Making a Request for Public Records

Any person wishing to request copies of PSERN public records as defined by Washington’s Public Records Act, RCW 42.56.100, should make a written request to the public records officer by following the methods below. All other requests for information should be sent to info@psern.org. 

  • email recordsrequest@psern.org
  • send by mail
  • hand deliver to the public records officer at the PSERN main office during normal business hours.

PSERN Address:
PSERN Operator Facility
ATTN: Public Records Department
19717 62nd Ave S, Suite E-102
Kent, WA 98032

Requests for public records should include the following:

  • The name and contact information of the requestor (such as an email address, street address, or telephone number
  • A request for identifiable records that is sufficiently specific to allow the public records officer to locate the records. Please note that requests for information do not qualify as requests for identifiable records
  • The date of the request’s submission
  • Whether the requestor would like to inspect rather than receive copies of the records and, if copies, how applicable payment will be made
  • The date range of the records requested if not otherwise clear from the request language.

PSERN may require a requestor to provide an initial deposit of up to ten percent (10%) of the estimated charge of providing copies in response to a given request. PSERN may provide records on an installment basis, and PSERN may charge for each installment as it is produced. If an installment is offered to a requestor but not claimed or reviewed within 30 days (or some other reasonable period of time that PSERN has specified), PSERN will not be obligated to fulfill the balance of the request.

PSERN will respond to requests within five (5) business days of receiving the request. The public records officer will do one of the following:

  • Make the records available
  • Acknowledge receipt of the request and provide a reasonable estimate of when the records or an installment of records will be available (note that this estimate may be revised)
  • Acknowledge receipt of the request, ask the requestor to provide clarification as needed, and to the greatest extent possible provide a reasonable estimate of when the records or an installment of records will be available if the request is not clarified
  • Deny the request with a written statement of specific reasons.

Protecting Rights of Others

If the requested records contain information that may affect the rights of others and may be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer may, before providing the records, give notice to such others whose rights may be affected by the disclosure.

Records Exempt from Disclosure

If PSERN concludes that a record is to be withheld or redacted as exempt from disclosure, the public records officer will state the specific exemption(s) and provide a brief written explanation of why the record, or a portion of the record, is being withheld. If PSERN later identifies additional exemptions that may apply, it will provide updated notice of those to the requestor. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, PSERN will, if technically feasible, redact the exempt portions and provide the nonexempt portions.

A non-exhaustive list of commonly invoked exemptions within the PRA include RCW 42.56.230 (personal information); RCW 42.56.240 (protections related to investigative functions, law enforcement and crime victims); RCW 42.56.250 (employment information); RCW 42.56.270 (financial, commercial and proprietary information); RCW 42.56.280 (deliberative process); RCW 42.56.290 (agency party to a controversy); and RCW 42.56.410 (security).

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