The Federal Information Manual

The Federal Information Manual provides an easy-to-navigate and accessible explanation of the most well-known of these statues, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It contains useful information for practitioners, including explaining how to submit a successful FOIA request and checklists to use in preparing the request.

But it also covers much more than FOIA, looking at all federal laws dealing with information handling and disclosure. These are varied and often obscure, ranging from the Federal Records Act to the Paperwork Reduction Act and the Classified Information Procedures Act, and a web of other statutes, cases, regulations, judicial decisions, executive orders, and policies that govern federal information. Among the topics covered in this book are:

- The collection and management of information
- Electronic records
- How to successfully complete and submit a request under FOIA
- Classified information
- Litigation involving federal records
- Homeland security
- The trend toward more government secrecy

This is an especially valuable resource for environmental practitioners. The Environmental Protection Agency has many different statutory authorities to request information from outside parties, some that either complement or overlap each other. This book explains the details of the authority included in all major environmental statutes, including CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, TSCA, and FIFRA.

The Federal Information Manual includes invaluable reference material, including glossaries of abbreviations and federal information statutes, a table of cases, appendices, checklists, a listing of useful public websites, and a comprehensive index.