August 12, 2004; Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
8/12/2004 10:14:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:On July 23, 2004, IPAD received a letter dated July 22, 2004, from Jim Stengrim. In his letter, Mr. Stengrim asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his access to certain data that the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) maintains. In response to Mr. Stengrim's request, IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to James Haertel, Water Management Specialist at BWSR. The purposes of this letter, dated July 30, 2004, were to inform him of Mr. Stengrim's request and to ask him to provide information or support for BWSR's position. On August 5, 2004, IPAD received a response, dated same, from Mr. Haertel. A summary of the facts as Mr. Stengrim provided them is as follows. In a July 14, 2004, email, Mr. Stengrim wrote to Mr. Haertel: ...I request to inspect all data that BOWSER [sic] has on the Middle-Snake Rivers Watershed/Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed. When you have located all the documents, please contact me to schedule an appointment to inspect them. Mr. Haertel responded on July 14, 2004: I can arrange to retrieve all the appropriate files from archives and our office, review all the files to remove any protected or confidential data if there is any, and have the files ready for your inspections and any duplication you desire within a week or two. When the files are ready for your inspection I would contact you to set up an appointment. The estimated cost would increase to $300-$500. Issue:In his request for an opinion, Mr. Stengrim asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, when a government entity receives a data request from an individual who is not the subject of the data, the entity is required to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner and within a reasonable time. (See section 13.03, subdivision 2(a), and Minnesota Rules, section 1205.0300.) In addition, section 13.03, subdivision 3(a) states, Upon request to a responsible authority or designee, a person shall be permitted to inspect and copy public government data at reasonable times and places...If a person requests access for the purpose of inspection, the responsible authority may not assess a charge or require the requesting person to pay a fee to inspect data. In his comments to the Commissioner, Mr. Haertel wrote: ...Mr. Stengrim's original request was for copies of data related to the establishment of the Middle-Snake River Watershed District. After receipt of my response made under Minnesota Statutes section 13.03, Subd. 3, item c, Mr. Stengrim requested to inspect all data concerning the watershed district. My response to the second request is the subject of Mr. Stengrim's request for an opinion from the Commissioner of the Department of Administration. An oversight occurred in my second response to Mr. Stengrim. It is clear under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, Subd. 3, item a, that inspection of government data is free and charges can only be incurred for copying. I have contacted Mr. Stengrim (copy enclosed), informed him of the situation, and offered to have the data available for his inspection within a couple of business days. As provided for in section 13.03, subdivision 3(a), inspection of government data is free. Although Mr. Haertel acknowledges this in his comments to the Commissioner, BWSR did not respond appropriately to Mr. Stengrim's data request. The Commissioner hopes BWSR and Mr. Stengrim have agreed upon a time for Mr. Stengrim to inspect, free of charge, the data he requested. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue that Mr. Stengrim raised is as follows:
Signed:
Brian J. Lamb
Dated: August 12, 2004 |
Inspection
Free of charge
