An Open Letter to US Dept of Energy Secretary Chu concerning FOIA 10-00297-H which is 190 days past statutory response requirements

Dear Secretary Chu,

First of all, thank you for your service to our country. I sincerely believe you are prioritizing appropriately around renewable energy. Additionally, I thank you for your work to promote interest in and research of energy storage.  Your leadership in these areas deserves much praise. 

I am writing to you today because my associate Tom Villars submitted a FOIA request  (FOIA 10-00297-H) for information which Sandia National Labs possesses concerning a company called EEStor Inc.    As you know, the FOIA rules provide the govt 20 days to respond to a request unless unusual circumstances arise. 

It is completely unacceptable that this FOIA request has now reached 210 days.  The last update we received from the FOIA office, who has been cc'ed on this email is that the response is undergoing a 2nd review. 

Sir, regardless of what you think about this stealth company called EEStor and its technology, as an American you have to agree that information disclosure by government agencies preserves the integrity of our democracy.  Ignoring FOIA requests is not what the Obama administration has set as a goal in this area.  

I would kindly ask you to personally intervene in this matter and force Sandia and the DOE FOIA office handling the request to complete the request immediately and without any further delay.  If the information is subject to exemptions, then those need to be cited in the response.  

The information contained in these files about EEStor is probably not even important.  But the FOIA laws are not intended to judge the merit of a request.  That right is left to the citizen who wishes to examine the information. 

I know DOE gossips and discusses EEStor in those rare cases when it arises as a topic.  It is not the intention of those seeking this information to embarrass anyone or hamper the DOE's important mission.  We simply want to know what information has been gathered about EEStor to improve the ability of interested persons to make a judgement about it.  That is what the FOIA law provides.  

Please help us. 

Very Respectfully,

B