Demanding Transparency and Accountability

Freedom of Information Act LogoThe Freedom of Information Act, or “FOIA,” is the federal government’s promise that public records made in the conduct of public business are just that: public. It requires that any federal agency fully or partially disclose information and documents controlled by the United States government upon request. PEER uses FOIA to obtain records that we believe contain evidence of wrongdoing by government agencies against the environment, protect public employees whose careers are in jeopardy or might be if they leaked documents to us directly, and to disinfect corrupt behavior with sunlight. PEER has a long history of litigating against the government, assisting environmental allies, and exposing secret crimes against nature through FOIA, with dozens of successful cases against almost every agency in the federal government. We post materials obtained through FOIA on our website and share them with the press to make sure that the public sees all of the records that belong to it.

Each federal agency has its own records management system developed subject to the oversight of the National Archivist under the standards of the National Archives and Records Administration Act. The unlawful removal or destruction of federal records is a crime punishable by criminal or civil penalties, fines and/or imprisonment. (18 U.S.C. 2071)

If you have questions about how you can use FOIA to obtain public records you can learn more at foia.wiki and if you have a sensitive environmental matter which you think PEER should be aware of you can speak to one of our attorneys.

Citation: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)5 U.S.C. § 552, is a federal freedom of information law.

FOIA NEWS FROM PEER

COMMENTARY | BLM Unclear on Transparency

According to the latest Interior Department quarterly report on its backlog of unanswered FOIA requests, BLM leads ...

Letter to BLM Director and Attorney General – BLM’s FOIA Backlog -4-30-2024 (PDF)

DESCRIPTION: Letter to BLM Director Stone Manning and Attorney General Garland Requesting to Meet Regarding BLM's ...

Webinar | The Freedom of Information Act and YOU

Gain valuable insight into how the Freedom of Information Act can help you obtain government records efficiently ...

Trans-Alaska Pipeline: Gaping Climate Blind Spot

No Federal Assessments of Climate Change Impacts Upon or From Pipeline

COMMENTARY | Trump Vs. Biden: Federal Governance

A comparison of the Trump Administration and the first two years of the Biden Administration on their Good ...

COMMENTARY | The EPA is Hiding Behind Industry Secrets

This Sunshine Week, we discuss the use of “Confidential Business Information” to hide health and safety ...

EPA Cannot Retrieve Text Message Content

New “Deprovisioning Process” for Employees to “Wipe” Mobile Devices

Park Service Lack of Transparency Created Its Huge FOIA Backlog

The National Park Service is drowning in FOIA requests - the backlog has nearly doubled during the past two years.

COMMENTARY | Fighting Government Secrecy

Government agencies are coming up short in their stewardship of environmental information, and that is having real ...

USGS Nominee Carries Heavy Bio-Safety Baggage

Whistleblowers Decry Inaction & Reprisal on Wildlife Disease Lab Breaches

Foreign Research Vessels Free to Wreak Eco-Havoc

No Notice, Permits, or Monitoring; Mass Beaching of Rare Whales Probed

Webinar | Redact This! FOIA On Your Own Terms

Coffee Talk Webinar Series, Episode 2: Explore the power and promise of the Freedom of Information Act. Watch the Video!

Does Biden Consider Artificial Turf “Conserved” Land?

Lawsuit to Uncover Turf Industry Greenwashing in 30x30 Conservation Plan

EPA Tunes Out Industry’s Chemical Safety Alarms

Lawsuit to Excavate 1,200+ Buried Industry Chemical Hazard Reports

COMMENTARY | Opaque Decision-Making at The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division

Colorado Air Pollution Control Division has a convenient history of bad record keeping at a time when reporters, ...

BLOG | Supreme Court FOIA Decision and Official Candor

The recent Supreme Court decision makes government less transparent by shielding scientific conclusions from ...

BLOG | The Dumpster Fire Presidency in Review

The Trump Administration went out of its way to violate “good government” laws and norms. Here's a list of their ...

PEER Fights D.C.’s Attempt to Neuter FOIA

Letter Protests the District’s Bad Process for Bad Legislation

Interior to Deny More FOIA Requests – Especially from Media

Proposed Rules Facilitate Request, Fee Waiver, and Expedited Processing Rejections

Lawsuit on Why Employee Rating of Trump Appointees Ended

2018 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Altered to Restrict “Leadership” Definition

Suit to Penetrate Political Screening of Interior Grants

Inspector General Decries “Weak or Non-Existent Controls” on Grants and Aid

Pruitt Had No Climate Data, EPA Admits

EPA Asking Its Climate Experts if They Know of Any Alternative Science

A FOIA Delayed Is a FOIA Denied

Even When Sued Agencies Deploy Stalling Tactics That Consume Years

Court Orders Pruitt to Produce His Alternate Climate Science

EPA Must Look for Any Scientific Study Supporting Pruitt’s Doubts on Human Role

Flying Blind – Our National Risk Assessment Still Under Wraps

Unseen 2015 Analytic All-Hazard Assessment Designed to Inform Planners & Public

The Public’s Reform Suggestions to OMB Remain Cloaked

OMB Claimed “100,000+” Submissions but Won’t Say What They Recommend

Pruitt Refuses to Reveal His Climate Science

His Lawyers Call Lawsuit for Studies Discounting Human Role “a Trap”

EPA’s Pruitt Sued to Back up Climate Change Claims

Pruitt Should Put Up Evidence Supporting Stance or Cease Climate Denials

Ruling Vastly Expands Official Secrecy on Infrastructure

Troves of Public Safety Information Cloaked by FOIA Law Enforcement Exemption

The Myth of Transparency in the Obama Era

Agencies Continue to Cling to Internal Files Even in the Face of Litigation
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