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B-166506 1 (1975-10-20)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadcui0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FILEj~ o THE COMPTROLLE4 GENERAL DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548 (NIT~0 FILE: B-166506 DATE: OCT 201975 MATTER OF: Retention of fees received by EPA contractors 7 providing information services to the public. ' DIGEST: Environmental Protection Agency is not precluded from offering those requesting information from it pursuant to Freedom of Information Act the alternative of dealing directly with contractors EPA uses to process, store and retrieve its information, provided Freedorm of Information requirements are not thereby avoided. Contractors filling such requests for information are acting as independent entrepreneurs and not agents of EPA, and are entitled to assess and retain fees charged for services rendered. This decision to the Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in response to a request from Alvin L. Alm, Assistant Administrator for Planning and Management, EPA, for our views concerning the propriety of a procedure which EPA desires to use in furnishingr to onFdea requesters, environ-mental-related information which is stored in information-handling systems operated by EPA con- tractors. EPA states that it has a number of contracts with private firms under which contractors process, store, and facilitate use of various kinds of recorded environmental related information. For example, under its computer time-sharing contract with Optimum Systems, Inc., the contractor provides all the hardware and some of the software which enables storage and retrieval of data supplied by various EPA programs. Under its contract with Berkey K. & L. Services, Inc., the contractor develops films, makes various prints from the resulting negatives, and stores the negatives so that custom printing may be accomplished as directed by EPA. There also are other similar contracts, all of which have in common the provision by the contractor of processing, storage and retrieval facilities to allow use by EPA of data it has developed or compiled. EPA also states that much of the environmental information in question is of value to non-Federal parties, who from time to time (and in some cases, in great volume) request either copies of certain specific information (computer printouts, photographs) or direct access to data-processing systems via terminals. EPA advises that this informa- tion is available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act and that it desires to make the information available to interested

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