Upon receipt of your request, the District will reply with a letter providing a tracking number so that you will be able to check on the status of your request. Whenever possible, an initial determination to release or deny a record will be made within 20 working days after receipt of the request by the official who is designated to respond. Because of the significant number of requests received, in fairness to all requesters, the St. Paul District processes requests in the order of their receipt and according to their complexity. If unusual circumstances exist that preclude a timely response, you will be informed of the estimated completion date and reason(s) for delay.
Possible unusual circumstances include:
• The need to search for and collect the requested records from other facilities that are separate from the office determined responsible for a release or denial decision on the requested information
• The need to search for, collect, and examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are requested in a single request
• The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with other agencies having a substantial interest in the determination of the request, or among two or more DOD Components having a substantial subject-matter interest in the request.