Public Access to Environmental Informationand Data Practice Examples from theUnited States, the EuropeanUnion, and Central and Eastern EuropeNovember 2001Public Access to Environmental Information and Data:Practice Examples and Lessons from theUnited States, the European Union, and Central and Eastern EuropeNovember 2001Resources for the Future1616 P Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20036Telephone: 202-328-5000Fax: 202-939-3460www.rff.org© 2001 Resources for the Future. All rights reserved.No portion of this manual may be reproduced by any means, eitherelectronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from thepublisher.Additional copies of this publication may be obtained by contacting Resources for the Future or visiting RFF’s website.Other relevant websites: http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/PublicParticipation/DanubeInformation andhttp://www.nyu.edu/pages/elcContentsIntroduction: How to Use This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Part One: Practice Examples and Lessons: United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3I. Background and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3II. Basic principles of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4III. Balancing disclosure and confidentiality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7IV. Exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8V. Determining confidentiality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11VI. Protecting confidential information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12VII. Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14VIII. Meeting the deadlines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15IX. Oversight and appeals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16X. Educational efforts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18XI. Conflicts between FOIA and other laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18XII. Lessons from EPA’s experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Part Two: The EU Directive and Its Implementation in the Netherlands and Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23II. The EU Directive on Access to Environmental Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23III. The review of the Access to Environmental Information Directive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25IV. Information on water pollution in specific Community legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27V. Access to environmental information in the Netherlands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …