FIA-25-0007 - In the Matter of Informed Consent Action Network

On November 15, 2024, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied a Freedom of Information ( FOIA) appeal filed by Informed Consent Action Network (Appellant) from a determination letter issued by the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Public Information (OPI) The Appellant submitted a FOIA request seeking records of communications made by a former DOE employee, during a two - year period, and which contained the terms "geoengineering," "solar radiation modification," " stratospheric aerosol injection," "stratospheric aerosols," " SAI," "SRM," and/or "climate intervention. After contacting the DOE office most likely to contain response records, the DOE determined it was no longer in possession of any data related to the request and no responsive records were located . The Appellant challenged the adequacy of the DOE's search. After reviewing the appeal, OHA concluded that the DOE properly determined that responsive records were no longer maintained or retained by the DOE and therefore, performing no search was the reasonably calculated search required by FOIA. Accordingly, the Appellant's appeal was denied. (OHA Case No. FIA-25-0007)