inspection or copying records requested
pursuant to the FOIA. These fees will recoup
the full allowable direct costs incurred.
Charges in excess of 325 will not be incurred
without your authorization.
The EPA may determine to waive or
reduce fees in cases where furnishing the
information primarily benefits the general
public by significantly assisting citizens in
understanding how their government works.
Requests for waiver or reduction of fees
should be submitted with the requests for
records under the FOIA. Please include in
any waiver request relevant facts or
arguments which might support the request.
The current schedule of fees for
search, review and copy services is set forth
in 40 CFR 2.120 and is available at the
Agency's headquarters office or at trie
Agency's regional offices. Estimates of fees
to be charged will generally be provided
upon request.
FOI OFFICES ADDRESSES
Agency Freedom of Information Officer
United States Environmental Protection
Agency
401 M Street, SW (1105)
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 260-4048 FAX (202) 260-4499
Email: hq.foia@epamail.epa.gov
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 2
290 Broadway, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10007-1866
(212)637-3668 FAX (212) 637-5046
Email: vasquez. wanda@epamail. epa.gov
(States: NJ, NY, PR, VI)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 3
841 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 566-5553 FAX (215) 566-0961
Email: vanholt.richard@epamail.epa.gov
(States: DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 4
AFC Bldg, 61 Forsyth Street., S.W. (4PM-IF)
Atlanta, GA 30303-3104
(404) 562-9891 FAX (404) 562-8054
Email: r4foia@epamail.epa.gov
(States: AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 5
77 West Jackson Boulevard (MI-13J)
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
(312)886-6686 FAX (312) 886-1515
Email: r5foia@epamail.epa.gov
(States: IL, IN, Ml, MN, OH, Wl)
726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 551-7764 FAX (913) 551-7066
Email: r7foia@epamail.epa.gov
(States: IA, KS, MO, NE)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 8
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2466
(303)312-6940 FAX (303) 312-6961
Email: R8FOIAS@epamail.epa.gov
(States: CO, MT, ND, SO, UT, WY)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street (E-2)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415)744-1593 FAX (415) 744-1605
Email: r9.info@epamail.epa.gov
(States: AZ, CA, HI, NV, AS, GU)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 10
Office of External Affairs
1200 6th Avenue (EXA-124)
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 553-8665FAX (206) 553-0149
Email: RegionlO-
FOIA@EPAMAIL EPA. GOV
(States: AK, ID, OR, NA)
United Stales EPA 1OO-F-97 002
Environmental Protection October 1997
Agency
Office Of Trie Administrator (1105)
£EPA How To Make
A Freedom Of
Information
Act Request
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 1
JFK Federal Bldg
Boston, MA 02203
(617)565-9699 FAX (617) 565-3415
Email: leahy tricia@epamai/. epa.gov
(States: CT, ME, MA, NH, Rl, VT)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S. EPA, Region 6
1445 Ross Avenue
Dallas, TX 75202-2733
(214)665-6597 FAX (214) 665-2146
Email: r6foia@epamail.epa.gov
(States: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
Regional Freedom of Information Officer
U.S EPA, Region 7
-------
Freedom of
Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
allows you to obtain information from various
agencies of the federal government
including the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The purpose of this brochure
is to provide you with a brief description of
your rights and the manner in which the iPA
will respond to your requests under the FOIA.
The information contained in this
brochure is not exhaustive or definitive.
Specific requests will be governed by the
provisions of the FOIA, set forth in 5 U.S.C. §
552, and in the Agency's regulations
implementing the Act, set forth in 40 CFR
Part 2. Copies of these regulations are
available at the Agency's Freedom of
(information Office (Headquarters) in
Washington, DC and at its regional offices.
Questions may b® directed to the Agency
Freedom of Information Office,
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
Street, SW (1105), Washington, DC 20480;
telephone (202) 260-4048. Also, questions
may be directed to the regional office within
your geographical jurisdiction (addresses
Ifeted under REGIONAL OFFICES).
In general, you can inspect or obtain
copies of publicly available material
maintained by the EPA through public
headquarters and regional offices. Also, you
may electronically access information by
site at hKp-JAmww.epa.gov. All agency
records must be made available to the public
under the FOIA, except for records which
are:
1. property classified as secret in the interest of
national defense or foreign policy:
2. related solely to internal personnel rules and
practices
3. specifically made confidential by other statutes;
4. trade secrets and commercial or financial
information which is obtained from a person
and is privileged or confidential;
5. inter-agency or infra-agency memoranda or
letters, except under certain circumstances;
6. personnel and medical files and similar files,
the disclosure of which would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy;
7. records or information compiled for law.
enforcement purposes, the release of which
(a) could reasonably be expected to interfere
with enforcement proceedings, (b) would
deprive a parson of a right to a fair trail or
impartial adjudication, (c) could reasonably be
expected to constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy, (d) could
reasonably be expected to disclose the identity
of a confidential .source, (e) would disclose
investigative techniques, and/or (f) could
reasonably be expected to endanger the life or
physical safety of any individual;
8. information contained in or related to certain
examination, operating, or condition
reports concerning financial institutions;
9. certain information concerning gas or oil wells.
In addition, if the foregoing types of
information may be reasonably segregated
and deleted from any records, the EPA will
make the remainder of that record available
to you for inspection or copying, if it is not
otherwise available.
IT
Before making a request under the FOIA,
make sure the information you seek is not
already available to the public in reading
rooms or the Agency's Web site on the
Internet. Copies of this public material can
also be requested by writing to the Agency's
headquarters office or to the appropriate
Agency's regional office.
If the information you seek is not already
in
'). To assist the EPA in ths
processing of your request include: (A)
readable information such as your name,
address, and phone number; (B) try to be as
specific as possible in identifying the records
sought in a way that will permit their
identification and location; (C) whether
payment of fees are guaranteed; and (D) if
fees are incurred, you wHI be required to
provide a Taxpayer Identification Number
(TIN), if requesting information on behalf of a
company/organization or Social Security
Number (SSN), if requesting information as a
private citizen which is required under the
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
Generally, you have a right to a decision
with regard to the release of the requested
records within 20 working days of receipt of
your inquiry and the EPA makes every effort
to meet this time frame. However, due to the
complexity of certain requests, the agency
may take a substantially longer time to fully
respond to a request.
If your request is initially denied in whole
or in part, in accordance with exemptions
provided by the FOIA, you will be advised of
your right to appeal. Generally, you will have
a right to a decision on the appeal within 20
working days of receipt.
All requests made under the FOIA are a
metier of public record and may be placed in
the Agency's public files.
Records requested (in writing) under the
the Agency's headquarters office in
Washington, DC or at the Agency's regional
offices.
With certain specific exceptions
authorized by the FOIA Reform Act of 1986,
a fee \will generally be charged when more
than one-half staff hour of work is devoted to
locating, reviewing and making available for
------- |