~5/87/2888 11:la 2a25885a28 CREW eRJ,/Lcv~/tJ~c.

PAGE 02/85
.5UfJ~ "n;ditoIlS_
citizens for responsibility'!\ I ~ !wl1n I<..
CREW I and ethics in washington

May 7, 2008

FOIA Officer
U.S. E~A Region S (MI-9J)

77 w. .T~k!i;on Boulevard

Chicag~, IL 60604-3590

By
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Fax: 311-886-1515

Re: Freedom of Information Ad Request

i
Dear s~ or Madom:
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Citizens for Respon!;ihility and F.thic~ in Wa!lhin2ton ("CREW") makes this request for
records{ regardless of fonnat, medium., or physical characteristics, and including electronic
records and information, audiotapes, videotapes and photographs, pursuant to the Freedom of
Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. §§ 552, !!!~.

~pcCitica11y, CRJ::W seeks any and all records from the Environmental Protection Agency
("EPA"~, dating from January 1,2001 to the present and relating to the Dow Chemical Plant in
M1dlan~, MichigaI1. nil: :;~upc: orthis l"equest includes, but is not limited to:

~.
Records assessing or evaluating Dow Chemical's responsibility for dioxin flowing into
Sagina~ Bay and Lake Huron;
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~.CREW requests any and all records from the EPA that discuss or relate to the role of
Mary Oadc, fonner Regional Administrator for EPA Region 5 in evaluating Dow ChemfCiI's
*'
"'Cfforts clean up any environmental hazards resulting from the flow ot" dioxin into Saginaw Hay
and L~e Huron;

~. Finally, CREW requests any and all records and communications between the ~

----
House and the EPA concerning Dow Chemical's Michigan plant's release of dioxin, Dow
Chemical's efforts to clean up dioxin, and Ms. Gade's role in evaluating Dow Chemical's release
lind cleanup of dioxin.

rlease search for responsive records regardless of format, medium, or physical

characteristics. Where possible, please produce records electronicallY, in PDF or TIF fonnat on a
CD-ROM. We seek records ofany kind, including electronic records, audiotapes, videotapes,
and photographs. Our request includes any telephone messages, voice mail messages, daily
agenda land calendars. information about scheduled meetings and/or discussions, whether in­
p~on ~ ov~r the: telephone, ngcndu for those meetings nndlOT discussions, participa.nts
included in those meetings and/or discussions, minutes of any such meetings andlor discussions,

MAY 072008
]400 Eye Street. N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D.C. 20005 I 202.408.5565 phone I 202.588.5020 fax I WYNi.citizenstorethics.Ofi
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~5/07/2008 1 10 2025885020 CREW PAGE 03/05

:
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FOIA Officer
May 7, ~008
l'ageTwo

the topl~ discussed at tllOSC meetings and/or discussions, e-mail ~garding meetings anellor
discuss~ons, e-mail or facsimiles sent as a result ofthose meetings and/or discussions, and
transcripts or notes of any such meetings anellor discussions.

'fit is your position that any portion ofthe requemd records is exempt from disclosure.
CREW lcquests that you provide it with an index ofthose documents as required under Vaughn
y. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cu. 1973), mt. mmw!, 415 U.S. 977 (1972). AB you are aware, a
yau~ index must describe each document claimed as exempt with sufficient specificity ''to
permit If reasoned judgment as to whether the material is actually exempt under FOIA."
FO~g Church of Scientology v. Bell, 603 F.2d 94~, 949 (D.C. CII. 1979). Moreover, the
Vau~ in,deJc: must "describe each document or portion thereof withheld, and for eacll
withholFg it mU3t diseuss the oonsequenoes of supplying the sought-after information." King y.
U.S. ~p't of.Tu8tice. 830 F.2d 210,223-24 (D.C. Cir. 1987) (emphasis added.). Further, "ilie
withholpins agency must S11pply 'a relatively detailed justification,. specifically identifYing the
rcasonslwhy a particular exemption is relevant and correlating those claims with the particular
part ofl} withheld document to which they apply.''' xg. at 224 (citing Mead Data CqUral y. U.S.
Dcp't of the Air Force. 566 F.2d 242, 251 (D.C. Cir. 1977).

