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National Indian Gaming Commission 

2013 Annual FOIA Report 

I. Basic Information Regarding Report 

 

Any questions concerning this report should be directed to: 

 

 AnDrea C. Choate’ 

 FOIA/PA and Records Management Assistant 

 National Indian Gaming Commission 

 1441 L Street, N.W., Suite 9100 

 Washington, D.C. 20005 

 Telephone number: (202) 632-7003 

 Fax number: (202) 632-7066 

 This report is available on the NIGC Web site: 

http://www.nigc.gov/Reading_Room/Freedom_of_Information_Act/FOIA_Annual_Re

ports.aspx

 To obtain a copy of the report in paper form contact: 

 AnDrea C. Choate’ 

 FOIA/PA and Records Management Assistant 

 National Indian Gaming Commission 

 1441 L Street, N.W., Suite 9100 

 Washington, D.C. 20005 

 Telephone number: (202) 632-7003 

 Fax number: (202) 632-7066 

II. Making a FOIA Request

For basic information on how to make a FOIA request, visit our Web site at: 

http://www.nigc.gov/Reading_Room/Freedom_of 

Information_Act.aspx

Address of office that receives FOIA requests: 

 FOIA requests are centralized and written requests should be addressed to: 

 

 AnDrea C. Choate’ 

 FOIA/PA and Records Management Assistant 

 National Indian Gaming Commission 

 1441 L Street, N.W., Suite 9100 

 Washington, D.C. 20005 

 Telephone number: (202) 632-7003 

 Fax number: (202) 632-7066 
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 Type of Agency records responsive to FOIA exemptions: 

Responsive documents include Bulletins, Commission Final Decisions, 

Management Contracts, Enforcement Actions, Gaming Ordinances, 

Proprietary Interest Matter, and Game Classification Opinions. 

 Brief description of why some requests are not granted: 

 

Requests for information are not granted if the information sought falls 

within one of the FOIA exemptions; the information requested falls 

under the jurisdiction of another authority; or no responsive records 

are located. 

III. Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions 

Agency-specific acronyms or other terms: 

 FOIA Freedom of Information Act 

 NIGC National Indian Gaming Commission 

 PA Privacy Act 

 Basic terms, expressed in common terminology: 

 a. Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking 

that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA 

determination made by the agency at the initial request level. 

 b. Average Number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of 

a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. 

For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8. 

 c. Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals 

that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that 

are beyond the statutory time period for a response 

 d. Component – for agencies that process requests on a 

decentralized basis, a ‘component’ is an entity, also sometimes 

referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or 

Directorate, within the agency that processed FOIA requests. 

The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual 

FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each 

principal component of the agency. 

 e. Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding 

to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for 

its review because that other agency has an interest in the 

document. Once the agency is in receipt of the consultation 

finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency 

that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to 

the FOIA requester. 
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 f. Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts 

information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to 

withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA. 

 g. FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a 

federal agency for access to records concerning another person 

(i.e., a ‘third-party’ request), or concerning an organization, or 

a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include 

requests made by requesters seeking records concerning 

themselves (i.e., ‘first-party’ requests) when those requesters 

are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. 

Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded 

the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as 

those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any firstparty requests where an agency determines that it must search 

beyond it Privacy Act ‘systems of records’ or where a Privacy 

Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford 

the greatest possible access. All requests which require the 

agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are 

included in this Report. 

 h. Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in 

response to a FOIA request. 

 i. Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in 

response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in 

their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or 

because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could 

be located. 

 j. Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For 

example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7. 

 k. Multi-Track Processing – a system in which simple requests 

requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing 

track and more voluminous and complex request are placed in 

one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited 

processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each 

track are processed on a first in/first out basis. 

 i. Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA 

request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies 

the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in 

the statute and in agency regulations. 

 ii. Simple Requests – a FOIA request that an agency using 

multi-track processing places in its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the low volume and/or 

simplicity of the records requested. 
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iii. Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using 

multi-track processing places in a slower track based on 

the high volume and/or complexity of the records 

requested. 

 l. Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an 

agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to 

withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to 

otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural 

reason. 

 m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request 

or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken 

final action in all respects. 

 n. Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably 

describes such records and is made in accordance with 

published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and 

procedures to be followed. 

 

 o. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a 

request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken 

final action in all respects. 

 p. Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of 

days to process requests or administrative appeals. 

 q. Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to 

respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from 

receipt of a perfected FOIA request). 

 Description of nine FOIA exemptions: 

 a. Exemption 1 – classified national defense and foreign relations 

information. 

 b. Exemption 2 – internal agency rules and practices 

 c. Exemption 3 – information that is prohibited from disclosure by 

another federal law. 

 d. Exemption 4 – trade secrets and other confidential business 

information. 

 e. Exemption 5 – inter-agency or intra-agency communications 

that are protected by legal privileges. 

 f. Exemption 6 – information involving matter of personal privacy. 

 g. Exemption 7 – records or information compiled for law 

enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of 

those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere 

with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a 
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right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could 

reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion 

of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to 

disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose 

techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations 

or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law 

enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could 

reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety 

of any individual. 

