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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Chief FOIA Officer Report
2020
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United States Environmental Protection Agency
2020 Chief FOIA Officer Report
Matthew Z. Leopold
General Counsel
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 1
Section 1: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness 1
A. FOIA Leadership 3
B. FOIA Training 3
C. Outreach 5
D. Other Initiatives 6
Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency Has an Effective System in Place for
Responding to Requests 8
Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures 12
Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology 16
Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests and Reducing
Backlogs 18
A. Simple Track 18
B. Backlogs 18
Backlogged Requests 19
Backlogged Appeals 19
C. Backlog Reduction Plans 20
D. Status of Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations 22
Oldest Requests 22
Ten Oldest Appeals 22
Ten Oldest Consultations 23
E. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans 23
F. Success Stories 24
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Exe unary
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is committed to operating openly and transparently and
to implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to promote transparency and build public
trust in agency actions.
During this reporting cycle, EPA developed new initiatives and continued building on actions started
in the previous reporting cycle to enhance EPA's FOIA program. EPA's efforts yielded substantial
results in FY 2019: EPA reduced its FOIA request backlog by nearly 500 requests, or 18%, and it
reduced its FOIA appeals backlog by 52%, reversing a two-year trend of increases in both backlogs.
In FY 2019, EPA realigned the regional FOIA programs into the Regional Counsel Offices to enhance
accountability and streamline organizational structure in EPA's 10 regional offices. This realignment
established clear authority and reporting lines through the Regional Counsels up to the Agency's
General Counsel, who had become the Agency's Chief FOIA Officer through an FY 2018
reorganization. EPA's regions collectively reduced their FOIA request backlog by 22% in FY 2019,
surpassing the Agency-wide 18% FY 2019 backlog reduction.
In FY 2019, EPA published in the Federal Register an update to its 17-year old FOIA regulations,
bringing its regulations into compliance with the nondiscretionary provisions of the 2007, 2009, and
2016 amendments to the FOIA. The regulation update also centralized FOIA requests submission to
EPA's National FOIA Office. Anticipating this change, in Spring 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office
increased its staff; reviewed, revised and updated its standard operating procedures; and retrained its
staff. Centralizing FOIA request submission enables EPA to improve efficiency, consistency, and
quality of EPA's determinations and responses, and to apply best practices in early communications
with requesters.
In early FY 2019, the National FOIA Office began issuing monthly FOIA backlog reports to EPA's
senior leadership showing the backlog in each EPA region and headquarters office. For FY 2020,
each region and headquarters has now set office-specific FOIA backlog reduction annual goals and
monthly targets that are aligned with the agency-wide goal EPA set in its FY 2018-2022 Strategic
Plan. And, the National FOIA Office distributed to all offices a Lean Management Flowboard Toolkit
providing guidance on applying process-improvement visual management techniques to FOIA
processing. EPA also added FOIA accountability language to manager performance agreements
Agency-wide in FY 2019, and EPA developed and started delivering specialized FOIA training for
supervisors.
EPA also completed reform of FOIA processing within the Office of the Administrator. This initiative
(known as the A04 project) included:
Centralizing FOIA processing for four sub-offices;
Engaging the National FOIA Office's FOIA Expert Assistance Team to provide
project management, legal guidance, and training;
Standing up a "Tiger Team" of 12 staff dedicated to FOIA review and processing; and
Hiring additional FOIA professionals.
This effort yielded significant results; the request backlog in the Office of the Administrator decreased
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by 141 requests, accounting for more than one-quarter of the Agency's 18% backlog reduction for
FY 2019, and it continues to make deep inroads into the Office of the Administrator's FOIA backlog
while also responding to incoming FOIA requests and ongoing FOIA litigation.
The Agency's leadership is committed to continue to enhance the efficiency and quality of EPA's
FOIA responses and to proactively disseminate information. By establishing in EPA's FY 2018-2022
Strategic Plan a strategic objective to increase transparency and public participation with the long-
term performance goal to eliminate EPA's FOIA backlog by 2022, EPA leadership committed to
continuously improve FOIA implementation by applying EPA's Lean Management System (ELMS)
to every stage of the FOIA response process in every Agency component and office. ELMS
simultaneously and continuously reports backlog reduction information to EPA's senior leadership,
thereby bringing focused attention on the goal and milestones in every agency component, thereby
empowering EPA FOIA professionals and staff, working with external partners, to make the EPA a
flagship example of transparent, efficient, and effective government.
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" <- h -ii 1 I- | - 1 >1 ¦ ii to Apply the Presin11| >i t »| ¦¦ 1 m-iss
The guiding principle underlying DOJ's FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness.
Please answer the following questions in order to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the
presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the FOIA. You may also include any
additional information that illustrates how your agency is working to apply the presumption of openness.
iership
1. The FOIA requires each agency to designate a Chief FOIA Officer who is a senior official at the Assistant
Secretary or equivalent level. Is your agency's Chief FOIA Officer at this level?
Yes, the EPA's Chief FOIA Officer is a Senate confirmed, Presidential appointee.
2. Please provide the name and title of your agency's Chief FOIA Officer.
Matthew Z. Leopold, General Counsel.
niiig
3. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend any
substantive FOIA training or conference during the reporting period such as that provided by the
Department of Justice ?
Yes. FOIA professionals and staff who have FOIA responsibilities attended training offered
by EPA and/or the Department of Justice (DOJ).
4. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the topics
covered.
EPA FOIA professionals and staff attended conferences and trainings to keep EPA FOIA
leaders abreast of the latest developments in the field and provided in-house training to
ensure that EPA personnel with FOIA responsibilities all maintain essential FOIA
knowledge and skills.
