Muslim Ban Protests (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority)

Dear Mr. Waltman:

On behalf of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), I am writing in connection with your request for public records, outlined below. Although you submitted your request under the District of Columbia’s Freedom of Information Act, WMATA is not a District agency and, as such, is not required to comport with that municipal statute. Nevertheless, we are processing your request for records under our Public Access to Records Policy (PARP), which is available on our website at https://www.wmata.com/about/records/.

Additional Information Needed to Support Request to Waive Fees:

You have requested a fee waiver as a member of the news media, but have not provided WMATA with sufficient information to make such a determination. In order to evaluate your fee waiver request, please submit the following additional information:

1) A written explanation of the purpose of your request and your intended use of the requested records.

2) A written explanation of how disclosure of those records will significantly further the public’s interest in the operations or activities of WMATA;

3) A written explanation of how the information/records you request is related to a current news event or is of current interest to the public;

4) A written affirmation that you will use your editorial skills to generate a news article, or other media content, based on the records you request; and

5) A written affirmation that you intend to publish a news article, or other form of media, related to the records you request.

If we do not receive this additional information within 10 business days - by Thursday, March 2, 2017 -- we will categorize you as a commercial requester for fee categorization purposes. This means that you will be assessed fees if your request requires more than two hours of staff time to process. Such fees are calculated at the staff member’s basic rate of pay, plus an additional 50 percent to cover benefits, for the time spent responding to such a request. Also, if hard copy records are provided, there is a 15 cent per page copying fee beyond the first 100 pages. In general, a request is considered an agreement to pay all applicable fees. Advance payment is required where the fees are likely to exceed $250.

Time Period for Processing Requests

Additionally, please be advised that, pursuant to the guidelines set forth in the PARP, WMATA aims to respond to a request for records within 30 business days following receipt of the request and any other required documentation, such as a notarized release. However, additional time is required to process requests that involve coordination with multiple WMATA offices or third parties, require the review of voluminous records, or prove to be otherwise complex.

Exemptions

The PARP provides exemptions for certain types of data, including (1) information that could compromise Washington Area Metro Transit Authority’s (WMATA) infrastructure or security; (2) information that is solely related to the internal personnel rules and practices of WMATA; (3) information that is exempt by statute; (4) contractor proprietary information; (5) internal deliberations on policy matters; (6) attorney-client privileged communications; (7) information that, if released, would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (8) certain information compiled for law enforcement purposes; and (9) SmarTrip® and customer financial information. Generally, WMATA’s response will not include any exempt information.

Limited Retention of Audio-Video Records

Please be aware that WMATA is highly constrained in its ability to retain video footage of its assets and infrastructure. In general, we cannot guarantee that such records will be available upon request. Nevertheless, we shall exercise due diligence in verifying whether the specific video implicated in your request is, or is not, available before providing a definitive response.

Future communications should reference the request number noted in the caption of this correspondence. If you have any questions, please contact me at ekdeutsch@wmata.com<mailto:ekdeutsch@wmata.com> or (202) 962-2058.

Thank you very much for your consideration and courtesy.

Yours very respectfully,

Emily Woodward Deutsch
Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
ph: (202) 962-2058 fax: (202) 962-2550 ekdeutsch@wmata.com<mailto:ekdeutsch@wmata.com>
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-woodward-deutsch-54216551

THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE RECIPIENT NAMED ABOVE. IF THE READER OF THIS MESSAGE IS NOT THE NAMED RECIPIENT, OR THE AGENT RESPONSIBLE TO DELIVER IT TO THE NAMED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, COPYING OR OTHER USE OF THIS INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND NO PRIVILEGE IS WAIVED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE ABOVE-NAMED INDIVIDUAL IMMEDIATELY.

Mr. Walton,

Thank you for taking the time to provide this supplemental information in support of your request for a fee waiver. We’ll get back to you soon with a determination in this regard.

Thanks again,
Emily D.

