Bureau of Air Forms data on startups, shutdowns and malfunctions
| Tracking # |
122534 |
| Submitted | July 26, 2022 |
| Est. Completion | Sept. 13, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Dillon Bergin
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
Raw data - in a machine-readable database or spreadsheet format such as Excel, CSV, Access, SQL or XML - pertaining to air pollution "startups, shutdowns and malfunctions" that facilities are required to report to the Bureau of Air Forms as part of the Illinois EPA Annual Emission Report.
The data should include all fields in the database or spreadsheets that contain non-exempt information, including but no limited to all fields in the example for provided by the Illinois EPA website and submitted with this request. I also request all documentation that describes the layout of the database’s tables and fields, and that provides the definitions of any field names, codes, and abbreviations used in the database. This information may be gathered together in a single document like a data dictionary, entity layout, or user's guide. If that is the case, I request access to and copy of said document.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Dillon Bergin
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Good morning
The Agency is working on the FOIA request below that you submitted last week but do need some additional information.
What is the date range for the information below (are you looking for the most recent year, the past 3 years, etc)?
Also, the Agency doesn’t maintain this information in a “raw data” format. Any information we provide would be the form/page that the entity submitted. Please let me know if this is acceptable and that you would still like to receive the information in that format.
Thank you
Sharon
-
~WRD0002
From: Dillon Bergin
Hi Sharon,
Thanks for your help on this! I appreciate it.
As for the format that the data is in, the form/page that the entity submitted is exactly what I'm looking for. I just wanted to be clear that I was requesting the original document.
As for dates, would from January 1st, 2019 to the date this request is fulfilled be tenable? I don't want to immediately request document set that is too large, but I think that having a year pre-pandemic along with the most the most recent years would be very helpful.
My best,
Dillon
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the clarification.
We will work on locating these documents
Sharon
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~WRD0001
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
[A close up of a logo Description generated with high confidence]
August 2, 2022
MuckRock News
Attn: Mr. Dillon Bergin
263 Huntington Ave
Dept MR 131935
Boston, MA 02115
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request - 122534
Dear Mr. Bergin:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.)
request dated July 26, 2022 and received by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) on July 26, 2022.
Please be advised that the Illinois EPA is unable to respond to your request within five (5) business days and is extending the response time by an additional five (5) business days pursuant to the Illinois FOIA at 5 ILCS 140/3(e). The reason for the delay is as follows:
(iv) the requested records have not been located in the course of a routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
Sincerely,
[cid:image002.jpg@01D8A667.D7226EF0]
Anwar Johnson
Illinois EPA FOIA Officer
217.558.5101
http://www.epa.illinois.gov/foia/index
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
From: Dillon Bergin
Hi Sharon and Anwar,
Sounds good. Thank you again.
My best,
Dillon
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon
The Agency has been working to identify responsive documents for the portion of your request: "Raw data - in a machine-readable database or spreadsheet format such as Excel, CSV, Access, SQL or XML - pertaining to air pollution "startups, shutdowns and malfunctions" that facilities are required to report to the Bureau of Air Forms as part of the Illinois EPA Annual Emission Report. "
The search is not a simple database query. Would you be agreeable to granting the Agency additional time to provide our response? We expect to be able to reply on or before August 16, 2022 (5 additional working days).
Please let me know if this extension is acceptable.
Thank you
Sharon
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
[A close up of a logoDescription generated with high confidence]
August 15, 2022
MuckRock News
Attn: Mr. Dillon Bergin
263 Huntington Ave
Dept Mr 131935
Boston, MA 02115
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request - 122534
Dear Mr. Bergin:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.)
request dated July 26, 2022 and received by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) on July 26, 2022.
A portion of your request sought, "all applications for modification to a CAAPP Permit, both minor and significant, submitted to the Bureau of Air Forms since January 1st, 2022. These forms are also referred to as form 271-CAAP, as in "271-CAAP: Application for Modification to a CAAPP Permit."
Due to the volume of records responsive to your request, you will need to schedule an on-site records review at the Illinois EPA headquarters located at 1021 North Grand Avenue East, in Springfield. The total volume of responsive records to this item of your request(s) exceeds 8.25 linear inches of paper files.
Please contact my staff by September 13, 2022, at (217)558-5101 to arrange an appointment to inspect the files. Appointments are scheduled during normal business hours, which are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, exclusive of State holidays.
For the remaining portion of your request seeking, "raw data - in a machine-readable database or spreadsheet format such as Excel, CSV, Access, SQL or XML - pertaining to air pollution "startups, shutdowns and malfunctions" that facilities are required to report to the Bureau of Air Forms as part of the Illinois EPA Annual Emission Report", the Illinois EPA has determined that compliance with your request, as drafted, would place an undue burden on the Illinois EPA and would outweigh the public interest in the material that you are seeking. See 5 ILCS 140/3(g). Accordingly, we invite you to further narrow your request to manageable proportions pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(g).
This information is not stored in a database and the Agency is unable to provide a report containing the information. The documents containing this information are not managed in a way that would allow the Agency to readily identify them. Your request did not specify a date range and the Agency would need to search through tens of thousands of pages of documents to locate the responsive information.
To the extent you consider this response to be a denial of your FOIA request, you have the right to submit a request for review by the Public Access Counselor (the "PAC") in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General to:
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us>
If you choose to submit a request for review to the PAC, you must do so within 60 days after the date of this letter. Your request for review must be in writing, signed by you, and include a copy of your FOIA request and this response. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). You also have the right to seek judicial review of the denial of your request by filing a lawsuit in circuit court, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/11.
Sincerely,
[cid:image002.jpg@01D8B0AE.821B1280]
Anwar Johnson
Illinois EPA FOIA Officer
217.558.5101
http://www.epa.illinois.gov/foia/index
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
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