Energy Department climate terms

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All email correspondence, including attachments, sent or received between January 20, 2017 and March 29, 2017 as well as all records of correspondence, call logs, voicemails and/or voicemail transcriptions, and calendar appointments between January 20, 2017 and March 29, 2017 that meet the following parameters:

(1) Sent or received by Rick Perry, Martin (Marty) J. Dannenfelser, Jr., Jacob L. McCurdy, Taylor G. Playforth, Sidney A. Bowdidge II, Travis S. Fisher, Suzanne R. Jaworowski, Kyle R. Yunaska, Samuel V. Buchan, Tristan C. Abbey, Zacchary Ashcraft, Frederick Boyle, Hunter F. Budd, Brett J. Fetterly, Stanley A. Gerdes, Preston (Wells) Griffith, Patrick Hogan, Patrick W. Johnson, Blaine Kelly, Eric D. Mahroum, Brian McCormack, Richard W. Mies, Kelly Mitchell, Victor H. Reis, Miverva, Salinas, Dan Simmons, Joseph F. Uddo II, Lucas, Wallwork, Daniel K. Wilmot, Sarah E. Habansky, Robert Haus, Kayla D. Hensley, or Doug Matheney; and
(2) Relate to guidance or rules about the use of the terms “climate change,” “emissions reductions,” or “Paris Agreement”

As a representative of the news media I am only required to pay for the direct cost of duplication after the first 100 pages. Through this request, I am gathering information on possible actions taken to ban the use of these terms, as has been reported. That is of current interest to the public as climate change, carbon emissions, and international efforts to reduce them are a matter of public health and welfare, and are currently a subject of national news value (http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/energy-department-climate-change-phrases-banned-236655).

This information is being sought on behalf of ThinkProgress.org (an online news service) for dissemination to the general public and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. I am a reporter with ThinkProgress, an online news site with a national audience seeking these documents entirely for news-gathering purposes.

I would like to receive the information in the following format: electronic.

Please waive any applicable fees. Release of the information is in the public interest because climate change, carbon emissions, and international efforts to reduce them are a matter of public health and welfare, and are currently a subject of national news value. 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.

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I will also expect you to release all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material. I, of course, reserve the right to appeal your decision to withhold any information or to deny a waiver of fees.

As I am making this request as a journalist and this information is of timely value, I would appreciate your communicating with me by email or telephone, rather than by mail, if you have questions regarding this request.

Please provide expedited processing of this request which concerns a matter of urgency. As a journalist, I am primarily engaged in disseminating information. The public has an urgent need for information because climate change is a matter of public health and welfare, and the news that using terms associated with the threat may have been banned would seriously curtail the government’s duty to address it as required by the Clean Air Act.

I certify that my statements concerning the need for expedited processing are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

I look forward to your reply within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Ryan Koronowski
202-478-6333
rkoronowski@thinkprogress.org

Thank you for following up. Mr. Reis listed "senior advisor" on several recent professional pages but if they are outdated and not in the system of current or former employees, it is fine to remove him. However, as he could have been on a beachhead team, is there are a way to search for people who worked at the department after 1/23 but who may not currently be employed at DoE?

Perhaps for Mr. Johnson, the Office of the Secretary would suffice, as he is listed as Assistant to the Secretary on this list of beachhead team members: https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/beachhead

Thank you,

Ryan Koronowski