PARP Request: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority FOIA logs for years 2017, 2018, 2019

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received your request for records. You should receive a formal acknowledgment from the assigned attorney within ten (10) business days of receipt. More information on the PARP/Privacy process is available on line at: https://www.wmata.com/about/records/

Dear Mr. Breen,

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) acknowledges receipt of your March 6, 2020 Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request for WMATA [PARP] logs for years 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Please be advised that while your request references the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), WMATA is an interstate compact agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and not a federal agency. See Pub. L. No. 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324 (1966); Va. Code Ann. § 33.2-3100; Md. Code Ann., Transp. § 10-204; D.C. Code Ann. § 9-1107.1). Accordingly, WMATA is not subject to the FOIA.

However, WMATA is processing your request pursuant to its Public Access to Records Policy (PARP), which is available online at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm under the section marked "Legal Affairs."

General Information Regarding Your Request

Although we are not yet able to provide any responsive records, we can impart the following general information regarding your request:

Time Period for Processing Requests

WMATA generally aims to respond to a request for records within 20 business days following receipt of the request.

Please be advised that the COVID-19 virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Moreover, the President of the United States has recently declared a national emergency due to the virus, and the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland have also declared public health emergencies in response thereto. Given these emergency conditions and the need for WMATA staff to support urgent safety and mission critical operational issues, processing of PARP requests has been temporarily suspended until further notice.

Also, please be advised that WMATA has instituted Phase 3 of its Pandemic Flu Plan, which, among other things, mandates telework for employees capable of telework. Accordingly, there may be delays in receiving and responding to messages.

Exemptions

The PARP provides exemptions for certain types of data, including: (1) information that could compromise WMATA infrastructure or security; (2) information that is solely related to the internal personnel rules and practices; (3) information that is exempt by statute; (4) proprietary commercial or financial information; (5) internal deliberations on policy matters or attorney-client privileged communications; (6) information that, if released, would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (7) certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes; (8) registered SmarTrip® information; and (9) customer financial information. Generally, WMATA's response will not include any exempt information.

Processing Fees

The PARP also provides for the assessment of fees associated with a request that requires more than two hours of staff time to process. These fees are calculated at the employees' basic rate of pay, plus an additional 50 percent to cover benefits, for the time spent responding to a request. In general, a request is considered an agreement to pay all applicable fees. Advance payment is required where the fees are likely to exceed $250.

Future correspondence should reference the request number noted in the subject line of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me at ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com> or 202-962-2058. If I am unavailable, you may contact Richard Noh at RDNoh@wmata.com<mailto:RDNoh@wmata.com> or 202-962-2569.

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

Good afternoon Mr. Breen,

Processing of PARP requests continues to be suspended during the current emergency; therefore, no further information regarding a response date is available at this time.

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

Dear Mr. Breen,

Due to emergency conditions and the need for WMATA staff to support urgent safety and mission critical operational issues, processing of PARP requests continues to be temporarily suspended until further notice.

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

Dear Mr. Breen,

Processing of PARP requests continues to be suspended during the current emergency; therefore no further information regarding a response date is available at this time.

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

Dear Mr. Breen,

Processing of PARP requests continues to be suspended during the current emergency; therefore no further information regarding a response date is available at this time.

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

Dear Mr. Breen:

Thank you for your patience while PARP processing was suspended because of WMATA's need to address critical safety and operational issues due to the declared federal and local COVID-19 public health emergencies and stay at home orders. Although the public health emergencies are still in place, we are preparing to resume PARP processing in the coming weeks.

Please confirm your ongoing interest in your request within 10 business days, by close of business Tuesday, September 8, 2020. If we do not hear from you by the deadline, your request will be closed.

Sincerely,

Michael

--
Michael B. Ferrari
Associate Counsel
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
O: (202) 962-2646
C: (202) 689-9031
MBFerrari@wmata.com<mailto:MBFerrari@wmata.com>

This transmission is intended only for the proper recipient(s). It is confidential and may contain attorney-client privileged information or information prepared in anticipation of litigation. If you are not the proper recipient, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any unauthorized review, copying, or use of this message is prohibited.

Dear Mr. Breen,

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) now provides the final response to your March 6, 2020 Public Access to Records Policy (PARP) request for "[WMATA] FOIA logs for years 2017, 2018, 2019."

Please be advised that while your request references the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), WMATA is an interstate compact agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and not a federal agency. See Pub. L. No. 89-774, 80 Stat. 1324 (1966); Va. Code Ann. § 33.2-3100; Md. Code Ann., Transp. § 10-204; D.C. Code Ann. § 9-1107.1. Accordingly, WMATA is not subject to the FOIA.

Your request was processed pursuant to WMATA's Public Access to Records Policy (PARP).[1]

Decision

Please find attached the following records responsive to your request (97 pages total):

1. PARP requests received in 2017 (35 pages);
2. PARP requests received in 2018 (28 pages); and
3. PARP requests received in 2019 (34 pages).

Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.4 (confidential commercial information), we have redacted third party business information.

Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process privilege), we have redacted WMATA's internal, pre-decisional evaluations and opinions regarding the agency official's analysis of requests.

Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.6 (personal privacy), we have redacted personal information where we have determined that the individual's privacy interest outweighs any public interest in disclosure.

Finally, pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.8 (SmarTrip® information), we have redacted registered SmarTrip® card numbers, as they are released only when the request is made (1) pursuant to a Court order; (2) by a law enforcement official that meets the requirements of section 6.1(d) of WMATA's Privacy Policy; or (3) by the registered user upon proof of identity for release only to that user.

Processing Fees

Since WMATA processed these records to respond to prior requests, there are no fees associated with this request.

Appeal Rights

If you wish to appeal WMATA's decision, in accordance with PARP § 9.1, you may file a written appeal of the action with the Executive Vice President, External Relations, Barbara Richardson, at BRichardson@wmata.com<mailto:BRichardson@wmata.com>, within 30 business days of the date of this decision letter. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.

Future correspondence should reference the request number noted in the subject line of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me at SSabri@wmata.com<mailto:SSabri@wmata.com> or 202-962-2058. If I am unavailable, you may contact Benjamin Rashbaum at BRashbaum@wmata.com<mailto:BRashbaum@wmata.com> or 202-962-1926.

[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/public-records.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."

Sincerely,

Suraya Sabri
Associate Counsel
WMATA
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
P: 202-962-2058
F: 202-962-2550
E: ssabri@wmata.com<mailto:ssabri@wmata.com>

THIS TRANSMISSION IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PROPER RECIPIENT(S). IT IS CONFIDENTIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED INFORMATION OR INFORMATION PREPARED IN ANTICIPATION OF LITIGATION. IF YOU ARE NOT THE PROPER RECIPIENT, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AND DELETE THIS MESSAGE. ANY UNAUTHORIZED REVIEW, COPYING, OR USE OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED.

________________________________

[1] The PARP can be found on WMATA's website at http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/<http://www.wmata.com/about_%20metro/> public_rr.cfm, under the section marked "Legal Affairs."