FEMA buyouts

Scott Dance filed this request with the Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States of America.
Tracking #

2022-FEFO-00052

Due Nov. 12, 2021
Est. Completion Jan. 25, 2022
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Scott Dance

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Access to and copies of electronic database tables containing the data in the possession and/or control of FEMA in association with property acquisitions under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program or similar program(s). The tables should include these fields, and any other data fields present in the dataset: the address of the properties acquired, the sellers' names, the amount paid for the property and the GIS coordinates of the properties. I am requesting data covering all activity of the program since its inception.

I would also like any documentation or meta-data associated with any and all data tables related to the dataset named above. This documentation would include but not be limited to any coding manuals, record layouts, relational models and data dictionaries, including all references to any fields withheld by FEMA in response to this request.

I request that you release these data to me in a standard, machine-readable electronic format such as Excel, Access, ASCII, CSV, etc.

In the event that any of the records are exempt from disclosure, I ask that you segregate those portions that are not exempt from disclosure and release them to me.

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,

Scott Dance

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
A temporary password has been issued and sent to the email address provided. Please check your email for this temporary password and return to https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/ to login. If you have any previously submitted requests to Department of Homeland Security you will be able to view them by logging into your user account.
Username:  requests@muckrock.com
Regards,
Department of Homeland Security

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
Your request has been received by the Department of Homeland Security. The request has been assigned tracking # '2022-FEFO-00052', please log into your account and review your submission.
The application address is https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/.
Thank you,
Department of Homeland Security

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
The status of your FEMA FOIA request #'2022-FEFO-00052' has been updated to the following status 'Received'. To log into the Department of Homeland Security PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/
Sincerely,
Department of Homeland Security

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
The status of your FEMA FOIA request #2022-FEFO-00052 has been updated to the following status 'On Hold - Fee Related'. To log into the Department of Homeland Security PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/
Sincerely,
Department of Homeland Security

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

October 22, 2021 SENT VIA E-MAIL TO: requests@muckrock.com Re: FOIA Request Number 2022-FEFO-00052 Acknowledgment Dear Scott Dance: This email acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), dated October 20, 2021 and received in this office on October 20, 2021 .  You are seeking The following:-electronic database tables containing the data in the possession and/or control of FEMA in association with property acquisitions under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program or similar program(s). The tables should include these fields, and any other data fields present in the dataset: the address of the properties acquired, the sellers' names, the amount paid for the property and the GIS coordinates of the properties.-any documentation or meta-data associated with any and all data tables related to the dataset named above. This documentation would include but not be limited to any coding manuals, record layouts, relational models and data dictionaries, including all references to any fields withheld by FEMA in response to this request. Your request has been assigned the following tracking number 2022-FEFO-00052 . Due to current working conditions in response to the COVID -19 outbreak, please expect a delay in our response.  Please be assured that we continue our commitment to provide timely FOIA responses and are processing your FOIA request as soon as possible. If you have any questions or would like to discuss thismatter, please contact me the assigned FOIA specialist directly at, juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov . If you require additional support,you may also contact FEMA’s Public Liaison atFEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov.  If you need to contact FEMA’s FOIA PublicLiaison, then please reference the FOIA request number and addressyour email to “Attn: FEMA’s Public Liaison” and summarize your concerns. We may contact you again  about more information about your FOIA request. You have been placed in the fee requester category “Commercial Use” requester, pursuant to the DHS FOIA Regulations, 6 CFR §5.11. Provisions of the FOIA allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request.  We shall charge you for records in accordance with the DHS FOIA regulations as they apply to commercial requesters for the information .  We will construe the submission of your request as an agreement to pay up to $25.00.  This office will contact you before accruing any further fees. that is not considered yourPrivacy Act information . As a commercial requester of this type of informationyou may be charged 10 cents per page for duplication, and for search and review time at the per quarter-hour rate ($4.00 for clerical personnel, $7.00 for professional personnel, $10.25 for managerial personnel) of the searcher and reviewer Accordingly, the FOIA provides that you may be charged certain fees for the processing of your FOIA request. We will query theappropriate offices within FEMA who may have the records you are seeking todetermine if fees will apply. Then we will contact you again once ourcalculations are completed and notify you before proceeding further with theprocessing of your FOIA request. In the event that you are charged fees, we invite you to reach out to our Office to discuss how to narrow your request and reduce the fees assessed. We appreciate your patience . If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter, pleasecontact the assigned FOIA specialist directly at, juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov andreference the request number 2022-FEFO-00052 . Again, ifyou require additional support, you may also contact FEMA’s PublicLiaison at FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov.  If you need to contact FEMA’s FOIAPublic Liaison, then please reference the FOIA request number andaddress your email to “Attn: FEMA’s Public Liaison” and summarize yourconcerns. You may also contact FEMAat (202) 646-3323, or you may contact FEMA’s Public Liaison in the samemanner.  Please reference FOIA request number 2022-FEFO-00052. For a faster responseplease communicate by email. Thank you for your interest in FEMA. Sincerely, Disclosure Branch Information Management Division Office of the Chief Administrative Officer Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Department of Homeland Security

