INDEX
PART C - REVIEW OF DOCUMENTS FOR
DECLASSIFICATION OR DOWNGRADING
1. GENERAL. Part C pertains to RD, FRD, and NSI, except as noted on page
VI-14, paragraph 7. Previously generated classified documents shall be
reviewed for possible declassification/downgrading in accordance with
the procedures described below. Note that a determination that a
document is unclassified does not mean that it can be released to the
public. Other factors (e.g., FOIA exemptions, Privacy Act exemptions,
Patent Secrecy Act, or patent clearance review) may limit the
releasability of all or part of the document.
a. The following may not be automatically declassified, but must be
reviewed in accordance with appropriate procedures before they are
declassified.
(1) Documents with classification level markings but with no
markings which indicate declassification or review dates or
events.
(2) Documents marked as RD or FRD.
(3) Documents assigned to Groups 1, 2, or 3 as defined in
Executive Order 10964.
(4) Documents Exempt from the General Declassification Schedule
(XGDS) as defined in Executive Order 11652 and marked with a
date or event for automatic declassification beyond 20 years
from the date of origin of the documents (30 years for
documents containing foreign government information) or for
which the declassification period was impossible to determine
or was indefinite at the time of origin.
(5) Documents classified pursuant to Executive Order 12065 and
assigned a date or event for review.
b. Documents which involve conflicting declassification instructions
will be handled in accordance with the most restrictive
instructions. When there is reasonable doubt as to the need to
continue to classify a document or a group of documents, they shall
be safeguarded as Confidential NSI or RD, as appropriate, pending
determination of their classification status. Upon this
determination, they will be appropriately marked. If the marking
or remarking of large quantities is unduly burdensome, the holder
of the documents may attach a notice of classification status to
the storage unit in lieu of the individual marking action otherwise
required. Items withdrawn from the collection for purposes other
than transfer for storage shall be marked in accordance with the
classification notice or reviewed for proper classification level
and category and so marked.
c. Documents may be declassified only by Derivative Declassifiers and
Original Classifiers under certain conditions prescribed in this
Order. (See Chapter VI, Part A, and Chapter V, Part A,
respectively.)
d. In the declassification review process, referrals may be made, as
appropriate, to Responsible Reviewers. It is also the
responsibility of the Departmental Element or contractor
organization initiating the review to obtain patent clearance where
appropriate.
e. Under certain circumstances, SA-20 may determine that documents
concerned with specific sensitive areas may be declassified only by
certain declassifiers. Specific instructions will be issued when
and if such occasions arise. If the reviewer decides that he or
she is not sufficiently competent in the subject area addressed in
the document to determine whether it may be declassified or it is
outside his or her jurisdiction, the matter must be referred to the
local classification office or, where appropriate, through channels
to SA-20.
2. REVIEW BY DERIVATIVE DECLASSIFIERS.
a. Derivative Declassifiers shall review documents or materials
submitted to them for declassification review in accordance with
the provisions of this Order. If, as a result of the review,
documents or material are to be determined declassifiable, the
reviewers will declassify them. Documents or material determined
not to be declassifiable under this authority, but possibly
declassifiable under other authority, may be referred by the
Derivative Declassifiers for further processing to the
Classification Officer or SA-20, as appropriate.
b. Classified documents requiring sanitization or declassification in
order to be approved as unclassified shall receive two independent
reviews. The first review can be conducted by either a Derivative
Declassifier or an Authorized Classifier knowledgeable in the
subject area. A Derivative Declassifier (different from the first
reviewer) must conduct the second review and must make the final
determination that the documents following sanitization or
declassification are indeed unclassified. This requirement may be
waived by SA-20 following its consideration of the types of
documents to be reviewed and its determination that a single review
would be adequate for the documents concerned; however, it is the
intent of this directive that dual review is the rule for
previously classified documents proposed for public disclosure as
unclassified and that exceptions to this rule will be made only
under unusual circumstances.
c. The person who declassifies a document shall notify the originator
of the declassification of the document. The originator shall
notify all other known holders of the report of the
declassification action to the maximum extent practical.
3. REVIEW BY ORIGINAL CLASSIFIERS. Authorized Original Classifiers may
originally declassify NSI over which they have exclusive programmatic
jurisdiction and which they, their predecessors, or subordinates
originally classified, provided the declassification is consistent with
DOE policy. They may derivatively declassify RD, FRD, and NSI documents
(other than formal reports) over which they have exclusive programmatic
jurisdiction and which they, their predecessors, or subordinates
derivatively classified, provided the declassification is consistent
with DOE policy and guidance. Derivative declassification actions must
be based on the information appearing as an unclassified topic in a
guide approved for the classifier's use in declassifying documents.
