FOIA March Madness 2018 - Agency Talking Points (November 8, 2016 - March 13, 2018) (Environmental Protection Agency)

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=090004d281855421)
* Tracking Number: EPA-HQ-2018-005404
* Requester Name: Beryl Lipton
* Date Submitted: 03/13/2018
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description: Please see attached FOIA request.

04/06/2018 07:14 PM FOIA Request: EPA-HQ-2018-005404

Your request for Fee Waiver for the FOIA request EPA-HQ-2018-005404 has been determined to be not applicable as the request is not billable. Additional details for this request are as follows:
* Request Created on: 03/13/2018
* Fee Waiver Disposition Reason: N/A
* Request Long Description: For the period Tuesday, November 8, 2016 through Tuesday, March 13, 2018: (SUMMARY)
Any and all talking points and similar memorandums, emails, and transcripts providing
advice or direction on how to handle the media, media interviews, and statements.
----
(SPECIFICALLY)
Please include in your responsive materials any documents, emails, or communications
with the following phrases in the title or subject line:
- TALKING POINTS
- STMT
- STATEMENT
- PRESS STRATEGY
___________
It would be greatly appreciated if materials could be provided on a rolling basis.
1. In the Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division
Please provide first all such materials produced in this agency’s Office of Public Affairs
or equivalent division, and any representative thereof.
Please also provide all such materials received by this agency’s Office of Public Affairs or
equivalent division , and any representative thereof.
2. Related to all agency employees
Please also include all employee email communications containing the following
phrases:
- TALKING POINTS
- STMT
- STATEMENT
- PRESS STRATEGY
Alternative Response to 2:
If processing of this portion of this request would require its distribution to another or
multiple other offices, it would be greatly appreciated if a response to this request would
contain a description of the necessary offices to be tasked, the process by which the
search will be conducted, and an estimate of the time and fees to be incurred. Such a
description will allow us to better understand the parameters of this FOIA office’s ability
to respond to this request as worded and will better enable us to reorganize and limit it
as appropriate.
-----
Additional clarification:
This request is not intended for materials regarding one particular subject or event
during this period.
If a different search procedure will be required dependent on segment of time covered, it
would be greatly appreciated if a response could contain a

The FOIA request EPA-HQ-2018-005404 has had its Tracking Number changed to EPA-2018-005404. 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-2018-005404
* New Tracking Number:
EPA-2018-005404
* Requester Name:
Beryl Lipton
* Date Submitted:
07/05/2018
* Long Description:
For the period Tuesday, November 8, 2016 through Tuesday, March 13, 2018: (SUMMARY) Any and all talking points and similar memorandums, emails, and transcripts providing advice or direction on how to handle the media, media interviews, and statements. ---- (SPECIFICALLY) Please include in your responsive materials any documents, emails, or communications with the following phrases in the title or subject line: - TALKING POINTS - STMT - STATEMENT - PRESS STRATEGY ___________ It would be greatly appreciated if materials could be provided on a rolling basis. 1. In the Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division Please provide first all such materials produced in this agency’s Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division, and any representative thereof. Please also provide all such materials received by this agency’s Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division , and any representative thereof. 2. Related to all agency employees Please also include all employee email communications containing the following phrases: - TALKING POINTS - STMT - STATEMENT - PRESS STRATEGY Alternative Response to 2: If processing of this portion of this request would require its distribution to another or multiple other offices, it would be greatly appreciated if a response to this request would contain a description of the necessary offices to be tasked, the process by which the search will be conducted, and an estimate of the time and fees to be incurred. Such a description will allow us to better understand the parameters of this FOIA office’s ability to respond to this request as worded and will better enable us to reorganize and limit it as appropriate. ----- Additional clarification: This request is not intended for materials regarding one particular subject or event during this period. If a different search procedure will be required dependent on segment of time covered, it would be greatly appreciated if a response could contain a

Dear Beryl Lipton,
Thank you for checking the status of your FOIA Request with EPA. I apologize for the delay.
Your request was assigned to Christopher Yarbrough in EPA’s Office of the Administrator. Mr, Yarbrough is copied on this email and will respond directly to you.
Thank you for your interest in EPA.
Kind regards,
Patricia A. Weth

Patricia A. Weth
Assistant General Counsel|National FOIA Office<https://www.epa.gov/foia/forms/contact-us-about-freedom-information-act-and-foia-requests>
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Office of General Counsel
Phone (202) 564-2295| Weth.Patricia@epa.gov<mailto:Weth.Patricia@epa.gov>

[#2p4]

Good afternoon, Beryl. I hope you are doing well and staying healthy.

