USGS data visualization style guides
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
USGS-2019-00076 |
| Submitted | Feb. 9, 2019 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Ben Welsh
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
A copy of any and all style guides that govern how USGS creates and formats information graphics and data visualizations.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ben Welsh
From: U.S. Geological Survey
Dear Mr. Welsh:
On February 11, 2019, the USGS Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office
received your FOIA request, dated February 9, 2019, and assigned it control
number *USGS-2019-00076*. Please cite this number in any future
communications with our office regarding your request. You request the
following information:
A copy of any and all style guides that govern how USGS creates and formats
information graphics and data visualizations.
Before proceeding with your request, I want to inform you that this request
presents *unusual circumstances*: the need to search for or collect records
from a field facility or establishment separate from the office processing
the request. Therefore, we are taking a 10-workday extension under *43
C.F.R. § 2.19(b)*
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.4.5.6>
*.*
As a result of the unusual circumstances, your request meets the exceptions
to Section 2 of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 rule against assessing
FOIA processing fees. We will notify you if we need to take an additional
extension.
We have classified you as a representative of the “news media” requester.
As such, we may charge you for some of our duplication costs, but we will
not charge you for our search or review costs; you also are entitled to up
to 100 pages of photocopies (or an equivalent volume) for free. *See*
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.3>*43
C.F.R. § 2.39*
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.3>.
If, after taking into consideration your fee category entitlements, our
processing costs are less than $50.00, we will not bill you because the
cost of collection would be greater than the fee collected. *See*
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.13>*43
C.F.R. § 2.49(a)(1)*
<http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec&rgn=div5&view=text&node=43:1.1.1.1.2&idno=43#43:1.1.1.1.2.7.5.13>*.
*You can expect to hear from us promptly regarding the outcome of this
search.
We use Multitrack Processing to process FOIA requests. The Simple track is
for requests that can be processed in one to five workdays. The Normal
track is for requests that can be processed in six to twenty workdays. The
Complex track is for requests that can be processed in twenty-one to sixty
workdays. The Exceptional/Voluminous track is for requests requiring more
than sixty workdays for processing. The Expedited track is for requests
that have been granted expedited processing. Within each track, requests
are usually processed on a first-in, first-out basis.
Your request falls into the *Complex* processing track. We therefore
anticipate that we will complete a final response to you by *May 6, 2019**.*
During the interim, we will attempt to provide records to you in batches.
You may limit the scope of your request, which may enable us to process it
more quickly, or agree to an alternative time period for processing by
communicating with us or our USGS FOIA Public Liaison, Mr. Brian May, as
follows:
USGS FOIA Office
Attention: Mr. Brian A. May
5522 Research Park Drive
Baltimore, Maryland 21228
Telephone: (443) 498-5521
Fax: (443) 498-5510
E-Mail: foia@usgs.gov
Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services
(OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about
the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS
is as follows:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS
College Park, Maryland 20740-6001
Telephone: (202) 741-5770
Toll free: 1-877-684-6448
Fax: (202) 741-5769
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov;
Web: https://ogis.archives.gov
If you have any questions concerning your request, please contact me by
email at foia@usgs.gov or by phone at (303) 236-2733.
Thank you for your interest in the U.S. Geological Survey.
Sincerely,
//SIGNED//
Nour Suleiman
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior
Denver Federal Center
Box 25046
Mail Stop 801A
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 236-2733 (office)
(303) 236-1451 (fax)
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 9, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #USGS-2019-00076.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Geological Survey
Good Morning Mr. Welsh,
Thank you for contacting us, we are working with our Office of
Communications and Publishing to respond to your request. We are still on
track to respond by May 6, 2019. Feel free to call my work cell phone if
you want to discuss your request with me.
Sincerely,
//SIGNED//
Brian A. May
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer
FOIA Public Liaison
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior
5522 Research Park Drive
Baltimore, MD 21228
(443) 498-5521 (office)
(443) 750-2620 (work cell)
(443) 498-5510 (fax)
f <bmay@usgs.gov>oia@usgs.gov
From: U.S. Geological Survey
Dear Mr. Welsh,
As of yet, we have been unable to make a determination on your requests,
assigned tracking number USGS-2019-00076. We apologize for this delay.
Attached is a list of USGS's Open FOIA requests and the processing tracks;
your case is highlighted in yellow. Your request is currently 6th place in
our overall processing queue and 2nd in my processing queue. DOI's policy
is to process requests by processing track, on a first-in; first-out
basis. We have a backlog of 63 cases.
Based on the number of requests ahead of yours in the
Normal processing queue, we anticipate that we will complete
the processing of your request and send a final response to you by *April
12, 2019*. During the interim, we will endeavor to provide records to you
in batches and keep you apprised of our progress.
