1998 EPA Report on Area 51
| Tracking # |
EPA-2022-003647 EPA-2022-003894 EPA-2022-003647 |
| Submitted | April 11, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Matthew Phelan
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Copies of all correspondence, written or electronic; memoranda; faxes; and all other written or electronic communications produced as a consequence of the 1996 to 1998 investigation conducted by EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West regarding environmental hazards, toxic material disposals, and other issues of both ecological concern as well as human health and safety concern, at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada, also know as Homey Airport (KXTA), or colloquially "Area 51." I am also requesting a copy of the report itself.
This report is over 25-years-old and my hope is that the report and documents peripheral to the report itself can be released in some form soon.
(For reference, the report was discussed in a December 16, 2000 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Keith Rogers, and elsewhere in the media: https://cryptome.org/area51-lie.htm)
PLEASE NOTE: I am a freelance reporter and would request that the relevant fees be waived. My past work has appeared at Slate.com, the New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Earther, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. I would like to request expedited processing for this request.
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,
Matthew Phelan
From: Environmental Protection Agency
This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=EPA-2022-003647&type=request)
* Tracking Number: EPA-2022-003647
* Requester Name:
Matthew Phelan
* Date Submitted: 04/12/2022
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Copies of all correspondence, written or electronic; memoranda; faxes; and all other written or electronic communications produced as a consequence of the 1996 to 1998 investigation conducted by EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West regarding environmental hazards, toxic material disposals, and other issues of both ecological concern as well as human health and safety concern, at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada, also know as Homey Airport (KXTA), or colloquially "Area 51." I am also requesting a copy of the report itself.
This report is over 25-years-old and my hope is that the report and documents peripheral to the report itself can be released in some form soon.
(For reference, the report was discussed in a December 16, 2000 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Keith Rogers, and elsewhere in the media: https://cryptome.org/area51-lie.htm)
PLEASE NOTE: I am a freelance reporter and would request that the relevant fees be waived. My past work has appeared at Slate.com, the New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Earther, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. I would like to request expedited processing for this request.
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,
Matthew Phelan
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
From: Environmental Protection Agency
Hi:
Please see attached.
Sincerely,
EPA National FOIA Office
From: Environmental Protection Agency
Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request EPA-2022-003647 has been
denied.
* Fee Waiver Original Justification:
I am a freelance reporter and would request that the relevant fees be waived. My past work has appeared at Slate.com, the New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Earther, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. I would like to request expedited processing for this request.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason:
Sent fee waiver determination letter to requester 4/13/2022
From: Environmental Protection Agency
04/14/2022
Matthew Phelan
MuckRock News DEPT MR 127380
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA, 02144-2516
requests@muckrock.com
RE: Freedom of Information Act Request - EPA-2022-003647
Hello:
This letter concerns the above-mentioned Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National FOIA Office (NFO) on 04/12/2022. You are seeking the following records: To Whom It May Concern: Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records: Copies of all correspondence, written or electronic; memoranda; faxes; and all other written or electronic communications produced as a consequence of the 1996 to 1998 investigation conducted by EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West regarding environmental hazards, toxic material disposals, and other issues of both ecological concern as well as human health and safety concern, at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada, also know as Homey Airport (KXTA), or colloquially "Area 51." I am also requesting a copy of the report itself. This report is over 25-years-old and my hope is that the report and documents peripheral to the report itself can be released in some form soon. (For reference, the report was discussed in a December 16, 2000 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Keith Rogers, and elsewhere in the media: https://cryptome.org/area51-lie.htm) PLEASE NOTE: I am a freelance reporter and would request that the relevant fees be waived. My past work has appeared at Slate.com, the New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Earther, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. I would like to request expedited processing for this request. 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, Matthew Phelan Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Your FOIA request was assigned for processing. If you have any questions about your request, please contact the office mentioned below and reference your FOIA request tracking number EPA-2022-003647.
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance FOIA Program: You may contact OECA’s Maya Newman at (202) 564-2483 or newman.maya@epa.gov. (mailto:newman.maya@epa.gov)
If you need any further assistance or would like to discuss any aspect of your request, you may seek assistance from EPA’s FOIA Public Liaison at hq.foia@epa.gov or call (202) 566-1667. You may also seek assistance from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways: by mail, Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001; email: ogis@nara.gov; telephone: (202) 741-5770 or (877) 684-6448; or fax: (202) 741-5769. For all media inquiries, please contact press@epa.gov.
Sincerely,
National FOIA Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
From: Environmental Protection Agency
EPA-2022-003647 has been processed with the following final disposition: [FINAL_DISPOSITION].
From: Environmental Protection Agency
EPA-2022-003647 has been processed with the following final disposition: No Records.
From: Matthew Phelan
Dear Deputy Director Claude E. Walker and other EPA personnel:
I am appealing the agency's response to my FOIA Request No. EPA-2022-003647, which "determined that [EPA] OCEFT does not have any records" responsive to my request for "copies of all correspondence, written or electronic; memoranda; faxes; and all other written or electronic communications produced as a consequence of the 1996 to 1998 investigation conducted by EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West regarding environmental hazards, toxic material disposals, and other issues of both ecological concern as well as human health and safety concern, at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada, also know as Homey Airport (KXTA), or colloquially 'Area 51.' I am also requesting a copy of the report itself."
To begin with, it is my feeling that a targeted search of only OCEFT sound insufficient to the fulfillment of this request, but a more concerning aspect of this response is the implication that this report does not or may have never existed.
