NRDC request for atrazine monitoring data April, 2009

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April 15, 2009

USEPA, HQ FOI Operations Staff (2822T)

Re: NRDC Freedom of Information Act Request— Atrazine monitoring program data

Dear FOIA Officer:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Section 552, as amended and EPA’s regulations at 40 CFR Part 2.

We ask that you provide the following information a s it becomes available:

• Data from the EPA pesticide program’s monitoring in community water systems, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

• Data from the atrazine ecological watershed monitor ing program, 2007, 2008

More information on these datasets can be found her e: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/atrazine /atrazine_update.htm

Claims of Exemption from Disclosure

.

If you regard any documents as exempt from required disclosure under the Act, please exercise your discretion to disclose them neverthel ess. In the alternative, after a careful review for the purpose of determining whether all o f the record is exempt from disclosure, please provide all reasonably segregabl e portions of the record, as required by FOIA.

We ask that you disclose these materials as they be come available to you without waiting until all the documents have been assembled

.

Should you elect to invoke an exemption to the FOIA , please provide the required full or partial denial letter and sufficient information to appeal the denial. In accordanceNRDC request for atrazine monitoring data April, 2009

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with the minimum requirements of your regulations a nd for administrative due process,

this information should include:

• Basic factual material including the originator, da te, length, and addressees of the

withheld items.

• Explanations and justifications for denial, includi ng the identification of the exemption applicable to the withheld document or po rtions of the document found to be subject to exemption, and how each exemption fits the withheld material.

Request for Fee Waiver. As has been determined in previous cases in which w e have requested similar information from you under FOIA, this request clear ly meets the requirements for a fee waiver under FOIA and EPA’s regulations. Therefore , we request that you waive all fees in connection with this request.

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national non-profit, tax-exempt public policy research and environmental organization. NR DC makes information available to thousands of citizens by means of its numerous and varied publications, educational programs, seminars, and public-interest litigation. The information disclosed pursuant to this request will be made directly available to the public and others engaged in policy analysis and research, including academicians, hist orians, area specialists, and journalists.

The FOIA provides that you will waive fees if it "i s in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as pri marily benefiting the public" 5 U.S.C. Section 552(a)(4)(A). Furthermore, fee waive rs are most likely to be warranted when, as here, the records requested are for a repr esentative of a bona fide public interest group and there is current public interest in the subject matter to which the document pertains, and that furnishing of the infor mation can be considered of benefit primarily to the public as opposed to the requester

.

The requested disclosure will significantly inform the public's understanding of governmental operations. First, the materials pert ain to an important and identifiable government function -- EPA's evaluation of pesticid es to determine how they may be regulated -- and the requested data will help revea l to the public how vigorously EPA is implementing certain statutory directives. The req uested materials may be critical to determining an estimate of the amount of each pesti cide that may be released into the environment or a potential human exposure. Additio nally, the materials will significantly promote the understanding of the publ ic at large regarding the human health risks associated with pesticides.

NRDC routinely employs numerous methods of publicly distributing or acting upon material gathered through FOIA and otherwise, from posting educational material on our website to discussing important issues in our q uarterly magazine On Earth , toNRDC request for atrazine monitoring data April, 2009

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issuing press releases, to participating in press c onferences, to spearheading public interest litigation (e.g., Les v. Reilly , 968 F.2d 985 (9 th Cir. 1992), cert. denied , 507 U.S. 950 (1993)). NRDC is well equipped to make informa tion quickly and broadly available; our expert staff includes, among others, people devoted to communications work. Therefore, it is clear that under any readin g of FOIA, all fees should be waived. However, in the event that fees are not waived, ple ase inform us of the specific basis for such a decision as required by your regulations. W e further request that you notify us if you expect fees to exceed $30.00.

We appreciate your help in obtaining this informati on. Should you need further information concerning NRDC or this request, please contacting either of us by phone at (202) 289-6868 in order to speed consideration o f this matter.

We look forward to hearing from you within ten work ing days, as the law stipulates.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Sass, Ph.D. Senior Scientist, NRDC Public Health Program Washington, DC

Tel: 202-289-2362, email: jsass@nrdc.org