 

 h. Exemption 8 – information relating to the supervision of 

financial institutions. 

 i. Exemption 9 – geological information on wells. 

IV. Exemption 3 Statutes 

 Exemption 3 Statutes Relied upon to Withhold Information 

 List of all Exemption 3 statutes relied upon and the number of times: 

 The NIGC did not rely on any Exemption 3 statutes during the 2013 

fiscal year. Accordingly, none are cited here. 

 Provide a brief description of the types of information withheld under 

each statute: 

 Not applicable. 

 Indicate whether a court has upheld the use of the statute by 

providing a citation to a court decision: 

 Not applicable. 

V. FOIA Requests 

 A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests: 

 Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

Start of Fiscal 

Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Received in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Processed in 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Requests 

Pending as of 

End of Fiscal 

Year 

Agency Overall *28 50 45 33 

*In the FY 2012 report, the NIGC reported 29 pending requests at the end of the fiscal year. 

In FY 2013, the NIGC reviewed it's reporting’s and determined that one request that was 

considered as a FOIA request should not have been. Specifically, this request was a Privacy 

Act request to amend information within a system of records and did not implicate FOIA in any 

way. To account for this change, the number was changed in this report from 29 to 28.
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 B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests: 

Agency / 

Component 

Number 

of Full 

Grants 

Number 

of Partial 

Grants / 

Partial 

Denials 

Number of 

Full Denials 

Based on 

Exemptions

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions 

No 

Records

All Records 

Referred to 

Another 

Component 

or Agency

Request 

Withdrawn

FeeRelated 

Reason

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

FOIA 

Request 

for Other 

Reason

Not 

Agency 

Record

Duplicate 

Request

AGENCY 

OVERALL 8 18 3 6 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 

*One requester made two separate requests for related information. Upon consulting with the requester, she agreed to consoliinto one. The closure made in the 'Other' category was to explain that transaction.
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B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests – ‘Other’ Reasons for ‘Full Denials 

Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions’ from Section V, B (1) 

Chart: 

 

Component 

Description of ‘Other’ 

Reasons for Denials 

from Chart B (1) & 

Numbers of Times 

Those Reasons Were 

Relied Upon 

Total 

Agency *1 1 

 *Consolidation of two requests into one 

 

B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions 

Applied: 

 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 

3 

Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C)

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E) 

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

Agency 

Overall 

0 1 0 10 4 9 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 

VI. Administrative Appeals of Initial Determinations of 

FOIA Requests 

 A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals: 

Number of 

Appeals Pending 

as of Start of 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Received 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Processed 

in Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Appeals Pending 

as of End of Fiscal 

Year 

0 0 3 0 
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 B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals: 

Number 

Affirmed 

on Appeal 

Number Partially 

Affirmed & 

Partially Reversed 

/ Remanded on 

Appeal 

Number 

completely 

Reversed / 

Remanded on 

Appeal 

Number of 

Appeals Closed 

for Other 

Reasons 

Total 

1 1 1 0 3 

C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions 

Applied: 

Ex. 

1 

Ex. 

2 

Ex. 

3 

Ex. 

4 

Ex. 

5 

Ex. 

6 

Ex. 

7(A)

Ex. 

7(B)

Ex. 

7(C)

Ex. 

7(D)

Ex. 

7(E)

Ex. 

7(F) 

Ex. 

8 

Ex. 

9 

0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 
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 C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other than Exemptions: 

No 

Records 

Records 

Referred 

at Initial 

Request 

Level 

Request 

Withdrawn 

Fee – 

Related 

Reason 

Records 

not 

Reasonably 

Described 

Improper 

Request 

for Other 

Reasons 

Not 

Agency 

Record 

Duplicate 

Request or 

Appeal 

Request 

Litigatio

2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

 C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal – ‘Other’ Reasons from Section VI, C (2) Chart: 

Description of ‘Other’ Reasons for 

Denial on Appeal from Chart C (2) 

& Number of Times Those Reasons 

Were Relied Upon 

Total 

N/A 0 
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 C. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals:  C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals: 

 10th

Oldest Appeal 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Date of Receipt of Ten Oldest Appeals 

n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 

Number of Days Pending 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Median Number 

of Days 

Average 

Number of Days

Lowest Number 

of Days 

Highest Number 

of Days 

20.00 27.00 18.00 43.00 
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VII. FOIA Request: Response Time for Processed and Pending Requests  A. Processed Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests: 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPED

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

Lowest Number of Days 

Highest Number of Days 

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

Lowest Number of Days 

Highest Number of Days 

Median Number of Days 

AveNuof 

Agency Overall 

68.5 109 5 478 588 504 336 588 N/A 

 B. Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Wa

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPED

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

Lowest Number of Days 

Highest Number of Days 

Median Number of Days 

Average Number of Days 

Lowest Number of Days 

Highest Number of Days 

Median Number of Days 

AveNuof 

Agency Overall 

113.5 125 5 424 588 588 588 588 N/A 
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 C. Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments: 

