The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 provide a separate right of access to environmental information held by public authorities and certain other bodies.
EIR covers environmental information such as emissions, land, water, environmental measures, planning-related environmental material and factors affecting the environment. The regime overlaps with FOI but has important differences, including its own exceptions and an express right to an internal review.
If information is environmental, the authority should handle it under EIR even if you labelled the request “FOI”.
Key points
- Environmental information may engage EIR rather than FOIA.
- EIR has exceptions rather than FOI exemptions.
- Regulation 11 gives a right to request an internal review.
- Public-interest considerations are built into many EIR exceptions.
What counts as environmental information?
The definition is broad and can include the state of environmental elements, emissions/discharges, measures and policies affecting them, reports on implementation and certain cost-benefit/economic analyses used in environmental measures.
Internal review is expressly required
Unlike FOIA, the EIR expressly provides for an internal review where the requester says the authority failed to comply. The authority should explain this right in an EIR refusal.
Current legal developments matter
ICO guidance is updated as courts interpret the Regulations. For example, its 2026 internal-review guidance notes the Court of Appeal decision in O’Hanlon concerning the time at which certain exception/public-interest questions are assessed.
EIR timing and review rights are more specific than many people realise
The ordinary EIR response period is 20 working days. For particularly voluminous and complex requests, the authority can in specified circumstances extend the time for providing the information to 40 working days, but it must notify the requester within the initial period. If you are dissatisfied, a request for internal review must generally be made in writing within 40 working days of the perceived failure. The authority must complete the EIR internal review as soon as possible and within 40 working days.
Why choosing EIR rather than FOI can matter
Environmental information has its own exceptions, public-interest structure, charging rules and statutory review regime. If a planning, emissions, land, water, waste or environmental-measure request is wrongly handled purely under FOIA, identify why the information is environmental and ask the authority to reconsider under the correct regime. The classification can significantly change both the refusal test and the review procedure.
In practice
- Do not accept an FOI refusal without checking whether the requested material is actually environmental.
- Use the EIR internal review as a focused reconsideration route.
- Keep the environmental context clear in your request.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Identify why the information is environmental.
- Submit the request.
- Track the response deadline.
- Request a Regulation 11 internal review if dissatisfied.
- Escalate to ICO if unresolved.
Common traps
Things that often confuse the issue
- Assuming “planning” automatically means every record is environmental.
- Using FOI exemption terminology when the authority has applied EIR exceptions.
- Skipping the EIR internal review.
Evidence worth keeping
The internal review is statutory under EIR.
Under regulation 11, you can ask the authority to reconsider its handling. The review must be completed as soon as possible and no later than 40 working days; ICO says 20 working days should be the aim in most cases. If still dissatisfied, complain to the ICO.
Common challenge.
If the authority applied FOIA to obviously environmental records, make the legal classification itself a ground of review because exemptions, public-interest rules and timing can differ.
EIR exceptions generally carry a presumption in favour of disclosure.
Most regulation 12 exceptions require the public-interest test, and the Regulations expressly contain a presumption in favour of disclosure. A costs argument under FOIA does not automatically become a valid “manifestly unreasonable” EIR refusal; the EIR test must be applied on its own terms.
The EIR timing and extension rules are specific.
The normal response deadline is 20 working days. Regulation 7 can extend this to 40 working days where the request is particularly voluminous and complex and it would be impracticable to respond within 20 working days. The authority must notify you of the extension within the first 20 working days and explain the delay. EIR does not allow extra time solely to conduct the public-interest test.
Environmental information should be considered under EIR, even if you called the request “FOI”.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 apply to environmental information held by public authorities and some other bodies performing public functions. The definition is broad and can cover emissions, land, water, biodiversity, environmental measures, planning-related information, policies and analyses. The authority should apply the correct regime based on the information, not simply the label in your email.
Official sources
Check the rules behind this guide
- ICO - EIR guidance
- ICO - EIR internal reviews
- ICO: EIR time limits ↗
- Legislation.gov.uk: Environmental Information Regulations 2004 ↗
These are official or primary sources for this topic. Rules, scheme terms and deadlines can change, so check the live source before relying on a formal time limit or procedure.