Think tanks tell court EPA using FOIA fees to hide public documents

By Michal Conger

Published November 14, 2013 5:00am ET

Think tanks tell court EPA using FOIA fees to hide public documents — Does the public have the right to see the science used by federal agencies to justify regulatory decisions that cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars every year? That's the issue before a hearing today of a subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that will focus on "secret science" at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner) | Graeme Jennings

Environmental Protection Agency officials are using reproduction fees to delay or avoid releasing documents under the Freedom of Information Act, two conservative think tanks said in a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Free Market Environmental Law Clinic and the Energy and Environment Legal Institute requested communications related to a proposed Northwest coal export terminal in July.