A. Public Records Laws - Missouri Coalition for the Environment

A. Public Records Laws

What are public records laws?

As a member of the public, you have a right to review government documents and attend public meetings under both state and federal law. At the state level, the law is referred to as the Sunshine Law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.010 of the Missouri Revised Statutes). At the federal level, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) governs access to public documents and the “Government in the Sunshine” Act governs access to public meetings. As an environmental advocate, reviewing public records and attending public meetings can help you ensure that government agencies follow the law when making decisions that impact the environment.

Most reports, documents, correspondence, and permits filed with the government become public records and are available for review at agency offices. Environmental laws and regulations require that agencies and permit holders gather, produce, record, and report much of this information. For example, when companies violate their permits or accidentally release toxic chemicals, the law usually requires those companies to file prompt reports. Additionally, the law often requires permit holders to monitor and file reports about their discharges to show whether or not they are complying with permit limits.Companies submit these reports to agencies such as the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Types of records you may request include:

- Research data used in decision-making or rule-making
- Inspections and inspection reports
- Internal reporting (e.g. daily records of water levels, manure application)
- Notices of violations (NOV)
- Letters of warning (LOW)
- Maps
- Industry reports (for example, reports of monitoring results or pollution incidents)
- Permits and permit applications
- Environmental Assessments (EA) and Environmental Screening Worksheets (ESW)
- Meeting minutes
- Some forms of correspondence between agencies and permitted entities (mail, electronic, etc.)

Generally, if you visit a government agency office, you can ask the person on duty for the record(s). Depending on the agency, however, you may need to provide a written request to review public records. You may also choose to request records in hard copy or electronically instead of physically visiting the agency office. This section details why and how to request public records.

Missouri Sunshine Law

The full text of the Missouri Sunshine Law is available here.

You can access public information for local and state agencies by visiting them in person. Alternatively, you may be able to find the same information on an online public government database. For example, DNR scans paper files and makes many documents available online. You can find many online documents here. However, some agencies do not have online databases and documents may be eligible for public review under the Missouri Sunshine Law even if they do not appear in a database. If you do not find the information you are looking for, you may consider submitting a public records or “Sunshine” request. See the Attorney General Office’s list of the “Top 10 Things to Know About the Missouri Sunshine Law”.

Every local and state office in the state of Missouri must have a designated person called a Custodian of Record to handle Sunshine requests. You may submit your request in writing via mail or electronically via email; either way, you should direct your request to the Custodian of Record. Some agencies even provide a sample request form and allow you to make and track your request through an online portal. For example, DNR includes the following request form on its virtual Public Records Center under ‘Submit a Request’. You can see what the online request form looks like below:

Typically, you must pay to complete a Sunshine request. The cost of the request is often determined based on how long it takes to fill, the number of documents that must be copied and the average hourly rate of pay for clerical staff in that agency.

Once the request is received the governmental body has three days to get back to you about your request and tell you whether and how they are handling it. Continue reading to learn about fee waivers (2-B), how to appeal a denied request (2-C), and look at sample public record requests (2-D).

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

At the federal level, the statute that grants the right to review public records is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA provides that “any person” can request information from the government without requiring identification of the requestor or an explanation of why the requestor wants the information. Limitations and exceptions restrict public access to some categories of information, such as:

- Documents classified as secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy;
- Documents related solely to internal personnel rules and practices;
- Confidential enforcement information;
- Confidential business information;
- Inter-agency or intra-agency communications, except under certain circumstances;
- Personnel, medical or similar files that, if disclosed, would constitute an invasion of privacy; and,
- Certain information concerning gas or oil wells.

As you can see, if the government does not want to give up information, they have plenty of ways to get around it. You may need to appeal a decision not to share information and there’s more on that below.

See a list of all nine FOIA exemptions established by Congress on the Office of Information Policy’s FOIA FAQ Page. If protected information can easily be separated or removed from the requested files, the agency should make the remainder publicly available. In this case, protected information will be removed or “redacted” from the document. Usually, portions of text will be grayed or blacked out with the exemption code over the information. For example, a FOIA request document with information redactions may look like this:

The letters and numbers in parentheses indicate the exemption this information falls under in the relevant federal law.

Once the agency receives a FOIA request, it has 20 business days to reply with its decision of whether it will comply with no automatic extensions. Due to the high volume of requests in some offices, though, agencies typically take more time to fulfill requests. To save time, you may want to make sure the information is not already available online, in a library, or in an agency reading room.

To compensate for the time and effort spent in reviewing and copying requested documents, federal agencies may charge for copying costs and some other costs. Each federal agency has its own regulations outlining its FOIA program, including procedures for the disclosure of records, confidentiality, fees and exemptions. You may want to check the agency’s rules to be sure that your request meets its requirements.

There is also an online FOIA request portal which simplifies the process. The online form allows you to select the agency from which you are requesting information, describe the request, attach supporting files, and request a fee waiver.

For resources on how to request CAFO-specific documents under the Missouri Sunshine Law and FOIA, see the ‘Requesting Public Records’ section of MCE’s CAFO Advocacy Toolkit.