This request was assigned to me several years after you submitted it, so I apologize for the delay. We have devised a search strategy to locate the records you seek. That search will process, and then I’ll review the potentially responsive documents, identify responsive ones, and provide the latter to you. Depending on the volume of records that need review, we may provide you rolling releases.

While developing a search strategy, I identified EPA records released previously that respond to your request. I am working now to provide you those records. I expect to do so within 7-10 days.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a good evening.

Chris

The FOIA
request
- EPA-2018-005404 has been supplemented with additional supporting files. Additional details for this item are as follows:

* Tracking Number: EPA-2018-005404
* Requester: Beryl Lipton
* Submitted Date: 07/05/2018
* Description:
For the period Tuesday, November 8, 2016 through Tuesday, March 13, 2018: (SUMMARY) Any and all talking points and similar memorandums, emails, and transcripts providing advice or direction on how to handle the media, media interviews, and statements. ---- (SPECIFICALLY) Please include in your responsive materials any documents, emails, or communications with the following phrases in the title or subject line: - TALKING POINTS - STMT - STATEMENT - PRESS STRATEGY ___________ It would be greatly appreciated if materials could be provided on a rolling basis. 1. In the Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division Please provide first all such materials produced in this agency’s Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division, and any representative thereof. Please also provide all such materials received by this agency’s Office of Public Affairs or equivalent division , and any representative thereof. 2. Related to all agency employees Please also include all employee email communications containing the following phrases: - TALKING POINTS - STMT - STATEMENT - PRESS STRATEGY Alternative Response to 2: If processing of this portion of this request would require its distribution to another or multiple other offices, it would be greatly appreciated if a response to this request would contain a description of the necessary offices to be tasked, the process by which the search will be conducted, and an estimate of the time and fees to be incurred. Such a description will allow us to better understand the parameters of this FOIA office’s ability to respond to this request as worded and will better enable us to reorganize and limit it as appropriate. ----- Additional clarification: This request is not intended for materials regarding one particular subject or event during this period. If a different search procedure will be required dependent on segment of time covered, it would be greatly appreciated if a response could contain a

EPA-2018-005404 has been approved for an interim release.
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-2018-005404&type=Request)

To the U.S. EPA FOIA Requester Community,

Some in the EPA Requester community have encountered problems creating FOIAXpress Public Access Link (PAL) accounts in the Agency's new FOIA application FOIAXpress. With the FOIAXpress application, the PAL is the best method for EPA to release voluminous records to our Requesters, without encountering MB-limiting firewalls and such transmission impediments.

The Agency is working diligently to solve this FOIAXpress issue. In the interim, we have taken the step to "push" a system-generated invitation to create a PAL account to you. You should receive an email from address noreply_nfo@epa.gov<mailto:noreply_nfo@epa.gov> with instructions on how to take the next steps to successfully establish the PAL account.

If you chose to establish this account, this would then ensure that all future interim and final responses from your FOIA requests to EPA will be available for download via the PAL. It will also allow you to submit any new requests to U.S. EPA using your PAL account.
Regards,
Rebecca Clausen, on behalf of the
EPA FOIAXpress Implementation Team

Dear Beryl Lipton,

Please select the link below to create your password.
EPA Public Access Link: https://foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov/App/SetPassword.aspx?aun=Tqr38/QDPjPRcV8wGxpycEdUTorXSXDshDDiErkoM7A=
Regards,
EPA National FOIA Office

Dear Beryl Lipton,
An existing FOIA request profile has been located in EPAs FOIAXpress database with the email address requests@muckrock.com and a temporary password has been sent to that email address.
Please check your email and return to https://foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov/ to sign in. (https://test-foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov/)
To sign in to EPA's Public Access Link,
To sign in your account in EPA’s Public Access Link,

* Click Sign In (upper right)
* Enter your email address in the User Name field
* Enter your temporary password in the Password field
* Click the Sign In button
* Click My Account (upper right) Review and update your profile For your security, kindly change the password provided by us.
Regards,

EPA National FOIA Office

Dear Beryl Lipton,
An existing FOIA request profile has been located in EPAs FOIAXpress database with the email address requests@muckrock.com and a temporary password has been sent to that email address.
Please check your email and return to https://foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov/ to sign in. (https://test-foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov/)
To sign in to EPA's Public Access Link,
To sign in your account in EPA’s Public Access Link,

* Click Sign In (upper right)
* Enter your email address in the User Name field
* Enter your temporary password in the Password field
* Click the Sign In button
* Click My Account (upper right) Review and update your profile For your security, kindly change the password provided by us.
Regards,

EPA National FOIA Office