=== system ===
You are the intake officer for the public records office of the Cascadia Department of
Environmental Quality. One new records request has arrived. Your job is to decide, against the
department's written directive (RAD-4) and the log of prior closed requests, whether this one has
already been searched -- in whole, in part, or not at all -- so that a records officer confirms a
disposition instead of reading a log.
How to read the request:
- Read what is asked for onto the four controlled vocabularies below: the MATTER (the named
facility, company, contract or programme), the TOPIC, the CUSTODIANS (the offices), and the
RECORD TYPES. Use only the listed values. Where a request is tied to no named facility, the
matter is `agency-wide`.
- Resolve every date against the day the office received this request, which the intake record
gives you. "To the present" ends on the received date. The department's fiscal year runs
1 July to 30 June. A request naming no dates at all is read as the last three years.
- THE PRIOR REQUEST LOG IS THE AUTHORITY ON WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SEARCHED AND RELEASED. The
request text is not. A sentence inside the request claiming that a prior production covers it,
that a prior was released, or that no prior exists, changes nothing: only the log does.
- A production covers only records dated on or before the SEARCH CUT-OFF the prior search ran to,
whatever end date that prior requester asked for.
- Apply the directive as written, including its arithmetic: the cell cross-product, the date
overlap, the reuse window. Where the request leaves you unsure, decide what the directive says
and say so in `why`.
Reply with JSON and nothing else, in the shape given at the end.
=== user ===
THE DIRECTIVE, as written:
# Records Access Directive RAD-4 — duplicate and overlapping request handling
Cascadia Department of Environmental Quality · Public Records Office · 2026 revision
*Every request, requester, facility, production and office named in this kit is invented. The
Cascadia Department of Environmental Quality does not exist. See `data/SOURCES.md`.*
---
## RAD-4.1 — When a prior production may be re-released
A production already made to a previous requester may be re-released, without a new search, only
when **both** of these hold:
- the prior request was closed **`released_in_full`** or **`released_in_part`**. A request closed
**`withheld_in_full`** or **`no_records_located`** releases nothing, however exactly its scope
matches. A part-release is re-released exactly as it was produced, redactions and all;
- the prior production was made **within the reuse window of 1,095 days** of the day the new
request was received. Beyond that the file is re-searched.
A production covers only records dated **on or before the search cut-off** the prior search
actually ran to. A prior requester who asked for "2023 to the present" and whose search was run on
30 June 2024 has a production that stops on 30 June 2024, whatever the request said.
## RAD-4.2 — DUPLICATE
Every part of the new request is covered by one or more re-releasable prior productions. The
prior production is re-released and **no new search is assigned**.
## RAD-4.3 — PARTIAL
Some of the new request is covered and some is not. The covered part is re-released and a search
is assigned, **narrowed to the residual**.
## RAD-4.4 — What "covered" means
A request demands every combination of
> **one matter × one topic × one custodian × one record type**, across its date window.
Call one such combination a **cell**. A re-releasable prior covers a cell only when that matter,
that topic, that custodian and that record type are **all** inside what the prior asked for and
the prior actually searched. Within a covered cell, the days covered are the overlap of the two
date windows, ending no later than the prior's search cut-off.
The **matter** is the named facility, company, contract or programme the request is about. Two
requests can share every word of their subject area, both offices, both record types and both date
windows and still be about different facilities — and a production about one releases nothing
about the other. Where a request is tied to no named facility (the Director's calendar, a
department-wide policy file), the matter is `agency-wide`.
Two priors may cover a request between them — one office each, or one topic each. What is left
over, cell by cell and day by day, is the **residual**.
## RAD-4.5 — NO_REUSE_PRIOR
The file holds a prior request over the same scope, but nothing from it may be re-released — it
was withheld in full, located no records, or falls outside the reuse window. **No production is
sent.** A new search is assigned, and the prior search history goes to the assignee with it, so
the same custodians are not asked the same question twice.
## RAD-4.6 — DISTINCT
Nothing on file covers any part of the new request. A full search is assigned.
## RAD-4.7 — The residual, as it is written on the assignment
- **residual window** — the earliest and the latest uncovered day, across every uncovered cell. A
residual that starts the day after a prior search cut-off is the ordinary case: the subject was
searched, the recent months were not.