From: Muckrock Staff

Hello,

Thank you for your attention to this request. This is not a commercial request - the original language states "The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes." Can this fee category be reevaluated? We are still interested in having this request processed, but not as a commercial requester.

Thank you for your help and time.

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance:
Attached is our interim response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request numbered 2022-FEFO-00052.  If you need to contact our office concerning this request, please email me directly and reference your FOIA tracking number 2022-FEFO-00052. You may also send an e-mail to FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov, or call (202) 646-3323, and you maycontact our FOIA Public Liaison in the same manner. (mailto:FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov) For a faster response please contact me directly by email.
Regards,
Disclosure Branch
Information Management Division
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Federal Emergency Management Agency
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Telephone: (202) 646-3323
FEMA-FOIA@fema.dhs.gov

From: Scott Dance

Hello,

I am writing to justify a fee waiver request for 2022-FEFO-00052.

I am not a commercial requester -- I am a member of the media. I am a reporter at The Baltimore Sun and I intend to use the documents I am requesting in an article or series of articles. I am employing the services of Muck Rock to handle this FOIA request, but it should have been more clear that I am requesting these documents as an employee of The Baltimore Sun. I have no commercial interest in the disclosure of these records.

Fees should be waived for this request because the data I am requesting concerns government operations -- specifically, the use of government funds to buy properties in areas vulnerable to flooding and other climate change related threats. The disclosure of this information, through my reporting for The Baltimore Sun, would serve to help the public better understand what the government is doing and how taxpayer money is being spent to help property owners deal with climate threats, to protect lives and property from damage, and generally prepare for extreme weather coming as a result of climate change. The public understanding to be gained from this disclosure is significant because there has been little reporting around these buyout efforts, and yet they are expected to grow in scale through expanded investment by the federal government in the coming years and decades. Most people are not aware of this buyout activity at all, or if they are little is understood about where it is happening and how often these buyouts are occurring.

I appreciate the consideration of my fee waiver request.

Sincerely,
Scott Dance

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
The status of your FEMA FOIA request #2022-FEFO-00052 has been updated to the following status 'In Process'. To log into the Department of Homeland Security PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/
Sincerely,
Department of Homeland Security

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Thank you for your email response.

We are granting you the fee waiver. We will reach out to the program office but may reach back to you incase further information is needed regarding the records you are requesting.

Sincerely,

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Good afternoon,

After further discussion with the appropriate program office, is it possible to further narrow your FOIA request?

The current scope will take a an extensive amount of time to produce and we want to see how you to provide you with the records you needs in a timely manner. Would you be willing to limit the scope of your FOIA request? Specifically part 2 of your FOIA request that is seeking for documentation. The data pull may be more feasible than the documentation records.

If you can please provide a response by January 17, 2022, that would be great.

