EPA plans to remove a regulation that accelerated Freedom of Information Act requests for underserved communities encumbered with pollution.
The agency is slated to issue a final rule this month to eliminate expedited processing criteria for environmental justice-related requests under its revised FOIA regulations, according to the governmentwide regulatory agenda released last week. The move will end another part of the Biden administration’s work at EPA, which strived to promote relief for areas where low-income populations and people of color live adjacent to industrial sites.
Asked about the coming final rule, EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said the agency “is committed to enhancing its implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) consistent with applicable law to better serve the American public.”
Hirsch added, “If finalized, the proposed rulemaking could save the agency time and money and is intended to align EPA’s FOIA regulations with government-wide policy consistent with” President Donald Trump’s executive order to rid the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.
