United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT WASHINGTON, DC 20240-0001 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-BOEM DIR Sterling, VA 20166 Telephone (703) 787-1818 Facsimile (703) 787-1209 May 10, 2018 Via Electronic Mail: csaeger@westernvaluesproject.org Chris Saeger Western Values Project 704C East 13th Street, Suite 568 Whitefish, MT 59937 RE: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request No. BOEM-2018-00121 Dear Chris Saeger: This letter is in reference to your FOIA request dated March 23, 2018 and received by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Headquarters Office on March 26, 2018. Your request has been assigned number BOEM-2018-00121. Please refer to this number in any future correspondence with our office regarding this request. Description of the Requested Records You requested: [A]ll correspondence, including but not limited to letters, texts, emails, and faxes, between Interior Department Senior Advisor Steve Howke and the following Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officials, since December 27, 2017: • • • • • • • Acting Director Walter Cruickshank Special Assistant James Schindler Program Chief, Budget & Program Coordination, James Anderson Program Chief, Renewable Energy, James Bennett Program Chief, Strategic Resources Renee Orr Program Chief, Policy, Regulation, & Analysis, Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka Program Chief, Environmental Program, William Brown The Bureau’s Final Response to Your Request We are writing to you today to provide you with the final response to your FOIA request which consists of 9 pages being released with the following exceptions: 1 • • Portions of 2 pages are being withheld under Exemptions 5. The remaining 7 pages are being released in their entirety. Information withheld Pursuant to Exemption 5 Exemption 5 allows an agency to withhold “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party... in litigation with the agency.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(5). Exemption 5 therefore incorporates the privileges that protect materials from discovery in litigation, including the deliberative process, attorney work-product, attorney-client, and commercial information privileges. We are withholding 2 pages in part under Exemption 5 because they qualify to be withheld under the following privileges: Commercial Information Privilege When the government enters the marketplace as an ordinary commercial buyer or seller, the government’s information is protected under the commercial information privilege if it is sensitive information not otherwise available, and disclosure would significantly harm the government’s monetary functions or commercial interests. The theory behind the privilege is that the government may be placed at a competitive disadvantage if confidential information generated by the government is disclosed. The information being withheld consists of conference call numbers and passcodes. I, Natasha Alcantara, BOEM Freedom of Information Act Officer, am responsible for this partial denial. Mr. Gurney Small, Attorney-Advisor, Office of the Solicitor was consulted. We reasonably foresee that disclosure would harm an interest protected by one or more of the nine exemptions to the FOIA’s general rule of disclosure. Mediation Services and Appeal Rights The 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to offer mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. You may contact OGIS in any of the following ways: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road - OGIS College Park, MD 20740-6001 Email: Web: Telephone: Fax: Toll-free: ogis@nara.gov https://ogis.archives.gov (202) 741-5770 (202) 741-5769 (877) 684-6448 2 You may also contact the undersigned, BOEM’s FOIA Public Liaison, for dispute resolution services. You may also appeal this response to the Department’s FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer. If you choose to appeal, the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer must receive your FOIA appeal no later than 90 workdays from the date of this letter. Appeals arriving or delivered after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, will be deemed received on the next workday. Your appeal must be made in writing. You may submit your appeal and accompanying materials to the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer by mail, courier service, fax, or email. All communications concerning your appeal should be clearly marked with the words: "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL." You must include an explanation of why you believe BOEM’s response is in error. You must also include with your appeal copies of all correspondence between you and BOEM concerning your FOIA request, including your original FOIA request and BOEM's response. Failure to include with your appeal all correspondence between you and BOEM will result in the Department's rejection of your appeal, unless the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer determines (in the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer’s sole discretion) that good cause exists to accept the defective appeal. Please include your name and daytime telephone number (or the name and telephone number of an appropriate contact), email address and fax number (if available) in case the FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Officer needs additional information or clarification of your appeal. You may contact the Department’s FOIA/PA Appeals Office at: Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor 1849 C Street, N.W. MS-6556 MIB Washington, DC 20240 Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office Telephone: (202) 208-5339 Fax: (202) 208-6677 Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov Conclusion This concludes BOEM’s response to your request. If you have any questions concerning this response, please feel free to contact us by email at boemfoia@boem.gov; by telephone at (703) 3 787-1818 or write to: FOIA Office; Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; Mail Stop: VAMBOEM DIR; 45600 Woodland Road; Sterling, VA 20166. Sincerely, X Natasha Alcantara Freedom of Information Act Officer/Public Liaison Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Enclosure as stated 4