We look forward to your response and thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Scott Dance

Hi Juan,

Just the data pull would be great. Thank you.

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Thank you for your quick response.

Once you confirm the following, we will make sure to continue processing your FOIA request:

* You are seeking an electronic database tables in the possession and/or control of FEMA in association with property acquisitions under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program or similar program(s). The tables should include these fields, and any other data fields present in the dataset:

* the address of the properties acquired,
* the sellers' names,
* the amount paid for the property
* the GIS coordinates of the properties.

Please let me know if there is any additional data fields that you are seeking that are not listed above. Please note that address, GIS coordinates and seller information may be withheld under exemption 6 of the FOIA due to Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

If you can please provide a response by January 25, 2022, that would be great.

If no response is provided then we will assume you agree with the adjustments to your FOIA request listed above.

We look forward to your response and thank you for your cooperation with us.

Sincerely,

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Scott Dance

Hi Juan,

I understand that sellers' names is considered personally identifiable information and may be withheld. But there is precedent for FEMA to release addresses of properties purchased in buyouts. This data was released to NPR in 2019: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/696995788/search-the-thousands-of-disaster-buyouts-fema-didnt-want-you-to-see

I am simply asking for the same data that was already provided for NPR, but including more recent buyouts as well. Therefore, address information should not be redacted from any data you provide.

Scott

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Thank you for your email,

Can you please confirm you are seeking for the following:

* You are seeking an electronic database tables in the possession and/or control of FEMA in association with property acquisitions under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program or similar program(s). The tables should include these fields, and any other data fields present in the dataset:

* the address of the properties acquired,
* the sellers' names,
* the amount paid for the property
* the GIS coordinates of the properties.
Once you confirm we will continue to process your FOIA request.

We look forward to your response and thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Scott Dance

Hi Juan,

I guess my previous email is to say, I can withdraw the request for sellers' names. Otherwise, yes, my request stands as:

electronic database tables in the possession and/or control of FEMA in association with property acquisitions under the Hazard Mitigation Grant program or similar program(s). The tables should include these fields, and any other data fields present in the dataset:

* the address of the properties acquired,
* the amount paid for the property
* the GIS coordinates of the properties.

Thank you.

Scott

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Thank you for the email confirmation.

We are processing your request and currently waiting on the appropriate program office to provide us with the responsive record.

We thank you for your patience and cooperation with us.

Sincerely,

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Good afternoon,

This email is regarding your FOIA request 2022-FEFO-00052.

After further discussion with the program office, can you please specify the additional data fields other than those 3 previously listed?

I was able to open the NPR link you previously provided (Whiter Communities Received More Federal Buyouts After Disasters : NPR<https://www.npr.org/2019/03/05/696995788/search-the-thousands-of-disaster-buyouts-fema-didnt-want-you-to-see>) and was able to download the CSV file from that link. NPR includes the following data fields they received:

* Fiscal Year
* Disaster Description
* Residence
* Owner
* Structure
* Address City
* State
* Zip
* Price Paid
* Status

Can you please confirm that you are seeking these same data fields along with the "GIS Coordinates of the properties" but updated as of October, 2021?

If you can please provide a response by February 24, 2022, that would be great. We want to make sure we provide you with the data you are specifically seeking.

We look forward to your response and thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely.

Juan Vega
Government Information Specialist | Information Management Division | Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
Office: (202) 646-3323 | Work Mobile: (202) 674-2989
juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov<mailto:juan.vegasandoval@fema.dhs.gov>

Federal Emergency Management Agency
fema.gov<http://www.fema.gov/>

From: Scott Dance

Hi Juan,

Yes, this information is what I'm looking for. Thanks.

Scott

From: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Dear Scott Dance,
The status of your FEMA FOIA request #2022-FEFO-00052 has been updated to the following status 'In Process'. To log into the Department of Homeland Security PAL click on the Application URL below.
https://foiarequest.dhs.gov/
Sincerely,
Department of Homeland Security

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