Ackerman Cave, Asotin County

Hello Muckrock News/ Mr/Ms. O'Connor,

This email will serve as acknowledgment of your FOIA request received by this office on 27 February 2018. Whenever possible, an initial determination to release or deny a record will be made within 20 working days. Therefore, you should expect a reply to be mailed no later than 27 March 2018. The FACTS number for this request is FP-18-011568. If any costs are anticipated in processing this request you will be notified ASAP.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you want further clarification, I'm happy to help. You're able to contact me through phone at 509-527-7706 or by e-mail at sarah.f.donaldson@usace.army.mil.

Respectfully,

Sarah Donaldson
Paralegal Specialist
Office of Counsel
509.527.7706

Muckrock News, Mr./Ms. O'Connor,

A search of the Walla Walla District records located only a 1969 Nelson and Rice archaeological survey report of the Asotin Dam Reservoir Area. District Cultural Staff inform me that this is already available via the WISAARD database for cultural resource professionals. This document was submitted to the National Park Service.

It is unclear to me if you are seeking this document, or already have access. If you are seeking the document, I can forward to the National Park Service for a final release determination. If you already have this document or are not seeking it, please let me know.

Please be aware that until this clarification is received, this request is tolled (placed on hold).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Evan Carden
Assistant District Counsel
Walla Walla District
Corps of Engineers
(509) 527-7717
Evan.J.Carden@usace.army.mil
This e-mail may contain confidential information, attorney-client privileged communication, or attorney work product. Do not forward or copy this e-mail.
Do not release outside of USACE.
Do not release under FOIA.

Dear Lee O'Connor,

As discussed below, the Walla Walla District does not have any responsive records, beyond the single NPS document. That document has been referred to NPS, along with a copy of your original request and our communication. They will be responding to you directly.

Attached is a letter documenting that referral and the lack of other records.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Evan Carden
Assistant District Counsel
Walla Walla District
Corps of Engineers
(509) 527-7717
Evan.J.Carden@usace.army.mil
This e-mail may contain confidential information, attorney-client privileged communication, or attorney work product. Do not forward or copy this e-mail.
Do not release outside of USACE.
Do not release under FOIA.

Dear Lee O'Connor,

Unfortunately, your first request has been closed out, so sending a new request would be the way to go.

Sincerely,

Evan Carden
Assistant District Counsel
Walla Walla District
Corps of Engineers
(509) 527-7717
Evan.J.Carden@usace.army.mil
This e-mail may contain confidential information, attorney-client privileged communication, or attorney work product. Do not forward or copy this e-mail.
Do not release outside of USACE.
Do not release under FOIA.

Mr. O'Connor,

I show no record of any referral from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Accordingly I have reached out to them to request that they send me a copy
of your incoming request and the document they believe is responsive to
your request. Until I hear back from them I will be unable to process your
request, as we are unable to locate a document that meets the description
of the information you are seeking.

As soon as I hear back from the US Army Corps of Engineers, I will let you
know.

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
npsfoia@nps.gov <charis_wilson@nps.gov>

Mr. O'Connor,

I have learned that the US Army Corps of Engineers had sent the referral
materials directly to the FOIA staff in our Pacific West Regional (PWR)
office, which was why I had no record of it. That referral was received on
March 21, 2018, and is being processed in our normal processing track under
request number NPS-2018-00564. If you have any questions you can reach the
PWR FOIA Officer at:

Nancy Hori
National Park Service
909 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104-1060
206-220-4154
NPS_pwr_FOIA@nps.gov

You should expect our response by April 17, 2018. If you do not receive
our response by that date you may file an appeal by writing to:

Freedom of Information Act Appeals Officer
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
MS-6556-MIB,
Washington, D.C. 20240
foia.appeals@sol.doi.gov

Your failure-to-timely-respond appeal may be filed anytime after the
estimated response date provided above and the date we issue our final
response. The appeal should be marked, both on the envelope and the face of
the appeal letter, with the legend "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL." Your
appeal should be accompanied by a copy of your original request and copies
of all correspondence between yourself and the National Park Service
related to this request, along with any information you have which leads
you to believe our response to be in error. Note, any appeal received
after 5 p.m. EST will be considered to have been received on the next
business day.

