A federal district judge granted Landmark Legal Foundation''s motion for a preliminary injunction against EPA.
Judge Royce Lamberth ordered that EPA is enjoined from transporting, removing or in any way tampering with information potentially responsive to Landmark''s Sept. 7, 2000 Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA).
In its FOIA request, Landmark, a public interest law firm in Kansas City, Mo., asked EPA to produce the names of special interest groups that may have been involved in the preparation of regulations issued by the agency in the final days of the Clinton Administration.
"For 4 1/2 months EPA has attempted to run out the clock and prevent us from learning whether their regulatory process has been hijacked by extreme environmentalists," said Landmark President Mark Levin. "EPA''s spate of new regulations represents a virtual wish list from these special interests. The public should know who is behind these efforts and their agenda. A federal court should not have to order EPA to do that which it is already obligated to do under law."
Landmark Vice President and General Counsel Richard Hutchinson, added, "This order stops cold EPA''s efforts to remove any more records detailing its actions during the last months of the Clinton Administration. The court is holding EPA officials personally responsible to ensure compliance with its order."
by Virginia Sutcliffe