The complainant requested from the Environment and Heritage Service, an agency within the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), copies of all documentation in respect of the complainant’s landfill site. The Commissioner is satisfied that the information which was withheld from disclosure by the Department is environmental information which falls to be considered under the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Department was entitled to refuse to provide the withheld information on the basis that the withheld information was exempt under regulation 12(4)(e) of the EIR as the information is comprised of internal communications and the public interest in maintaining the exception under regulation 12(4)(e) outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. In failing to provide the complainant with notice of its decision in response to the representations of the complainant under regulation 11(1) of the EIR, within the appropriate time period, that is no later than forty days after the date of receipt of those representations, the Department has failed to comply with regulation 11(4) of the EIR.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: EIR 11 – Complaint Upheld, EIR 12.4.e – Complaint Not upheld
[2009] UKICO FER0154695
Bailii
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 18 January 2022; Ref: scu.532412