Your letter of April 22, 2022 describes my requested documents as inquiry into "an alleged investigation at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada," despite my original request's link to a December 16, 2000 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal referencing "EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West's investigation at Groom Lake that was conducted from 1996 to 1998." As further corroboration of this report's existence, attached please find the following documents:
(1) an email exchange between myself and former EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West in which West confirms the existence of the report;
(2) a second article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal of Aug 2007, mentioning again their efforts to obtain the report of Agent West's investigation of the Groom Lake facilities from 1996-1998; and
(3) a syndicated story from the Washington Post, as published in the Sacramento Bee, covering litigation related to the EPA's Groom Lake investigations during the 1990s.
I will further direct you to the January 08, 1998 United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. decision by Circuit Judges Harlington Wood, Jr., Pamela Ann Rymer, and A. Wallace Tashima in which affidavits are mentioned, sworn by EPA officials, that confirm the existence additional preliminary EPA investigations of Groom Lake that precede Agent Scott West's investigation but are materially related to West's investigation: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1129437.html
- - - - - -
The EPA moved for summary judgment based on two unclassified declarations [*] which indicate that from December 6, 1994 to March 10, 1995 (after Kasza was filed), EPA personnel conducted a §3007(c) inspection of the operating location near Groom Lake; the Air Force had submitted to EPA a final inventory report; and the EPA had completed a final inspection report that was made available to the appropriate (and appropriately cleared) Nevada state officers. The classified inspection and inventory reports were submitted for in camera review by the district court. The EPA also submitted a Memorandum of Agreement between the Air Force and EPA committing both to future RCRA compliance activities for the operating location.
[ * NOTE: The declarants on these documents were Barry N. Breen, then-Director of EPA's Federal Facilities Enforcement Office, and Elliott P. Laws, then-Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. ]
- - - - - -
As a matter of scoping, with respect to this appeal, please consider the documents referenced in this ruling as part of the records I am seeking, as supplemental or generated in relation to Agent West's later report. In other words, I am hereby requesting any and all records generated as a result of the December 6, 1994 to March 10, 1995 EPA §3007(c) inspection of the operating location near Groom Lake, as well as the final inventory report delivered by the Air Force to EPA; as well as the EPA's final inspection report. I am happy to further discuss the scope of this records request with EPA FOIA officers at the agency's convenience.
Please be advised that Barry Breen is currently still with the EPA as Acting Assistant Administrator for the EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management. I would advise that you reach to Breen at his agency office line to confirm the statements he made in his affidavit for "KASZA v. BROWNER." Phone: +1.202.566.0200 | Mail code: 5101T. Furthermore, please be advised that Elliott P. Laws, while no longer with EPA, can be reached at his law practice in D.C., Crowell & Moring, where he is a partner. Phone: +1.202.624.2798.
Lastly, it is my hope that the EPA will adhere its statutory "duty to segregate" under FOIA, reviewing and releasing all portions of these records that need no longer be classified. Much of this material is over 25 years old. Pursuant to Executive Order 13526 (https://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/cnsi-eo.html) signed by President Barack Obama in December 2009, and still in effect, classified documents 25 years or older that "have been determined to have permanent historical value under title 44, United States Code, shall be automatically declassified whether or not the records have been reviewed." Therefore, there is a high probability that many portions of this material can be released under FOIA.
Thank you, sincerely, for your consideration of this appeal.
I will send a copy of this appeal to Barbara Gentry from Claude E. Walker's staff as advised.
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Matthew Phelan
From: Environmental Protection Agency
The FOIA
appeal
- EPA-2022-003894 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:
* Tracking Number: EPA-2022-003894
* Requester: Matthew Phelan
* Submitted Date: 04/22/2022
* Description:
PLEASE SEE ATTACHED.
I am appealing the agency's response to my FOIA Request No. EPA-2022-003647, which "determined that [EPA] OCEFT does not have any records" responsive to my request for "copies of all correspondence, written or electronic; memoranda; faxes; and all other written or electronic communications produced as a consequence of the 1996 to 1998 investigation conducted by EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West regarding environmental hazards, toxic material disposals, and other issues of both ecological concern as well as human health and safety concern, at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada, also know as Homey Airport (KXTA), or colloquially 'Area 51.' I am also requesting a copy of the report itself."
To begin with, it is my feeling that a targeted search of only OCEFT sound insufficient to the fulfillment of this request, but a more concerning aspect of this response is the implication that this report does not or may have never existed.
Your letter of April 22, 2022 describes my requested documents as inquiry into "an alleged investigation at the Groom Lake facility in Nevada," despite my original request's link to a December 16, 2000 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal referencing "EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West's investigation at Groom Lake that was conducted from 1996 to 1998." As further corroboration of this report's existence, attached please find the following documents:
(1) an email exchange between myself and former EPA Special Agent in Charge Scott West in which West confirms the existence of the report;
(2) a second article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal of Aug 2007, mentioning again their efforts to obtain the report of Agent West's investigation of the Groom Lake facilities from 1996-1998; and
(3) a syndicated story from the Washington Post, as published in the Sacramento Bee, covering litigation related to the EPA's Groom Lake investigations during the 1990s...
From: Environmental Protection Agency
April 25, 2022
Mr. Matthew Phelan
MuckRock News DEPT MR 127380
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Re : Freedom of Information Act Appeal No. EPA-HQ-2022-003894 (Request No. EPA -2022-003647)
Dear Mr. Phelan:
This letter is being sent to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act Appeal received by the Agency on April 22, 2022. Your appeal is being assigned to an attorney in the Office of General Counsel for processing. If you have a question regarding the status of your appeal, please contact me at blair.shirley@epa.gov so that I may assist you. (mailto:blair.shirley@epa.gov)
Sincerely,
Shirley Blair
Program Assistant
General Law Office
Office of General Counsel
From: Environmental Protection Agency
EPA-2022-003894 has been processed with the following final disposition: Affirmed on Appeal.
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