Executive Order 13783 (OMB)

Alexander Rony filed this request with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget of the United States of America.
Submitted June 2, 2017
Status
Rejected

Communications

From: Alexander Rony

Subject: Freedom of Information Request: Executive Order 13783 (OMB)

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

I. Description of Records Sought

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act for the following records:

1. Agency plans submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailing how reviews will be conducted under Executive Order 13783.
2. Written statements and explanations submitted to OMB by agencies that determined their actions are irrelevant to or exempt from Executive Order 13783.
3. Records of OMB determinations that agencies have actions that are relevant to Executive Order 13783, in whichever format they were delivered to agency heads (emails, memoranda, or letters).

II. Background Information

On March 28, 2017, Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13783, "Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth." Section 2(c) requires the head of each agency to submit a plan by May 12, 2017 to the OMB Director that covers how their agency will carry out their review of energy-related actions. A copy of the executive order is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/31/2017-06576/promoting-energy-independence-and-economic-growth.

On May 8, 2017, Acting OMB Administrator Dominic J. Mancini sent a memorandum with the subject, "Guidance for Section 2 of Executive Order 13783, Titled 'Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth'" that provided additional guidance for agencies. This memo clarified the process for agencies that do not believe they have any actions that apply to Executive Order 13783. A copy of the memorandum is available at https://www.eenews.net/assets/2017/05/10/document_pm_05.pdf.

III. Request for a Fee Waiver

I respectfully request that you waive all fees in connection with this request as provided by 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). The Sierra Club is a national environmental nonprofit with no commercial interest in obtaining the requested information. Instead, our organization intends to analyze and disseminate the requested information free of charge so that the public can be better informed and meaningfully participate in protecting the nation's natural resources and public health.

The subject matter of the requested records is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government by disclosing how federal agencies are planning to review existing actions, and which ones are not affected by the executive order. Given the number of regulations related to energy, and the many issues that are related, there is a clear public interest in sharing this information.

The Sierra Club and its supporters have demonstrated interest and expertise in the subject area, as the organization's staff have made many recommendations regarding current regulations regarding energy production, conservation, pollution, and climate change. In addition, our supporters have filed millions of public comments on agency actions that are likely to be affected by this order.

IV. Media Requester Status

In addition to the public interest fee waiver, I ask to be properly categorized as a representative of the news media. The bulk of my professional duties at the Sierra Club entails planning and writing content about public policy, including composing mass communications to our followers, analyzing FOIA responses, and coordinating press outreach. Here are some examples that resulted from my work:

https://sierraclub.org/planet/2017/04/hiring-freeze-prevented-epa-filling-hundreds-jobs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/05/19/nearly-700-vacancies-at-cdc-because-of-trump-administration-hiring-freeze/
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4480/over-700000-people-tell-government-to-block-seed-mergers

The Sierra Club has the ability and intention to disseminate the information it receives through this request. The information may be shared through emails to an audience reaching into the millions, Facebook and Twitter posts reaching tens of thousands of followers, articles on our often-visited website, and analysis provided to the media.

V. Exempt Records

Should you decide to invoke a FOIA exemption with regard to any of the requested records, please include in your response letter sufficient information for an appeal, including:

1. Basic factual material about each withheld item, including the originator, date, length, general subject matter, and location of each item.
2. Explanations and justifications for denial, including the identification of the category within the governing statutory provision under which the document (or portion thereof) was withheld and a full explanation of how each exemption fits the withheld material.

If you determine that portions of a requested record are exempt from disclosure, please redact the exempt portions and provide the remainder of the record.

VI. Record Delivery

I would prefer the request be filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. In the event that there are fees, please inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request.

Please produce the records on a rolling basis; at no point should the search for – or deliberation concerning – certain records delay the production of others that the agency has already retrieved and elected to produce.

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,

Alexander Rony
Sierra Club

From: FN-OMB-FOIA

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: Executive Order 13783 (OMB)

Email

Good Morning:

This email acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) dated and received in OMB’s FOIA office on June 2, 2017. Your request has been logged in and is being processed. For your reference, the OMB FOIA number is 2017-261.

Sincerely,
Dionne Hardy

From: U.S. Office of Management and Budget

Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL] RE: Freedom of Information Act Request: Executive Order 13783 (OMB)

Email

Good Morning: See Attached.
Thanks.

From: Alexander Rony

Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Act Request: Executive Order 13783 (OMB)

Email

Dear Ms. Hardy,

How was the search conducted? I know there are records, as the executive order states:

"Within 45 days of the date of this order, the head of each agency with agency actions described in subsection (a) of this section shall develop and submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Director) a plan to carry out the review required by subsection (a) of this section. The plans shall also be sent to the Vice President, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality. The head of any agency who determines that such agency does not have Start Printed Page 16094agency actions described in subsection (a) of this section shall submit to the OMB Director a written statement to that effect and, absent a determination by the OMB Director that such agency does have agency actions described in subsection (a) of this section, shall have no further responsibilities under this section." (source: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-06576/p-9)

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