It is the Policy of this agency that its public records are open to public inspection and its meetings are open as required by the state Freedom of Information Act. The agency will fully comply with all requests made either by written request or e-mail to a department employee.
- All Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests received must be sent to the Department's Freedom of Information Act Officer immediately so that the agency may provide a timely response. The FOIA Officer will determine whether or not the requested information is exempt. The FOIA Officer, in consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel, will then contact the appropriate division personnel and their Deputy Director, to determine if the information is available and obtain an estimate of research and retrieval time to be incurred along with an estimate of the copying costs. The FOIA Officer will notify the requestor of the cost estimate and request initial payment as expeditiously as possible, but no more than the 15 days allowed by law. Routinely available documents, i.e. current Board minutes, etc., will be furnished at no cost. All employees must fully comply with any request for information from the FOIA Officer. In the event that a request is unintelligible, vague, or extremely over broad, the FOIA officer shall communicate with the requestor to try to better ascertain the subject matter requested. The Department will not charge for time spent in determining whether material is subject to disclosure.
- The Department's FOIA Office must receive all requests no later than the third day following the date of receipt by any division. All divisions must date stamp the request upon receipt.
- Persons appearing in person during regular business hours may inspect and copy documents pursuant to SC Code 30-4-30(d). The office where the individual appears must contact the FOIA officer or the Office of Legal Counsel to determine whether any of the requested material is exempt.
If a record is exempt under the FOIA, the agency may choose to provide that information at its discretion, unless disclosure is prohibited by law. In response to a request where an exemption is claimed, the Department will identify the nature of the exemption claimed and the code section under which it is claimed. - The agency will produce the documents at the lowest possible cost to the requestor; however, the agency will recoup all costs for requests as set forth in S.C. Code Ann. ' 34-4-30(b), unless the department determines that the public interest will be served by a waiver or reduction of the fee. The decision of whether to reduce or waive fees will be made by the Director of the Department. Costs will include copying costs, actual employee compensation and any other costs. V. In accordance with 30-4-30(d)(2) all incident reports for the previous 14 days shall be available for inspection and copying at the District Law Enforcement Offices. The agency will not release information where costs are incurred until full payment is received.
Please send all FOIA requests, to:
Tina M. Beard
Administrative Coordinator/Freedom of Information Officer
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
P.O. Box 167
1000 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29202
Tel: 803-734-4006
Fax: 803-734-3911