Emily Woodward Deutsch
Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
ph: (202) 962-2058 fax: (202) 962-2550 ekdeutsch@wmata.com<mailto:ekdeutsch@wmata.com>
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-woodward-deutsch-54216551

THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION INTENDED ONLY FOR THE USE OF THE RECIPIENT NAMED ABOVE. IF THE READER OF THIS MESSAGE IS NOT THE NAMED RECIPIENT, OR THE AGENT RESPONSIBLE TO DELIVER IT TO THE NAMED RECIPIENT, YOU ARE NOTIFIED THAT ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, COPYING OR OTHER USE OF THIS INFORMATION/COMMUNICATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND NO PRIVILEGE IS WAIVED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS COMMUNICATION IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE ABOVE-NAMED INDIVIDUAL IMMEDIATELY.

Dear Mr. Waltman,

This is the decision regarding your January 31, 2017, request for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) records concerning WMATA's reaction to the January 28-29, 2017 protests precipitated by President Donald Trump's immigration order. WMATA processed your request pursuant to its Public Access to Records Policy (PARP); available online at http://www.wmata.com/about/records.

Responsive Records

After a search reasonably calculated to find all responsive records,[1] WMATA has located the attached set of email correspondences of Deputy Chief Kevin Gaddis (86 pages total).

Exemptions

In accordance with PARP Exemption 6.1.1 (Sensitive Security and Critical Infrastructure Information), we have redacted the above records to exclude information that, if released, would compromise the safety and security of WMATA customers and personnel, or pose a threat to our critical infrastructure. Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.5 (deliberative process privilege),[2] we have redacted WMATA's internal, pre-decisional evaluations and opinions. Pursuant to PARP Exemption 6.1.6 (personal privacy),[3] we have redacted the personally identifiable information of our personnel for whom their privacy interest outweigh the public interest in disclosure.

Appeal Rights

If you wish to appeal this decision, you may file a written appeal in accordance with PARP § 9.1. Such action must be received by WMATA's Chief of External Relations, Barbara Richardson, within 30 business days of this correspondence. Further details about our appeals process can be found on our website.

Please remember to caption all future correspondence with the relevant request number (PARP 17-0026). If you have any legal questions, please contact me at mpresley@wmata.com, or (202) 962-2058. For administrative matters, please contact Richard D. Noh at rdnoh@wmata.com, or (202) 962-2569.

Respectfully,
Michael Presley
Assistant Attorney, Office of General Counsel
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
ph: (202) 962-2058 fax: (202) 962-2550
MPresley@wmata.com

________________________________

[1] See Defs. of Wildlife v. U.S. Border Patrol, 623 F. Supp. 2d 83, 91 (D.D.C. 2009) (holding that, with respect to the adequacy of a public information search, "[a]n agency fulfills its obligations if it can demonstrate that its search was in good faith and reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents") citing Valencia-Lucena v. United States Coast Guard, 180 F.3d 321, 325 (D.C. Cir. 1999); Defs. of Wildlife v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 311 F. Supp. 2d 44, 54 (D.D.C. 2004) (holding that "[a]n agency must search for documents in good faith, using methods that are reasonably expected to produce the requested information"); see also Campbell v. Dep't of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 27 (D.C. Cir.1998) (requiring an agency to conduct a search for public records using methods reasonably expected to produce requested information); compare to SafeCard Servs., Inc. v. Sec. & Exch. Comm'n, 926 F.2d 1197, 1201 (D.C. Cir.1991) (holding that an "agency need not search every record in the system or conduct a perfect search . . . or produce a document where "the agency is no longer in possession of the document[ ] for a reason that is not itself suspect").

[2] See Trea Senior Citizens League v. United States Dep't of State, 994 F. Supp. 2d 23, 32 (D.D.C. 2013) (holding that, "[t]o qualify for Exemption 5 protection under the deliberative process privilege, 'an agency's materials must be both pre-decisional and a part of the deliberative process'") (citations omitted).

[3] The PARP does not require the release of information that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. See PARP § 6.1.6 (personal privacy); see also Dep't of the Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352, 372 (1976); Seized Prop. Recovery, Corp. v. U.S. Customs and Border Prot., 502 F. Supp. 2d 50, 56 (D.D.C. 2007) ("In determining whether the release of requested information constitutes a 'clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,' the court must balance the individual's right to privacy against the public's interest in disclosure.")