EPA Political appointee FOIA records

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=090004d281819770)
* Tracking Number: EPA-R10-2018-004763
* Requester Name: Nick Surgery
* Date Submitted: 02/22/2018
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records: It is the requestors understanding that EPA regions have been instructed to handle FOIA requests that include records involving EPA political appointees, by routing such requests to EPA HQ for processing. I therefore request any guidance or other instructions provided to an EPA region by EPA HQ about the processing of FOIA requests that include political appointees, or any other records which outline this approach. A search may be limited to records created or transmitted between January 20, 2017 and February 21, 2018. The requester is entitled to a fee waiver because he is a member of the news media, and because this request for records concerns activities or operations of the government. Disclosure of the requested records will likely increase public understanding of government operations since the requester has the ability and the intention, through the means described below, to effectively convey information contained within the requested records to a broad public audience. Requester is an investigative journalist and the director of Documented, an investigative watchdog and reporting group that explores the relationship between industry and government. Nick Surgey is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy and writes for the Intercept. 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.

The FOIA request EPA-R10-2018-004763 has had its Tracking Number changed to EPA-HQ-2018-004763. 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-R10-2018-004763
* New Tracking Number: EPA-HQ-2018-004763
* Requester Name: Nick Surgey
* Date Submitted: 02/22/2018
* Long Description: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records: It is the requestors understanding that EPA regions have been instructed to handle FOIA requests that include records involving EPA political appointees, by routing such requests to EPA HQ for processing. I therefore request any guidance or other instructions provided to an EPA region by EPA HQ about the processing of FOIA requests that include political appointees, or any other records which outline this approach. A search may be limited to records created or transmitted between January 20, 2017 and February 21, 2018. The requester is entitled to a fee waiver because he is a member of the news media, and because this request for records concerns activities or operations of the government. Disclosure of the requested records will likely increase public understanding of government operations since the requester has the ability and the intention, through the means described below, to effectively convey information contained within the requested records to a broad public audience. Requester is an investigative journalist and the director of Documented, an investigative watchdog and reporting group that explores the relationship between industry and government. Nick Surgey is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy and writes for the Intercept. 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.

03/28/2018 09:42 AM FOIA Request: EPA-HQ-2018-004763

This email acknowledges receipt and preliminary assignment of your FOIA request. Your request has been assigned to EPA’s Office of the Administrator; please note that this office has experienced an unprecedented increase in FOIA requests.

In the eight months following the 2017 Presidential Inauguration the Office of the Administrator received 921 FOIA requests compared with 155 requests for the same eight months in the previous year. Many of these requests are complex, voluminous, and require significant resources to process. Consequently, there are substantial delays in the processing of pending FOIA requests and final completion of your request may require up to fourteen months.

You can check for overall information regarding FOIA processing and progress at www.epa.gov/foia. Thank you for your patience and for your interest in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Jonathan V. Newton
Attorney-Advisor Office of the Executive Secretariat

04/12/2018 08:02 AM FOIA Request: EPA-HQ-2018-004763

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request EPA-HQ-2018-004763 has been determined to be not applicable as the request is not billable. Additional details for this request are as follows:
* Request Created on: 02/22/2018
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason: N/A
* Request Long Description: This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records: It is the requestors understanding that EPA regions have been instructed to handle FOIA requests that include records involving EPA political appointees, by routing such requests to EPA HQ for processing. I therefore request any guidance or other instructions provided to an EPA region by EPA HQ about the processing of FOIA requests that include political appointees, or any other records which outline this approach. A search may be limited to records created or transmitted between January 20, 2017 and February 21, 2018. The requester is entitled to a fee waiver because he is a member of the news media, and because this request for records concerns activities or operations of the government. Disclosure of the requested records will likely increase public understanding of government operations since the requester has the ability and the intention, through the means described below, to effectively convey information contained within the requested records to a broad public audience. Requester is an investigative journalist and the director of Documented, an investigative watchdog and reporting group that explores the relationship between industry and government. Nick Surgey is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy and writes for the Intercept. 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.

The FOIA request EPA-HQ-2018-004763 has had its Tracking Number changed to EPA-2018-004763. 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-2018-004763
* New Tracking Number:
EPA-2018-004763
* Requester Name:
Nick Surgey
* Date Submitted:
07/06/2018
* Long Description:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records: It is the requestors understanding that EPA regions have been instructed to handle FOIA requests that include records involving EPA political appointees, by routing such requests to EPA HQ for processing. I therefore request any guidance or other instructions provided to an EPA region by EPA HQ about the processing of FOIA requests that include political appointees, or any other records which outline this approach. A search may be limited to records created or transmitted between January 20, 2017 and February 21, 2018. The requester is entitled to a fee waiver because he is a member of the news media, and because this request for records concerns activities or operations of the government. Disclosure of the requested records will likely increase public understanding of government operations since the requester has the ability and the intention, through the means described below, to effectively convey information contained within the requested records to a broad public audience. Requester is an investigative journalist and the director of Documented, an investigative watchdog and reporting group that explores the relationship between industry and government. Nick Surgey is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy and writes for the Intercept. 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.

EPA-2018-004763 has been processed with the following final disposition: Partial Grant/Partial Denial.