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Written by: Editor

Published: 13 March 2007

Created: 13 March 2007

Last Updated: 13 March 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ten years after Congress enacted the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments (E-FOIA), only one in five federal agencies actually complies with the law, according to a new survey released today during Sunshine Week by the National Security Archive.

Passed in 1996 and effective in 1997, E-FOIA ordered federal agencies to post key records online, provide citizens with detailed guidance on making information requests, and use new information technology to publish information proactively. The act's intent: Expand public access and reduce the burden of FOIA requests.

But most federal agencies do not follow the law, according to the National Security Archive's government-wide audit, "File Not Found," conducted with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The Knight Open Government Survey systematically reviewed agency Web sites to cover all 91 federal agencies that have Chief FOIA Officers and the additional 58 agency components each of which handles more than 500 FOIA requests a year.

Key findings are:

– Only one in five federal agencies (21 percent) posts on the Web all four categories of records that the law specifically requires;

– Only one in 16 agencies (6 percent) posts all ten elements of essential FOIA guidance;

– Only 36 percent of agencies provide the required indexes of records;

– Only 26 percent of agencies provide online forms for submitting FOIA requests;

– Many agency Web links are missing or just wrong - one FOIA fax number checked in the Knight Survey actually rang in the maternity ward of a military base hospital.

"Federal agencies are flunking the online test and keeping us in the dark," said Thomas Blanton, the Archive's director. "Some government sites just link to each other in an endless empty loop."

"Public access on the Web to government information is the only long-term solution to the backlogs and delays that undermine the FOIA today," said the Archive's general counsel, Meredith Fuchs. "This audit plus Congressional oversight should provide a wake-up call to the agencies."

Fuchs cited the Education Department and NASA as "E-Stars" with excellent FOIA Web sites, and the Air Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Veterans Affairs as among the dozen "E-Delinquents." Last week, the Archive faxed the top FOIA officer at each of the E-Delinquents with advance notice of the Survey and the critical findings specific to that agency.

"It's appropriate that this important news is being released during Sunshine Week, when millions of Americans will be able to see it," said Eric Newton, vice president of the journalism program at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. "People need to know when their government is not obeying its own laws."

Download the full report at www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB216/index.htm.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 12 March 2007

Created: 12 March 2007

Last Updated: 12 March 2007

LAKE COUNTY – The West Lake Conservation District has won a state grant that will help it complete assessments of three of the county's major watersheds.

Greg Dills, watershed coordinator, East Lake and West Lake Conservation Districts, said the West Lake District recently received a CALFED Watershed Committee grant of funds from Proposition 50, a state water bond.

The plan, said Dills, is to produce three watershed assessments for Middle Creek, Scotts Creek and Kelsey Creek, which will inventory historical and current data collected on the watersheds.

It was tough competition, said Dills; there were 120 applicants from agencies around the state that competed in a two-phased grant application process.

The district submitted a concept paper, Dills said, which explained its plan for the three assessments.

After making it past the first round of cuts, which took the number of applications down to 60, Dills said the district wrote a full proposal. The district, he said, was eventually named one of 28 projects funded statewide.

"It's highly competitive," said Dills. "We were fortunate to have done so well."

The watershed assessments the district proposes to complete will be a management tool, said Dills, and a building block in future work.

Once those planning documents are finished, he said, the district and/or its partners can use them to approach agencies for funds to pursue the projects identified in the assessments, such as restoration or fuel load reduction.

Together, Middle and Scotts Creeks are the most significant conveyance of water to Clear Lake, said Dills. They transport 57 percent of the water and 70 percent of sediment, he added.

The third largest watershed, said Dills, is Kelsey Creek.

The watersheds each have coordinated resource management and planning groups – called CRMPs – that have been meeting about the health of the county's watersheds, he said. For many years those groups have been compiling data and doing the background work necessary for watershed improvement projects.

“We've seen a lot of land use changes going on in the watersheds in recent years," said Dills, including shifts from agricultural usage to development, which impact watersheds.

The three watershed groups for Kelsey Creek, Middle Creek, and Scotts Creek, are now jumping into the assessment process, he said, which includes going into the Department of Public Works watershed data library, which stretches back to the 1940s.

That data, he said, includes loss of habitat, water quality data, fuel load management, stream bank erosion, nonnative and invasive weeds.

Dills said they'll identity missing data and try to fill in the gaps during the new assessment project.

There are many aspects to watershed management and assessments, said Dills. So, besides CRMP members examining data, there also will be help from engineers, hydrologists and other professionals in the watershed management field to help put the assessments together, "so we have the science behind it," he added.