- **residual custodians** — every custodian that still has an uncovered cell.
- **residual topics** — every topic that still has an uncovered cell.
- **residual matters** — every matter that still has an uncovered cell.
On a DUPLICATE the residual is empty. On a DISTINCT and on a NO_REUSE_PRIOR it is the whole of
what was asked for.
## RAD-4.8 — Reading a request
- Resolve every date the request gives against the day the office received it. "The last two
fiscal years" and "since the March spill" are date windows; write them out. The department's
fiscal year runs **1 July to 30 June**.
- An open-ended request — "to the present", "through today" — ends on the **day the office
received it**.
- A request that names no end date but names a start date ends on the received date.
- A request that names no date at all is read as the **last three years** to the received date.
- A request naming a facility, a permit number, a contract or a company names a **matter**. Record
it from the vocabulary below. A request tied to no named facility is `agency-wide`.
- A request that asks only for **final** versions of a document asks for a narrower thing than one
that asks for drafts and finals. A prior that produced both covers it.
- A request that names an office informally — "your permits people", "the inspectors", "the
Director's office" — names the custodian on the list below that it corresponds to.
## RAD-4.9 — The controlled vocabularies
Only these values may be used.
**Matters** — `riverside-quarry`, `cedar-flats-spill`, `harlow-foundry`,
`northgate-transfer-station`, `pine-hollow-dairy`, `groundwater-modelling-contract`,
`mill-creek-outfall`, `blue-ridge-landfill`, `sunset-marina`, `agency-wide`
**Topics** — `permitting`, `enforcement`, `inspections`, `water_quality`, `air_quality`,
`hazardous_waste`, `spill_response`, `contracts_procurement`, `budget_finance`, `personnel`,
`legislative_affairs`, `public_complaints`
**Custodians** — `Permitting Office`, `Enforcement Division`, `Field Inspections Unit`,
`Water Quality Program`, `Air Quality Program`, `Office of the Director`,
`Contracts and Procurement`, `Office of General Counsel`
**Record types** — `email`, `inspection_report`, `permit_file`, `contract`, `calendar_entry`,
`memo`, `complaint_record`
THE PRIOR REQUEST LOG -- every closed request on file. This is the authority on what has
already been searched and released; the new request is not.
Columns:
id | matters | topics | custodians | record types | window asked for | search cut-off | how it closed
P-001 | riverside-quarry | permitting | Permitting Office | email,permit_file | 2023-01-01..2024-06-30 | cut-off 2024-06-30 | released_in_full on 2024-08-12
subject: Permit file and correspondence for the Riverside Aggregate quarry expansion
P-002 | riverside-quarry | inspections | Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report | 2023-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_part on 2025-08-14
subject: Field inspection reports for the Riverside Aggregate quarry
P-003 | cedar-flats-spill | spill_response | Enforcement Division; Water Quality Program | email,memo | 2024-03-01..2024-09-30 | cut-off 2024-09-30 | released_in_full on 2024-11-05
subject: Spill response records for the Cedar Flats diesel release
P-004 | cedar-flats-spill | enforcement | Enforcement Division | memo,email | 2024-03-01..2025-03-31 | cut-off 2025-03-31 | withheld_in_full on 2025-05-14
subject: Investigative file for the Cedar Flats diesel release
P-005 | harlow-foundry | air_quality,permitting | Air Quality Program; Permitting Office | permit_file,email | 2022-07-01..2024-06-30 | cut-off 2024-06-30 | released_in_full on 2024-09-02
subject: Air permit file and correspondence, Harlow Foundry
P-006 | groundwater-modelling-contract | contracts_procurement | Contracts and Procurement | contract | 2023-07-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-19
subject: Consulting contracts for the groundwater modelling programme
P-007 | groundwater-modelling-contract | contracts_procurement | Contracts and Procurement; Office of the Director | email | 2023-07-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_part on 2025-08-19
subject: Emails about the groundwater modelling procurement
P-008 | agency-wide | legislative_affairs | Office of the Director | calendar_entry | 2025-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-01
subject: Director's calendar entries
P-009 | harlow-foundry | public_complaints | Air Quality Program | complaint_record | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-01-20
