtaining and considering formal objections to disclosure under § 1515.41.

(ii) “Reviewing records” does not include time CEQ spends resolving general legal or policy questions regarding the application of exemptions.

(iii) CEQ will charge fees for reviewing records even if we determine not to disclose any of the records that we review.

(3) “Duplicating records” is the process of reproducing records, including scanning or printing records as necessary, in order to provide you with a copy.

(4) CEQ may include employee costs and direct costs that another component of the Executive Office of the President incurs in assisting CEQ with your request.

(c) CEQ will not charge fees if the total is less than $25.00, or if we determine that the cost of collecting the fee would exceed the amount of the fee.

(d) If CEQ reasonably determines that you (or other persons acting in concert with you) have submitted multiple requests on related matters for the purpose of avoiding fees, we may aggregate those requests and charge fees accordingly.