Federal government Rule 11 letters (Environmental Protection Agency)

Dear Adam Steinbaugh,

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Your FOIA request was received by EPA's National FOIA Office. Case Number 2025-EPA-04746 has been assigned to the request you submitted.
In all future correspondence regarding this request, please reference your case number.
Regards,
EPA National FOIA Office

Dear Adam Steinbaugh,

The status of your FOIA request #2025-EPA-04746 has been updated to the following status 'Received'. To log into the PAL Application click on the Application URL below.

https://foiapublicaccessportal.epa.gov

Sincerely,
EPA National FOIA Office

03/26/2025

Adam Steinbaugh
N/A
MuckRock News DEPT MR 183746
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
Emailed to: requests@muckrock.com
RE: Need More Information - EPA FOIA Request Number 2025-EPA-04746

Hello Adam Steinbaugh:

This email concerns the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National FOIA Office (NFO) on 03/25/2025. You are seeking the following:
"To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:1. In any litigation before a federal district court on behalf of the United States or any agency, department, official, or employee thereof, any letter sent by your attorneys containing any of the following terms:a. "Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11"b. "Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 11"c. "FRCP 11"d. "Fed. R. Civ. P. 11"e. "Fed. R. Civ. P., Rule 11"2. Any policies, manuals, or guidance (not including guidance specific to a particular case) concerning pursuit of Rule 11 sanctions.This request is limited to correspondence sent (or policies, manuals, or guidance utilized) on or after January 1, 2020."

After review of your FOIA request, we determined your request does not reasonably describe the records you are seeking in a way that will permit EPA employees to identify and locate them.  For example, your request does not indicate which record locations you would like searched (e.g. Specific Headquarters Office(s), Regional Office(s), etc.).  In addition part 2 seeks policies, manuals, and guidance, but then limits the request to correspondence. It is not clear to EPA on the face of the request whether policies, manuals, and guidance regarding Rule 11 that are not in correspondence would be responsive.

EPA’s FOIA regulations state: “Whenever possible, your request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter. If known, the requester should include any file designations or descriptions for the records that the requester wants. The more specific the requester is about the records or type of records that the requester wants, the more likely EPA will be able to identify and locate records responsive to the request.” 40 C.F.R 2.102 (c) The FOIA does not require an agency to create new records, answer questions posed by requesters, or attempt to interpret a request that does not identify reasonably described records.

We would like to provide you with the opportunity to clarify the records that you are seeking so that EPA can process your request. If you would like to schedule a time to discuss your request p lease contact Joan Chu at chu.joan@epa.gov . As indicated in 40 C.F.R. § 2.102(c), please be prepared to discuss any specific information about the records, authors, or a more detailed description of the records' subject matter.
Please reply within 20 calendar days from the date of this email by Tuesday April 15, 2025.  If we do not hear back from you, EPA may issue a final determination to close out your request. Please note that you are not prohibited from submitting additional Freedom of Information Act requests in the future.

For more information, please visit our website at: https://www.epa.gov/foia. If you need any further assistance or would like to discuss any aspect of your request, you may seek assistance from EPA’s FOIA Public Liaison at hq.foia@epa.gov or call (202) 566-1667. You may also seek assistance from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways: by mail, Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001; email: ogis@nara.gov; telephone: (202) 741-5770 or (877) 684-6448; or fax: (202) 741-5769.  We look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
National FOIA Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency