Department of Energy FOIA Executive Order 13777

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All internal and external electronic communications including electronic attachments to/from the following DOE employees: Brian McCormack, Daniel Simmons, Dan Wilmot, Mark Maddox, Joseph Uddo, Suzanne Jaworowski, Roger Jarrell, Sarah Habansky from February 24, 2017 through the processing date of this request, which contain one or more of the following words, "EO 13777", "Executive Order 13777", "Regulatory Reform Task Force", "Clean Air Act", "Clean Water Act".

I am requesting a waiver of the fees.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

The organization I work for, the Energy and Policy Institute, is a clearinghouse of information and can qualify as a representative of the news media. There are several examples of public record requests that have been provided to my organization and that were then published on our website to inform journalists publishing articles. Also, I have accounts with news outlets including Huffington Post and Republic Report. Past publications on these outlets as proof are available here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/matt-kasper) and (https://www.republicreport.org/author/matthew/). Additionally, previously FOIAs from the Energy and Policy Institute have been categorized under Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1004.9(b)(3) as a "news media" requester.

The requested records relate to President Trump's Executive Order 13777, which directs agencies to establish Regulatory Reform Task Forces to evaluate existing regulations generally and make recommendations to the agency head regarding their repeal, replacement and modification, consistent with applicable law. EO 13777 directs these task forces to seek input and other assistance, as permitted by law, from entities significantly affected by Federal regulations, including State, local and tribal governments, small businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and trade associations. These activities are unquestionably operations of the federal government.

The records sought in this request are not already in the public domain. Therefore, the requested records will likely contribute to an understanding of the federal government operations or activities as of the Department of Energy.

The general public is significantly interested in the requested information and how the federal government is evaluating regulatory reform. Several articles have been published on the topic, including ones from Bloomberg BNA (https://www.bna.com/epa-energy-among-n73014451569/), E&E News (https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/stories/1060054405/climate_digest), and the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/business/the-deep-industry-ties-of-trumps-deregulation-teams.html?mcubz=2).

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Matt Kasper

Hi Auborn,
I can talk tomorrow, Friday, anytime between 10-12ET. Monday the 21st between 10-11ET or 4-5ET. I'm also free all day on Tuesday the 22nd.

Thanks!
Matt

Hi Auborn,
Thank you for taking the time to talk with me. I talked with my colleagues about this request and I would still like to include Brian McCormack in the FOIA. Based on what you have reviewed, does it make sense for a shorter turn-around to get documents if I:
1. Amend this request to include McCormack and Simmons
2. Amend this request to only include Simmons, and then file a second FOIA request to only include McCormack

Thank you,
Matt

Confirmed. Thank you.