EPA Enforcement Priorities

Graham Kates filed this request with the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America.
Tracking #

EPA-HQ-2017-008782

Status
Completed

Communications

From: Graham Kates

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Emails and memorandums that include both the words "enforcement" and "priorities," sent between Feb. 17, 2017 and June 2, 2017.

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,

Graham Kates
CBS News
KatesG@cbsnews.com

From: foia_hq@epa.gov

This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://foiaonline.regulations.gov:443/foia/action/public/view/request?objectId=090004d2813d0805)
* Tracking Number: EPA-HQ-2017-008782
* Requester Name: Graham Kates
* Date Submitted: 06/23/2017
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: Requesting emails and memorandums that include both the words "enforcement" and "priorities," sent between Feb. 17, 2017 and June 2, 2017.

From: foia_hq@epa.gov

06/28/2017 10:45 AM FOIA Request: EPA-HQ-2017-008782

From: Graham Kates

Larry,

Thank you for your reply. I would like emails sent between Feb. 17, 2017 and June 2, 2017, to or from Acting Assistant Administrator Lawrence Starfield, Acting Deputy Administrator Mike Flynn and Administrator Scott Pruitt, in which the subject matter is the EPA's criminal and/or civil enforcement priorities.

Thank you,

Graham Kates
CBS News
KatesG@cbsnews.com

From: Farren, Victor

Graham Kates,

The Attorney who was assigned you FOIA case, Jonathan Newton, is currently out of the office, returning Tuesday, September 5. I have forwarded your email to him for his response.

Sincerely,

Victor J. Farren
Attorney-Advisor
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of the Executive Secretariat
(202) 564-0808

From: Environmental Protection Agency

06/01/2018 03:00 PM
This email is about your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, EPA-HQ-2017-008782; it is assigned to the Office of the Administrator for processing.

The Office of the Administrator has experienced a significant increase in FOIA requests since the start of this administration.  As of May 7, 2018, your FOIA request, EPA-HQ-2017-008782, is currently 441 in the queue.  We are processing all FOIAs within the scope of our resources, given the sharp increase in requests.  If possible, we will provide you with interim releases as they become available.

In fiscal year 2017, the average processing time for complex FOIA requests processed by AO was 388 working days.  Using this number as instructive to estimate the time to process your request, the new estimated completion date for this FOIA is December 19, 2018.

The following are some sources of publicly available information that you can access immediately and which may contain information responsive to your request:

* Our website: https://www.epa.gov/home/advanced-search (https://www.epa.gov/home/advanced-search)
* The EPA newsroom: https://www.epa.gov/newsroom (https://www.epa.gov/newsroom)
* FOIAonline for records previously released through FOIA requests: https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/search/ (https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/public/search/)
* Frequently requested records: https://www.epa.gov/foia/national-online-foia-library#request (https://www.epa.gov/foia/national-online-foia-library#request)
* MyProperty: https://www3.epa.gov/enviro/facts/myproperty/ (https://www3.epa.gov/enviro/facts/myproperty/)
* Technical/scientific/educational publications: https://www.epa.gov/nscep (https://www.epa.gov/nscep)
* Superfund sites and data: https://www.epa.gov/foia/national-online-foia-library#superfund (https://www.epa.gov/foia/national-online-foia-library#superfund)
* Historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2017 https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/ (https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/)

If you wish to clarify your request, so that once we reach the request in the queue, it might be processed in a shorter amount of time, please contact Jonathan Newton, Newton.Jonathan@epa.gov.  If you are no longer interested in the requested records, please let us know so that we can remove your request from the queue. Please be sure to include your tracking number, EPA-HQ-2017-008782, in the email subject to ensure a timely response.

In addition to seeking assistance from the contact above, you may seek assistance from the EPA’s FOIA Public Liaison at hq.foia@epa.gov or (202) 566-1667 , or from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS).  OGIS’s services are described on their website, https://www.archives.gov/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-OGIS, College Park, MD 20740-6001; email: ogis@nara.gov; telephone: (202) 741-5770 (https://www.archives.gov/ogis) or (877) 684-6448 ; or fax: (202) 741-5769

Thank you,

Jonathan Newton

From: Graham Kates

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm following up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 23, 2017. You had previously indicated that it would be completed on Dec. 19, 2018. I wanted to check on the status of my request, and to see if there was a new estimated completion date. You had assigned it reference number #EPA-HQ-2017-008782.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

From: Environmental Protection Agency

The FOIA request EPA-HQ-2017-008782 has had its Tracking Number changed to EPA-2017-008782. This is normally due to the request being transferred to another agency (for example, EPA to Dept. of Commerce) or to a sub-agency to process it. Additional details for this request are as follows:

* Old Tracking Number:
EPA-HQ-2017-008782
* New Tracking Number:
EPA-2017-008782
* Requester Name:
Graham Kates
* Date Submitted:
07/07/2018
* Long Description:
Requesting emails and memorandums that include both the words "enforcement" and "priorities," sent between Feb. 17, 2017 and June 2, 2017.

From: Environmental Protection Agency

The FOIA
request
- EPA-2017-008782 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:

* Tracking Number: EPA-2017-008782
* Requester: Graham Kates
* Submitted Date: 07/07/2018
* Description:
Requesting emails and memorandums that include both the words "enforcement" and "priorities," sent between Feb. 17, 2017 and June 2, 2017.

From: Environmental Protection Agency

EPA-2017-008782 has been processed with the following final disposition: Partial Grant/Partial Denial.
Records were released to the public as a result of this request. You may retrieve these records immediately using the following link: Over the next 2 hours, these records are also being added to FOIAonline's search pages, further enabling you to retrieve these documents associated with your FOIA request at any time. View Records (https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=EPA-2017-008782&type=request)

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