EPA Annual FOIA Training (In-house).
EPA requires all employees to take annual online FOIA training. This year's training
focused on the use of FOIA Exemptions. More than 98%1 of EPA employees successfully
completed the training in FY 2019.
FOIA Supervisor Training (In-house).
FOIA experts from EPA's Office of General Counsel developed and provided trainings to
EPA SES and non-SES supervisors regarding the essential FOIA knowledge supervisors
need to successfully comply with the FOIA, support Agency FY18-22 Strategic Plan goals
1 In this report, EPA rounded percentages to the nearest whole number using commonly applied decimal rounding rules.
If the calculated number in the tenths place was 5 or higher, EPA rounded up to the next whole number; if the calculated
number in the tenths place was 4 or lower, EPA rounded down to the nearest whole number.
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related to FOIA and fulfill new FOIA-specific elements and performance measures in
performance agreements.
E-Discovery & Technology Training for FOIA Experts (External & In-house).
EPA FOIA professionals from EPA's Office of General Counsel, Office of Mission Support,
and Regional offices attended the 2019 RelativityFest conference to stay abreast of advances
in eDiscovery technology and best practices applicable to processing FOIA document
reviews using Relativity software. EPA provided training throughout the year to EPA FOIA
professionals on the features of the analytics tools included in EPA's e-Discovery Relativity
platform that can be leveraged to more efficiently manage the processing of records for
response to FOIA requests.
Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy Trainings (External).
EPA FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities attended the following
trainings offered by the Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy:
The Freedom of Information Act for Attorneys and Access Professionals: A two-day
program that provides multiple lectures and workshops for a comprehensive overview of the
FOIA, including:
An overview of the FOIA's procedural requirements and exemptions,
Workshops on individual FOIA Exemptions,
Basic principles for processing FOIA requests from start to finish,
The FOIA's proactive disclosure requirements, and
The interface between the FOIA and the Privacy Act.
The Advanced Freedom of Information Act Seminar: A full-day program provides lectures
and discussions on advanced topics in FOIA administration, including:
An update of current policy developments impacting FOIA administration,
An overview of recent FOIA court decisions,
Advanced procedural and exemption considerations.
The FOIA Litigation Seminar: A full-day program that provides lectures and instruction on
considerations that arise in the course of FOIA litigation, including:
Guidance on successful litigation strategy,
Advanced litigation considerations, and
Details on the preparation of Vaughn Indices and declarations.
The Best Practices Workshop on FOIA Administrative Appeals: A two-hour panel
discussion for FOIA professionals to learn from one another for the overall benefit of FOIA
administration across the government, on:
Reducing Backlogs and Improving Timeliness
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) Training (External).
National FOIA Office staff and managers participated in a full-day dispute resolution skills
training program for FOIA professionals provided by OGIS staff. The training equipped
participants with tools and techniques to apply in the performance of their FOIA
responsibilities, including:
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Developed a working knowledge of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
techniques;
Learned how working with OGIS can help resolve disputes;
Practiced active listening and good communication;
Discussed ways to improve customer service; and
Developed strategies for working with difficult people.
EPA FOIA Community Meetings (In-house).
The National FOIA Office held monthly (and at times more frequent) meetings with the
Agency's FOIA Community to provide guidance and updates on FOIA-related matters.
These monthly meetings provided key FOIA personnel with ongoing training relevant to the
performance of their duties, including but not limited to: information on Agency FOIA
processes and procedures; explanations of how to apply FOIA exemptions, estimate fees and
make discretionary disclosures; as well as guidance on other administrative processing
matters and FOIA related topics.
Focused EPA FOIA Training Events (In-house).
FOIA experts in EPA's Office of General Counsel also provided a wide variety of training,
briefing, and assistance on an as needed or project-specific basis throughout the year.
OGC provided multi-day training to FOIA professionals, and supervisor training, in
EPA Regions 1, 2, and 5.
OGC provided specialized FOIA training to FOIA professionals in the Office of Land
and Emergency Management and National FOIA Office.
5. Provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities
who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period.
More than 97% of EPA FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities successfully
completed EPA's Annual FOIA Training this year.
6. OIP has directed agencies to "take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend substantive
FOIA training at least once throughout the year. " If your response to the previous question is that less than
80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your agency's plan to ensure that all
FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training during the next reporting year.
Not applicable. More than 80% of EPA FOIA professionals attended training this year.
C. Outreach
7. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue with the requester community or open
government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA? Please describe any such outreach or
dialogue, and, if applicable, any specific examples of how this dialogue has led to improvements in your
agency's FOIA administration.
Yes. The EPA FOIA Public Liaison, FOIA Officers, and FOIA professionals engaged in
dialogue with members of the FOIA requester community regularly throughout the year
regarding administration of the FOIA.
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NARA FOIA Advisory Committee.
An Attorney-Adviser in EPA's Office of General Counsel is a member of the FOIA
Advisory Committee for the 2018-2020 term. The FOIA Advisory Committee members are
drawn from the Federal and private sectors. The Committee was created to foster dialogue
between the Federal Government and the requester community, soliciting public comments,
and developing recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive
disclosures.
FOIA Public Liaison & Targeted Conversations with Frequent Requesters.
EPA's FOIA Public Liaison and attorneys in EPA's Office of General Counsel spoke with
a variety of requesters to resolve disputes as well as to gain perspective on requester needs
and concerns, including targeted conversations with some of the most frequent requesters
whose requests typically take the Agency much longer than 20 working days to respond.
Through these conversations, EPA described, and received informal feedback on, recent
initiatives to streamline and enhance EPA's FOIA implementation, and EPA conveying
information to them to more effectively target their requests.
¦ther Initiatives
8. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their obligations
under the FOIA.
