National Appeals Division
Quality of Information Requests

In compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Quality of Information Guidelines, this page provides information pertaining to requests for correction of information disseminated by the National Appeals Division (NAD). Requestors seeking a correction should follow the procedure described at: http://www.ocio.usda.gov/qi_guide/corrections.html.

The USDA Information Quality Guidelines correction mechanisms are not intended to imply any rights of individuals to request amendment of their own records beyond those permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974 or other organization specific laws.

Findings and determinations that the National Appeals Division makes in the course of adjudications involving specific parties are not subject to these Information Quality Guidelines. The exemption for adjudications is limited to adjudications that provide an opportunity to contest information quality in a timely manner. Because there are well-established procedural safeguards and rights to address the quality of factual allegations and adjudicatory decisions, and to provide persons with an opportunity to contest decisions, these Guidelines do not impose any additional requirements on USDA during adjudicative proceedings and do not provide parties to such adjudicative proceedings any additional rights of challenge or appeal.

Where To Submit a Formal Request For Correction

All requests for correction of NAD information must be submitted by letter, fax, or email to :

William M. Pratt
3101 Park Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22302
FAX: 703-305-2825
EMAIL: bill.pratt@usda.gov

Information That Should Be Submitted to NAD With a Request for Correction

Requests for correction of information should include the following elements:

• Statement that the Request for Correction of Information Is Submitted Under USDA's Information Quality Guidelines
• Requestor Contact Information The name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number (if any), email address (if any), and organizational affiliation (if any) of the person requesting the correction.
• Description of Information to Correct The name of the NAD publication, report, or data product; the date of issuance or other identifying information such as the URL of the web page; and a detailed description that clearly identifies the specific information contained in that publication, report, or data product for which a correction is being sought.
• Explanation of Noncompliance With OMB and/or USDA Information Quality Guidelines An explanation that describes how the information fails to meet either the OMB or USDA Information Quality Guidelines.
• Explanation of the Effect of the Alleged Error An explanation that describes the requestor's use of the information in question and how the requestor is affected by the alleged error.
• Recommendation and Justification for How the Information Should Be Corrected The requestor should state specifically how the information should be corrected and explain why the corrections should be made. A request for correction that is specific and provides evidence to support the need for correction is likely to be more persuasive than a request that is general, unfocused, or that simply indicates disagreement with the information in question.

This guidance for the content of requests for correction of information is not intended to constitute a set of legally binding requirements. However, the National Appeals Division may be unable to process, in a timely fashion or at all, requests that omit one or more of the requested elements. Requestors bear the "burden of proof" with respect to the necessity for correction as well as with respect to the type of correction they seek. The National Appeals Division will base its decision on the merits of the information provided by the requestor.

Public Disclosure of Requests For Correction of Information Disseminated by NAD and Requests for Reconsideration of Quality of Information Determinations of NAD Decisions

Requests For Correction Received by NAD
None to date.

Requests For Reconsideration of Quality of Information Determinations Received by NAD
None to date.

Privacy Act Statement
USDA is authorized to obtain certain information under Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law No. 106-554, codified at 44 U.S.C. 3516, note). Information is needed by USDA to process the request for correction and allow USDA to reply accordingly. This information is needed by USDA to respond to the requestor and initiate follow-up contact with the requestor if required. Requestors should not send USDA their Social Security Number. Requestors are advised that they do not have to furnish the information but failure to do so may prevent their request from being processed. The information requestors furnish is almost never used for any purpose other than to process and respond to their request. However, USDA may disclose information to a congressional office in response to an inquiry made on behalf of the requestor, to the Department of Justice, a court, other tribunal when the information is relevant and necessary to litigation, or to a contractor or another Federal agency to help accomplish a function related to this process.