Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Contact:
Tim Whitehouse | (240) 247-0299 | [email protected]
Kevin Bell | (202) 946-3642

Groups Appeal EPA’s Refusal to Release Impact Assessments for High-Impact Artificial Intelligence Tools

PEER and FIG Challenge Secrecy Surrounding EPA’s Growing Use of AI

Washington, DC — Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Free Information Group (FIG) are appealing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) refusal to release its Final Impact Assessments for high-impact artificial intelligence (AI) tools deployed by the agency, after EPA declined to make these documents and others related to its use of AI available as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.  

On March 5, 2026, PEER and FIG filed a FOIA request seeking a suite of records relating to EPA’s chemicals assessments and the use of AI, including the AI screening tools used for seven chemicals. In its response, EPA stated that it found only two types of records responsive to this expansive FOIA request: its 2025 AI Use Case Inventory and its “Final Impact assessments for high-impact EPA AI tools,” which it withheld as part of a deliberative process privilege.

“The public has a fundamental right to know the impact of high-impact AI tools being used by government agencies,” said PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse. “These tools are paid for by the American taxpayers, and they affect our health, safety, and rights.”