Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 9:37 a.m.
Environmental groups have been foes of the Bush administration since the beginning of his term. And the administration's policies have done nothing to placate the groups.
Now some environmentalists in the West are charging that the administration is violating federal law by refusing to hand over public information. Those voices from the West are echoed by activists in Washington, who say that the law is at least being bent, if not broken, by the administration's policies.
Public interest groups from across the political spectrum have aired similar complaints, but the environmentalists' criticism lately has become more pointed. They allege that the administration's friendly relationship with mining, cattle ranching and big oil has led to numerous, unnecessary and potentially costly, taxpayer-paid legal battles.
Representatives of the Bush administration insist they are toeing the line on federal freedom-of-information law.
That does not convince activists with the Center for Biological Diversity, the multistate group fighting the federal Interior Department on several fronts. They say that in some cases Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have been ignored for months.
The Freedom of Information Act, a 36-year-old law, requires federal agencies to provide copies of documents unless those records would compromise national security, ongoing investigations and a handful of other, narrow exceptions. Federal agencies generally have 20 days to respond to a request, but they have been known to take years.
"There does appear to be stonewalling on FOIA requests occurring, especially when the FOIA requests have to do with discussions between agencies and the regulated industries," Brian Segee, a center attorney, said. "The overall picture that I see is an administration that has close friends in industry and will allow industry to set policy, and doesn't want the public to know the conversations it is having with industry."
The group is threatening a lawsuit to try to obtain documents related to the controversial Coyote Springs development project about 60 miles north of Las Vegas, on the Clark-Lincoln county line.
The center sent its latest, unacknowledged request July 11 directly to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Patterson said.
John Wright, an Interior Department spokesman in Washington, said he could not comment on the specific requests from the center, but the agency follows the law on information requests.
Robert Derck, Coyote Springs Investment's general manager, said the environmentalists may not have received any documents because there are none to recover.
"Based on what we've been told, they've been sent everything that is part of the exchange," Derck said. "I'm not sure if the additional information exists."
But other environmental groups have complaints similar to those of the Center for Biological Diversity. Jon Marvel, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, is fighting the Interior Department's granting of grazing privileges throughout the West, including Nevada.
He said the BLM and Interior officials have simply cut his organization off from receiving information that, by law, should be released to any "interested public."
"Field offices are obliged to send us, without further request, documents relating to further actions regarding livestock grazing," Marvel said. "A number of field offices have not sent us these documents at all.
"It's a classic delay tactic," he said. "Everything is resolved in court. We win these cases repeatedly, but the result is constant delay."
The Boise, Idaho-based Committee for the High Desert is working on the same grazing issue. Katie Fite, committee conservation director, said federal agencies have stonewalled her group.
"This all started nine to 12 months ago," she said. "You have to muster lawyers and go to federal court, which is a big effort for small groups like us."
Fite, Patterson and other environmentalists say they always win the cases when they go to court. Fite said her group now is assembling background for more court challenges.
"This will cost taxpayers God knows how much before all is said and done," she said.
Representatives from other groups, including the Sierra Club and Great Basin Mine Watch, said they have had similar or identical problems getting information that used to be freely provided and that, they argue, should be open to the public.
But Fite said environmental groups may have erred so far in approaching what they characterize as a growing problem piecemeal. Groups are individually chasing appeals or court action to win information.
What might be needed, Fite said, is a coordinated effort that would bring the groups together to challenge administration policy.
"People have to get together to work on these Western public lands issues," she said.
Lack of coordination may affect the administration's response to the issue. Representatives for both Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, and Sen. Harry Reid, Democratic majority whip from Nevada, said they have not received complaints about information requests.
Tessa Hafen, Reid's spokeswoman, said her boss is an ally of environmental groups in a 2-year-old effort to get the White House to release documents related to the crafting of the administration's energy policy.
Jane Feldman, conservation committee co-chairwoman of the local arm of the Sierra Club, said she has gotten cooperation when seeking documents from the local BLM offices.
But when information requests go through Washington, responses come slowly, if at all, Feldman said. The problem is worsening because thorny policy issues ranging from land development, grazing and mining rights, water quality and other environmental questions are getting handled in the nation's capital, she said.
Tom Myers, executive director of Great Basin Mine Watch, said his problems have been with state BLM offices. Earlier this year, his group sued and won a settlement after the agency refused to release information concerning Newmont Mining's Battle Mountain mine.
"The Department of Justice settled on the BLM's behalf," Myers said. "They did not understand why the BLM was hiding that information."
Myers said that a month ago, the BLM did not reject a request but required the organization to pay thousands for the copying costs, a request he said he will fight.
Similar demands have hit other groups throughout the West. Myers and other activists say that as nonprofit, public interest group, they have a right to information free of charge under the law.
Myers said his group will go back to court.
"I think people have to file suit more," he said. "As far as some sort of class-action, I don't know if there is a legal hook for doing that, but I think it's a good idea."
Sean Moulton, a senior policy analyst with Washington-based OMB Watch, a public-interest group, said more lawsuits will come as the Bush administration battles left-of-center groups on access to government records.
"We're certainly seeing, under this administration, the encouragement has been to restrict information, to not respond if at all possible," Moulton said. "It's happening across the board."
He said the push toward secrecy accelerated after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, but many cases of ignoring, delaying or denying information requests appear to have little to do with security concerns.
The White House, the ultimate boss of the agencies in question, says there is no change in policy and the administration remains committed to the legal release of documents.
"The administration takes all FOIA requests seriously and works to respond to those requests in a thorough and responsible manner," White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said.
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