Interior Department Issues Revised FOIA Regulations, Addresses Some Open Government Concerns
The Interior Department has issued a final rule amending its FOIA regulations. In November 2012, EPIC submitted comments regarding the agency's proposed amendments, urging the Interior Department not to weaken the FOIA as it had proposed. The final rule incorporates several of EPIC's recommendations. For example, the Interior Department will provide examples of how FOIA requesters can reasonably describe the records they seek, and notify requesters in advance before charging them direct costs of converting records to a requested format. Additionally, the Interior Department clarified ambiguous language that would negatively impact FOIA requesters' rights. EPIC routinely comments on agency proposals that impact the rights of FOIA requesters. EPIC recently submitted extensive comments to the Defense Logistics Agency of the Department of Defense, warning the agency not to erect new obstacles for FOIA requesters. For more information, see EPIC: Open Government.
January 3, 2013| Share:
