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Thursday, June 10, 2004
Indiana Decisions - One 7th Circuit Opinion Today
In ENVIRO TECH INT'L v. EPA (ND Ill.) Enviro Tech International, Inc. (“Enviro Tech”), filed this action seeking judicial review of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) refusal to produce certain documents in response to Enviro Tech’s request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (“FOIA”). The Court here affirms, ruling:
We find no clear error in the district court’s conclusion that the 37 documents in issue are protected by the deliberative process privilege. There is no dispute that these documents are both predecisional and deliberative. To the extent that the privilege might not apply to internal agency discussions of a proposal that is wholly beyond the agency’s authority or unrelated to a legitimate governmental purpose, a question we do not resolve, we are satisfied that a recommended exposure limit on use of an ODS substitute does not amount to such a plainly ultra vires course of action. The EPA was therefore entitled to invoke the deliberative process privilege as to the consideration of such a recommended limit.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 10, 2004 12:31 PM
Posted to Indiana Decisions