UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JASON PAUL SCHAEFER, Plaintiff, v. Case No. 20-cv-2702 (CRC) UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Jason Paul Schaefer, a federal inmate located in Beaumont, Texas, filed this Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), seeking disclosure of documents about him and the criminal prosecution that led to his incarceration. After he filed suit, EPA conducted a search of multiple databases for records mentioning Schaefer or his criminal case. EPA produced all responsive records uncovered by its search, some with redactions. Both parties have moved for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the Court will grant EPA’s motion and deny Schaefer’s cross-motion. I. Background Throughout 2017, Schaeffer had a series of escalating encounters with local and federal law enforcement in his home state of Oregon, involving the discharge of chemicals on Schaefer’s property. Those run-ins ultimately led to an FBI search of Schaefer’s home and his detonation of an improvised explosive device, which injured a federal officer. See United States v. Schaefer, 13 F.4th 875, 880–81 (9th Cir. 2021). Now incarcerated, Schaefer seeks to learn more about his criminal prosecution stemming from those 2017 events. In April 2020, Schaefer mailed to EPA “a request under the Freedom of Information Act, and the Privacy Act,” seeking “[a]ll information about myself, Jason Paul Schaefer” and “[e]verything in or related to Federal criminal case 3:17-CR-00400-HZ,” his criminal prosecution in Oregon. Complaint (“Compl.”) Attachment 1. For purposes of identifying himself, Schaefer’s FOIA request also listed his date of birth, social security number, and the fact that he had lived in Oregon from 2013 to 2020. Id. EPA did not immediately reply, so Schaefer mailed an appeal to the agency in May. Compl. ¶ 9. Hearing no response, in September 2020, Schaefer filed a complaint in this Court seeking, among other things, an order requiring EPA to disclose the records sought in his April FOIA request. Id. at 5–6. In his complaint, Schaefer asserts that, in the course of the agency’s 2017 criminal investigation, EPA agents illegally invaded his property, seized chemicals he lawfully possessed, damaged his apartment, and fabricated information to support search warrants later executed by the FBI. Id. ¶¶ 11–12. Schaefer further alleged that he believes some of the records covered by his FOIA request might constitute exculpatory evidence in his criminal case. Id. ¶ 14. After receiving word of Schaefer’s lawsuit, EPA created a FOIA matter for his request and began searching for responsive records. Declaration of Claude Walker in Support of EPA’s MSJ (“Walker Decl.”) ¶ 6. EPA conducted searches of several different databases and sources of potentially responsive records. First, EPA searched for information pertaining to Schaefer, including using his criminal case number, in the agency’s Online Criminal Enforcement Activities Network (“OCEAN”) database, a database that contains all information regarding EPA criminal cases. Id. ¶ 7. The search of the OCEAN database identified a total of 18 responsive records, all of …
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