Case No. VFA-0700

November 8, 2001

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Appeal

Name of Appellant: Barbara Schwarz

Date of Filing: October 12, 2001

Case Number: VFA-0700

Barbara Schwarz filed this Appeal from a determination issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Division (FOI/PA). This determination responded to a request for information that Schwarz filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, as implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 10 C.F.R. Part 1004. As explained below, we will deny this appeal.

I. Background

Schwarz sent a letter to FOI/PA, dated September 8, 2001, requesting certain records. The portion of the request relevant to this Appeal is as follows:

Any records pertaining to Scientology. With records I mean: letters, cards, e-mail, fax transmittal sheets, articles, expertises [sic], notes, phone notes, referrals, invoices, copies of folders, computer printouts, subpoenas, declarations, certificates, FOIA/PA search documents, litigation records, logs, FOIA/PA work sheets, appeal processing records, inquiries, drafts, memoranda, form papers and any other form of records. Search in all offices, all records systems, search from present time as far back as possible.

FOIA/PA responded to Schwarz by asserting that the request was improper because she had not reasonably described the records sought. FOIA/PA stated that

The topic is too broad and could require a search of all the files of the Department. Such a search of all offices would be unreasonably burdensome to the Department. Please narrow your search by providing specific information such as a time period, titles of documents, offices to be searched and any other information that would identify the type of records that you are requesting....

If you need assistance to formulate your request to comply with the FOIA, please contact ... this office.... You should request this assistance by October 8, 2001. If [we] do not hear from you or receive a reformulated request by this date, no further agency action will be taken.

Schwarz declined the request to reformulate her request and instead filed the present Appeal. In the Appeal, she asks "how come that DOE did not consider my request for records on L. Ron Hubbard too broad and burdensome?" She claims that "all I gave you was [Hubbard's] name and you were able to retrieve records on him," and wonders "what is the problem searching under Scientology and to inform me what you found?"

II. Analysis

The FOIA specifies that a request for records must "reasonably describe" the records sought. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A). A description "would be sufficient if it enabled a professional employee of the agency who was familiar with the subject area of the request to locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort." Marks v. United States Department of Justice, 578 F.2d 261, 263 (9th Cir. 1978), quoting the legislative history of the 1974 FOIA amendments, H.R. Rep. No. 93-876, at 6 (1974), reprinted in 1974 U.S.C.C.A.N. 6267, 6271. In other words, the critical inquiry in determining whether a description is reasonable is "whether the agency is able to determine precisely what records [are] being requested." Yeager v. DEA, 678 F.2d 315, 322, 326 (D.C. Cir. 1982).

The rationale for this rule is that the "FOIA was not intended to reduce government agencies to full-time investigators on behalf of requesters." Assassination Archives & Research Center v. CIA, 720 F. Supp. 217, 219 (D.D.C. 1989). In addition, it prevents requesters from conducting "fishing expeditions" through agency files. Immanuel v. Secretary of the Treasury, No. 94-884, 1995 WL 464141, at *1 (D. Md. Apr. 4, 1995), affirmed, 81 F.3d 150 (4th Cir. 1996) (unpublished table decision).

Thus, a request that would require an agency to search through twenty-three years of unindexed files is unreasonably burdensome, while a search for a dated memorandum in agency files that are indexed chronologically is not. Nation Magazine v. United States Customs Service, 71 F.3d 885, 892 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Similarly, a request for "all records" relating to a particular subject is unreasonably broad and does not enable the agency to find the records within a reasonable amount of time. Massachusetts v. HHS, 727 F. Supp. 35, 36 n.2 (D. Mass. 1989).

Schwarz has clearly stated in her request letter that she seeks all records relating to Scientology, without any limitation. She has defined her request as encompassing all types of documents from all offices of the DOE, and all dates. A search for responsive documents would, therefore, require a review of all records in the possession of the Department of Energy.

Moreover, Schwarz is incorrect in claiming that her present request is essentially similar to her previous request for records pertaining to L. Ron Hubbard. In the previous request, dated June 18, 1999, she asked for records "as to L. Ron Hubbard and proposed energy programs and environmental programs and nuclear counterintelligence programs proposed by him." This request included information that enabled personnel conducting the search to determine precisely what records were being requested. In contrast, Schwarz's present request for all records pertaining to Scientology does not enable employees to locate responsive records with a reasonable amount of effort. FOIA/PA offered to work with Schwarz to formulate the request more precisely. Schwarz, however, declined the offer. Consequently, FOIA/PA cannot complete a search for responsive records with a reasonable amount of effort.

III. Conclusion

The FOIA requires a requester to reasonably describe the records sought. Case law defines a reasonable request as one that enables the agency to locate the requested records with a reasonable amount of effort. We find on appeal that Schwarz's request for all records pertaining to a subject is not a reasonable description, in that the DOE cannot conduct a search for all responsive records with a reasonable amount of effort. We will therefore deny this Appeal.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Appeal filed by Barbara Schwarz, Case No. VFA-0700, is hereby denied.

(2) This is a final order of the Department of Energy from which any aggrieved party may seek judicial review. Judicial review may be sought in the district in which the requester resides or has a principal place of business, or in which the agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: November 8, 2001