A watch dog group based in Washington is suing the EPA for records regarding its response to the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine.
This article features Government Accountability Project and was originally published here.
A watch dog group based in Washington is suing the EPA for records regarding its response to the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine.
The Governmental Accountability Project (GAP) claims the agency violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by claiming the agency believes “that there is no urgency or compelling need to inform the public about EPA’s decisions and actions on how to conduct, or not conduct, effective testing for the presence of potentially life-threatening chemicals in the local environment as a result of the derailment and other response measures.”
This is related to a FOIA request filed by the group on Aug. 25 for any and all records relating to the decision to do a controlled burn of the chemicals spilled during the derailment.
The group also requested records relating to the decision to evacuate the village and the eventual testing for dioxins and dioxin-related compounds in the surrounding area.
According to the complaint, which was filed Sept. 21, the EPA denied a request by GAP for expedited processing of this request and a waiver of related fees.
GAP is arguing that under FOIA, an agency must process a request on an expedited basis when failure to obtain requested records on said basis could reasonably pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual or there is an urgency to inform the public.
Since the EPA has denied GAP’s expedition request, the agency violated FOIA laws.
The group also claims that the agency failed to conduct a reasonable search for records related to the request or produce non-exempt records related to the request.
The complaint is asking the court to order the agency to comply with the original FOIA request and pay any costs related to the complaint.
As of reporting, the EPA has not responded to the complaint.