FOIA
Welcome to the Council on Environmental Quality’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requester Service Center. This center was created in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and Executive Order 13392, “Improving Agency Disclosure of Information,” which directs Federal agencies to ensure citizen-centered, results-oriented FOIA operations. The center provides basic instruction on obtaining CEQ information under FOIA, and the Proactive Disclosure Reading Room makes available documents on environmental issues. To save time and money, please review the material available on CEQ’s website before submitting a FOIA request
How to Submit a FOIA Request
Please state clearly that the request is being made under FOIA. Be as specific as you can when identifying the information you are seeking, and include your name, address, and contact information to enable us to contact you with any questions. Remember: FOIA requests and responses may be made available for public inspection, so don’t submit information involving trade secrets, confidential or proprietary commercial or financial information, or any other material you do not want to be publicly available. Submit requests electronically to efoia@ceq.eop.gov. Fax them to (202) 456-0753 or address regular mail to Freedom of Information Officer, Council on Environmental Quality, 730 Jackson Place, NW, Washington, DC 20503. For security reasons, CEQ no longer accepts or opens attachments to emails submitted to the FOIA email inbox. CEQ will not respond to FOIA requests submitted as email attachments. Please transmit attachments by fax or postal mail or include the information in the text body of the email. Note however, we may request attachments once the FOIA request has been received.
CEQ FOIA Reading Room
In his March 19, 2009 Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), commonly known as the “Attorney General’s Guidelines,” Attorney General Holder instructed agencies to “readily and systematically post information online in advance of any public request.” This section of CEQ’s FOIA Requester Service Center responds to that direction, providing a wealth of information on environmental issues in general and CEQ in particular. This regularly updated site includes reports, publications, environmental laws and regulations, documents frequently requested under FOIA, the legislative history of the National Environmental Policy Act, and CEQ historical documents.
FOIA Resources
- Freedom of Information Act
- President’s Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act
- Attorney General’s Guidelines for FOIA Implementation Executive
- Order 13392, “Improving Agency Disclosure of Information”
- CEQ FOIA Regulations CEQ FOIA Handbook
- 2023 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2022 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2021 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2020 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2019 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2018 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2017 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2016 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2015 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2014 CEQ FOIA Log
- 2013 CEQ FOIA Log
- United States Department of Justice FOIA page
- CEQ’s FOIA Improvement Plan under EO 13392
- Status Report on the Implementation of CEQ’s FOIA Improvement Plan under EO 13392
- CEQ’s FOIA Backlog Reduction Goals pursuant to EO 13392
CEQ Chief FOIA Officer Reports
Under FOIA, Chief FOIA Officers are required to submit to the Attorney General a detailed annual report regarding agency FOIA operations.
CEQ Annual FOIA Reports
Under FOIA, Federal agencies are required to submit to the Attorney General a detailed annual report regarding their FOIA operations.
- 2023 (PDF) – 2023 (XML) – 2023 (Raw Data)
- 2022 (PDF) – 2022 (XML) – 2022 (Raw Data)
- 2021 (PDF) – 2021 (XML) – 2021 (Raw Data)
- 2020 (PDF) – 2020 (XML) – 2020 (Raw Data)
- 2019 (PDF) – 2019 (XML) – 2019 (Raw Data)
- 2018 (PDF) – 2018 (Raw Data)
- 2017 (PDF) – 2017 (XML) – 2017 (Raw Data)
- 2016 (PDF) – 2016 (XML)
- 2015 (PDF) – 2015 (XML)
- 2014 (PDF) – 2014 (XML)
- 2013 (PDF) – 2013 (XML)
- 2012 (PDF) – 2012 (XML)
- 2011 (PDF) – 2011 (XML)
- 2010 (PDF) – 2010 (XML)
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
- 2006
- 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
CEQ Quarterly FOIA Reports
- FY22, Q4 (docx) — FY22, Q3 (docx) — FY21, Q2 (docx) — FY22, Q1 (docx)
- FY21, Q4 (docx) — FY21, Q3 (docx) — FY21, Q2 (docx) — FY21, Q1 (docx)
- FY20, Q4 (zip) — FY20, Q3 (zip) — FY20, Q2 (zip) — FY20, Q1 (zip)
- FY19, Q4 (zip) — FY19, Q3 (zip) — FY19, Q2 (zip) — FY19, Q1 (zip)
- FY18, Q4 (zip) — FY18, Q3 (zip) — FY18, Q2 (zip) — FY18, Q1 (zip)
- FY17, Q4 (zip) — FY17, Q3 (zip) — FY17, Q2 (zip) — FY17, Q1 (zip)
- FY16, Q4 (zip) — FY16, Q3 (zip) — FY16, Q2 (zip) — FY16, Q1 (zip)
- FY15, Q4 (zip) — FY15, Q3 (zip) — FY15, Q2 (zip) — FY15, Q1 (zip)
- FY14, Q4 (zip) — FY14, Q3 (zip) — FY14, Q2 (zip) — FY14, Q1 (zip)
- FY13, Q3 (zip) — FY13, Q2 (zip) — FY13, Q1 (zip)
CEQ FOIA Responses
This section of the Proactive Disclosure site contains records released by CEQ under FOIA with content likely to be the subject of additional FOIA requests. Records include written and email correspondence, among others. Redactions using FOIA exemptions as well as material determined to be nonresponsive is clearly indicated in the text. The FOIA responses below address the general topic of global climate change.
