State Department Refuses to Release Information on Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

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The U.S. State Department notifiedย a coalition of environmental groups last week that it has denied their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requestย for correspondence between the agency and a former presidential campaign staffer of Hillary Clintonโ€™s, who, in his new role as oil industry lobbyist, is seeking Secretary of State Clintonโ€™s approval for a tar sands oilย pipeline.

The coalition, includingย Friends of the Earth, theย Center for International Environmental Law, andย Corporate Ethics Internationalย submitted a FOIA requestย in Decemberย targeted at Paul Elliott, now a lead lobbyist forย TransCanada, the company aiming to build the controversialย Keystone XL Pipelineย thatย would bring 900,000 barrels a day of dirty tar sands over 2,000 miles through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and a furtherย 1,661 miles toย refineries on the Gulfย Coast.

The State Department denied the FOIA request on the grounds that the groups had not โ€œreasonably described the records [they sought] in a way that someone familiar with Department records and programs could locate themโ€ and cited the groupsโ€™ request for a waiver on the fees associated with the processing of the FOIA as reason to deny theirย request.

Marcie Keever, legal director for Friends of the Earthย argues that the State Department did not have legitimate legal grounds to deny the FOIA request.

As Paul Elliot served as national deputy director and chief of staff for delegate selection for Clintonโ€™s Presidential campaign committee, and is now lobbying on a file in Clintonโ€™s purview, the groups are concerned the relationship between Clinton and Elliot may impact theย approval process for the pipeline project. ย Theyโ€™re also concerned thatย Elliott had beenย lobbyingย without disclosing his activities for over a year.ย ย 

According toย Keever:

โ€œthat the agency is ignoring its own written guidance regarding FOIA requests and the release of public information. ย This is the type of delay tactic we would have expected from the Bush administration, not the Obama administration, which has touted its efforts to usher in a new era of transparency in government, including elevated standards in dealing withย lobbyists.โ€

Friends of the Earth is continuing its efforts to obtain the records from the State Department despite the initialย denial.

Will the State Department fulfill its obligations of conducting an exhaustive and transparent review of the environmental and public health dangers of the proposed pipeline? ย Read on to learn about aboutย the controversialย Keystone XL pipeline.

Image Credit:ย ForestEthics

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