On January 30, 2008, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Agriculture seeking copies of emails relating to specific agency policies and programs. CREW seeks to determine whether agency non-compliance with federal record-keeping laws and regulations, especially as to email, is a government-wide problem. CREW filed the same FOIA with six other agencies, including: the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.; FOIA Request: CREW: Department of Agriculture: Regarding Specific Agency Policies and Programs; Holder of Document: CREW; Producing Agency: Department of Agriculture; Date Received: April 6, 2010;
Original Title
CREW: Department of Agriculture: Regarding Specific Agency Policies and Programs: 4/2/2010 - Cover Letter to CREW
On January 30, 2008, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Agriculture seeking copies of emails relating to specific agency policies and programs. CREW seeks to determine whether agency non-compliance with federal record-keeping laws and regulations, especially as to email, is a government-wide problem. CREW filed the same FOIA with six other agencies, including: the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.; FOIA Request: CREW: Department of Agriculture: Regarding Specific Agency Policies and Programs; Holder of Document: CREW; Producing Agency: Department of Agriculture; Date Received: April 6, 2010;
On January 30, 2008, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Department of Agriculture seeking copies of emails relating to specific agency policies and programs. CREW seeks to determine whether agency non-compliance with federal record-keeping laws and regulations, especially as to email, is a government-wide problem. CREW filed the same FOIA with six other agencies, including: the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.; FOIA Request: CREW: Department of Agriculture: Regarding Specific Agency Policies and Programs; Holder of Document: CREW; Producing Agency: Department of Agriculture; Date Received: April 6, 2010;
United States Food Safety Washington, D.C.
Department of ‘and Inspection 20250
Agriculture Service
Mr. William Holmes.
Citizens for Responsibility APR 2 2010
and Ethies in Washington
1400 Eye Street, N.W.
Suite 450
Washington, D.C. 20005
RE: FOIA-2008-00153
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Dear Mr. Holmes:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated
January 30, 2008.
In responding to a FOIA request, the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) search will include responsive records in its control on the date the search began.
Your request is granted in part at no cost to you, We located 175 pages that are responsive to
your request. After a thorough review of these documents, we have determined that portions of
them are exempt from disclosure under (b)(2), (b)(4), (b)(5), (bX(6), and (b)(7)(C) of the Freedom
of Information Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § $52, as amended, We are releasing a total of 165 pages:
97 pages released in part, and 68 pages released in their entirety. In addition, we are withholding
10 pages in their entirety. Enclosed are the releasable portions of the responsive records.
FOIA Exemption 2 (“High 2”) protects disclosure of records “related solely to the internal
personnel rules and practices of an agency.” This exemption permits an agency to withhold
information that, if released, would risk circumvention of agency regulations, policies, and
procedures. Under this exemption, we are withholding scheduled product sampling dates and
phone conference line pass codes,
FOIA Exemption 4 protects “trade seorets and commercial or financial information obtained
from a person that is privileged or confidential.” Disclosure of this information would impair the
government's ability to obtain necessary information in the future and cause substantial harm to
the competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained. Under this
exemption, we are withholding proprietary information pertaining to establishments’ processing
capabilities as well as names of establishments to which sampling allocator for BSE samplings
oceurred.
FOIA Exemption 5 protects from disclosure inter-agency or intra-ageney memorandums or
letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the
agency. Incorporated within Exemption 5 is the deliberative process privilege. This privilege is
invoked: (1) to encourage open, frank discussions on matters of policy between subordinates and
their superiors; (2) to protect against premature disclosure of proposed policies before they areMr. William Holmes
Page 2
finally adopted; and, (3) to protect against public confusion that might result from disclosure of
reasons and rationales that were not in faet ultimately the grounds for an agency's action. Under
the deliberative process privilege we are withholding draft documents and internal
communications between agency employees wherein policy and/or procedural issues and
associated recommendations are discussed. Because these documents are deliberative and pre-
decisional in nature, their release could inhibit candor and the open and frank discussions and
expressions of opinion necessary for agency decision makers to make informed decisions in the
administration of their duties.
Exemptions 6 and 7(C) protects information that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy. Under Exemption 6, we have withheld the names of lower level Agency
personnel and third parties. ‘This Exemption, along with the law enforcement Exemption 7(C),
affords protection to Agency enforcement personnel.
You may appeal this determination within 45 days from the date of this letter, Your appeal
should include copies of your original request and this response, as well as a discussion of the
reasons supporting your appeal. The envelope should be plainly marked to indicate that it
contains a FOIA appeal. If you decide to appeal this determination, please send your appeal to:
Alfred V. Almanza
Administrator
Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
1400 Independence Avenue, SW.
Room 1140 South Building
Washington, D.C. 20250-3700
In addition, we located 2 pages of responsive records that had originated from the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a component within the Department of Agriculture.
‘We have referred those pages to APHIS for processing and direct response to you. If you have
any questions concerning the two pages, you may contact them at the below address and phone
number:
Tonya Woods
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Director, Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Staff
4700 River Road, Unit 50
Riverdale, MD 20737
Via telephone: 301-734-5267
Via facsimile: 301-734-5941
Your FOIA request, including your identity and the information made available, is releasable to
the public under subsequent FOIA requests. In responding to these requests, FSIS does not
release personal privacy information, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, or social
security numbers, all of which are protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 6.
2Mr. William Holmes.
Page 3
Thank you for your interest in FSIS programs and policies.
Sincerely,
a
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Deplity Director
Executive Correspondence
and Issues Management Staff
Enclosures
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[4 Visit befoodsafe.gov, askkaren.gov, oF call 1-888-MPHotline,