Simple Requests 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

Agency 

Overall 

11 2 6 5 1 2 0 5 3 0 3 

Complex Requests 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

Agency 

Overall 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Requests Granted Expedited Processing 

1-20 

Days 

21-40 

Days 

41-60 

Days 

61-80 

Days 

81-100 

Days 

101-120 

Days 

121-140 

Days 

141-160 

Days 

161-180 

Days 

181-200 

Days 

201-300 

Days 

Agency 

Overall 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

 D. Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests: 

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPE

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Median 

Number of 

Days 

Average 

Number of 

Days 

Number 

Pending 

Agency 

Overall 

24 107 159 9 145 262 0 
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 E. Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests: 

 10th Oldest 

Request and Number of Days Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 

Agency Overall 08/27/12 

275 

08/21/12

279 

04/20/12

364 

04/2/12 

378 

02/24/12

404 

01/26/12

424 

12/15/11

451 

06/27/1

569 

VIII. Requests For Expedited Processing and Requests For Fee Waiver 

 A. Requests for Expedited Processing 

B. Request for Fee Waiver 

 Number Granted Number Denied Median Number 

of Days to Adjudicate 

Average Number of Days to Adjudicate 

NumAdjWitCal

Agency Overall 0 2 20.5 20.5 

 Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of 

Days to Adjudicate 

Averag

Days to 

Agency Overall 1 0 15 
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IX. FOIA Personnel and Costs 

Personnel Costs 

Number of 

‘Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees’ 

Number of 

‘Equivalent 

Full-Time 

FOIA 

Employees’

Total 

Number 

of ‘FullTime 

FOIA 

Staff’ 

Processing 

Costs 

Litigation 

Related 

Costs 

Total Costs 

Agency 

Overall 1 1.35 2.35 $224,485.00 $0.00 $224,485.60

X. Fees Collected For Processing Requests 

 Total Amount of 

Fees Collected 

Percentage of 

Total Costs 

Agency Overall $0.00 0.00% 

XI. FOIA Regulations 

NIGC FOIA regulations and fee schedule can be found in 25 CFR § 517. A 

paper copy of this regulation can be obtained by contacting the FOIA Officer 

(see section 1 of this report) or electronically at the following: 

 

http://www.nigc.gov/Portals/0/NIGC%20Uploads/foia/nigcfoiaregs51906.pdf

XII. Backlogs, Consultations, and Comparisons 

 

 A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals: 

 Number of 

Backlogged 

Requests as of End 

of Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Backlogged Appeals 

as of End of Fiscal 

Year 

Agency Overall 

28 0 
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 B. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending 

Consultations: 

 Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were 

Pending at the 

NIGC as of 

Start of the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were 

Processed by 

the NIGC 

During the 

Fiscal Year 

Number of 

Consultations 

Received from 

Other Agencies 

that were 

Pending at the 

NIGC as of End 

of the Fiscal 

Year 

Agency Overall 0 0 0 0 

 C. Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received 

from Other Agencies and Pending at the NIGC: 

Agency 

Overall 

10th Oldest 

Consultation 

and Number 

of Days 

Pending 

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd

Oldest 

Consultation 

and Number 

of Days 

Pending 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

 D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual 

Report – Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged: 

Number of Requests Received Number of Requests Processed 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Agency Overall *55 50 42 45 

*As mentioned in Question V.A., the number of requests received in FY 2012 was adjusted in 

FY 2013. As reported in FY 2012, the NIGC received 56 FOIA requests. One of these requests, 

upon further review, should not have been considered a FOIA request. Accordingly, that 

number has been reduced by one in this report to correct that inaccuracy. As such, the NIGC 

is reporting that it only had 55 FOIA requests received during FY 2012 rather than the 56 

requests it reported last year. 
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 Number of 

Backlogged 

Requests as of End 

of Fiscal Year From 

Previous Annual 

Report 

Number of 

Backlogged 

Requests as of End 

of the Fiscal Year 

From Current 

Annual Report 

Agency Overall *28 28 

*As mentioned in Question V.A. and XII. D.2., the number of requests received in FY 

2012 was adjusted in FY 2013. In FY 2012, the NIGC reported a backlog of 29 FOIA 

requests. Upon further review, this request should not have been a FOIA request. 

Accordingly, the NIGC has adjusted this number down by one to reflect the true 

number of FOIA requests it received in FY 2012. As such, the NIGC is now reporting a 

backlog of 28 FOIA requests from FY 2012 rather than the 29 requests listed in its FY 

2012 report. 

 E. Comparison of Number of Administrative Appeals from Previous and 

Current Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged 

Number of Appeals Received Number of Appeals Processed 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Received 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from Last 

Year’s Annual 

Report 

Number 

Processed 

During Fiscal 

Year from 

Current Annual 

Report 

Agency Overall 0 3 0 3 

 

 Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

Fiscal Year From 

Previous Annual Report 

Number of Backlogged 

Appeals as of End of 

the Fiscal Year From 

Current Annual Report 

Agency Overall 0 0