~ the event that some portions of the requested records are properJy exempt from
disclos~, please disclose any reasonably segregable non·exempt portions ofthe requested
recurds; ~ 5 U.S.C. § 552(\). If it i$ yuur positiun Ilulllll cJO"UWlO:ul L:uutKius .uU.l1-ex.empt
segments, but that those non·exempt segments arc so dispersed throughout the document as to
make segregation impossible, please state what portion of the document is non-exempt, and how
the matf'ial is dispersed throughout the document. Mead Data Central, 566 F.2d at 261. Claims
ofnonseg:regability mus1 be made with the same deifee of detail as required for claims of
exemptions in a Vauldm index. If a request is denied in whole, please state specifically that it is
not reasonable to segregate portions ofthe record for release.

Fee Waiver Request

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii) and 40 e.F.R. § 2.107, CREW requests a

wolver ~ffees associated with procassing this request for records. The subject ofthis request
concem,s the operations of the federal government and expenditures, and the disclosures will
likely contribute to a better understandine ofreievant government procedureI' by CRRW and the
general PubUe in a significant way. Moreover, the request is primarily and fundamentally fot'
nOl1'-co~ercial purposes. 5 U.S.C. § 5S2(a)(4)(A)(iii). ~ y., McClellan Ecological v.
QWuc~, 835 F.2d 1282, 1285 (9111 Cir. 1987).
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1bese records arc likely to contribute to greater pUblic awareness of1hc proccsses that the
EPA enlploys in evaluating the nature ofthe threat posed by the release ofdioxin into the
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FOIA Officer
May 7, 7008
Page: TIin:c
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environment ond the EPA's efforts to hold o.ccountohle those responsible for the release of
dioxin. ! Further, these records may illuminate the administration's relationship with Dow
Chemic~l and whether M~. Gades was forced to re~ign her position with the EPA because ofher
efforts to require Dow Chemical to clean up the hot spots

CREW is a non-profit corporation, organized under section 501 (c)(3) ofthe Internal
Reven~ code. CREW is committed to protecting the public's right to be aware ofthe activities
ofgovernment officials and to ensuring the integrity ofthose officials. (,;.KJ:: Wis dedicated to
empo~ng citizens to have an influential voice in government decisions and in the government
decision-making procC:15~. CRnW uses a combination ofrcsearch, litigation, and advocacy to
advan~I its mission. The release ofinformation garnered through this request is not in CREW's
financjal interest. In addition. CREW will disseminate any dOC\lnu'!D.fs if Acqui1'f:s from thi!ll
request ~o the pUblic through }\'WW.govemmentdocs.org, an interactive website CREW founded
that inc~udes tbousands ofpages ofpublic documents from a number of o~anizationsin addition
to CRE}V. CREW's website also contains links to thousands of pages of documents CREW
acquire~ from multiple FOIA requests. See www.citizensforethics.org. CREW's website
includekdocuments relating to CREW's FOIA litigation, Internal Revenue complaints, and
FedezaJ leCt10n Commission complaints.
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pnder these circumstances, CREW fully satisfies the criteria for a fee waiver.
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Bequest for Expedition

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rursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(E)(1) and 40 C.F.R. § 2.104(e)(ii), CREW requests that

the EP~ expedite the processing of this request in light of the compelling need for the requested
informapon. I certify to be true and correct that CREW is a non-profit corporation engaged
prim.ari~ in disseminating information it gathers from a variety ofsources, including the FOIA,
and seep the information requested in this FOIA request for the express purpose of
dissemipating it to the public. A3 discussed above, CREW's website contains numerous
~ampl'15 ofit5 effort" in this rcgvd. It is CREW's bc:licl'that by diNominating this type of
infonna~ion, the public will be better able to evaluate the actions ofour public officials and will
have ;it TOTe etTf:ctive voice.
I
~ with the EJectronic Privacy Information Center and the ACLU, two organizations that
the cou1jtS have found satisfy the criteria necessary to qualify for expedition, I CREW"'gathers
infonna~ion ofpotential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to tum the raw
materi~ into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience.... ACLU, 321 F.Supp.2d at
30 n.5, fUoting ~ 241 F.Supp.2d at 11.

