OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Natural Resources Defense Council (the “NRDC”) sues the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA” or the “agency”) under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. §552, seeking certain documents and records that the EPA has withheld pursuant to one of FOIA’s enumerated “exemptions” — specifically, records concerning a senior manager’s participation in certain agency policymaking activities. The EPA now moves, pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants the motion in part and denies it in part, orders the production of certain records, and directs the parties to confer on next steps. BACKGROUND The relevant facts are drawn from the parties’ affidavits and are undisputed for purposes of this motion. The NRDC is a “national, not-for-profit environmental and public health membership organization” that “engages in research, advocacy, public education, and litigation related to protecting the environment and public health,” including efforts to “eliminate health risks posed by exposure to toxic chemicals.” ECF No. 41 (“Tallman Decl.”), 2. The EPA is a federal agency charged with, among other things, regulating the use of commercial chemicals and pesticides. See ECF No. 36 (“Myrick Decl.”),
24-31. Within the EPA, the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (“OCSPP”) is specifically tasked with “protect[ing] human health and the environment from potential risks from pesticides and toxic chemicals.” Id. 9. In 2017, Dr. Nancy Beck joined the EPA as the Deputy Assistant Administrator of OCSPP. Id. 13. Prior to that, she had been the “Senior Director of Regulatory Science Policy” at the American Chemistry Council, a group that “represents companies that are directly regulated by EPA.” ECF No. 36-12, at 9. In her new role, Dr. Beck would participate in policymaking processes — for example, implementing the amended TSCA — that would directly affect industry participants she had previously represented. Id. at 10-11, 14. In May 2017, the NRDC submitted a FOIA request to the EPA, seeking records relating to Dr. Beck’s participation in agency rulemaking and other policy-making activities under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), 15 U.S.C. §§2601 et seq.1 On August 4, 2017, the NRDC filed suit for those records. Myrick Decl.
