(a) General provisions. In determining records that are responsive to a request, Amtrak will ordinarily include only records that exist and are in the possession and control of the Corporation as of the date that the search is begun. If any other date is used, the requesting party will be informed of that date.

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(b) Authority to grant or deny requests. Amtrak’s FOIA Officer is authorized to grant or deny any request for records.

(c) Notice of referral. If Amtrak refers all or any part of the responsibility for responding to a request to another organization, the requesting party will be notified. A referral shall not be considered a denial of access within the meaning of this part. All consultations and referrals of requests will be handled according to the date that the FOIA request was initially received.

(d) Creating a record. There is no obligation on the part of Amtrak to create a record to satisfy a FOIA request. Amtrak may create a new record in its sole discretion, however, when doing so would result in a more useful response to the requesting party or would be less burdensome to Amtrak than providing existing records. The cost of creating such a record may not be charged to the requester unless the fee for creating the record is equal to or less than the fee that would be charged for providing the existing record.

(e) Incomplete records. If the records requested are not complete at the time of a request, Amtrak may, at its discretion, inform the requester that complete nonexempt records will be provided when available without having to submit an additional request.

(f) Electronic records. Amtrak is not obligated to process a request for electronic records where creation of a record, programming, or a particular format would result in a significant expenditure of resources or interfere with the corporation’s operations.