The twenty Federal working day time period in which to render an initial determination will proceed without interruption except as provided in the following circumstances:

(a) DOT may toll the initial twenty Federal working day time period one time for the purpose of seeking additional information needed to clarify the request. Examples of such instances include but are not limited to:

(1) When clarification is needed with regard to the scope of a request; or

(2) When the description of the record(s) being sought does not enable the component handling the request to identify or locate the record(s).

(b) DOT may toll the initial twenty Federal working day time period as often as necessary to clarify fee issues with the requester. Examples of such instances include but are not limited to:

(1) When the requester has not sufficiently identified the fee category applicable to the request;

(2) When the requester has not stated a willingness to pay fees as high as anticipated by DOT; or

(3) When a fee waiver request is denied and the requester has not included an alternative statement of willingness to pay fees as high as anticipated by DOT.