Owosso returns Current's Shiawassee River records request a 3rd time

For the third time this month, the City of Owosso has returned a Shiawassee Current request for public records without releasing any records — and the documents still in question concern a Shiawassee River advisory.

In a letter dated Sept. 28, Owosso Public Safety Office Manager Amy Higley wrote that the department "is unable to process your request as submitted." The letter, logged as "Request for Public Records #880," cites Section 3(1) of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, which requires a requester to supply a complete name, an address written to U.S. Postal Service standards, and a valid telephone number or email address. "In order to obtain publicly available records, please re-submit your request and include the statutorily required information," the letter says.

The letter does not describe the records sought. The email subject line under which the city sent it identifies the matter as a Shiawassee River advisory.

This is the same reason the city has given twice before. The Current reported on Sept. 17 that Owosso Public Safety returned a request on Sept. 16 without records, citing a missing mailing address and contact information; a reported 110,000-gallon partially treated wastewater discharge remained unconfirmed. On Sept. 25, the department returned a second request for wastewater plant records on the same grounds. The city processes FOIA requests through the Public Safety office at 202 S. Water Street, which houses Owosso's police, fire and EMS operations.

Under Michigan's FOIA, a public body that finds a request deficient in name, address or contact information does not have to process it. The statute makes an exception for individuals who qualify as indigent under Section 4(2)(a). The Sept. 28 letter quotes that provision in full and does not assert any other basis — such as an exemption or a claim that no records exist — for withholding documents.

Nothing in the letter tells the public whether the wastewater plant discharged to the river, how much, or when. That remains unconfirmed by any city record released to date.

What happens next: the newsroom will resubmit the request with the name, address and contact information the statute requires, and will report what the records show once they are produced. Under the FOIA, the city then has five business days to grant, deny or extend.