News Coverage
Environmental Group petitions for records of federal meetings
Published November 17, 2004
Manufacturers facing enforcement actions might want to watch what develops as a result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from an environmental group to EPA.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) filed a petition to recover documents from meetings with EPA and DuPont, Wilmington, Del., which is expected to receive a fine for polluting drinking water supplies with chemicals. EWG wants all federal records of conversations, notes, agendas and memoranda relating to a Teflon chemical that contaminated drinking water in Parkersburg, W.Va.
The petitions request information from federal officials, company employees, lobbyists and anyone connected to possible enforcement actions at DuPont, EWG said.
The group has targeted the Council on Environmental Quality, EPA, Consumer Product Safety Commission, U.S. Trade Representative and the departments of Justice and Commerce. EWG wants to remove some of the secrecy involved in the case. The petitions are available from EWG's Web site.
Previous EWG investigations led to the enforcement action against DuPont.