Arizona uranium mining/mine environmental reports

Dear Ms. Lipton,

We have received your request and have assigned it tracking number
NPS-2015-00827. All future communications relating to this request should
reference this tracking number. Please note at this time we are unable to
begin processing your request.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.5(a), a requester must describe the records in
sufficient detail to enable an employee familiar with the subject area of
the request to locate responsive records with a reasonable amount of
effort. Your request does not meet this requirement. Because of the
nature of your request, we are unable to determine exactly what information
you are requesting and thus are unable to locate responsive records with a
reasonable amount of effort.

For example, you indicate you want copies of "environmental reviews,
evaluations" and "reports" relating to uranium mining in Arizona. However,
you then include a link to an article discussing the proposed Energy Fuels
mine in the Red Butte area near the Grand Canyon. It is therefore unclear
if you are seeking copies of any and every record the National Park Service
has that relates to uranium mining anywhere in Arizona, uranium mining only
within the Grand Canyon, or if you are only seeking records relating to the
proposed mine that is discussed in the article.

You also indicated that you wanted "related records" and it is not clear
exactly what you mean by that phrase. Lastly, your request does not
specify a time frame for the records you are requesting.

Please be as specific as possible concerning the type of documents you are
requesting. If you know, please include the date, title or name, author,
recipient, and subject matter of the records you are seeking. Additionally,
please identify the geographical location and timeframe for which you are
seeking records. It is unclear whether your request covers only records
maintained at the Grand Canyon, the Intermountain Regional Office, or other
offices such as the geological resources division.

Additionally you requested that fees be waived. However, you did not
provide sufficient justification to qualify for a fee waiver under the
Department’s FOIA regulations (43 CFR 2.48). The statutory requirement for
granting a fee waiver is that release of the information must be in the
public interest because it—

(1) Is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the
operations and activities of the Government; and
(2) Is not primarily in your commercial interest.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.48, you must specifically address the
Department’s fee waiver criteria for each request you submit, regardless of
whether you may have been granted a fee waiver previously. To assist us in
making a decision on your request for a fee waiver, we ask that you address
the following:

(1) How the records concern the operations or activities of the Federal
government.

(2) How disclosure is likely to contribute to public understanding of those
operations or activities, including:

(3) How disclosure is likely to significantly contribute to the
understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the
subject, as opposed to your individual understanding, including:

(4) How the public's understanding of the subject in question will be
enhanced to a significant extent by the disclosure.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2.51(c), if we do not hear from you within 20
workdays of this letter, we will presume you are no longer interested in
this matter and will close the file on your request. Please do not hesitate
to contact me with any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

C.
____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Ms. Lipton,

Thank you for your response. However, you have not addressed all the
issues noted in our August 18, 2015, e-mail. For example, you did not
provide clarification as to the date range for the material you are seeking
nor did you specify what you meant by "related materials". You also did
not provide the requested clarification needed to make a determination on
your fee waiver request. Without this information, we will be unable to
begin processing your request. If we do not hear from you within 20
workdays, we will assume you are no longer interested in this matter and
will close the file on your request.

Sincerely,

C.

____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, Ph,D., CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Ms. Lipton,

The NPS Intermountain Region (IMR) recently hired a new FOIA officer. She
will be assuming responsibility for processing your FOIA request. She can
be contacted at:

Vanessa Lacayo

IMR FOIA Officer

12795 W. Alameda Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80225
303-969-2062

Sincerely,

C.

____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, Ph,D., CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Ms. Lypton,

Her e-mail address is vanessa_lacayo@nps.gov.

C.

____________________

Ms. Charis Wilson, PhD, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
charis_wilson@nps.gov

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Hello,

Thank you very much for providing the additional requested information. We
will search for responsive documents pertinent to your request and get back
to you if I need additional clarification. In the meantime, my contact
information is listed below should you have additional questions.