If we identify any FOIA Exemptions, we will need to coordinate a legal
review with the Department of the Interior, Office of the
Solicitor. Depending if any other Government Agency/Department has equity
in any of the records, we will also have to consult with those
Agencies/Departments regarding those records.
Although we hope that you will wait so that we can complete our
review process, please note that you may seek dispute resolution services
from our FOIA Public Liaison and FOIA Officer, Mr. Brian May. He can be
reached at:
U.S. Geological Survey
FOIA Public Liaison
5522 Research Park Drive
Baltimore, Maryland 21228
Telephone: (443) 498-5521
Fax: (443) 498-5510
Email: f*oia@usgs.gov <oia@usgs.gov>*
You may also seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government
Information Services (OGIS). If you choose to contact OGIS, you may do so
in any of the following ways:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, Maryland 20740-6001
Telephone: (202) 741-5770
Toll-free: 1 (877) 684-6448
Fax: (202) 741-5769
Email: *ogis@nara.gov <ogis@nara.gov>*
Web: *https://ogis.archives.gov
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ogis.archives.gov_&d=DwMFaQ&c=Ff2GokX4A_6S-cy_JRNEiQ&r=5fe8xvHMnQNWFUoPUJMGtXkCPTTGA70Xkgj7c_IEoF0&m=4yEoo7bGhPUszxAJDfxRBSD2RSmIXVLkjXZ_vUElgJY&s=J4Mg-R32es5XLCuqqa1nd3m3Z1PvzY-W6iO38xhlTh8&e=>*
Please note that you may file an appeal with the Department’s FOIA/Privacy
Act Appeals Officer regarding this delay. If you choose
to appeal this delay, you may do so anytime between now and the date we
make our determination on the FOIA request. Appeals arriving or delivered
after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, will be deemed received
on the next workday.
*Your **appeal must be made in writing.* You may submit your appeal and
accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail,
courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning
your appeal should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION APPEAL." You must also include with your appeal copies of all
correspondence between you and USGS concerning your FOIA request, including
your original FOIA request and USGS's response. Failure to include with
your appeal all correspondence between you and USGS will result in the
Department's rejection of your appeal, unless the FOIA/Privacy
Act Appeals Officer determines (in the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer’s
sole discretion) that good cause exists to accept the defective appeal.
Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and
telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number
(if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs
additional information or clarification of your appeal.
*DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Contact Information*
Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: *FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov <FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov>*
Please note that using OGIS services does not affect the timing of filing
an appeal with the Department’s FOIA & Privacy Act Appeals Officer. We
regret the delay and appreciate your consideration in this matter. For
more information on FOIA Administrative Appeals, you may review the
Department's FOIA regulations at *43 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart H
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ecfr.gov_cgi-2Dbin_text-2Didx-3Fc-3Decfr-26sid-3D0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec-26rgn-3Ddiv5-26view-3Dtext-26node-3D43-3A1.1.1.1.2-26idno-3D43&d=DwMFaQ&c=Ff2GokX4A_6S-cy_JRNEiQ&r=5fe8xvHMnQNWFUoPUJMGtXkCPTTGA70Xkgj7c_IEoF0&m=4yEoo7bGhPUszxAJDfxRBSD2RSmIXVLkjXZ_vUElgJY&s=nwbI3_sxibs_fHQBX8tygEUVy_A1X7FtR_eWsraW-UE&e=>*
.
If you have any questions, please contact me by phone at (303) 236-2733 or
by email at *foia@usgs.gov <foia@usgs.gov>*.
Thank you for your continued patience while we process your request.
Sincerely,
//SIGNED//
Nour Suleiman
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior
Denver Federal Center
Box 25046
Mail Stop 801A
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 236-2733 (office)
(303) 236-1451 (fax)
From: U.S. Geological Survey
Dear Mr. Welsh,
As of yet, we have been unable to make a determination on your requests,
assigned tracking number USGS-2019-00076. We apologize for this delay.
Attached is a list of USGS's Open FOIA requests and the processing tracks;
your case is highlighted in yellow. Your request is currently 6th place in
our overall processing queue and 2nd in my processing queue. DOI's policy
is to process requests by processing track, on a first-in; first-out
basis. We have a backlog of 63 cases.
Based on the number of requests ahead of yours in the
Normal processing queue, we anticipate that we will complete
the processing of your request and send a final response to you by *April
12, 2019*. During the interim, we will endeavor to provide records to you
in batches and keep you apprised of our progress.
If we identify any FOIA Exemptions, we will need to coordinate a legal
review with the Department of the Interior, Office of the
Solicitor. Depending if any other Government Agency/Department has equity
in any of the records, we will also have to consult with those
Agencies/Departments regarding those records.