4. LARGE-SCALE REVIEWS. A large-scale review may be any review of a group
of documents containing classified documents. Whether or not a review
is considered large-scale must be determined by the individual facility
based on factors such as how many documents must be reviewed, the rate
at which they are to be reviewed, what is the impact on current manpower
resources, etc. If there is doubt as to whether a review is large-scale
or not, SA-20 should be consulted. A large-scale review may consist of
file clearance reviews of files containing classified documents that are
obsolete or deal with an activity that has been declassified or
discontinued to declassify those documents no longer requiring security
protection, or it may be a FOIA request review of a group of documents.
The routine review of NSI documents to determine whether an established
declassification date or event has occurred does not constitute a
large-scale review. Large-scale reviews are subject to the following
special requirements in addition to normal procedures:
a. Special reviews may be approved only by the cognizant DOE
Classification Officer after written coordination with SA-20. A
request to conduct a special review at a contractor site must be
submitted by the DOE contractor Classification Officer to the Field
Office. The Field Office will review the proposal and may approve
it only after written coordination with SA-20. (HQ and Field
Elements should submit requests for such reviews at their sites to
SA-20.)
b. All such requests shall include, at a minimum:
(1) A description of the nature of the review;
(2) An explanation of the requirement for the review;
(3) The identities and qualifications of the reviewers;
(4) A description of the classification guidance to be used on
the review; and
(5) Detailed, written procedures for conducting the technical and
clerical aspects of the review, including methods of quality
assurance to be employed.
c. The review must be conducted under the direct supervision of the
local Classification Officer (SA-20 in Headquarters).
d. As with all declassification reviews, extreme care must be
exercised.
(1) Particular care must be taken to assure that sufficient time
is allowed for a careful and thorough review of the documents.
(2) Reviewers must be rebriefed just prior to initiation of the
review project to assure they are fully cognizant of their
authorities and thoroughly understand the classification
guidance to be used.
(3) Declassification of each document will require two reviews:
the first by an Authorized Classifier or Derivative
Declassifier and the second by a different Derivative
Declassifier.
(4) Specific instructions must be given regarding treatment of
information not covered explicitly in current classification
guides.
5. PATENT APPLICATION REVIEW.
a. Requests for declassification review of patent applications shall
be sent through the local patent office to GC-42.
b. GC-42 initiates requests for declassification review of all patent
applications.
c. DC-42 shall transmit one copy of the patent application to SA-20
for review to determine if it may be declassified in accordance
with current DOE classification policy.
d. SA-20 may refer questions about declassification of DOE patent
applications to a Responsible Reviewer for review and
recommendations. However, classified, private, non-DOE patent
applications shall not be referred to a Responsible Reviewer
without the express written approval of GC-42. Such special
handling of patent applications as is necessary to comply with
section 151e of the Atomic Energy Act and as may be required to
protect the patent position of the U.S. Government will be
observed.
e. Upon completion of the required review, SA-20 will return the
patent application to GC-42 with the determination.
6. REVIEWS PURSUANT TO EXECUTIVE ORDER OR STATUTE. Executive Order 12356,
the FOIA, and the Privacy Act contain provisions requiring
classification review of information and documents. The procedures for
carrying out such reviews are given in the following subparagraphs:
a. Executive Order 12356 requires the establishment of procedures for
Mandatory Review for declassification of NSI. It also requires
that systematic review guidelines be furnished to the Archivist of
the United States for use in reviewing for declassification/
downgrading of (1) classified documents accessioned into the
National Archives of the United States and (2) classified
Presidential documents under the Archivist's control which were
originated by or contain information under the purview of DOE or
its predecessors. Under Executive Order 12356, SA-20 may conduct
internal and systematic review programs for classified information
originated by DOE and contained in documents determined by the
Archivist to be permanently valuable, but which have not been
accessioned into the National Archives of the United States.
(1) Mandatory Review for Declassification.
(a) Conditions for Request. Except as provided in section
3.4(b) of Executive Order 12356, all information
classified by DOE under Executive Order 12356 or its
predecessor orders (i.e., NSI) is subject to a review for
declassification by DOE if the request meets the
following conditions:
1 Is made by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien,
a Federal agency, or a State or local government;
2 Describes the document or material containing or
revealing the NSI in question with sufficient
specificity to enable it to be located with a
reasonable effort; and
3 Is sent to the Director of Classification, U.S.
Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585.
