Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a citizen's legal right to access government records and information on request. Citizens may submit FOIA requests for Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) public records to the BWL's FOIA Coordinator. The BWL FOIA Coordinator follows certain guidelines when responding to FOIA requests.
All FOIA requests must be in writing, and must be clearly identified as FOIA Requests. You may download and use the FOIA Request Form to submit your request. Make sure to describe the record(s) in detail so they can be located.
Contact Information
Mail to:
Lansing Board of Water & Light
Attn: FOIA Coordinator
P.O. Box 13007
Lansing, Michigan 48901
Email: foiarequests@lbwl.com
FOIA Responses
The FOIA statute allows BWL five (5) working days to respond to a FOIA request. An extension of an additional ten (10) days is allowed under the law, in certain circumstances, including when BWL has to search, collect, examine or review a voluminous amount of public records. Please note that not all BWL documents are available under the FOIA. The statute exempts certain documents from disclosure.
Costs of FOIA Responses
Though FOIA responses and information are freely available (within set guidelines), there is a cost to provide them. Usually, you must pay the costs of finding, processing, copying, and mailing the requested material. The costs of locating and reproducing documents will vary depending on the type and number of documents requested. If the charge is expected to exceed $50, the BWL will notify you by letter before filling your request. Charges for time spent on FOIA responses are based on the pay rate of the lowest paid capable FOIA responder.
Under certain circumstances, those who are indigent may request that FOIA fees be waived. If you believe the FOIA fee should be waived for your request, you must say so in writing in your FOIA request, and be prepared to provide proof of your indigent status.