FOIA News: EPA’s controversial FOIA amendments were recommended by FOIA Advisory Committee, says EPA

EPA blames advisory board for controversial changes to FOIA policy

By Miranda Green, The Hill, Oct. 31, 2019

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is blaming a component of its controversial new public records policy on recommendations made by an advisory board, according to an email shared with The Hill.

In June the agency made a change to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policy requiring that all record requests must first go through EPA’s Washington, D.C. office instead of its smaller bureaus. The key change was done so at the behest of advisory committee recommendations, and was not mandated under the law as previously argued, agency officials said.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Gov't petitions SCOTUS in Exemption 5 case

Agencies Seek High Court Review of Endangered Species FOIA Case

• Case involves Freedom of Information Act exemption for deliberative process

• Stems from EPA regulation for power plants

By Ellen Gilmer, Bloomberg Env’t., Oct. 29, 2019

The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to keep Endangered Species Act records out of the hands of environmentalists.

In a new petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service urged the justices to review a ruling from a lower court that required the agencies to turn over draft documents from an Endangered Species Act consultation process.

Read more here (subscription required).

FOIA News: FBI's Kavanaugh file protected under FOIA, argues DOJ

'Unquestionably Private': DOJ Contends FBI's Kavanaugh File Must Remain Confidential

The character of the information in the FBI supplemental background investigation "is highly personal and could subject Judge Kavanaugh and others to harassment or embarrassment in their private lives," Justice Department lawyers said in responding to a FOIA lawsuit.

By Mike Scarcella, Nat’l Law Journal, Oct 28, 2019

Emails and other records detailing the FBI background investigation of Brett Kavanaugh focused on misconduct claims that arose during his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing must remain confidential to protect agency communication and the privacy of the now-justice and others appearing in the material, the U.S. Justice Department told a Washington federal judge Friday.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Interior revises controversial FOIA regs

Interior removes controversial proposed change from final FOIA rule

By Miranda Green, The Hill, Oct. 25, 2019

The Interior Department has removed heavily criticized language from the final version of its public records rule that some worried would give officials too much leniency in withholding documents.

The final iteration of the department’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulation issued Friday removes several proposed language changes that government watchdog groups argued would place an unlawful burden on public records seekers and offered the agency broader authority to reject requests that didn’t fit the more narrow request format.

Read more here.

See post below for copy of final rule.

FOIA News: Department of the Interior releases final rule on revised FOIA regulations

The Department of Interior published a copy of its final rule implementing new FOIA regulations this morning. The rule has not yet been scheduled for publication in the Federal Register. The agency issued its proposed amendments in December 2018, but received heavy criticism and a tremendous amount of public commentary critical of the changes. In total, Interior received over 65,000 public comments. The final rule has been substantively modified in a number of instances, and the agency also has withdrawn some of the proposed changes, including those which received significant attention from the commenting public.

FOIA News: Government Information Specialist jobs available

• Veterans Health Admin., Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, Phoenix, AZ (closing 10.25.19)

• Office for Civil Rights, Dep’t of Education , Washington, DC (closing 10.31.19)

• Office of the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, DC (closing 10.31.19)

• Bureau of Land Mgmt., Dep’t of the Interior, Salt Lake City, UT (closing 10.31.19)

• Bureau of Safety and Envtl.Enforcement, Dep’t of the Interior, Sterling, VA (closing 11.1.19)

• Occupational Safety and Health Admin., Dep’t of Labor, Syracuse, NY (closing Nov. 6, 2019)

• U.S. Air Force, Agency Wide (closing 12.31.19)

FOIA News: FOIA suit prompts NARA to investigate Commerce Secretary Ross

National Archives probes Wilbur Ross’ use of private email

By Josh Gerstein, Politico, Oct. 24, 2019

The National Archives and Records Administration has launched an investigation into Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ use of private email for official business, according to a letter made public this week.

The inquiry was triggered by an unflattering profile of Ross last month in the Washington Post, which cited government-related emails the watchdog group Democracy Forward received from Ross’ private account. The group obtained the messages through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Geographers to map out FOIA strategies

The American Association of Geographers will hold a panel discussion on FOIA during its 2020 annual meeting in Denver. Agenda items will include “the scope and specificity of information requests; timescales for projects; understanding exemptions and redactions; dealing with (non)responses from authorities; finding other/alternate sources and unexpected alliances in this process; knowledge exchange and dissemination of findings; and personal, professional, as well as legal impacts and implications.”

FOIA News: State Dep’t ordered to process Ukraine docs

Judge orders State Dept. to begin producing Ukraine records

By Eric Tucker, AP News, Oct. 23, 2019

A judge has directed the State Department to begin producing within 30 days documents related to the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine.

The records are sought under a Freedom of Information Act request by American Oversight, an ethics watchdog that investigates the Trump administration.

Read more here.

For additional coverage about this matter, see National Journal’s article here.

FOIA News: ICYMI, congressional FOIA hearing held last week

On October 17, 2019, the House Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability held a hearing on DHS’s FOIA performance. Testimony was provided byJames Holzer, DHS’s Deputy Chief FOIA Officer and former OGIS Director; Alina Semo, OGIS Director; Tammy Meckley, Associate Director, Immigration Records and Identity Services Directorate at USCIS; and Vijay D’Souza, Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at GAO.

Video of the hearing is available here.