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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGIONS
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77
WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD
CHICAGO, IL 60604-3590
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ApR
1999
REPLY TO THE ATTENTION OF
Mr. Gregory D. Coleridge
American Friends Service Committee
Humanity House
513 West Exchange Street
Akron, Ohio 44302
Re:
Your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request of March 2, 1999
05-RIN-01090-99
Dear Mr. Coleridge:
I have been trying to follow up on your FOIA Request of March 2 in which you
described your conversation with an EPA employee concerning an Army document.
You said that the employee told you that the document sought an EPA "release
determination" concerning Army information, and that the document indicated the Army
would deny release of some of its information. You also said the EPA employee told
you the document would be forwarded to me.
To date, I have received no such document. I have attempted to locate it, if it exists.
Since the easiest way for me to track down the document would have been to talk to
the individual who described it to you, I called you during the first week of March and
asked you to name the person at EPA to whom you spoke. You declined. I therefore
began making general inquiries among our staff members who handle Freedom of
Information Act requests. So far, I have found nothing that matches the document you
described. Frankly, I think you were misinformed by the person to whom you spoke,
and that this matter could be cleared up promptly if I could talk to him or her.
Here is what I think happened. On November 18, 1998, you sent the Army a FOIA
request for documents concerning disposal of radioactive material at IEL. The Army
responded to you on December 15, 1998. The Army provided you with one responsive
document: a memorandum signed by Harry L. Spear, Colonel, Corps of Engineers,
dated May 12, 1997. The Army suggested that, if other responsive documents existed,
U.S. EPA would have them, and the Army reported that it had referred your request to
U.S. EPA. U.S. EPA Headquarters received the Army referral on December 21, 1998.
I have enclosed a copy of the referral form. As you can see, there is no suggestion in it
that the Army was denying your request. Nor does the Army ask EPA to determine
whether Army documents could be released. The referral simply provided us with a
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