The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied OMB Watch’s request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for Executive Summaries of the Risk Management Plans (RMPs). This marks the first instance, of which OMB Watch is aware, that EPA has denied a request for information specifically collected to inform the public about homeland security risks they face. The RMP program requires every facility that uses or stores extremely hazardous chemicals to file an RMP. The RMPs are required by law to be made available to the public under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act. The information includes measures taken by a facility to prevent an accidental release, and response plans to protect human health and the environment in the event of a release. Congress did restrict electronic access to the worst-case scenario section of the RMPs, making it available only in 50 “reading rooms” around the country. In separate FOIA requests, OMB Watch asked for electronic copies of the RMP Executive Summaries and Five Year Accident Histories, which are in two sections of the RMP. EPA provided us with the RMP's accident histories, but denied our request for the executive summaries. EPA claimed FOIA exemption 2, internal agency rules: "We are unable to provide you with the remaining materials you requested, electronic copies of all Executive Summaries submitted to EPA for facilities covered by the RMP program. These materials have been determined to be exempt from mandatory disclosure by virtue of 5 U.S.C 552(b)(2)(2000), Exemption 2, Internal Agency Rules. This Exemption is applied in light of recent terrorism events and heightened security awareness, and in recognition of the concomitant need to protect the nation's critical infrastructure (both its elements and records about them)." The EPA previously provided online access to all RMP information, except for the worst case scenarios, but after the September 11th terrorist attacks, EPA removed all of the RMP data from its website. Currently, OMB Watch provides the only public online access to executive summaries through RTK NET. OMB Watch requested the data in order to update the information it presents to the public. EPA does still provide public access to the information through the mandated reading rooms. This raises the question of the legality in EPA’s denial of a FOIA request for information it already makes public. OMB Watch will be appealing the FOIA denial in an effort to educate the public about the chemical risks it faces.