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) ĢEPA 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 bŪ 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 ------- |