How to Find EPA Documents

Federal Environmental Protection Agency documents come in several forms, including informative materials, fact sheets and guidance publications. Most often these types of materials can be downloaded from the EPA website, EPA.gov. But sometimes you need to order them from a central repository. Other documents the EPA keeps are reports on all of its enforcement and remedial actions. These documents are kept in a docket and can be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Instructions

• 1

  Go to the EPA website and search for the topic that interests you; main topic themes include air, water, climate change, waste, green living, human health and ecosystems. EPA topics all have a link to documents and publications related to that topic. There is usually a "Publications" or "For More Information" link at the bottom of each page directing you to more topic documents.

  Main topics are dissected and finely categorized; for example, water has as subtopics drinking water, water science, water pollution, wetlands and watershed. The related web pages contain more detailed documents. Researching the website may be time-consuming but is definitely the first place to start your search.

• 2

  Search the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) website (see Resources below). A list of available publications will be displayed, and the majority of these publications can be accessed easily from your computer. Some documents are only available in hard cover, and fees associated with delivery may be incurred; however, the default search portal excludes these types of documents.

• 3

  Make an FOIA request. Most documents related to EPA enforcement or remedial actions require an FOIA request, the purpose of which is to grant public access to all federal agency documents unless protected by certain privacy covenants. To make a FOIA request, you will have to fill out the necessary form on the EPA website describing the document you need in addition to your name and address (see Resources below).

  Sometimes documents, most often Superfund documents, are listed on the EPA website, but you need to contact a specific regional office to get the document. An FOIA request is the proper vehicle to employ to obtain the document(s). If the document is excessively large and cannot be transferred to a disk, a fee will be incurred; however, there are ways to request and receive a fee exemption.

  If the EPA denies your FOIA request, it must provide the reason and cite the legal exemption; for example, the document may contain exempt information about oil and gas wells.