~ ACW y. U.S. Dop't ofJustice. 321 F.Supp.2d 24,30 (D.D.C. 2004); EPIC v. Oep't
I
QfDef~, 241 F.Supp.2d 5, 11 (D.D.C.2003).
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FOIA Offi.cer
May 7, 2008
Page Four

J'here is a. compelling need for the requested reoords. The records arc urgently needed to
inform the public conccming the activities that arc the subject ofthis ~qucst, and the value of the
information will be lost ifthc infonnation is not disseminated quickly. The government activities
that are the subject of this request include the release of dioxin, a cancer causing chemical into
public waters and the potential tcnnination ofa government employee for actively attempting to
force Dow Chemical into cleaning up the hot spots contaminated by its release. The public, as
well as inembers of Congress, need to know as much as possible concerning these activities as
quickly as possible because the health of those who live ncar Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron may
be at ris~. The public also has an interest in knowing ifa public official was forced to I'Csign
because,of cfforts to protc:ct citizens &om this scrlou:s lu:II1Lh ri~k. In addition, this maner is of
significant media interest See AI Kament In the Loop, Washington Post, May 7, 2008. CREW
expectJ; the rell"Jlse of the requested documents would generate further media a.ttention and public
inteICst.

Accordingly, CREW requests that this request be expedited, and CREW submits that its
request satisfies the criteria for expedition.

ConduioD

Ifyou have any questions about this request or foresee any problems in. releasing fully the
requested records on an expedited basis, please oonmo1: me at (202) 408-5565. Also, ifCR.IZW's
request for a fcc waiver is not granted in full, please contact our office immediately upon making
such determination. Please send the requested record.~ to Melanie ~Ina.n. Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 1400 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D.C.
20005.
 CREW I
citizens for responsibility
and ethics in washington

May 15,2008

Anna Rzeznik
FOIA Officer
U.S. EPA Region 5 (MI-9J)
77 W. Jackson Boulevard
Chicago. IL 60604-3590

By Fax: 312-886-1515

Re: Freedom of Information Act Request

Dear Ms. Rzcznik:

Pursuant to a conversation earlier today with Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA")

staff members John Steketee, Mark Palermo and Greg Rudloff, Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington ("'CREW") is clarifying its May 7. 2008 freedom ofInformation Act
request.

Specifically, so that CREW's request can be moved from the complex to the simple track
and to ensure timely production. CREW af:,rrees to modify its request to seek any and all records
from October 16,2006 through the date of this letter. rather than from January 1. 2001. Further,
CREW agrees to limit its request to any and all records to or from fonner EPA Regional
Administrator Mary Gade regarding the release of dioxin by Dow Chemical into Saginaw Bay
and Lake Huron and/or any of Dow Chemical's efforts to clean up environmental hazards caused
by that release.

CREW understands that its request for a fee waiver has been granted, but that its request
for expedition has been denied. Despite this denial, CREW understands that the EPA expects to
produce all non-exempt responsive records related to this request by June 27, 2008, and that the
EPA will consider releasing any hard copies related to this request earlier. on a rolling basis.
CREW agrees that the EPA may withhold records that contain material subject to exemption, that
the agency need not redact exempt portions of records in order to produce the non-exempt
portions, and that, for the time being, the EPA need not produce a Vaughn index describing the
documents withheld.

CREW understands that the Region 5 Office is requesting that EPA headqualters, rather
than the Region 5 Office, be responsible for responding to the portion ofCREW's request related
to EPA's communications with the White House concerning the Dow Chemical's release of
dioxin into Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. Dow Chemical's clean up efforts, and Ms. Gade's role
in evaluating Dow Chemical's release and cleanup of dioxin.

1400 Eye Street. N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D,C. 20005 I 202.408.5565 Dhorte I 202,588.5020 fax W'Ivw.cltizensforethics.Ng
Ms. Anna Rzeznik
May 15,2008
Page Two

Once the Region 5 Office has produced all of the records agreed upon, it will be CREW's
responsibility to request the production of any fUliher records, except for the portion of CREW's
request that may be referred back to the EPA's headquarters.

If you have any questions or if this letter does not accurately reflect the understanding of
Messrs. Steketee, Palenno and Rudloff, please contact me. W~ppreciate the EPA's cooperation
and prompt response to CREW's request. 7 I'·
/ Ii

~iiJ!jlj;

Melame Sloan
Executive Director

ce: John Steketee

Mark Palenno
Greg Rudloff