(b) Invalid Requests. The requester is to be notified
promptly by SA-20 if his or her request is not valid.
This notification letter explains why the request cannot
be processed and, if applicable, tells the requester what
additional information is needed to allow processing of
the request.
(c) Valid Requests. Upon receipt of a valid request for
mandatory declassification review, SA-20 shall:
1 Contact all appropriate Departmental Elements
requesting that their files be searched for documents
or material responsive to the request.
2 On the basis of the results of the above search,
determine whether estimated review and coordination
time required to process the request precludes a
prompt declassification determination and, if so,
inform the requester of the additional time needed to
process the request.
3 Review the documents or material responsive to the
request and determine whether or not the classified
information under the purview of DOE contained in or
revealed by the documents or material can be
declassified.
4 Coordinate with other agencies the review of documents
or material originated by DOE that are responsive to
the request and that contain information under the
purview of those agencies.
5 After deletion of all classified information under the
purview of DOE, forward a copy of any documents or
material originated by another agency to that agency
for further processing and direct response to the
requester, including a copy of the request together
with recommendations for action and, after
consultation with the originating agency, inform the
requester of the referral.
6 Transmit to the requester the final determination of
SA-20 as to whether all or part of any documents or
material responsive to the request may be released to
the requester.
7 In those cases where a fee is to be charged, notify
the requester of the estimated amount of the fee and
await confirmation by the requester of willingness to
pay the fee.
8 In those cases where no fee is to be charged, or where
the requester has agreed to pay the fee, and
consistent with other applicable law, send the
requester copies of declassified documents or
material or declassified portions of classified
documents or material that constitute coherent
segments.
9 In those cases where all or part of documents or
material responsive to a request cannot be
declassified, notify the requester that he or she has
the right to an administrative appeal of the denial
within 60 days of receipt of the denial letter. The
requester shall be notified that the appeal shall
specify why the requester believes the information in
question does not warrant classification and, if
possible, should include copies of the initial request
letter and the denial letter from the Director of
Classification. The appeal should be sent to the
Director of Security Affairs, U.S. Department of
Energy, Washington, DC 20585.
(d) Appeals of Denials of Mandatory Declassification Review
Requests. SA-1 is the appeal authority for denials of
mandatory declassification review requests. Appeals will
be processed in accordance with procedures established by
SA-1.
(2) Systematic Review by the Archivist of the United States.
Executive Order 12356 requires the Archivist of the United
States to systematically review for declassification or
downgrading (a) classified documents accessioned into the
National Archives of the United States and (b) classified
Presidential documents under the Archivists control. Such
documents shall be reviewed in accordance with systematic
review guidelines provided by SA-20 for information under the
purview of DOE or its predecessors.
(a) Systematic Review Guidelines. SA-20 shall issue and
maintain guidelines for systematic declassification
review of information under the purview of DOE or its
predecessors. These guidelines shall be developed in
consultation with the Archivist and the Director of the
ISOO and are designed to assist the Archivist in the
conduct of systematic reviews. These guidelines shall be
reviewed and updated at least every 5 years unless
earlier review is requested by the Archivist.
(b) Assistance to the Archivist. SA-20 shall designate
experienced personnel to provide timely assistance to the
Archivist in the systematic review process. Such
personnel shall be designated as having Derivative
Declassification Authority for the documents subject to
the systematic review process that contain information
under the purview of DOE or its predecessors.
(c) Internal Systematic Review Programs. SA-20 may conduct
internal systematic review programs of documents
containing information under the purview of DOE or its
predecessors that have been determined by the Archivist
to be permanently valuable but that have not been
accessioned into the National Archives of the United
States. SA-20 shall originate any required instructions
or guidelines on a case-by-case basis for internal
systematic review programs.
b. Freedom of Information Act.
(1) Denial Authority. SA-20 concurs on release and serves as the
denying official for that portion of a request involving
classified records.
(2) Review. Classification reviews and other actions regarding
review of classified documents requested pursuant to the FOIA
shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this
Order and DOE Order 1700.1, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PROGRAM.
(3) Appeals of Denials of Requests Pursuant to FOIAs.
