§ 1301.9 - Appeals.

§ 1301.9 Appeals.

(a) Appeals of adverse determinations. If you are dissatisfied with Requirements for making an appeal. A requester may appeal any adverse determinations to TVA's response to your request, you may appeal an adverse determination denying your request, in any respect, to TVA's FOIA Appeal office designated to receive FOIA appeals (FOIA Appeals Office). Examples of adverse determinations are provided in § 1301.6(e) of this subpart. Requesters can submit appeals by mail to TVA FOIA Appeals Official, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 W. Summit Hill Drive (WT 7D7C), Knoxville, Tennessee TN 37902-1401. You The requester must make your the appeal in writing , and to be considered timely it must be received by the FOIA Appeal Official within 30 days of postmarked within 90 calendar days after the date of the letter denying your request. Your appeal letter may include as much or as little related information as you wish, as long as it clearly identifies the TVA determination (including initial response. The appeal should clearly identify the agency determination that is being appealed and the assigned request number, if known) that you are appealing. An adverse determination by the TVA FOIA Appeal Official will be the final action of TVA.

(b) Responses to appeals. The decision on your appeal will be made in writing within 20 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after an appeal is received. A decision affirming an adverse

. To facilitate handling, the requester should mark both the appeal letter and envelope “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”

(b) Adjudication of appeals.

(1) The TVA Chief FOIA Officer and FOIA Appeals Official or designee will act on all appeals under this section.

(2) An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes a matter of FOIA litigation.

(3) On receipt of any appeal involving classified information, the Chief FOIA Officer and FOIA Appeals Official will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with applicable classification rules.

(c) Decisions on appeals. TVA will provide its decision on an appeal in writing. A decision that upholds TVA's determination in whole or in part

shall

must contain a statement

of the reason(s)

that identifies the reasons for the affirmance, including any FOIA

exemption(s) applied,

exemptions applied. The decision must provide the requester with notification of the statutory right to file a lawsuit and will inform

you

the requester of the

FOIA provisions for court review of the decision. If the adverse determination is reversed

dispute resolution services offered by the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) of the National Archives and Records Administration as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If TVA's decision is remanded or modified on appeal,

in whole or in part, you will be notified in a written decision and your request will be reprocessed

TVA will notify the requester of that determination in writing. TVA will then further process the request in accordance with that appeal

decision

determination and will respond directly to the requester.

(

c)

d) Engaging in dispute resolution services provided by OGIS. Dispute resolution is a voluntary process. If TVA agrees to participate in the dispute resolution services provided by OGIS, it will actively engage as a partner to the process in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

(e) When appeal is required.

If you wish to seek

Before seeking review by a court of

any

TVA's adverse determination,

you

a requester generally must first

appeal it under this section.

[64 FR 4044, Jan. 27, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 16513, Mar. 29, 2000; 67 FR 14853, Mar. 28, 2002; 75 FR 11735, Mar. 12, 2010]

submit a timely administrative appeal.