Mandatory Annual FOIA Training.
EPA required all employees to complete mandatory FOIA Awareness Training in FY 2019.
The training was provided via an online training platform, with regular reminders to each
employee and to their supervisors to ensure completion by the end of the fiscal year. The
online platform also provided data tracking for accountability. In FY 2019, more than 98%
of employees successfully completed the required training.
FOIA-Related Performance Standards.
Beginning in FY 2019 and continuing into FY 2020, all senior manager performance
agreements contain FOIA-related language to ensure Agency management promotes
compliance with FOIA laws, regulations, policies, and Executive Orders, consistent with
EPA's commitments to transparency, timeliness, quality, and professionalism pronounced
in then Acting Administrator Wheeler's November 2018 FOIA memorandum. Managers
are accountable to manage FOIA responses and to supervise and train all EPA employees
who have a role in administering the FOIA.
FOIA Supervisor Training.
FOIA experts from EPA's Office of General Counsel developed and provided trainings to
EPA SES and non-SES supervisors regarding the essential FOIA knowledge supervisors
need to successfully comply with the FOIA, support Agency FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan
goals related to FOIA, and fulfill new FOIA-specific elements and performance measures in
performance agreements.
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Interim FOIA Policy and Procedures Update.
After the reorganization that established the National FOIA Office in the Agency's Office
of General Counsel and redelegation of the Chief FOIA Officer functions to EPA's General
Counsel, EPA issued an interim FOIA Policy and Procedures Update to reflect the new
organizational structure and to make clear that the Agency should continue to follow the
Agency's FOIA Policy and Procedure as well as OGC's guidance on the FOIA Improvement
Act of 2016.
Self-Learning Resources.
The National FOIA Office reviewed and updated the Agency's internal FOIA SharePoint
site available to EPA staff. This intranet site includes a subsection on "FOIA Training and
How To's," such as copies of training documents issued by the Department of Justice and
other learning resources useful to those new to FOIA processing.
9. Optional If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of
openness is being applied, please describe them here.
EPA's Continued Agency-wide Reorganization and Increased Centralization of FOIA
Implementation.
This year, EPA continued to reorganize its national FOIA program to better ensure that the
presumption of openness is applied and to improve compliance. Steps taken included:
EPA completed a realignment of the FOIA programs in each of the 10 EPA regional
offices, moving those programs into the Regional Counsel's Offices to ensure
accountability and reporting through the Regional Counsels to the General Counsel
(Agency's Chief FOIA Officer).
The National FOIA Office Associate General Counsel provided a briefing to the
Agency's Executive Management Council regarding the Agency's FOIA
responsibilities, the existing challenges with the backlog, and planned improvements
and reorganization of the FOIA program.
The National FOIA Office issued monthly FOIA backlog reports to the heads of all
Agency program and regional offices, identifying each office's existing FOIA
backlog and the change from the prior month.
The National FOIA Office emphasized the presumption of openness and FOIA
compliance during regular meetings of the FOIA Community.
EPA's FOIA professionals regularly work with requesters throughout the FOIA
process to seek clarification and to develop schedules for interim releases when
appropriate.
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DOJ's FOIA Guidelines emphasize that " [ajpplication of the proper disclosure standard is only one part of
ensuring transparency. Open government requires not just a presumption of disclosure, but also an effective
system for responding to FOIA requests. " It is essential that agencies effectively manage their FOIA
program.
Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the
management of your FOIA program is effective and efficient. You should also include any additional
information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.
1. For Fiscal Year 2019, what was the average number of days your agency reported for adjudicating
requests for expedited processing? Please see Section VIII. A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2019 Annual
FOIA Report.
EPA's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was 12.9
days, based on the FOIA Annual Report for FY 2019.
2. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was above ten
calendar days, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for expedited
processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less.
EPA's average number of days to adjudicate expedited processing applications in FY 2019
of 12.9 days is a significant improvement from the FY 2018 average of 18.3 days. EPA
recognized in FY 2019 that further improvement would be necessary as the National FOIA
Office anticipated taking on centralized FOIA request intake.
In Spring 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office increase its staff; reviewed, revised and
updated its standard operating procedures; and retrained its staff, expanding the National
FOIA Office's capacity to perform, among other things, FOIA request intake-related work
in anticipation of the new centralization of the Agency's FOIA request intake process, which
became effective on July 26, 2019. Centralizing FOIA request submission enables the EPA
to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality of EPA's determinations and responses, and
to apply best practices in early communications with requesters.
In September, the National FOIA Office launched an EPA Lean Management System
(ELMS) project focused on the FOIA intake process. As part of that initiative, the National
FOIA Office stands up weekly meetings for the intake review staff to discuss data and trends,
current work assignments, challenges, and successes. At each weekly meeting, the team
specifically discusses the number of pending assignments of expedited processing
applications, the applications that are beyond 10 days, and data and any trends on those
determinations. EPA believes that this practice will likely ensure that expedited processing
determinations are made consistently within 10 calendar days going forward.
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3. During the reporting period, did your agency conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA program? If so,
please describe the methods used, such as reviewing Annual Report data, using active workflows and track
management, reviewing and updating processing procedures, etc.
In FY 2019, EPA implemented agency-wide the new EPA's Lean Management System
(ELMS) to continuously review and improve EPA's FOIA response processing. While EPA
centralized the intake process for incoming FOIA requests, FOIA request processing (search,
review, and release of records) is still decentralized across the 12 national program offices
(including the Office of Inspector General) and 10 regions. Many offices across the Agency
conducted lean management improvement events and implemented visual management tools
concentrated on FOIA processes. Assisting such efforts at the national level, EPA's National
FOIA Office developed and distributed a visual management FOIA Flowboard Toolkit to
help agency offices use visual management in a consistent way. The National FOIA Office
also piloted a national pulse board, a data visual management model, to visually display EPA
FOIA processing data. Lastly, the National FOIA Office deployed multiple continuous
improvement exercises around its FOIA processing responsibilities.
