OF
JUSTIC

U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Prisons

Central Office
320 First St., NW
Washington, DC 20534

January 9, 2020

Danielle Ivory
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenuse
New York, NY 10018

Request Number: 2020-01336

Dear Ms. Ivory:

This is in response to the above referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. On 01-02-2020, you submitted a FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). A copy of your request is attached.

After reviewing your request, the BOP determined the request should be aggregated into one request, which is request number 2020-01336. This request was made on 12- 12-2019, which is the date you submitted the earliest request being aggregated. This will ensure you are not disadvantaged by our action.

Department of Justice regulations provide for the aggregation of requests where "a component reasonably believes that a requester...is attempting to divide a single request into a series of requests for the purpose of avoiding fees...." The regulation continues, "Components may presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made in order to avoid fees." 28 C.F.R. § 16.10(h) (2015). BOP's decision to aggregate is based on the time both requests were filed and the interrelation of the records sought in each request. We do not know if any fees will be associated with this request and will inform you of any estimated fees prior to us searching for or copying any responsive records.

Regarding your request for expedited treatment, you provided insufficient information to support your claim regarding an urgency to inform the public. This Office cannot identify a particular urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity beyond the public's right to know about government activities generally.

You provided insufficient information to support your claim you are primarily engaged in disseminating information that would warrant placing your request before all other requests.

Therefore, your request will be processed in the order in which it was received.

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If you would like to discuss how to make your request less burdensome, please feel free to contact the undersigned, this office, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) FOIA Public Liaison, | at 320 First Street NW, Suite 936, Washington DC 20534, or

Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information, Services, National Archives and Records Administration, Room 2510, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ; telephone at toll free at or facsimile at

If you are not satisfied with my response to this request, you may administratively appeal by writing to the Director, Office of Information Policy (OIP), United States Department of Justice, Sixth Floor, 441 G St., NW, Washington, DC 20001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's FOIAonline portal by creating an account at: https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/home. Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days of the date of my response to your request. If you submit your appeal by mail, both the letter and the envelope should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."

Sincerely,

Supervisory Attorney

EFTA00024467