Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRR21273 Brown - AG Oilfield November 4, 2021 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Teresa Purrington City Clerk’s Office City of San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo Fire Department tpurrington@slocity.org cityclerk@slocity.org Re: California Public Records Act Request: Arroyo Grande Oil Field Fire Plan & Inspection Reports Dear PRA Coordinator: This is a request under the California Public Records Act, Cal. Gov. Code § 6253(c) (“PRA”), from the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”), a national, nonprofit conservation organization that works to secure a future for all species hovering on the brink of extinction through science, law, and creative media, and to fulfill the continuing educational goals of its membership and the general public in the process. REQUESTED RECORDS The Center requests the following public records1 from the San Luis Obispo Fire Department (“SLOFD”), by way of City Clerk’s Office of the City of San Luis Obispo: 1. The vegetation management plan for the Arroyo Grande Oil Field, submitted pursuant to the operator’s Conditional Use Permit (D010386D), Condition of Approval 40 (“Prior to Issuance of the first Notice to Proceed or Grading permit, the applicant shall submit a vegetation management plan to CDF/County Fire for approval. This will identify measures to minimize the risk of wildfires due to operation of existing and proposed new pipelines and powerlines.”); 1 Under the Public Records Act, “public records” consist of “writings” relating to the conduct of the public’s business, “regardless of physical form or characteristics,” that are prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency. Gov. Code § 6252(e). A “writing” includes any “handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, photocopying, transmitting by electronic mail or facsimile, and every other means of recording upon any tangible thing any form of communication or represen tation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combinations thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, and any record thereby created, regardless of th e manner in which the record has been stored.” SCAQMD Guidelines for Implementing the California Public Records Act (Adopted July 5, 2013); Cal. Gov. Code § 6252(g). 2. The 2018 and 2021 Certified Unified Program Agency (“CUPA”) Hazardous Material Inspection Forms for the Arroyo Grande Oil Field; 3. From January 1, 2017 to the date SLOFD conducts this search: a. All records documenting steps taken by Sentinel Peak Resources to address violations following annual Hazardous Material Inspections of the Arroyo Grande Oil Field; and b. All odor, noise, air quality, or pollution complaints received generated in connection to the Arroyo Grande oil field. The Center is willing to receive records on a rolling basis. This request is not meant to exclude any other records that, although not specially requested, are reasonably related to the subject matter of this request. If you or your office have destroyed or determine to withhold any records that could be reasonably construed to be responsive to this request, I ask that you indicate this fact and the reasons therefore in your response. FORMAT OF REQUESTED RECORDS The Center requests that SLOFD provide records in a readily accessible electronic format. “Readily accessible” means text-searchable and OCR-formatted. Please provide all records in a readily accessible, electronic .pdf format. Additionally, please provide the records either in (1) load-ready format with a CSV file index or excel spreadsheet, or if that is not possible; (2) in .pdf format, without any “profiles” or “embedded files.” Profiles and embedded files within files are not readily accessible. Please do not provide the records in a single, or “batched,” .pdf file. We appreciate the inclusion of an index. If SLOFD determines that any of the requested records are exempt from disclosure, we ask that you reconsider that determination in view of Proposition 59, which amended the state Constitution to require that all exemptions be “narrowly construed.” Cal. Gov. Code §§ 6250- 6276.48. Cal. Gov. Code § 6253 requires release of all reasonably segregable portions of the requested records which are not themselves exempt from mandatory disclosure. If SLOFD determines that the requested records are subject to a still-valid exemption, we would further request that: (1) SLOFD exercise discretion to disclose some or all of the records notwithstanding the exemption; and (2) with respect to records containing both exempt and nonexempt content; that SLOFD redact the exempt content and disclose the rest. Should SLOFD elect to withhold any documents, please explain under which provision this is justified as required by Cal. Gov. Code § 6255. RECORD DELIVERY We appreciate your help in expeditiously obtaining a determination on the requested records. As mandated in the PRA, we anticipate a determination within ten (10) days. Cal. Gov. Code § 6253(c). The Center respectfully reminds SLOFD, “nothing shall be construed to permit an agency to delay or obstruct the inspection or copying of public records,” including timelines for responses. Cal. Gov. Code § 6253(d). Please provide a complete reply as expeditiously as possible. You may email or mail copies of the requested records to: Ann K. Brown Center for Biological Diversity P.O. Box 11374 Portland, OR 97211 foia@biologicaldiversity.org If you find that this request is unclear, or if the responsive records are voluminous, please email me to discuss the scope of this request. REQUEST FOR FEE WAIVER The Center requests a waiver of all fees because the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest. Responsive records will provide insight into