Executive Order 1777 - "Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda" (USDA)

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. Evaluations, recommendations, and progress reports from the Regulatory Reform Task Force to the agency head regarding the repeal, replacement, or modification of existing regulations, pursuant to 82 C.F.R. 12285 § 3(d) and 82 C.F.R. 12285 § 3(g).
2. Emails, memoranda, presentations, official correspondence, and meeting notes from the Regulatory Reform Officer, Regulatory Reform Task Force members, and agency head regarding compliance with and execution of Executive Order 13777. Please limit your search from February 20, 2017 to the date you process this request.

II. 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 the agency regulations that are likely to be evaluated and changed. Due to the broad scope of Executive Order 13777, these regulations can apply to virtually every issue that the government works on, impacting people's lives in a variety of ways.

The Sierra Club and its supporters have demonstrated interest and expertise in the subject area, specifically the development of standards designed to limit pollution, safeguard public health, improve the economy, and conserve natural resources. In addition to our staff's formal recommendations, our supporters have filed millions of public comments to agencies related to regulations that are likely to be affected by this order.

III. 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.

IV. 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.

V. 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.

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

Thanks, Christine. That was an automated followup message -- I'll turn those off.

Regards,
Alexander

I am writing about my FOIA Request (No. 2017-OCIO-04749-F). You may narrow the scope of item #2 by removing communications from Regulatory Reform Task Force members aside from the Regulatory Reform Officer, who should still be included in my request.

Thank you,
Alexander Rony

I am writing about my FOIA Request (No. 2017-OCIO-04749-F). On October 1, 2017, I wrote to narrow the scope of the request. Did your office receive that communication, and is there an update regarding the request?

Thank you,
Alexander

Dear Ms. Jordan,

Thank you for your response to my FOIA request (No. 2017-OSEC-04749-F). I am planning on appealing a few of the redactions, but I very much appreciate the work you did on this project.

Best regards,
Alexander