WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on a letter received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding Administrator Pruitt’s email accounts. The letter comes in response to a letter sent by Barrasso on April 13, 2018.

“EPA has reiterated Administrator Pruitt’s commitment to me that all of his email accounts are searched for Freedom of Information Act requests,” said Barrasso. “I look forward to receiving the findings of the agency’s full review that’s being conducted in response to my letter.”

During Pruitt’s confirmation hearing, Barrasso specifically asked Pruitt if he would “refrain from taking any… action that makes it difficult or impossible for the public to access your official written communications under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).” Pruitt made that commitment to the chairman.

In EPA’s letter, Steve Fine, the deputy chief information officer for the agency, responded on Pruitt’s behalf. Fine wrote, “The agency stands by the commitment Administrator Pruitt made to you during his confirmation hearing regarding public access to his records.”

Fine noted that the agency is conducting a further review of past FOIA email searches. “In response to your concern, my offices is conducting a full review of the searches conducted regarding FOIA requests seeking Administrator Pruitt’s records. If additional responsive documents exist, we will contact the relevant requesters, and we will update you once our review is complete. Further, we are reviewing our processes and will make any appropriate improvements,” wrote Fine.

Read the letter from EPA here. 

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