Hurricane Sandy Lessons Learned

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

The Defense Support of Civil Authorities report produced by the Department of Defense after Hurricane Sandy outlining lessons learned by DOD from the disaster.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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. I am willing to pay fees up to $25.

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,

Shawn Musgrave

Hello,

Thank you for your quick reply and helpful advice. I will submit it in a few weeks.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

The Defense Support of Civil Authorities report produced by the Department of Defense after Hurricane Sandy outlining lessons learned by DOD from the disaster.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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. I am willing to pay fees up to $25.

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,

Shawn Musgrave

Hello,

This is in reference to FY13-13DEC2012-NNC13. I have received your acknowledgement letter.

Thanks,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock

Hello,

Please find MuckRock's fee waiver justifications below:

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(1) Please provide justification supporting your fee waiver request:

(a) How do the records concern the operations or activities of the
government?
Response: The records concern the activities of USNORTHCOM, a government agency, during Hurricane Sandy and the analysis of those activities after that disaster.

(b) Given the records concern the operations or activities of the government,
how will disclosure likely contribute to public understanding of these
operations and activities?
Response: The disclosure will allow the public an understanding of the lessons USNORTHCOM learned from its responsive activities during Hurricane Sandy.

(c) If there is likely to be a contribution to public understanding, will
release of the requested records contribute significantly to public
understanding?
Response: Yes, release of the records will contribute significantly, as USNORTHCOM will be called upon in the future to respond to other disasters. The lessons drawn from this massive hurricane will be illustrative and telling for future disaster response.

(d) Would disclosure be primarily in your commercial interest?
Response: No, MuckRock has no commercial interest in the disclosure.

(e) Do you have the ability and intention to disseminate the information to
the general public or a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in
the subject?
Response: Yes. MuckRock will publish the records in full on its website for free and open viewing to the public. MuckRock's work has also been cited in media outlets and publications across the country and world, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, techDirt and RT.

(f) How and to whom do you intend to disseminate the information?
Response: MuckRock will publish the records in full on its website for free and open viewing to the public, as well as analyze the documents for briefs and articles. These articles will be posted on the MuckRock site as well as sent to media partners around the country and world.

(g) How do you plan to use the information to contribute to public
understanding of the Government's operations or activities?
Response: MuckRock will distill USNORTHCOM's lessons learned in a summary article, as well as place lessons learned from this hurricane in the context of past disaster response as revealed through similar documents MuckRock has obtained following those events.

(2) We have processed your request. We did not locate the requested report,
but we do have USNORTHCOM lessons learned that are applicable to your
request. The total cost of processing your request was $132 (3 hours at
$44). If the fee waiver is not approved please advise your willingness to pay all
fees associated with your request.
Response: MuckRock is willing to pay all fees associated with this request.

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Please let me know if I can clarify any of the above. Thank you for your assistance with this request.

Best,
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock