40 CFR § 1515.16

40 CFR · Protection of Environment

§ 1515.16 — How does CEQ determine when to withhold records or portions of a record?

40 CFR § 1515.16

TitleTitle 40: Protection of Environment PartPart 1515: Freedom of Information Act Procedures

SourceeCFR (current through Apr 10, 2026)

This text of 40 C.F.R. § 1515.16 (How does CEQ determine when to withhold records or portions of a record?) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

40 C.F.R. § 1515.16 (2026).

Text

§ 1515.16 How does CEQ determine when to withhold records or portions of a record?

(a)If CEQ finds records that are responsive to your request, we will review the records to determine whether to withhold any of the records or portions of individual records.

(b)The FOIA identifies nine exemptions to the requirement that agencies provide agency records upon request. CEQ will only withhold a record or a portion of a record under one of these exemption to the FOIA if CEQ reasonably foresees that disclosing it would harm an interest that the exemption protects. In determining the interests at stake in disclosing or withholding CEQ records, we bear in mind that Congress, in creating CEQ, intended for the CEQ Chair to serve as a confidential advisor to the President and the President's immedia

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

§ 1515.16 How does CEQ determine when to withhold records or portions of a record?

(a) If CEQ finds records that are responsive to your request, we will review the records to determine whether to withhold any of the records or portions of individual records.

(b) The FOIA identifies nine exemptions to the requirement that agencies provide agency records upon request. CEQ will only withhold a record or a portion of a record under one of these exemption to the FOIA if CEQ reasonably foresees that disclosing it would harm an interest that the exemption protects. In determining the interests at stake in disclosing or withholding CEQ records, we bear in mind that Congress, in creating CEQ, intended for the CEQ Chair to serve as a confidential advisor to the President and the President's immediate advisors on matters of environmental policy.

(c) CEQ will also withhold a record, or a portion of a record, if disclosing it would violate another provision of the FOIA or a law other than the FOIA.

(d) If the record concerns another government agency, CEQ generally will involve the other agency in determining whether to withhold the record or portions of the record, using the procedures at § 1515.17.