Robert Vance Pratt DOE and/or NRC Records

To Whom It May Concern:

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

A copy of any and all Nuclear Regulatory Commission or wider Department of Energy files and related records on Robert Vance Pratt, often known as "Bob Pratt" (Born: 08/12/1926; Deceased: 11/20/2005). Evidence of Ryder's passing can be accessed within the attached obituaries from The Palm Beach Post and Legacy.com. Also accessible via these links:
- https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/palmbeachpost/name/robert-pratt-obituary?id=26394629
- https://web.archive.org/web/20051201020438/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2005/11/25/m8b_obit_pratt_1125.html

Before his retirement, Mr. Pratt was a career newspaperman and author, holding various reporting and editing positions on the Alexandria Gazette, the Charlottesville Daily Progress, the Evansville Courier, the Buffalo Evening News, the Miami News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Louisville Times and Courier-Journal, and for a time with the National Enquirer.

It is believed that some of Mr. Pratt's reporting interests—particularly involving the Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) in Buchanan, NY—may have made him a person of interest to either DOE or the NRC more specifically.

This search should include records and correspondence shared between the NRC and its parent agency and/or other federal, state, and municipal agencies, if applicable.

Given the scope of Mr. Pratt's journalism career, there are likely to be many pertinent records that are over 25 years old. Please note that pursuant to Executive Order 13526 (https://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/cnsi-eo.html) signed by President Barack Obama in December 2009, and still in effect, classified documents 25 years or older that "have been determined to have permanent historical value under title 44, United States Code, shall be automatically declassified whether or not the records have been reviewed."

If some records may be released immediately while others require a review, I respectfully request a two-tiered release. I am making this request as a member of the news media, and request classification as such, including a fee waiver. I have previously written for Gizmodo, Slate, The New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. The documents I seek concern Mr. Pratt's reporting on U.S. nuclear safety and security activities. Their disclosure is likely to contribute to greater public understanding of historic government initiatives and taxpayer-funded expenditures.

In the case of a staggered release, I humbly request that records on Bob Pratt from the years 1979 to 1998 be the focused of the first and most immediate release.

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,

Matthew Phelan