Data reviewed. As part of these events and continually throughout the reporting period, EPA
reviewed monthly, quarterly, and annual statistical reports and other information and data.
In FY 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office began providing a monthly backlog report to each
office and to EPA senior leadership. For FY 2020, each region and headquarters office set
office-specific FOIA backlog reduction annual goals and monthly targets aligned with the
agency-wide goal. Through deployment of ELMS to FOIA processing, many offices hold
weekly or more frequent meetings to review office-specific FOIA processing data and to
identify challenges as they occur.
FOIA Centralized Intake. In FY 2019, EPA published in the Federal Register an update to
its FOIA regulations. The regulation update among other things centralized FOIA requests
submission to EPA's National FOIA Office. Anticipating this change, in Spring 2019, EPA's
National FOIA Office increased its staff; reviewed, revised and updated its standard
operating procedures; and retrained its staff. Centralizing FOIA request submission enables
EPA to improve efficiency, consistency, and quality of EPA's determinations and responses,
and to apply best practices in early communications with requesters.
4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the services
provided by the agency's FOIA Public Liaison. Please provide an estimate of the number of times requesters
sought assistance from your agency's FOIA Public Liaison during FY 2019 (please provide a total number
or an estimate of the number).
For FY 2019, EPA's FOIA Public Liaison and FOIA Requester Center staff provided
services in response to more than 770 requests for assistance. The FOIA Requester Center
received 651 incoming phone calls in FY 2019. The FOIA Public Liaison email account
received approximately 10 inquiries a month specifically requesting FOIA Public Liaison
services. The National FOIA Office responds to emailed inquiries by email or follow up
phone call. In addition, EPA's newly established National FOIA Office, which includes
EPA's FOIA Public Liaison and FOIA Requester Center, increased its outreach to requesters
as part of the National FOIA Office's initial processing of FOIA requests. The National
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FOIA Office now issues a unique correspondence to each requester as part of its intake
review of FOIA requests and includes information on how to contact EPA's Public Liaison
in that correspondence.
5. Optional Please describe: Best practices used to ensure that your FOIA system operates efficiently and
effectively and any challenges your agency faces in this area.
EPA highlights the following best practices to ensure the Agency's FOIA system operates
efficiently and effectively:
Increased Centralized FOIA Management.
EPA began reorganizing and increasing centralization of its national FOIA program in FY
2018 by establishing the National FOIA Office within the Office of General Counsel and
redelegated the Chief FOIA Officer function to the General Counsel to raise the profile and
accountability of EPA's FOIA implementation.
In 2019, EPA increased centralization of the FOIA programs in each of the 10 EPA regional
offices through a realignment that move those programs into the Regional Counsel's Offices
to provide clear authority and reporting lines through the Regional Counsels up to the
Agency's General Counsel and Chief FOIA Officer.
In 2019, EPA centralized FOIA request submissions to EPA's National FOIA Office.
Anticipating this change, in Spring 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office increased its staff;
reviewed, revised and updated its standard operating procedures; and retrained its staff.
Centralizing FOIA request submission enables the EPA to improve efficiency, consistency,
and quality of EPA's determinations and responses, and to apply best practices in early
communications with requesters.
FOIA Expert Assistance Team (FEAT).
EPA's FOIA Expert Assistance Team (FEAT), located in EPA's National FOIA Office in
the Office of General Counsel, was created to provide strategic direction and project
management assistance on the most challenging or complex FOIA requests. In its original
functional statement, the FEAT was described as follows:
[T]his unit provides legal counsel on all issues pertaining to selected FOIA
requests that have been determined to be [the] most complex and/or
potentially sensitive requests received across the Agency. Utilizing an
extraordinary breadth of FOIA knowledge and experience, together with in-
depth organizational and external awareness, the team provides advice and
guidance to the highest echelons of management within the Agency.
The FEAT adjusts its level of engagement based on the specific needs of the Agency and
each request. Notable FEAT projects have included the Team's engagement on requests
related to the spill of polluted water from Gold King Mine, EPA's response to Volkswagen's
use of defeat devices, and requests related to drinking water contamination in Flint,
Michigan.
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Disclosure to One is Disclosure to All: FOIAonline.
All FOIA requests EPA receives are managed throughout their lifecycle in FOIAonline,
which enables requesters to create individual accounts and view status information regarding
the processing and managing of their individual requests (e.g., when the request was
received, where the request has been assigned, etc.). FOIAonline also enables the public to
locate and search all FOIA requests EPA has received as well as most of EPA's responses
(exceptions include protection of information specific to the requester).
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The Department ofJustice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post information
online without waiting for individual requests to be received.
Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the amount of
material that is available on your agency websites. In addition to the questions below, you should also
describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve proactive disclosures of
information.
1. Provide examples of any material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting
year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in accordance with 5
U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D). Please include links to these materials as well.
EPA continually updates its website with new information regarding public health and
environmental protection topics to meet its obligation to proactively disclose information to
the public.
Easv-to-use Website Tools.
To help the public access this new information and previously disclosed information, EPA
provides a variety of easy-to-use tools and indexes readily available on EPA's website.
EPA Homepage Highlights. EPA's website homepage includes a banner that features the
most important new information that EPA recently proactively disclosed on its website.