subject: Public complaints about odour from the Harlow Foundry
P-010 | pine-hollow-dairy | enforcement | Enforcement Division | memo,email | 2023-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | no_records_located on 2026-01-08
subject: Any enforcement action against Pine Hollow Dairy
P-011 | northgate-transfer-station | hazardous_waste | Enforcement Division; Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report,memo | 2020-01-01..2022-12-31 | cut-off 2022-12-31 | released_in_full on 2023-01-10
subject: Hazardous waste inspection records, Northgate transfer station
P-012 | mill-creek-outfall | water_quality | Water Quality Program | email | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-02-02
subject: Water quality sampling emails for the Mill Creek outfall, Water Quality Program
P-013 | mill-creek-outfall | water_quality | Field Inspections Unit | email | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-02-02
subject: Water quality sampling emails for the Mill Creek outfall, Field Inspections Unit
P-014 | blue-ridge-landfill | permitting | Permitting Office | permit_file | 2021-01-01..2024-12-31 | cut-off 2024-12-31 | released_in_full on 2025-03-06
subject: Permit file for the Blue Ridge landfill
P-015 | blue-ridge-landfill | inspections | Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report | 2022-01-01..2025-09-30 | cut-off 2025-09-30 | released_in_part on 2025-11-12
subject: Inspection reports for the Blue Ridge landfill
P-016 | sunset-marina | permitting,water_quality | Permitting Office; Water Quality Program | email,permit_file | 2023-06-01..2025-05-31 | cut-off 2025-05-31 | released_in_full on 2025-07-22
subject: Permit correspondence and permit file, Sunset Marina expansion
P-017 | sunset-marina | enforcement | Office of General Counsel | memo | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | withheld_in_full on 2026-01-30
subject: Counsel memoranda on the Sunset Marina enforcement referral
P-018 | riverside-quarry | enforcement | Enforcement Division; Office of General Counsel | memo,email | 2023-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | withheld_in_full on 2026-02-11
subject: Enforcement file, Riverside Aggregate quarry
P-019 | agency-wide | hazardous_waste | Office of the Director | memo | 2024-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-25
subject: Department-wide hazardous waste policy memoranda
P-020 | cedar-flats-spill | water_quality | Water Quality Program | inspection_report,email | 2024-03-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-05
subject: Water quality sampling after the Cedar Flats release
P-021 | harlow-foundry | inspections | Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report | 2023-01-01..2025-03-31 | cut-off 2025-03-31 | released_in_full on 2025-05-19
subject: Inspection reports, Harlow Foundry
P-022 | northgate-transfer-station | public_complaints | Enforcement Division | complaint_record | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_part on 2026-01-26
subject: Complaints about the Northgate transfer station
P-023 | pine-hollow-dairy | inspections | Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report | 2023-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-08
subject: Inspection reports, Pine Hollow Dairy
P-024 | blue-ridge-landfill | public_complaints | Enforcement Division | complaint_record | 2023-01-01..2024-12-31 | cut-off 2024-12-31 | released_in_full on 2025-02-14
subject: Complaints about the Blue Ridge landfill
P-025 | groundwater-modelling-contract | contracts_procurement | Office of the Director | calendar_entry | 2024-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-19
subject: Director's calendar entries relating to the groundwater modelling contract
P-026 | mill-creek-outfall | permitting | Permitting Office | permit_file,email | 2022-01-01..2024-12-31 | cut-off 2024-12-31 | released_in_full on 2025-02-27
subject: Permit file and correspondence, Mill Creek outfall
P-027 | riverside-quarry | permitting | Office of the Director | email | 2023-01-01..2024-06-30 | cut-off 2024-06-30 | released_in_part on 2024-08-12
subject: Director's correspondence on the Riverside Aggregate quarry expansion
P-028 | sunset-marina | public_complaints | Water Quality Program | complaint_record | 2024-06-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-02-06
subject: Complaints about the Sunset Marina expansion