(a) Authority. SA-1 shall concur on those parts of all
appeal decisions which concern the denial of FOIA
requests made under statute or Executive order. In such
cases, SA-1 shall make the final appeal determination if
any portion of a document or material previously denied
is to be released.
(b) Analytical Support. SA-20 shall provide analytical
support and recommendations to assist SA-1 in exercising
his or her appeal authority concerning the denial of the
release of documents or material in all appeals involving
such requests made under statute or Executive order. A
Denying Official shall provide to SA-20 supporting or
background material requested by SA-20 concerning the
denial determination made by the Denying Official which
is the subject of the appeal.
(4) Foreign Government Information. See Chapter III, paragraph 5,
page III-2.
c. Privacy Act of 1974.
(1) Review. Classification review and other actions regarding
review of classified documents requested pursuant to the
Privacy Act shall be conducted in accordance with the
provisions of this Order and DOE Order 1800.1A, PRIVACY ACT.
(2) Appeals of Denials of Requests Pursuant to the Privacy Act.
(a) SA-1 shall concur in the final determinations concerning
the disclosure and denial of all classified information
contained in records or system of records in all appeals
involving such requests made under statute or Executive
order.
(b) SA-20 shall provide analytical support and
recommendations to assist SA-1 in exercising his or her
appeal authority concerning the disclosure and denial of
all classified information contained in records or
systems of records in all appeals involving such requests
made under statute or Executive order.
d. Confirmation of Existence of Requested Documents. Individuals
responding to requests for classified documents made pursuant to
the FOIA, the Privacy Act, or the mandatory review provisions of
Executive Order 12356 shall refuse to confirm or deny the existence
or nonexistence of requested documents whenever the fact of their
existence or nonexistence is itself classified.
7. OTHER REVIEWS BY THE OFFICE OF CLASSIFICATION.
a. Centralized Categorical Reviews. Under certain circumstances,
SA-20 may determine that the declassification review of documents
or material dealing with specified categories of information must
be conducted by SA-20.
b. Priority Reviews. When the Head of a Departmental Element or his
or her designated representative determines that an immediate
declassification review is required of a document that is beyond
the local declassification authority, he or she may request a
priority review for declassification by SA-20. SA-20 will conduct
the review as rapidly as possible and will return one copy of the
document to the initiator of the declassification request with an
official notification of final action. When the situation so
warrants, a priority review should be explicitly requested, with a
brief explanation as to the need for special handling. The purpose
of the review and any special instructions should be included in
the request.
c. Reviews Upon Termination of Employment. DOE or DOE contractor
personnel who retire or otherwise terminate employment with the DOE
or its contractors and wish to take documents or material; e.g.,
memorandums, personal records, diaries, that fall wholly or
partially in areas that are classified are personally responsible
for assuring that all such documents or material are unclassified
and fully releasable. This determination may be made by an
Authorized Derivative Classifier or the local Classification
Office.
8. DEPARTMENTAL AND CONTRACTOR REVIEW RESPONSIBILITY.
a. Originating Departmental Element or Contractor Organization. The
Departmental Element or contractor organization or its successor
which originated a document must be consulted before
declassification or downgrading of that document.
b. Departmental Element or Contractor Organization With Programmatic
Interest in a Document. Regardless of who originated it, any
document containing information outside the programmatic
jurisdiction of the declassifier must be coordinated with the
Departmental Element(s) or contractor organization(s) having
programmatic interest. In the case of other agency or foreign
government information, see paragraph d, below. This coordination
is particularly important when no single organization has sole
programmatic jurisdiction over the information in a document.
c. Director of Classification. SA-20 is authorized to make the final
determination to declassify or downgrade documents originated by
any Departmental Element or contractor organization. This
authority may be delegated.
d. External Coordination. SA-20 shall conduct all interagency or
inter-Governmental coordination required to declassify or downgrade
documents in the possession of DOE or its contractors. When SA-20
receives a request made pursuant to the FOIA, the Privacy Act, or
the mandatory review provisions of Executive Order 12356 for
classified documents in its custody that were classified by another
agency, it shall refer copies of the request and the requested
documents to the originating agency for processing, and may, only
after consultation with the originating agency, inform the
requester of the referral. In cases in which the originating
agency determines in writing that a response subject to the
conditions specified on page VI-14, paragraph 6d, of this part is
required, SA-20 shall respond to the requester in accordance with
that paragraph.
9. REPRODUCTION FOR DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW. Reproduction of documents for
the sole purpose of facilitating their review for declassification does
not require the consent of the originator.