EPA's website homepage also includes links to proactively disclosed information on key
Administration priorities and particularly important public health topics. EPA's home page
can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/
Index of Environmental Topics. EPA's website also includes a list of and links to proactively
disclosed information by "Environmental Topics": Air; Chemicals and Toxics;
Environmental Information by Location; Greener Living; Health; Land, Waste, and
Cleanup; Science; Water; and narrower topics including Bed Bugs, Lead, Mold, Pesticides;
Radon. The link to this Environmental Topics list is here:
https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics.
Laws & Regulations Index. EPA's website also includes a list of and links to proactively
disclosed information on "Laws & Regulations," available here: https://www.epa.gov/laws-
regulations.
EPA's Office of General Counsel regularly and timely posts to the website Notices
of Intent to Sue EPA submitted by citizens in accordance environmental statutes that
contain citizen suit notice requirements, available here:
https://www.epa.gov/ogc/notices-intent-sue-us-environmental-protection-agencv-
epa.
The Office of General Counsel also regularly and timely posts to the website
Complaints and Petitions for Review filed by citizens alleging EPA failure to perform
an act or mandatory duty required by one or more environmental statutes, or
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petitioning judicial review of EPA action(s) pursuant to one or more environmental
statutes, available here: https://www.epa.gov/ogc/complaints-and-petitions-review.
About EPA. EPA's website also includes a list of and links to proactively disclosed
information about EPA, its organizational structure, and its leadership, available here:
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa.
General Data Disclosure. EPA has contributed over 4,400 data sets to data.gov:
www.data/gov.
Senior Leadership Calendars. EPA is proactively posting the calendars of the senior
leadership team on the EPA webpage in response to requests from the requester community.
The information is available here: https://www.epa.gov/senior-leaders-calendars.
Planning. Budget and Results Activities. EPA's website includes current information about
EPA's financial strategic planning efforts, current and proposed annual budgets, and
financial and performance results, available here: https://www.epa.gov/planandbudget.
Public Affairs. EPA uses several electronic outlets to provide important and current
information to the media and the public.
Newsroom is where EPA's press office posts news releases, public service
announcements, and contact information for EPA press officers, available here:
https://www.epa.gov/newsroom.
EPA also stays connected with and conveys information to the public through social
media channels, including:
o Twitter (@USEPA, @EPAAWheeler, @EPAespanol, @EPAlive, etc.) A full list
official national and regional EPA Twitter accounts is available here:
https://www.epa.gov/web-policies-and-procedures/list-social-media-platforms-epa-
uses (navigate to expandable menu 'Twitter').
o Facebook (e.g., @EPA, @EPAAndrewWheeler, @epaespanol, etc.) A full list of
official national and regional EPA Facebook pages is available here:
https://www.epa.gov/web-policies-and-procedures/list-social-media-platforms-epa-
uses (navigate to expandable menu 'Facebook').
o EPA YouTube posts videos related to EPA activities and environmental and public
health information. The channel has over 4.5 million views and 16.9 thousand
subscribers. Information about USEPAgov on YouTube is available here:
https://www.epa.gov/web-policies-and-procedures/list-social-media-platforms-epa-
uses (navigate to expandable menu 'YouTube').
National FOIA Library. EPA utilizes the National Online FOIA library to quickly release
records of national interest including: final opinions, administrative staff manuals and
instructions, frequently requested records, major information systems, statements of policy,
and Superfund related information. The National Online FOIA library is located here:
https://www.epa.gov/foia/national-online-foia-library.
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Regional FOIA Libraries. Regional FOIA online libraries provide the public with
information specific to each region and are available here: https://www.epa.gov/foia/foia-
online-libraries.
Of note in 2019, EPA posted the following records that were frequently requested or of
significant public interest:
FY 2019 Mandatory FOIA Training for EPA Employees, fully interactive and with
narration, located at https://www.epa.gov/foia/fv2019-mandatory-foia-training-
freedom-information-act-foia-overview.
Former Administrator Pruitt 's Gift List, located at
https://www.epa.gov/foia/administrator-scott-pruitts-gift-list.
Quarterly Payroll Costs for Administrator's Security Detail, located at
https://www.epa.gov/foia/administrators-securitv-detail-quarterly-pavroll-costs.
Quarterly Travel Costs for Administrator's Security Detail, located at
https://www.epa.gov/foia/administrators-securitv-detail-quarterly-travel-costs.
Annual Certification Data for Vehicles, Engines, and Equipment, located at
https://www.epa.gOv/foia/national-online-foia-library#request (navigate to 'Engine
Certification Data').
Documents Produced in Sierra Club v. EPA, (3:18-cv-3472), N.D. Col., related to
FOIA requests for external communications of selected EPA Officials, located at
https://www.epa.gOv/foia/national-online-foia-library#request (navigate to
'Freedom of Information Act Request, Sierra Club v. EPA : (3:18-cv-3472), EPA-
HQ-2017-009842; EPA-HQ-2017-009684; EPA-HQ-2017-009615; EPA-HQ-2018-
007559, Selected EPA Officials - External Communications').
Important Environment and Public Health Disclosures.
EPA's most important proactive disclosures of environmental and public health information
this year included the following:
PFAS Chemicals. Public health concerns regarding Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS) including PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals, which can be found here:
https://www.epa.gov/pfas.
EPA proactively disclosed new laboratory methods, so government and private
laboratories can now effectively measure 29 PFAS in drinking water,
https://www.epa.gov/pfas/epa-pfas-drinking-water-laboratory-methods.
Environmental Information by Location. EPA's website contains public information on
environmental conditions and EPA activities for specific locations of the United States.
MyEnvironment provides a cross-section of environmental data for any location in
the US, https://www3.epa.gov/myem/envmap/find.html.
