News & Analysis as of September 19, 2024

Freedom of Information Act › Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal agency records and enforce that right in a court of law. However, not all agency records can be requested; there are nine exempt categories of information. In addition to the federal law, many states have passed their own freedom of information acts. These acts are often similar but not always identical to the federal version. less -

The Keys to a Successful FOIA Request

Reveal on 8/16/2024

Want access to James Comey’s private memos detailing his interactions with President Donald Trump? Yeah, so do we. But if you submit a FOIA request for the memos to the FBI or DOJ, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be rejected....more

FOIA Gone FUBAR: 3 Tales of Terror and 1 of Redemption

Reveal on 8/12/2024

Every day, the Freedom of Information Act illuminates government practices by ensuring public access to federal records. It is the quintessential Sunshine Act and has been a key tool for ensuring government transparency since...more

Process Improvement to Release Data Evaluation Records

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. on 11/20/2023

On November 14, 2023, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA) Coalition hosted a webinar for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide an overview of the process improvement to release Data...more

Confidential Business Information/Toxic Substance Control Act: Environmental Defense Fund Opening D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 11/14/2023

The Environmental Defense Fund (“EDF”) filed an opening brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) challenging a United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Toxic Substances...more

EPA Updates FOIA Regs to Promote Transparency and Affordability of Information Concerning Environmental Justice Issues

Goldberg Segalla on 9/14/2023

On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it was updating its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations through its Phase II FOIA final rule. This “modernization,” is part of EPA’s...more

EPA Announces Reversal of Policy Regarding Availability of Pesticide Incident Information

Wiley Rein LLP on 7/31/2023

On Thursday, July 27, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an important change in policy for making alleged adverse incident reports on pesticides available to the public. EPA informed registrants...more

Liquid Animal Waste Management Systems/Nutrient Management Plans: Legislation Introduced Transferring Agency Authority for...

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,... on 3/30/2023

House Bill (“HB”) 1706 and 1707 have been introduced which address issues associated with liquid waste management systems permitting and nutrient management plans. Both bills are sponsored by Representative Vaught and...more

EPA Proposes Expedited Release of Environmental Justice Data

ArentFox Schiff on 11/29/2022

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed to help citizens stay informed about government activities. While improving the availability of information under FOIA has been a long-term goal for the executive branch,...more

Industry Awaits as the TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule Looms

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 10/4/2022

EPA has proposed a special one-time reporting rule that will require businesses to go on record with the agency memorializing their contributions to PFAS in the marketplace. The final PFAS reporting rule is expected to be...more

How to Respond to an EPA or PADEP PFAS Information Request

Fox Rothschild LLP on 7/15/2022

As part of its “PFAS Strategic Roadmap,” EPA has stated that it intends to designate PFOA and PFOS as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Responses, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPA took...more

US EPA Releases Guidance on Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice

King & Spalding on 6/7/2022

On May 26, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of the General Counsel released EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (“EJ Legal Tools”). The document builds on and updates EPA’s 2011 Plan EJ 2014:...more

A Court-Side Seat: Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species and Deliberative Process Privilege

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real... on 3/25/2021

The federal courts have issued some significant environmental law rulings in the past few days. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Inc. On March 4, 2021, the court held that the...more

Supreme Court Issues Opinion Expanding the Scope of FOIA Exemption

Snell & Wilmer on 3/16/2021

A common tactic by competitors is to seek adversaries’ (or even supply-chain partners’) data that is maintained by the United States, an individual state, or even municipal governmental agencies. These efforts are meant to...more

U.S. Fish Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club: US Supreme Court Boosts Ability of Agencies to Withhold Draft Documents

WilmerHale on 3/15/2021

On March 4, 2021, the US Supreme Court held that draft biological opinions prepared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) were subject to the deliberative process privilege...more

Supreme Court Protects Drafts Under Deliberative Process Privilege

Stinson LLP on 3/9/2021

Last week, in Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s first signed opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the deliberative process privilege under exception 5 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), limiting litigants’ ability to...more

The Supreme Court – March 4, 2021

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 3/5/2021

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued the following two decisions: United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, Inc., No. 19-547: The Sierra Club submitted Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)...more

Supreme Court Sides with Agency on Deliberative Process Privilege

Troutman Pepper on 3/5/2021

Today, in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service et al. v. Sierra Club Inc., Case No. 19-547, the United States Supreme Court struck down a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that the federal government was required to turn over...more

Supreme Court Decides United States Fish and Wildlife Service et al. v. Sierra Club, Inc.

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on 3/5/2021

On March 4, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States Fish and Wildlife Service et al. v. Sierra Club, Inc., holding that the deliberative process privilege exemption in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) protects...more

Confidentiality of Water Quality Management Plans in Texas

Jackson Walker on 6/24/2020

The Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board (Soil Board) is responsible for the abatement and prevention of pollution resulting from agricultural or silvicultural nonpoint source pollution in the state of Texas, as...more

COVID-19: EPA, Other Federal Agencies Continue Processing FOIA Requests—For Now

Morgan Lewis on 3/23/2020

In response to heightened Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) activity since 2012, federal agencies have increased their FOIA staff by 21%. This staffing increase has contributed to a nearly 70% surge in federal government...more

U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s Proposed Accidental Release Reporting Rule

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 2/10/2020

TAKEAWAYS - The proposed rule requires reports of any accidental releases “resulting in a fatality, serious injury or substantial property damage.” - Under the proposed rule, a report to the National Response Center (NRC)...more

EPA Revises its FOIA Regulations

Perkins Coie on 7/22/2019

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more

The FOIA Charade: A Brief Case Study

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on 7/22/2019

With the release last month of proposed new EPA regulations on how the agency intends to handle responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), critics have raised concerns about provisions that would give...more

EPA Places Renewed Emphasis on Audit Policy

Williams Mullen on 4/1/2019

There are many benefits of corporate environmental auditing programs for companies large and small, not the least of which is the potential mitigation of civil penalties for violations of environmental laws discovered during...more

California Environmental Law & Policy Update - January 2019

Allen Matkins on 1/4/2019

Focus - New EPA plan could free coal plants to increase mercury emissions - NEW YORK TIMES - Dec 28 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday proposed major changes to the way the federal...more

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Freedom of Information Act › Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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