Mr I Salisbury Our ref:

Your ref:

Date: 30 June 2010

Dear Mr Salisbury,

Environmental Information Regulations: Dredging of the River Thames

I write further to your email of 1 June 2010, confirming that the basis of this current request relates to penultimate paragraph of your email to the Agency of 16 February 2010, to which Peter Carty responded to on 9 April 2010. Your email of 16 February 2010 states:

“The information that I asked for was not a repeat of information that I had requested elsewhere, but a request arising out of the partial and incomplete information that you had provided to me. Please ensure that the Environment Agency identifies the information I have requested and provides it". You then go on to confirm the information requested. For ease of reference, I will respond to your numbered paragraphs in turn:

1. Information request of 21 April 2009, for a copy of the Agency's dredging `policy'.

A response to your query was provided on 15 May 2009.

2. Information request of 15 May 2009, for a copy of the Agency's dredging `policy'

Following your further request of 15 May 2009, the Agency clarified on 18 May 2009, that it did not hold a `policy' on dredging, but does have risk based guidelines. A link to these guidelines was supplied to you on 18 May 2009.

You made a further request on 22 May 2009, to which the Agency responded on 15 June 2009 repeating its earlier statement.

On 29 June 2009 you requested a review of your earlier Information requests. A response was provided on 22 June 2009. A further request for a review of these requests was made on 23 July 2009 to which I responded on 19 August, my response in regards to a `dredging policy' is dealt with in numbered paragraphs 2-5 of that response.

I therefore do not consider that the information is outstanding.

3. Email of 28 May 2010, clarifying your interest in the matter.

This is noted.

4 & 6. Information Request of 29 June 2009

The Agency responded to this information request on 7 July 2009 and 9 July 2009.

5 & 7. Request for reviews dated 29 June 2009 and 23 July 2009.

Please see my response to Paragraph 2 above.

8. Information Request of 7 August 2009

Your comments are noted.

9. Request for further review dated 2 September 2010 and further request for information.

The further request for information was refused by letter of 8 September 2009. For the avoidance of doubt there is no legal requirement to review a review (23 July) of a review (29 June 2009). If you are not happy with the information provided your next step is to contact the Information Commissioner, as detailed below.

10. Request for a review dated 16 February 2010 of a refusal dated 8 September 2009.

The Agency responded to your request for a review on 9 April 2010.

11. Email of 28 May 2010

My email of 28 May 2010 and 6 May 2010, which preceded it, sought clarification of the information you consider is outstanding.

The Agency is not obliged to create information under the Environmental Information Regulations, we are under an obligation to supply you with information we hold. Extensive searches have been undertaken to supply you with the information requested. Where no such information has been found to exist, we have supplied you with the best available data to assist you. Furthermore, offers have been extended to discuss the matter with an Area Flood Risk Manager. The purpose of this offer was to discuss the information the Agency holds to establish what information would best suit your needs. These discussions could then have been clarified in writing thereby ensuring that all requests are available on the public forum.

This letter is not a review. It merely clarifies the basis of current discussions. I am sorry you are not happy with the Agency's handling of your requests. The Agency is an open and honest organisation and we have endeavoured to provide you with the Information sought in your requests, until this proved disproportionate to the cost to resources in responding to the same.

Should you wish to appeal, you will need to contact the Information Commissioner, who is the statutory regulator for Freedom of Information. The address is:

Office of the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

Sarah Ferretti

Solicitor

Direct Line: (0118) 9535338

Fax No: (0118) 9509440

DX No: 121325 Reading 10

Email: [email address]

The Environment Agency

Kings Meadow House, Kings Meadow Road, Reading, RG1 8DQ.

DX Address 121325 Tel 0118 9535000 Fax 0118 9500388 GTN 7-25- X 1000

The Environment Agency

Kings Meadow House, Kings Meadow Road, Reading, RG1 8DQ.

DX Address 121325 Tel 0118 9535000 Fax 0118 9500388 GTN 7-25- X 1000

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