Summary of Decisions - April 25, 2016 – April 29, 2016

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

On April 25, 2016, OHA issued a decision denying a FOIA Appeal from a determination issued by the Office of Information Resources (OIR). In its determination, OIR denied expedited processing status to a FOIA request filed by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (Appellant) for data relating to conditions at DOE’s Rocky Flats site around the time of the 2013 Colorado floods. In its Appeal, the Appellant challenged OIR’s expedited processing denial, contending that its request merited expedited treatment for public health reasons. OHA, however, found that the Appellant had not shown a “compelling need” for expedited processing because the Appellant had not demonstrated that a failure to expedite the processing of the request could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to an individual’s life or physical safety, or that there existed an “urgency to inform” the public. Accordingly, OHA denied the Appeal.  OHA Case No. FIA-16-0025