- CEQ’s Columbia River Basin Fisheries
- ANPRM – Update to NEPA
- Asia-Pacific Partnership
- CEQ Communications with Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- Climate Action Report
- EPA Clean Air Act Authority
- EPA Draft Report on the Environment
- Global Climate Change Science
- Kyoto Protocol
- OPIC Compliance with NEPA
- Reconstructing Climatic and Environmental Changes
- Sectoral Emissions Reduction Agreements
Environmental Laws and Regulations
- Clean Air Act
- Clean Water Act
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)
- Endangered Species Act
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
- CEQ Regulations for Implementing NEPA
- Solid Waste Disposal Act (RCRA)
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Legislative History of NEPA
- Congressional White Paper on a National Policy for the Environment
- House Report
- Senate Report
- Conference Report
Publications
- CEQ Action Plan for Consultation and Coordination with Tribal Nations
- Federal Ocean and Coastal Activities Report to the US Congress
- A Citizen’s Guide to NEPA: Having Your Voice Heard
- Collaboration in NEPA: A Handbook for Practitioners
- Aligning NEPA Processes with Environmental Management Systems: A Guide for NEPA and EMS Practitioners
- Considering Cumulative Effects under NEPA
- NEPA: A Study of Effectiveness after 25 Years
- National Ocean Policy Draft Implementation Plan
- Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force
Reports
CEQ’S ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REPORTS 1970-1997
Environmental Quality Reports are referred to in the National Environmental Policy Act, section 201: “The President shall transmit to the Congress annually beginning July 1, 1970, an Environmental Quality Report (hereinafter referred to as the “report”) which shall set forth: (1) the status and condition of the major natural, manmade, or altered environmental classes of the Nation, including, but not limited to, the air, the aquatic, including marine, estuarine, and fresh water, and the terrestrial environment, including, but not limited to, the forest, dryland, wetland, range, urban, suburban and rural environment; (2) current and foreseeable trends in the quality, management and utilization of such environments and the effects of those trends on the social, economic, and other requirements of the Nation; (3) the adequacy of available natural resources for fulfilling human and economic requirements of the Nation in the light of expected population pressures; (4) a review of the programs and activities (including regulatory activities) of the Federal Government, the State and local governments, and nongovernmental entities or individuals with particular reference to their effect on the environment and on the conservation, development and utilization of natural resources; and (5) a program for remedying the deficiencies of existing programs and activities, together with recommendations for legislation.
CEQ published these “reports” from 1970 through 1997; 1994 and 1995 were covered in a combined 25th anniversary report. In 1995, however, Congress passed the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act (Public Law 104-66) to eliminate a list of reports identified in House Document no. 103-7. CEQ’s Environmental Quality Report was listed on page 41.
Though the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act eliminated the requirement to submit an annual report to Congress, CEQ continues to act in accordance with the functions and duties described in section 204 of NEPA, which includes duties to gather and provide information regarding the environment.
- 1970
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1974
- 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979
- 1980
- 1981
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987 – 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994-1995
- 1996
- 1997
Frequently RequesteD and other disclosures
- CEQ Staff Names and Titles
- CEQ Organizational Chart
- Ethics Pledge Waiver – Jessica Ennis
- Ethics Agreement – Jalonne White-Newsome
WAVES Logs
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- 2017
CEQ Historical Documents
Additional Resources
Statement Regarding Influential Scientific Information
Based on the review it has conducted, CEQ believes that it does not currently produce or sponsor the distribution of influential scientific information (including Highly Influential Scientific Assessments) within the definitions promulgated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As a result, at this time CEQ has no agenda of forthcoming influential scientific disseminations to post on its website in accordance with OMB’s Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.