Environment Agency: make a request for information under FOI or EIR
How to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) request to the Environment Agency.
Applies to England
This page outlines how to make a request for information under Freedom of Information 2000 (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) with the the Environment Agency. It also contains a link to previous FOI releases.
Before you make a request
You may not need to make a FOI or EIR request. Your question may have already been asked or the information may be found elsewhere.
Previous releases
Check our previous FOI releases to see if we’ve already answered your question.
Environmental data
Search the Defra data services platform for all kinds of environmental data.
Environmental permits
Environmental permits are available via the Public Registers Online.
Flood information
- get flood risk information for planning in England – this can be useful for planning purposes, buying, selling or valuing a property or for insurance purposes
- find out if your property is in an area that has flooded by looking at our records of historic floods. Alternatively use our simple viewer, searchable by postcode
Personal data
You do not need to make a FOI request if it’s for your own personal data. This is a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act 2018. Please send Subject Access Requests to dataprotection@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Make a complaint or report an environmental problem
There’s a different way to:
How to submit an FOI or EIR request
We want to be as open as possible in answering requests, and to help you get the information you are looking for.
To submit an effective request for information you should:
- read about the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and how to make a request
- use straightforward, clear language
- be specific about the information you wish to receive
- include details like date ranges for the information you wish to receive
- include details of the location of interest, where possible
- specify whether you have a preferred format to receive the information
More guidance on this can be found on the Information Commission website.
Submit a FOI or EIR request to the Environment Agency
You should only use this service to submit requests for recorded information relating to:
- the whole of England
- 3 or more counties
- centralised corporate services, such as HR, finance, IT and corporate policy
If your request does not relate to any of these, or is a general enquiry, email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.