Sierra Club v. U.S. Department of Interior

Sierra Club filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior seeking to compel a response to its September 2017 requests for documents related to external communications of six DOI officials, including the Secretary of the Interior. For these personnel, Sierra Club sought emails, text messages, faxes, voice mails, calendars, and sign-in sheets for meetings involving non-DOI persons. Sierra Club alleged that it submitted the requests “as part of its ongoing national effort to protect our public lands and promote the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.” Sierra Club alleged that “[b]ecause key DOI staff involved in agency decisionmaking appear to have strong industry ties, it is critical that the public be able to understand how the agency was influenced in these matters.”