Envirofacts is a single point of access to several EPA databases to provide the public
with information about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land
anywhere in the United States and generate maps of environmental information,
available here: https://enviro.epa.gov/.
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2. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful to
the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency's website?
Yes. EPA has taken steps to make the posted information more useful to the public and the
community of individuals who regularly access EPA's website.
3. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements.
EPA continually takes steps to make the information posted on its website more useful to
the public and the community of individuals who access EPA's website. For example, EPA
made improvements to its websites describing EPA's implementation of the Frank R.
Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amendments to the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA): https://www.epa.gov/assessing-and-managing-chemicals-under-
tsca/frank-r-lautenberg-chemical-safetv-21 st-century-act-4
For example, EPA now reports updated statistics for the New Chemicals Review Program
under TSCA, which among other things shows updated data on EPA's new chemical reviews
from June 22, 2016 through December 1, 2019. https://www.epa.gov/reviewing-new-
chemicals-under-toxic-substances-control-act-tsca/statistics-new-chemicals-review
4. Optional Please describe: Best practices used to improve proactive disclosures and any challenges
your agency faces in this area.
EPA continually strives to improve and increase disclosure of important environmental and
public health information to the public. EPA does this in a variety of ways, including the
following best practices:
Disclosure to One is Disclosure to All. EPA makes publicly available most records
that have been released under FOIA (except records responsive to first party requests)
through FOIAonline regardless of the number of times requested.
EPA program offices continuously disclose to the public, including through
interactive websites, the public health and environmental information that EPA
collects.
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" <> 11 repb 1 >1 en i . ¦ it i 1 'nil ¦ II ¦ ohnology
A key component ofFOIA administration is using technology to make information more accessible. In
addition to using the internet to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also be exploring ways to
utilize technology in responding to requests.
Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is utilizing technology to improve its
FOIA administration and the public's access to information. You should also include any additional
information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.
1. Is your agency leveraging or exploring any new technology to facilitate efficiency in its FOIA
administration that you have not previously reported? If so, please describe the type of technology.
Yes. EPA uses FOIAonline to organize data regarding FOIA processing. EPA also uses a
centralized search tool to identify and collect responsive records stored on EPA's Microsoft
Office 365 environment. A team of specialists in EPA's eDiscovery Division conducts email
searches using the Microsoft Office 365 Security and Compliance Center and delivers to
EPA staff the results for review and processing using Relativity, the Agency's review
platform. Agency uses Relativity to electronically review the centrally collected documents
to respond to FOIA requests.
EPA has also made available to the public an internet-based search tool, MyProperty
(https://enviro.epa.gov/facts/mvpropertv/). to allow the public to obtain environmental
information on site-specific addresses without the need to file a FOIA request. EPA
leveraging existing tools, like Envirofacts (https://enviro.epa.gov/) to allow the public to
conduct a search and obtain a certificate when EPA has no information about the specific
address.
2. OIP issued guidance in 2017 encouraging agencies to regularly review their FOIA websites to ensure
that they contain essential resources, and are informative and user-friendly. Has your agency reviewed its
FOIA website(s) during the reporting period to ensure it addresses the elements noted in the guidance?
Yes. EPA reviewed its FOIA website during the reporting period to ensure the website
addresses the elements in OIP's 2017 guidance. In particular, EPA's website homepage has
a prominently-displayed link to EPA's FOIA homepage, which has prominently-displayed
links to: the FOIA statute and EPA regulations; a page on how to make a FOIA request; a
page regarding the EPA FOIA library; a page regarding EPA's FOIA Public Liaison; a page
regarding how to search existing FOIA requests; a series of pages with more detail about
FOIA at EPA including EPA's FOIA reports; and pages on specific frequently asked
questions. EPA regularly posts new information to its FOIA website.
3. Did your agency successfully post all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2019?
Yes. EPA posted all four quarterly reports for FY 2019.
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4. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports, with information appearing on FOIA.gov,
please explain why and provide your agency's plan for ensuring that such reporting is successful in Fiscal
Year 2020.
EPA did post all four FY 2019 quarterly reports to its FOIA website, available at
https://www.epa.gov/foia/quarterlv. however, EPA's data does not currently appear on the
National FOIA Portal at FOIA.gov. EPA commits to work with Department of Justice
Office of Information Policy in FY 2020 to identify and resolve the issues impeding EPA's
data from displaying on the National FOIA Portal.
5. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used to compile
their Annual FOIA Reports. Please provide the link to this posting for your agency's Fiscal Year 2018
Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency's Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report.
The raw statistical data for the EPA FY 2018 FOIA Annual Report is electronically
available at https://www.epa.gOv/foia/foia-reports#annual. EPA will timely post the raw
statistical data for the EPA FY 2019 FOIA Annual Report in electronic format for public
inspection at the same URL.
6. Optional Please describe: Best practices used in greater utilizing technology and any challenges your
agency faces in this area.
EPA's best practices to greater utilize technology include providing training on the available
technology. For example, EPA's FOIA Expert Assistance Team (FEAT), located in EPA's
National FOIA Office, provides FOIA training to first level reviewers and sets up kick-off
training meetings that cover EPA's FOIA processing technologies, including document
review technology. EPA's FOIA processing technology includes Relativity version 9.5
document review technology, which includes Email Threading and Textual Near Duplicate
Identification (TNDI).
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cklogs
The Department ofJustice has emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in responding to requests.
This section of your ChiefFOIA Officer Report addresses both time limits and backlog reduction. Backlog
reduction is measured both in terms of numbers ofbacklogged requests or appeals and by looking at whether
agencies closed their ten oldest requests, appeals, and consultations.
For the figures required in this Section, please use the numbers contained in the specified sections of your
agency's 2019 Annual FOIA Report and, when applicable, your agency's 2018 Annual FOIA Report.
