North Dakota Highway Patrol emails with Energy Transfer Partners

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to North Dakota Constitution, Article XI, Section 6, and the North Dakota Open Records Statute, N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(1), I hereby request the following records:

Any emails existing in North Dakota Highway Patrol computers or databases. sent to or from any email address ending with "@energytransfer.com", sent between the dates of August 23, 2016 and September 6, 2016.

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 would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Christopher Thomas
Investigative Journalist, Unicorn Riot - an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit
www.unicornriot.ninja

Captain Hummel,

I would like to formally appeal your denial of my request. What is your office's request for appealing the denial of public records request? In the event that specific information contained in the records I have requested must be withheld based on the portions of the statute you cite-
• Security system plans (§ 44-04-24) and public health & security response plans (§ 44-04-24, § 44-04-25);
• Critical infrastructure information vital to maintaining public safety, security, or health (§ 44-04-24);
- you still have the capacity to redact or withhold specific details while still releasing the records in question. A blanket denial of this records request is arbitrary and capricious, as the public has a right to access public records about this highly newsworthy matter. For instance, while the contents of a specific email may be exempt from release and could be redacted by your office before being released to me, "metadata" information such as the sender, recipient, and time of emails can still be released to me while still allowing your office to be compliant with § 44-04-24 and § 44-04-25.

Please redact any information which must be redacted in compliance with § 44-04-24 and § 44-04-25 and commence with producing the records responsive to my request.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,
Christopher Thomas
Investigative Journalist, Unicorn Riot - an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit
www.unicornriot.ninja

Captain Hummel,

What is the formal procedure for appealing this denial? I am formally requesting to appeal this denial.

sincerely,
Christopher Thomas

Captain Hummel,

I still intend to formally appeal this denial. Please speak to your superiors about how I can formally appeal this denial which I believe is improper as the public has a right to view these public records regarding a matter of public concern.

I appreciate your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,
Christopher Thomas
Investigative Journalist, Unicorn Riot - an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit
www.unicornriot.ninja