Mackinac Center files open records lawsuit over Flint water documents
On July 13, the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for delaying for months the release of emails related to the Flint water crisis.
The lawsuit comes after the Mackinac Center for Public Policy waited since March for MDEQ to respond to a simple public records request. Rick Snyder’s office released in June the final batch of Flint-related emails in an “effort to increase transparency and make information more accessible to the public,” but MDEQ still remains un-
responsive to the Center’s request.
“Accountable government requires transparency, especially during times of crisis,” Foundation Director Patrick Wright said. “Thousands of pages of MDEQ emails were posted online last month in the name of openness, yet the department is still balking at Michigan’s transparency laws.”
On March 30, 2016, the Center emailed the MDEQ’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator to request all emails from MDEQ employees Liane Shekter-Smith and Stephen Busch 2013-2015 containing the word “Flint.” The Center also requested the names of “any employees transferred, reassigned, or suspended as a result of the Flint water issues.”
The MDEQ sent a 10-business-day extension letter on April 4, then, on April 21, a cost estimate of $114.35 for 2.5 hours of technical staff time and two hours of administrative staff time, saying both would be required to respond. The Center sent a check for the full amount on April 26 and the MDEQ cashed the check May 6. The MCPP has received confirmation from MDEQ that despite the recent email release, it is still waiting to respond and fully comply with the MCPP’s FOIA request. The state estimates that it will still take weeks.
“The fact that the state is claiming to be transparent in public yet still ignoring open records law highlights the need for the legislature to reform FOIA to create hard, enforceable response deadlines,” Wright said.
Despite needing only 4.5 hours of staff time and the MDEQ’s own guidelines indicating it will provide records in a timely manner (usually ten business days), MDEQ says it is not planning to respond until July 29.
“Our FOIA laws must guarantee people of all views access to timely information to fully parti-cipate in the democratic process,” Wright said. “People and the press have a right to transparency even if it’s inconvenient to the government agency.”
The case, in which the Center is seeking the records and over $2,500 in damages due to the willful conduct of MDEQ, was filed in the State of Michigan Court of Claims.
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