A. Simp ck
Section VII. A of your agency's Annual FOIA Report, entitled 'FOIA Requests - Response Time for All
Processed Requests," includes figures that show your agency's average response times for processed
requests. For agencies utilizing a multi-track system to process requests, there is a category for "simple "
requests, which are those requests that are placed in the agency's fastest (non-expedited) track, based on the
low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.
1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests?
Yes.
2. If your agency uses a separate track for simple requests, was the agency overall average number of days
to process simple requests twenty working days or fewer in Fiscal Year 2019?
No. While EPA's average number of days to process simple requests in FY 2019 was 48.77
days, EPA processed 61% of simple requests within 20 working days.
3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2019 that were placed
in your simple track.
The percentage of requests that EPA processed in the simple track in FY 2019 was 69%.
4. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to process all
non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?
Not Applicable.
B. Backlogs
Section XII. A of your agency's Annual FOIA Report, entitled "Backlogs of FOIA Requests and
Administrative Appeals " shows the numbers of any backlogged requests or appeals from the fiscal year. You
should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2018 and Fiscal Year
2019 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.
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Backlogged Requests
5. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2019, did that backlog decrease as
compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2018?
Yes. EPA's backlog of requests at the close of FY 2018 was 2,761. EPA's backlog of
requests at the close of FY 2019 was 2,272. EPA decreased its backlog of requests by 18%,
FY 2019 over FY 2018.
6. If not, did your agency process more requests during Fiscal Year 2019 than it did during Fiscal Year
2018?
The backlog of requests at the close of FY 2019 was less than the backlog of requests at the
close of FY 2018.
7. If your agency's request backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2019, please explain why and describe the
causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When doing so, please also
indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:
> An increase in the number of incoming requests.
> A loss of staff.
> An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide examples or
briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.
> Any other reasons - please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.
EPA's backlog of requests decreased during FY 2019.
8. If you had a request backlog please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of the
total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2019. If your agency has no request
backlog, please answer with "N/A. "
EPA received 8,869 requests in FY 2019. The number of requests in the backlog at the close
of FY 2019 was 2,272. The ratio of the number of backlogged requests at the close of FY
2019 to the number of requests received in FY 2019 is 26%.
Backlogged Appeals
9. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2019, did that backlog decrease as
compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2018?
Yes. EPA's backlog of appeals at the close of FY 2018 was 132. EPA's backlog of appeals
at the close of FY 2019 was 64. EPA decreased its backlog of appeals by 52%, FY 2019
over FY 2018.
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10. If not, did your agency process more appeals during Fiscal Year 2019 than it did during Fiscal Year
2018?
The backlog of appeals at the close of FY 2019 was less than the backlog of appeals at the
close of FY 2018.
11. If your agency's appeal backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2019, please explain why and describe the
causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog. When doing so, please also
indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:
> An increase in the number of incoming appeals.
> A loss of staff.
> An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide examples or
briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.
> Any other reasons - please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.
EPA's backlog of appeals decreased during FY 2019.
12. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of the
total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2019. If your agency did not receive any
appeals in Fiscal Year 2019 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A."
EPA received 124 FOIA appeals in FY 2019. The number of appeals in the backlog at the
close of FY 2019 was 64. The ratio of the number of backlogged appeals at the close of FY
2019 to the number of appeals received in FY 2019 is 52%.
C. Backlog Reduction Plans
13. In the 2019 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 1000 requests
in Fiscal Year 2018 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead. Did
your agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year? If so, describe your agency's efforts in
implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 2019?
Yes, EPA successfully implemented a backlog reduction plan in FY 2019: EPA reduced its
FOIA request backlog by nearly 500 requests, or 18%. During this reporting cycle, EPA
developed new initiatives and continued building on actions started in the previous reporting
cycle to improve its FOIA program.
In 2018, EPA set a Strategic Goal to increase transparency and public participation as
part of the Agency's FY 2018-22 Strategic Plan. EPA also started to restructure its
FOIA program by establishing the National FOIA Office within the Office of General
Counsel and redelegated to the General Counsel the Chief FOIA Officer functions.
In FY 2019, to enhance accountability in EPA's 10 regional offices, EPA realigned
the regional FOIA programs into the Regional Counsel Offices, thereby providing
clear authority and reporting lines through the Regional Counsels up to the Agency's
General Counsel and Chief FOIA Officer. EPA's regions collectively reduced their
FOIA request backlog by 22% over FY 2018, surpassing the Agency-wide 18% FY
2019 backlog reduction.
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In FY 2019, EPA continued to use EPA's Lean Management System (ELMS) to
continuously review and improve EPA's FOIA response processing. By deploying
ELMS agency-wide, many offices across the agency conducted lean management
improvement events around FOIA processing and deployed visual management tools
to bring greater focus to FOIA processing.
In FY 2019, EPA published in the Federal Register an update to its FOIA regulations,
bringing them into compliance with the nondiscretionary provisions of the 2007,
2009, and 2016 amendments to the FOIA. The regulation update also centralized
FOIA requests submission to EPA's National FOIA Office.
In Spring 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office increased its staff; reviewed, revised
and updated its standard operating procedures; and retrained its staff. Centralizing
FOIA request submission enables the EPA to improve efficiency, consistency, and
quality of EPA's determinations and responses, and to apply best practices in early
communications with requesters.
In early FY 2019, the National FOIA Office began issuing monthly FOIA backlog
reports to EPA's senior leadership showing the backlog in each EPA region and
headquarters office, and for FY 2020, each region and headquarters has now set
office-specific FOIA backlog reduction annual goals and monthly targets aligned with
the agency-wide goal.