understanding of the risks to public health and safety posed by oil field activities and infrastructure in San Luis Obispo. This information is not currently publicly available. The public’s “right of access to information” is enshrined in the California Constitution. Cal. Const., Art. I, § III(b)(1). In fact, “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.” Cal. Gov. Code § 6250. To carry out these purposes, the government generally allows the public to access any public document. Cnty. of Santa Clara v. Superior Ct., 170 Cal. App. 4th 1301, 1320 (2009) (“All public records are subject to disclosure unless the Public Records Act expressly provides otherwise.”) (internal citation omitted). I. The Center Qualifies for A Fee Waiver. While we are not requesting photocopies at this time, the Center respectfully requests a waiver for any fees associated with this matter. The Center is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to protecting the environment, and educating the public about environmental resources and threats to those resources. The Center has members throughout California. Once the records are made available, the Center will analyze, and use them in a manner that will meaningfully enhance the public’s understanding about the threat to public health that oil activities pose. Through the Center’s synthesis and dissemination (by means discussed in Section II, below), disclosure of information contained and gleaned from the requested records will contribute to a broad audience of persons who are interested in the subject matter. II. The Center has a Demonstrated Ability To Disseminate The Requested Information Broadly. The Center will use the requested records for outreach and education, including media. The Center is a non-profit organization that informs, educates, and counsels the public regarding environmental issues, policies, and laws relating to environmental issues. The Center has been substantially involved in the activities of numerous government agencies for over 25 years, and has consistently displayed its ability to disseminate information granted to it through public records requests. In consistently granting the Center’s fee-waivers, agencies have recognized: (1) that the information requested by the Center contributes significantly to the public’s understanding of the government’s operations or activities; (2) that the information enhances the public’s understanding to a greater degree than currently exists; (3) that the Center possesses the expertise to explain the requested information to the public; (4) that the Center possesses the ability to disseminate the requested information to the general public; (5) and that the news media recognizes the Center as an established expert in the field of imperiled species, biodiversity, and impacts on protected species. The Center’s track record of active participation in oversight of governmental activities and decision making, and its consistent contribution to the public’s understanding of those activities as compared to the level of public understanding prior to disclosure are well established. The Center’s work appears in over 5,000 news stories online and in print, radio, and TV per month, including regular reporting in such important outlets as The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, and Los Angeles Times. Many media outlets have reported on the environmental impact of oil drilling activities on imperiled species utilizing information obtained by the Center from state and federal agencies. In 2020, almost three million people visited the Center’s extensive website, viewing pages more than 5.3 million times. The Center sends out more than 500 action alerts per year to more than 1.7 million members and supporters. Three times a year, the Center sends printed newsletters to more than 84,300 members. More than 579,000 people follow the Center on Facebook, and there are regular postings regarding the protection of public lands, oceans, and the climate. The Center also regularly tweets to more than 98,900 followers on Twitter. The Center intends to use any or all of these far-reaching media outlets to share with the public information obtained as a result of this request. The Center respectfully reminds SLOFD that access to these records should be immediate and without charges. “[P]ublic records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency and every person has a right to inspect any public record.” Cal. Gov. Code § 6253(a). Any fees “for a copy of a public record would have no effect upon the public’s right of access to and inspection of public records free of charge.” 85 Ops. Cal. Atty. Gen. 225, 229 (Cal. AG 2002). In the event SLOFD declines to grant a fee waiver, North City Parents Organization v. Department of Education firmly establishes that agency copying fees may only cover the direct cost of duplication, and that direct costs do not include agency staff time associated with any task other than, “conceivably,” operating the copy machine. ((1994) 23 Cal. App. 4th. 144, 148.) Therefore, the Center objects to any copy charges in excess of 10 cents per page. Please notify us in advance of incurring any costs associated with this request. III. Conclusion We hope that SLOFD will immediately begin to search and disclose the requested records without any unnecessary delays and grant this fee waiver request. If release of records will take longer than ten (10) days, please contact me about when the Center may expect a release. If you have any questions, please contact me. All records and any related correspondence should be sent to my attention at the address below. Sincerely, Ann K. Brown Open Government Coordinator CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY P.O. Box 11374 Portland, OR 97211-0374 foia@biologicaldiversity.org