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Freedom of Information – FOIA
The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is integral to NWEA’s work protecting human health and the environment. This is particularly true in recent years, when EPA and state regulatory agencies have erased most of the content of their websites. FOIA allows citizens and organizations to request documents that were prepared or in the possession of federal agencies in order to extract factual information, obtain decision documents, and gain insight into agency policies. FOIA, and similar state laws, are an essential part of a functioning democracy.
NWEA has used FOIA to obtain documents such as
• a draft national review of whether cyanide water quality standards protect threatened and endangered species across the country (they don’t).
• an email showing that EPA relied on an environmental group’s lawsuit to conclude that Oregon’s coastal pollution program was protecting against unsafe levels of pesticides (it doesn’t).
Unfortunately, many agencies are very slow to respond to FOIA requests and often fail to conduct complete searches for the documents requested, fail to respond within the time frames allowed by law, and withhold and redact information beyond what is legally allowed. This abuse of FOIA has led to many lawsuits across the country against agencies that resist being transparent to the citizens they serve. NWEA has had to resort to FOIA litigation in multiple instances, to obtain, for example:
• Documents pertaining to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) denial of NWEA’s petition to update Washington water quality standards for toxics, in 2019.
• Documents pertaining to EPA’s oversight and involvement in Puget Sound water quality, in 2019.
• Documents pertaining to federal funding of beaver killing operations from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2018.
• Documents pertaining to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s review of California water quality standards in 2017.
• Documents pertaining to the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) funding of groups promoting water pollution trading, in 2017.
• Documents pertaining to the EPA’s oversight of Oregon’s coastal nonpoint pollution control program, in 2015.
• Documents pertaining to EPA’s Agency Operating Guidances, in 2013.
Fed Agency Calls for Stream Buffer on Agriculture Lands
In January 2013 the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sent two other federal agencies a letter regarding the need for riparian stream buffers along streams in western Washington agricultural lands. The letter includes NMFS’s recommendation for minimum buffers...
Federal Agencies Criticize Oregon Logging Reform Efforts
In their 2010 settlement with NWEA over Oregon logging practices on the coast, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) agreed to make an initial assessment of Oregon’s efforts to comply with the terms of the...
NWEA Sues EPA for Approving Temperature Clean-Up Plans (TMDLs)
Following the February 2012 federal court ruling in our Temperature Standards lawsuit that Oregon could not automatically change its water quality standards without federal agency approval, NWEA filed a challenge to the results of Oregon’s use of that provision. All...
| FOIA Complaint Washington Toxic WQS Petition | June 8, 2019 | This FOIA Complaint alleges the U.S. EPA violated the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) in responding... | FOIA, Court, EPA, WA Water Quality Standards, Washington | Download |
| Beaver FOIA Complaint II | October 8, 2018 | Beaver FOIA Complaint. This is an action against the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service(“APHIS”)... | Court, Beavers, FOIA, Oregon | Download |
| Pruitt WOTUS Rule FOIA Complaint | April 9, 2018 | On February 5, 2018, Plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request to EPA, seeking records related to meetings... | Court, EPA, FOIA, National | Download |
| APHIS Beaver FOIA Complaint | January 30, 2018 | This is an action against the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) for violations... | Court, Beavers, FOIA, Oregon | Download |
| USFWS FOIA Complaint | September 29, 2017 | NWEA challenges the unlawful acts of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service acting on behalf of the United... | Court, FOIA, FWS | Download |
| NRCS FOIA TFT Final Report | June 1, 2017 | Conservation Innovation Grants Program – Final Progress Report (June 2011 – December 2014)Submitted... | FOIA, Agriculture, The Freshwater Trust, TMDL, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service | Download |
| NRCS FOIA Complaint | March 6, 2017 | On July 1, 2014, Advocates submitted a FOIA request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”)... | Court, FOIA, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water Pollution Trading | Download |
| NRCS FOIA TFT pitch | April 13, 2013 | NRCS internal email sent on April 23, 2013 containing background points from The Freshwater Trust contesting... | FOIA, Agriculture, The Freshwater Trust, TMDL, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water Pollution Trading | Download |
| NRCS FOIA Willamette Partnership Grant | September 27, 2012 | A USDA National Resource Conservation Services grant to the Willamette Partnership in the amount of $1,589,751... | FOIA, Agriculture, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Water Pollution Trading | Download |