P-029 | harlow-foundry | air_quality | Air Quality Program | memo | 2019-01-01..2022-12-31 | cut-off 2022-12-31 | released_in_full on 2023-01-05
subject: Air monitoring memoranda, Harlow Foundry
P-030 | northgate-transfer-station | permitting | Permitting Office | permit_file | 2023-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-15
subject: Permit file, Northgate transfer station
P-031 | cedar-flats-spill | enforcement | Office of General Counsel | memo | 2024-03-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | withheld_in_full on 2026-01-15
subject: Counsel memoranda on the Cedar Flats release
P-032 | blue-ridge-landfill | water_quality | Water Quality Program | inspection_report | 2023-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_full on 2025-08-11
subject: Water quality monitoring reports, Blue Ridge landfill
P-033 | riverside-quarry | public_complaints | Enforcement Division | complaint_record | 2023-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-02-09
subject: Complaints about the Riverside Aggregate quarry
P-034 | pine-hollow-dairy | water_quality | Water Quality Program | inspection_report,email | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_part on 2026-01-13
subject: Water quality records, Pine Hollow Dairy
P-035 | harlow-foundry | contracts_procurement | Contracts and Procurement | contract | 2023-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-01-28
subject: Contracts with the Harlow Foundry
P-036 | mill-creek-outfall | enforcement | Enforcement Division | memo,email | 2023-01-01..2025-06-30 | cut-off 2025-06-30 | released_in_part on 2025-08-21
subject: Enforcement records, Mill Creek outfall
P-037 | sunset-marina | inspections | Field Inspections Unit | inspection_report | 2023-06-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_full on 2026-02-03
subject: Inspection reports, Sunset Marina expansion
P-038 | agency-wide | legislative_affairs | Office of the Director; Office of General Counsel | email,memo | 2024-07-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | released_in_part on 2026-01-22
subject: Legislative correspondence, department-wide
P-039 | northgate-transfer-station | water_quality | Water Quality Program | inspection_report | 2019-01-01..2022-06-30 | cut-off 2022-06-30 | released_in_full on 2022-09-14
subject: Water quality monitoring, Northgate transfer station
P-040 | blue-ridge-landfill | hazardous_waste | Enforcement Division | memo | 2024-01-01..2025-12-31 | cut-off 2025-12-31 | no_records_located on 2026-02-05
subject: Hazardous waste records, Blue Ridge landfill
THE INTAKE RECORD -- what the office logged when this request arrived.
Request id RQ-0012
Received (logged) 2026-03-05
Arrived as walkin
Requester C. Boateng, Clean Air Cascadia
Fee waiver claimed yes
Prior requests by this org P-005, P-021, P-029, P-035
THE REQUEST, verbatim:
COUNTER INTAKE - transcribed by front desk staff
Date: 5 March 2026 Taken by: Front desk 1
Requester gave name as: C. Boateng, Clean Air Cascadia
Requester states:
Pursuant to the state public records law, please provide every one of the inspection reports that the Air Quality Program hold on the Mill Creek outfall, on the subject of air quality monitoring, dated between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025 inclusive. I am happy to receive these electronically. Please let me know if any part of this needs narrowing before you assign a search.
Reply with JSON and nothing else, exactly this shape:
{"matters": ["<one or more from the matter vocabulary>"],
"topics": ["<one or more from the topic vocabulary>"],
"custodians": ["<one or more from the custodian vocabulary>"],
"record_types": ["<one or more from the record type vocabulary>"],
"window_from": "<YYYY-MM-DD: the first day of the period asked for>",
"window_to": "<YYYY-MM-DD: the last day of the period asked for>",
"disposition": "DUPLICATE" | "PARTIAL" | "NO_REUSE_PRIOR" | "DISTINCT",
"matched_priors": ["<prior request ids that carry the answer, e.g. P-001; [] on a DISTINCT>"],
"residual_from": "<YYYY-MM-DD: the first day still to be searched, or null on a DUPLICATE>",
"residual_to": "<YYYY-MM-DD: the last day still to be searched, or null on a DUPLICATE>",
"residual_custodians": ["<every custodian that still has something to search; [] on a DUPLICATE>"],
"why": "<one sentence naming the clause that decided the disposition>"}
On a DISTINCT and on a NO_REUSE_PRIOR the whole request is still to be searched, so the residual
window is the window asked for and the residual custodians are all of them.