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
npsfoia@nps.gov <charis_wilson@nps.gov>

Dear Mr. O'Connor,

Your request, NPS-2018-00564 is in the process of being finalized for
release. We anticipate a release no later than June 6, 2018.

Sincerely,

Nancy

*NOTE: This correspondence is tracked, do not change subject information
contained in brackets. Send replies to NPS_PWR_FOIA@nps.gov
<NPS_PWR_FOIA@nps.gov>*

Nancy Hori
Andrew S. Muñoz
National Park Service
Pacific West Region FOIA Office
206-220-4249 phone

You have received 2 files from nps_pwr_foia@nps.gov.
OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE SENT VIA EMAIL
NO HARD COPY TO FOLLOW
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Pacific West Region
333 Bush Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-2828
IN REPLY REFER TO:
9.C. (PWR-PI)
NPS-2018-00564
Lee O’Connor
Via Email: requests@muckrock.com
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 49622
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
Dear Mr. O’Connor:
This is our final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request received by the National Park Service (NPS) on March 21, 2018. Your original request was forward to this office by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Walla Walla District. The Department of the Interior (DOI) tracking number for this request is NPS-2018-00564. Please cite this tracking number in any future communication with our office regarding your request.
You requested:
“(1) Files describing the Ackerman Cave south of the city of Asotin in Asotin County along the Snake River related to a 1961-1962 fallout shelter survey.
(2) A 1964 archaeological survey of Ackerman Cave by David Rice or other records related to the cave that were created or collected during planning for the Asotin Dam on the Snake River that was never built.”
The USACE forwarded one document to us for review. We have attached a 152 page report which is being released to you in part. We have redacted parts of 108 pages under FOIA Exemption 3, which allows the withholding of information protected by a nondisclosure provision in a federal statute other than FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3). In this case, the withheld information pertains to the nature and location of certain archaeological resources and is protected by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. § 470hh).
We reasonably foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one or more of the nine exemptions to the FOIA’s general rule of disclosure.
Deborah Bardwick, DOI Assistant Field Solicitor and Nancy Hori, NPS Pacific West Region FOIA Officer were consulted in this decision.
We do not bill requesters for FOIA processing fees when their fees are less than $50.00, because the cost of collection would be greater than the fee collected. See 43 C.F.R. §2.37(g). Therefore, there is no billable fee for the processing of this request.
For further information about Archaeology in Washington State and how to possibly obtain unredacted reports, please visit the following internet website: https://dahp.wa.gov/archaeology.
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 90 workdays from the date of this letter. Appeals arriving or delivered after 5:00 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 response is in error. You must also include with your appeal copies of all correspondence between you and the NPS concerning your FOIA request, including your original FOIA request and the NPS 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
1849 C Street, N.W.
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, DC 20240
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Telephone: (202) 208-5339
Fax: (202) 208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. §552(c). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of FOIA. This is a standard notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist.
The 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways:
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Web: https://ogis.archives.gov
Telephone: (202) 741-5770
Fax: (202) 741-5769
Toll-free: (877) 684-6448
Please note that using OGIS services does not affect the timing of filing an appeal with the Department’s FOIA & Privacy Act Appeals Officer.
You also may seek dispute resolution services from our FOIA Public Liaison Charis Wilson by telephone at (303) 969-2959, by email at charis_wilson@nps.gov or by mail at 12795 W. Alameda Parkway, PO Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225-0287.
If you have any questions about the processing of your FOIA request, you may contact Andrew S. Muñoz or Nancy Hori at (206) 220-4249, by email at NPS_PWR_FOIA@nps.gov, or by mail at National Park Service, 909 First Ave, Suite 500, Seattle, WA 98104.
Sincerely,
Stan Austin
Regional Director
Pacific West Region
Attachment
cc: Evan Carden, Assistant District Counsel, Walla Walla District,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
David Louter, Chief, Cultural Resources Program, Pacific West Region
NPS-2018-00564_Nelson 1969 Arch Survey Test Asotin Dam_redacted.pdf (https://secure.nps.gov/w/BHf3fb4a) 10.04 MB
NPS-2018-00564 180530 Final response O'Connor from Austin.pdf (https://secure.nps.gov/w/BHf3fb4a) 536.87 KB
File links expire: Jun 15, 2018




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