There's a lot of work to be done, he said, and a deadline to do it by – June 2008 for assessment completion, with the grant expiring the following June.

Simultaneously, as the assessments are going on, said Dills, the Clear Lake Basin Management Plan will be completed under the grant. When the assessments are finished, he said, they will be incorporated into that finished management plan.

The grant also offers funds to provide capacity building for the Upper Cache Creek Watershed, said Dills. "Capacity building," said Dills, is a term used in reference to providing assistance and sustainability for the watershed groups, which includes training and educational workshops for watershed group members. Providing that assistance will be a function of the Upper Cache Creek Watershed Alliance, which was formed under this grant.  

A few of those workshops have already taken place, he said. One, on Jan. 27 at the Scotts Valley Women's Clubhouse, was standing-room only, he said.

Interest in the health of watersheds – which has a direct impact on water quality – is interesting more people these days, Dills said.

"Back nine years ago when I started this whole journey, doing a kickoff meeting for a watershed group was a cold sell," he said.

He added, “This many years later, we have people coming in the office asking for help starting one.”

Education about water issues, and the success of local watershed groups, has helped generate the increased interest, he said. The Scotts Creek Watershed Council, he said, has been responsible for creek cleanups and a fire break on Cow Mountain.

The Big Valley CRMP, Lower Lake Watershed Council, Middle Creek CRMP, and Nice Watershed Group also participate in cleanup events each year removing thousands of cubic yards of trash from our landscape, according to Linda Juntunen, project coordinator for the West Lake Conservation District. The active groups are involved in a variety of projects and activities besides their cleanup events.

There are now nine CRMPs in various stages of activity throughout Lake County, Dills reported, with a 10th, in Lucerne, now beginning to form.

For more information about watershed issues, CRMPs and how to get involved, call the West Lake Resource Conservation District,  263-4180.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Written by: Editor

Published: 12 March 2007

Created: 12 March 2007

Last Updated: 12 March 2007

Hazmat drums. Photo courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.

A nationwide information audit, conducted as a prelude to Sunshine Week, found slightly more than four in 10 of the official gatekeepers willing – if wary – to provide copies of emergency response plans, which federal law makes public.

Other local officials, however, reacted to requests with confusion, outright denials and sometimes by calling police to check out the auditors. Many weren’t sure who had the authority to release the reports, or even where the documents were located.

More than a third of public officials audited refused to provide access to their local Comprehensive Emergency Response Plan – which is mandated by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 as a public document. Another 20 percent provided only partial reports.

Those denials stood in stark contrast to the experience of other auditors, many of whom were offered copies of the report in either paper or disc form; 48, or 12 percent, of the 404 communities put the reports online.

The audits were conducted in early January, when reporters, civic group members, students and other volunteers visited their Local Emergency Planning Committee, which prepares the reports outlining emergency response in the event of a chemical or hazardous material accident. The 1986 law not only says the plans are public, it also requires the local officials to advertise their availability once a year.

In all, 162 news organizations participated as requestors, along with three student newspapers and eight League of Women Voters chapters. This report is built on a database of their experiences and offers a snapshot of the difficulties citizens may face when they request public information that may be considered sensitive.

The audit is a project of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Environmental Journalists for Sunshine Week 2007, March 11-17. Sunshine Week is an open government initiative spearheaded by ASNE. Entering its third year, the program encourages newspapers, broadcasters, online content producers, schools, libraries, civic groups and others to engage in discussions about the importance of protecting public access to government information and meetings. It is supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Overall, there were 404 audits conducted in 37 states and Puerto Rico. The emergency response plan was provided in full to 177 requestors, or 44 percent of the total. One official in Iowa told the auditor that he was delighted to see a citizen seeking the report: "We need more awareness on what to do during an incident for the safety of everyone."

Officials around the country who denied requests, however, frequently cited national security or terrorism concerns – or even, incorrectly, the USA PATRIOT Act. In fact, the law provides for separating any sensitive information the local responders gather in preparing the plans. Several auditors were told they were getting the document because they didn’t "look like terrorists." In all, 20 percent of auditors, or 82 requestors, received the plan only in part, and 36 percent, 145 requests, were denied.

In some cases, officials ran background checks on citizen auditors or sent police to follow them. The highway patrol in one state even launched an all-county alert seeking more information about one requester. In several states, officials sent e-mails to colleagues in other emergency planning agencies warning of the audit.

A handful of the officials asked for the report apparently did not understand the request and did not appear eager to help. Several also were working out of their homes or businesses, although that did not necessarily hinder disclosure.

The full report can be viewed online at http://www.sunshineweek.org/files/audit07.pdf. It includes data charts as well as recaps of auditors' experiences.

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