U.S.

Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20528

ART4

ND 4 S

Homeland Security

August 11, 2011 Ms. Anne Weismann Chief Counsel CREW 1400 I Street, NW Suite 450 Washington, DC 20005 Mr. Damon Moglen Global Warming Campaign Director Greenpeace 702 H Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Re: DHS/OS/PRIV 10-1117 Dear Ms. Weismann and Mr. Moglen: This is the final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that you addressed to the U.S. Coast Guard seeking records relating to the following: Copies of any and all video feeds that capture in whole or in part any aspect of the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (BP oil spill), including but not limited to, the ongoing live video feed of the BP oil spill provided by BP, as referenced in Brian Ross, BP Releases Oil Spill Video After Pressure From White House and Media, ABC News, May 12, 2010, available at http://abcnews. go.com/Blotter/bp-releases-oil-spill-video pressure-white-house/story?id= 10629165; 2. All documents that mention, refer, or relate to U.S. Coast Guard communications concerning the use of dispersants in the course of any efforts to mitigate or clean up the BP oil spill, including, but not limited to, all internal U.S. Coast Guard communications to, by, or from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of the Interior, BP, 1-lalliburton, or Transocean, regarding the use of dispersants in the course of any efforts to mitigate or clean up the BP oil spill; and 3. All U.S. Coast Guard Daily Operations Reports that refer in whole or in part to the BP oil spill including, but not limited to, any mention or description of anything captured on any of the video feeds referenced in (1) above. The U.S. Coast Guard referred your request and responsive documents to this office for processing under the FOIA. This request was received in the Privacy Office on September 28, 2010. At this time, I am releasing eleven (11) pages of records in their entirety and thirty-five (35) pages with redactions pursuant to Title 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(5) and (b)(6). 1.

FOLA Exemption 5 protects from disclosure those inter- or intra-agency documents that are normally privileged in the civil discovery context. The three most frequently invoked privileges are the deliberative process privilege, the attorney work-product privilege, and the attorney-client privilege. After carefully reviewing the responsive documents, I determined that portions of the responsive documents qualifi for protection under the Deliberative Process Privilege. The deliberative process privilege protects the integrity of the deliberative or decision-making processes within the agency by exempting from mandatory disclosure opinions, conclusions, and recommendations included within inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters. The release of this internal information would discourage the expression of candid opinions and inhibit the free and frank exchange of information among agency personnel. FOIA Exemption 6 precludes the release of information that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy of the individuals involved. Provisions of the FOIA allow us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. In this instance, because the cost is below the $14 minimum, there is no charge. 6 CFR 5.1 1(d)(4). You have a right to appeal the above withholding determination. Should you wish to do so, you must send your appeal and a copy of this letter, within 60 days of the date of this letter, to: Associate General Counsel (General Law), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C. 20528, following the procedures outlined in the DHS regulations at 6 C.F.R. 5.9. Your envelope and letter should be marked FOIA Appeal. Copies of the FOIA and DHS regulations are available at www.dhs.gov/foia. The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) also mediates disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If you are requesting access to your own records (which is considered a Privacy Act request), you should know that OGIS does not have the authority to handle requests made under the Privacy Act of 1974. If you wish to contact OGIS, you may email them at ogis(nara.gov or call 1-877-684-6448. Your request has been assigned reference number DHS/OS/PRIV 10-1117. Please refer to this identifier in any future correspondence. You may contact this office at 1-866-431-0486 or 703-235-0790. Sincerely,

lizath Moss FOIA Program Specialist

6Z77

Enclosures: 46 pages

www.dhs.gov