Getting the documents you need

All of the materials discussed in this chapter are supposed to be made available to the public. States vary considerably in their willingness to provide access to and copies of permits and their supporting documentation.

Examples around the country range from Illinois, where they send draft permits to interested citizens by mail, to Alabama where citizens must pay 25 cents to copy each page, to San Francisco where the water quality agency allowed the Baykeepers to bring in their own copier.

You have the right to review these documents. Your state may have open records laws or you may need to use the federal Freedom of Information Act to get the documents you need. For instruction on using the Freedom of Information Act, visit www.spj.org/foia.asp.

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