EPA Beats Challenge to New Freedom of Information Act Process

By Samantha Hawkins, Bloomberg Law, Sept. 13, 2022

• Agency made changes to streamline FOIA requests

• Changes won’t slow FOIA process, judge says

The Environmental Protection Agency defeated claims brought over changes it made to its internal policies for handling Freedom of Information Act requests, after a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that the changes wouldn’t slow down requests or subject them to political interference.

In 2019, the agency removed the option of submitting FOIA requests direct to regional offices of the EPA, authorized the EPA administrator to make final FOIA determinations, authorized agency officials to withhold a portion of a record on the basis of responsiveness, and modified the language related to its aggregation of FOIA requests.

See full article here (subscription required).

Read court’s decision in “Court Opinions” post below.