Office of Inspector General, EPA re 2004-2005 investigation into whistleblower complaint

To Whom It May Concern:

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

To the Office of the Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency. Please provide the following materials with regard to an investigation into allegations by EPA Region 8 employee Weston Wilson into irregularities in the research and writing of the agency's 2004 report, Evaluation of Impacts to Underground Sources of Drinking Water by Hydraulic Fracturing of Coalbed Methane Reservoirs:
*Transcripts and notes of interviews conducted by investigators
*Emails and other written communication between investigators and interview subjects
*Emails among staff working on the investigation discussing the effort, progress and any preliminary findings
*Any communication between the IG's office and Congress re the investigation
*Any communication between the IG's office and the White House re the investigation
*Any communication between the IG's office and the EPA administrator's re the investigation

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

Please properly categorize me as in the media requester category for fee assessment purposes.

I am a reporter for Inside Climate News who has extensively covered the topics of this request, and I am filing this request as part of my news gathering process.

You can find some of my recent reporting on the EPA and environmental issues at this URL:

https://insideclimatenews.org/author/neela-banerjee

If additional clarification is needed for fee categorization, please let me know. 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,

Neela Banerjee