PET complaints

Dear FOIA Officer:

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

All complaints, tips, and reports of suspected theft or fraud the Office of Inspector General has received from BLM Petroleum Engineering Technicians from the beginning of fiscal year 2014 until the date this request is processed.

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

As a freelance journalist, I expect to be placed in your news media category. As evidence of my publication record, here are links to a few of my stories:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/zoos-protect-animals-fire-disaster/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/11/how-california-fire-catastrophe-unfolded/
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/wildlife-watch-sea-cucumbers-illegal-wildlife-trade-coral-reefs/

Furthermore, I request a fee waver on the grounds that this report is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations of the government — i.e., how the government polices fraud, abuse, and waste in the energy sector's use of public resources.

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 look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Maraya Cornell

Dear FOIA Officer,

I'm writing to inquire as to the status of my Freedom of Information Act Request, submitted on September 3, 2019, for complaints sent to the Office of Inspector General from BLM Petroleum Engineering Technicians. Has your office assigned my request a control/tracking number yet?

Regards,
Maraya

Dear FOIA Officer,

Would you be able to check your email records again for my original request and the follow up I sent in September? This sets my request back by an entire month, and I need to know whether requests sent through MuckRock's system are not being delivered.

The original request was sent on September 3, 2019 to FOIA@doioig.gov from requests@muckrock.com.

I followed up on September 12, 2019, again to FOIA@doioig.gov from requests@muckrock.com.

Regards,
Maraya

Dear FOIA Officer,

Thank you for providing documents in response to my FOIA request, assigned reference # OIG-2020-00002.

However, in your determination letter (attached), you did not tell me how many responsive pages there were, only how many pages you decided to release:

"We obtained the documents you seek and conducted a review of the material you requested. After reviewing this information, we have determined that we may release 4 pages of responsive documents, with FOIA redactions, pursuant to exemptions 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), (b)(7)(C), and (b)(7)(D)."

In order for an agency's response to qualify as a "determination," the agency must:

1. gather and review the documents;
2. determine and communicate the scope of the documents it intends to produce and withhold, and the reasons for withholding any documents;
3. inform the requester that it can appeal whatever portion of the 'determination' is adverse.

Since you have not informed me of the scope of documents you've decided to withhold, your determination is incomplete. Please let me know the number of pages of responsive documents.

Thank you and regards,
Maraya

Stefanie,

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Maraya Cornell