Interior seeks FOIA reinforcements amid mixed backlog progress

The agency has cut down on the number of outstanding public records requests for the secretary's office and some other agencies. Other divisions haven't seen progress.

By Michael Doyle, Politico Pro, May 16, 2022

The Interior Department’s latest Freedom of Information Act report reveals both progress and slippage on the persistent backlogs that officials hope to whittle down with the help of a budget proposal coming before Congress this week.

The progress:

In the second-quarter report of 2020, the backlogged FOIA requests at Interior’s Office of the Secretary numbered 1,863. That particular backlog has since been cut to 1,252, according to the new fiscal 2022 quarterly report published this month.

FOIA request backlogs likewise fell compared to a comparable period two years ago at Interior agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Geological Survey, among others

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