Although we hope that you will wait so that we can complete our
review process, please note that you may seek dispute resolution services
from our FOIA Public Liaison and FOIA Officer, Mr. Brian May. He can be
reached at:
U.S. Geological Survey
FOIA Public Liaison
5522 Research Park Drive
Baltimore, Maryland 21228
Telephone: (443) 498-5521
Fax: (443) 498-5510
Email: f*oia@usgs.gov <oia@usgs.gov>*
You may also seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government
Information Services (OGIS). If you choose to contact OGIS, you may do so
in any of the following ways:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, Maryland 20740-6001
Telephone: (202) 741-5770
Toll-free: 1 (877) 684-6448
Fax: (202) 741-5769
Email: *ogis@nara.gov <ogis@nara.gov>*
Web: *https://ogis.archives.gov
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ogis.archives.gov_&d=DwMFaQ&c=Ff2GokX4A_6S-cy_JRNEiQ&r=5fe8xvHMnQNWFUoPUJMGtXkCPTTGA70Xkgj7c_IEoF0&m=4yEoo7bGhPUszxAJDfxRBSD2RSmIXVLkjXZ_vUElgJY&s=J4Mg-R32es5XLCuqqa1nd3m3Z1PvzY-W6iO38xhlTh8&e=>*
Please note that you may file an appeal with the Department’s FOIA/Privacy
Act Appeals Officer regarding this delay. If you choose
to appeal this delay, you may do so anytime between now and the date we
make our determination on the FOIA request. Appeals arriving or delivered
after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, will be deemed received
on the next workday.
*Your **appeal must be made in writing.* You may submit your appeal and
accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail,
courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning
your appeal should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION APPEAL." You must also include with your appeal copies of all
correspondence between you and USGS concerning your FOIA request, including
your original FOIA request and USGS's response. Failure to include with
your appeal all correspondence between you and USGS will result in the
Department's rejection of your appeal, unless the FOIA/Privacy
Act Appeals Officer determines (in the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer’s
sole discretion) that good cause exists to accept the defective appeal.
Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and
telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number
(if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs
additional information or clarification of your appeal.
*DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Contact Information*
Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: *FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov <FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov>*
Please note that using OGIS services does not affect the timing of filing
an appeal with the Department’s FOIA & Privacy Act Appeals Officer. We
regret the delay and appreciate your consideration in this matter. For
more information on FOIA Administrative Appeals, you may review the
Department's FOIA regulations at *43 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart H
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ecfr.gov_cgi-2Dbin_text-2Didx-3Fc-3Decfr-26sid-3D0fc3ab3499768eebc2e3691c8cf88dec-26rgn-3Ddiv5-26view-3Dtext-26node-3D43-3A1.1.1.1.2-26idno-3D43&d=DwMFaQ&c=Ff2GokX4A_6S-cy_JRNEiQ&r=5fe8xvHMnQNWFUoPUJMGtXkCPTTGA70Xkgj7c_IEoF0&m=4yEoo7bGhPUszxAJDfxRBSD2RSmIXVLkjXZ_vUElgJY&s=nwbI3_sxibs_fHQBX8tygEUVy_A1X7FtR_eWsraW-UE&e=>*
.
If you have any questions, please contact me by phone at (303) 236-2733 or
by email at *foia@usgs.gov <foia@usgs.gov>*.
Thank you for your continued patience while we process your request.
Sincerely,
//SIGNED//
Nour Suleiman
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior
Denver Federal Center
Box 25046
Mail Stop 801A
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 236-2733 (office)
(303) 236-1451 (fax)
From: U.S. Geological Survey
Good Afternoon Mr. Welsh,
We have completed the processing of your request, USGS FOIA Tracking
#2019-00076, and I am attaching our response letter,
Due to the size of the records, we have placed the records on a USGS eFTP
site, and the path is available here: 2019-00076 - MuckRock News
<ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/wr/ca/menlo.park/jcearley/FOIA/2019-00076%20-%20MuckRock%20News/>.
To view this FTP site in File Explorer, press *Alt, *select *View*, and
then select* Open FTP Site in File Explorer*. You have 30 days to download
files. Please let me know if you cannot access the eFTP site to download.
Thank you for your patience and for your interest in the U.S. Geological
Survey.
Sincerely,
//SIGNED//
Nour Suleiman
U.S. Geological Survey
Department of the Interior
Denver Federal Center
Box 25046
Mail Stop 801A
Denver, CO 80225
(303) 236-2733 (office)
(303) 236-1451 (fax)
f <bmay@usgs.gov>oia@usgs.gov
Files
pages