Vanessa Lacayo
Public Affairs Specialist and Regional FOIA Coordinator
National Park Service <http://www.nps.gov>
Intermountain Regional Office
Office of Communications and Legislation
Office: (303) 969-2062
vanessa_lacayo@nps.gov

Hello Ms. Lipton,

I am trying to track down the documents you requested; however, I need
additional information before I can process your request. Is it possible
you can narrow your search down to specific mines? You may also consider
contacting the U.S. Geological Survey or the Bureau of Land Management as
they would have a more comprehensive listing of federal mine activity for
the area you are interested in. If we do not hear from you within 20
workdays, we will assume you are no longer interested in this matter and
will close the file on your request. Please feel free to contact me via
email or by my number listed below if you have any questions.

Vanessa Lacayo
Public Affairs Specialist and Regional FOIA Coordinator
National Park Service <http://www.nps.gov>
Intermountain Regional Office
Office of Communications and Legislation
Office: (303) 969-2062
vanessa_lacayo@nps.gov

Thank you for the clarification. Kaibab National Park does not exist;
however, there is Kaibab National Forest that is managed by the United
States Forest Service. Are you looking for information within Kaibab
National Forest? If we do not hear from you within 20 workdays, we will
assume you are no longer interested in this matter and will close the file
on your request. Please feel free to contact me via email or by my number
listed below if you have any questions.

Vanessa Lacayo
Public Affairs Specialist and Regional FOIA Coordinator
National Park Service <http://www.nps.gov>
Intermountain Regional Office
Office of Communications and Legislation
Office: (303) 969-2062
vanessa_lacayo@nps.gov

Ms. Lipton,

As an FYI, if you are looking for records from Kaibab National Forest, then
it is likely that the National Park Service would have limited information
that would be responsive to your request, as we do not manage Kaibab NF.
Accordingly, if you have not already done so, you may want to consider
filing a FOIA request with the USFS. You may do so by writing to:

US Forest Service Region 3 FOIA
333 Broadway SE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

Their e-mail address is: R3_FOIA@fs.fed.us

For more information on the US Forest Service's FOIA program you can visit
their FOIA page at http://www.fs.fed.us/im/foia/. As noted earlier if we
do not hear from you within 20 workdays, we will assume you are no longer
interested in this matter and will close the file on your request.

Thank you,

C.

____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, Ph,D., CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA

"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville

"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no
records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)

"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness
editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie

Hello Ms. Liption,

Thank you for providing additional clarification. Because the information
you are requesting is under the jurisdiction of the United States Forest
Service, I have forwarded your request to their FOIA office. The Forest
Service will issue a response directly to you. You do not have to contact
the Forest Service at this time, but should you need to do so in the
future, you may do so at:

US Forest Service Region 3 FOIA
333 Broadway SE
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

Their e-mail address is: R3_FOIA@fs.fed.us

You may appeal this response to the Department’s FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals
Officer. If you choose to appeal, the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer must
receive your FOIA appeal no later than 30 workdays from the date of this
email. 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 include an explanation of
why you believe the NPS’s response is in error. You must also include with
your appeal copies of all correspondence between you and NPS concerning
your FOIA request, including your original FOIA request and the NPS's
response. Failure to include with your appeal all correspondence between
you and the NPS 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
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
1849 C Street, N.W.
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, DC 20240

Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov

Take Care,
Vanessa Lacayo
Public Affairs Specialist and Regional FOIA Coordinator
National Park Service <http://www.nps.gov>
Intermountain Regional Office
Office of Communications and Legislation
Office: (303) 969-2062
vanessa_lacayo@nps.gov

The above response was provided to you by the USFS, Southwestern Region FOIA Service Center on September 23, 2015.

Your request was rerouted to the USFS by the NPS because it pertained to the Kaibab NF.

Thank you.

[USDA USFS]

Raquel Cantu
FOIA Specialist

U. S. Forest Service
Southwestern Region
FOIA Service Center

p: 505-842-3121
f: 505-842-3457
raquelcantu@fs.fed.us<mailto:raquelcantu@fs.fed.us>

333 Broadway Blvd. SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
www.fs.fed.us<http://www.fs.fed.us/>
[Twitter]<https://twitter.com/forestservice>[Facebook]<http://facebook.com/USDA>

Caring for the land and serving people