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NEW: In response to our and other watchdog groups' request, the Interior Department's inspector general is investigating whether the agency's FOIA changes allow political appointees to violate transparency laws: nytimes.com/2019/07/23/cli… 
At the end of 2018, the Department of the Interior proposed new FOIA rules that allow the agency to refuse requests it decides are too burdensome. We submitted a comment along with @DemocracyFwd: documentcloud.org/documents/5699…
The Interior Department implemented a new “Awareness Policy,” which requires staff reviewing FOIA requests to notify political appointees if their names or email addresses appear in documents that are to be released.
The EPA also proposed rules last month that would explicitly give political appointees the power to oversee final responses to FOIA requests: americanoversight.org/news-roundup-s…
Given the amount of industry influence at both Interior and the EPA, these agencies should not be allowed to avoid transparency: nytimes.com/2019/07/23/cli…
