Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USACE has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission as effectively and efficiently as possible while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff.  As a result, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your FOIA request or appeal.  We will be able to acknowledge requests made electronically more quickly than by mail or fax. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Click here for a FOIA Request Form

The Freedom of Information Act generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.

To obtain a copy of a record currently possessed by the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, submit a written request describing the records requested and your willingness to pay the applicable fees. You may use our request form, but any written request will be processed. Requests may be submitted by email, fax, or postal mail.

There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the FOIA does provide for the charging of certain types of fees in some instances. For a typical requester we can charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records. For noncommercial requests, there is no charge for the first two hours of search time and for the first 100 pages of duplication. Search and review is charged at $48 per hour, each page released is 15¢, compact discs are $5, and oversized maps are $1.45. Fees may be waived under certain circumstances upon request.

Requests may be submitted to:

Freedom of Information Act Request
Office of Counsel
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District
231 South LaSalle Street, Suite 1500
Chicago, Illinois  60604
foia-lrc@usace.army.mil
fax: 312-353-8710

If you have any questions, please contact us by email at foia-lrc@usace.army.mil or by phone at 312-846-5332. If you are not satisfied with the response from this office, you may contact the FOIA Public Liaison at 202-761-0511 or foia-liaison@usace.army.mil.

The Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives has published a Best Practices Guide for FOIA requesters.


For additional information see:

Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers FOIA Home Page

Army Freedom of Information Act Programs

FOIA.gov

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Handbook

Text of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552

32 C.F.R. Part 518

AR 25-55

ER 27-1-1 Ch. 8