EPA's National FOIA Office distributed to all offices a Lean Management Flowboard
Toolkit providing guidance on applying visual management techniques to FOIA
processing.
EPA added FOIA accountability language to all senior manager performance
agreements Agency-wide in FY 2019, and EPA developed and started delivering
specialized FOIA training for supervisors.
EPA also completed reform of FOIA processing within the Office of the
Administrator.
14. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2019, what is your agency's
plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2020?
EPA plans to continue the reforms it started in the prior year, including monthly backlog
data reporting showing progress towards the agency-wide and office-specific backlog
reduction goals. EPA will also increase staff training and continue to deliver training to
supervisors on their FOIA duties. And, EPA will increase attention to accountability through
the performance review process.
EPA will also continue to apply the EPA Lean Management System (ELMS) to FOIA
agency-wide, thereby promoting continuous improvement through initiatives developed in
each FOIA processing office, such as the ELMS project that the National FOIA Office
currently has underway pertaining to the FOIA intake process. Through regular review of
data and meetings to discuss both challenges and successes, EPA is committed to
continuously identify ways to improve FOIA processing.
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I ' is of Oldest Requests, Appeals, ai>i .sultations
Section VII.E, entitled "Pending Requests - Ten Oldest Pending Requests, " Section VI. C. (5), entitled "Ten
Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals, " and Section XII. C., entitled "Consultations on FOIA Requests -
Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency," show the ten oldest
pending requests, appeals, and consultations. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA
Reports for both Fiscal Year 2018 and Fiscal Year 2019 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA
Officer Report.
Oldest Requests
15. In Fiscal Year 2019, did your agency close the ten oldest requests that were reported pending in your
Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report?
No.
16. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal
year, as listed in Section VII.E of your Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report. If you had fewer than ten
total oldest requests to close, please indicate that.
EPA closed in FY 2019 two of the ten oldest FOIA requests that were pending and reported
in the FY 2018 Annual FOIA Report.
17. Beyond work on the ten oldest requests, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall
age of your pending requests.
EPA's efforts to reorganize and improve FOIA processing described in response to the
questions above are the steps that EPA took to reduce the overall age of FOIA requests
pending with EPA.
Ten Oldest Appeals
18. In Fiscal Year 2019, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in your
Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report?
No.
19. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal
year, as listed in Section VII. C. (5) of your Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report. If you had fewer than ten
total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that.
In FY 2019, EPA closed six of the ten oldest FOIA administrative appeals that were pending
and reported in the FY 2018 Annual FOIA Report. In FY 2020, EPA closed the remaining
four pending appeals of the ten oldest appeals reported in the FY 2018 Annual Report.
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20. Beyond work on the ten oldest appeals, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall
age of your pending appeals.
The General Law Office, situated in the Office of General Counsel, made numerous
improvements throughout FY 2019 to the administrative appeal process to maximize
efficiency. As a result of these efforts, the office had faster response times and reduced the
office's appeals backlog by over half. Management met weekly with attorneys to discuss
workload, substantive legal issues, and next steps. These meetings allowed management to
more quickly identify when an appeal needed to be reassigned to a different attorney due to
workload.
Ten Oldest Consultations
21. In Fiscal Year 2019, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in
your Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report?
No.
22. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the end of the
fiscal year, as listed in Section XII. C. of your Fiscal Year 2018 Annual FOIA Report. If you had fewer than
ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that.
EPA did not close any of the oldest consultations.
E. Additional Information e lest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans
23. Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest requests, appeals, and
consultations from Fiscal Year 2019.
EPA closed two of the ten oldest requests and six of the ten oldest appeals. The primary
challenge in closing the oldest requests from FY 2019 was due to the need to confer
internally with multiple EPA offices on review of records with shared equities. EPA
anticipates closing the remaining requests and appeals in FY 2020.
24. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests because you were waiting to hear back
from other agencies on consultations you sent, please provide the date the request was initially received by
your agency, the date when your agency sent the consultation, and the date when you last contacted the
agency where the consultation was pending.
N/A.
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25. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please provide a
plan describing how your agency intends to close those "ten oldest" requests, appeals, and consultations
during Fiscal Year 2020.
The program offices that have the ten oldest requests have assigned each request to a FOIA
professional for processing. As for appeals, the Office of General Counsel significantly
reduced its appeal backlog and has closed the four remaining FY 2018 ten-oldest appeals.
F. Success Stories
Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2019 to increase transparency and improve
FOIA administration, please briefly describe here at least one success story that you would like to highlight
as emblematic of your agency's efforts. The success story can come from any one of the five key areas. As
noted above, OIP will highlight these agency success stories during Sunshine Week. To facilitate this
process, all agencies should use bullets to describe their success story and limit their text to a half page. The
success story is designed to be a quick summary of key achievements. A complete description of all your
efforts will be contained in the body of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.
EPA reversed a two-year trend of increasing FOIA request and appeal backlogs.
EPA reduced its FOIA request backlog by nearly 500 requests, or 18% of the backlog
at the beginning FY 2019.
EPA reduced by 52% the backlog of FOIA appeals pending at the beginning of FY
2019.
EPA updated its 17-year old FOIA regulations, bringing them into compliance with the
nondiscretionary provisions of the 2007, 2009, and 2016 amendments to the FOIA.
The regulation update also centralized submission of all FOIA requests within EPA's
National FOIA Office.
Preparing for centralized intake, in Spring 2019, EPA's National FOIA Office
increased its staff; reviewed, revised and updated its standard operating procedures;
and retrained its staff on intake.
Centralizing FOIA request submission enables EPA to improve efficiency,
consistency, and quality of EPA's determinations and responses, and to apply best
practices in early communications with requesters.
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