Office of Document Reviews
(Reports to the Office of Classification)

Mission and Functions

Mission
The Office of Document Reviews ensures that all documents prepared at DOE Headquarters are properly marked to identify the level and category of protected information they contain (if any) and to ensure that all documents the Department prepares or is required to review under applicable statutes for public release contain no information requiring protection under law, regulations and Executive orders.

Functions

• Declassifies documents containing Restricted Data (RD), Formerly Restricted Data (FRD), or National Security Information (NSI) in any subject area under DOE or NNSA cognizance using approved classification guidance.
• Interprets and applies classification and control policy and guidance to the review of documents for classified and controlled information.
• Provides assistance to Presidential Libraries and Regional Archives to ensure that documents containing RD and FRD have not been and are not being improperly declassified.
• Conducts classification/declassification reviews of documents originated in classified or potentially classified subject areas that will be provided to Congress (e.g., DOE statements for the record, budget submittals).
• Conducts classification/declassification reviews of documents originated in classified or potentially classified subject areas required under litigation or other court ordered process.
• Conducts classification/declassification reviews of DOE permanent historical documents subject to EO 12958, Section 3.4.
• Conducts classification/declassification reviews of Other Agency historical records, subject to EO 12958, Section 3.4, referred to DOE for resolution of DOE equities.
• Reviews other agency records located at the National Archives, declassified under EO 12958, Section 3.4, to ensure that inadvertently declassified RD and FRD is removed from public access (PL 105-261, Section 3161).
• Directs the quality control review of records being declassified by other agencies under section 3.4 of Executive Order 12958 and sent to the National Archives and Records Administration for access by the public to ensure the documents do not inadvertently contain RD or FRD information. Notifies Congress quarterly of any RD or FRD found in those documents (Public Laws 105-261 and 106-65).
• Conducts declassification reviews of documents associated with special projects as directed by Senior Department Management (e.g., human radiation experiments).
• Conducts the review of classified documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Privacy Act, or mandatory review provisions of Executive Order 12958 and identifies all classified and certain controlled information for redaction to allow release to requester.
• Reviews documents originated by Headquarters organizations in potentially classified or classified subject areas that are intended for public release or that have such widespread internal distribution that public release is likely.
• Reviews Patent Applications to determine which require the imposition of Secrecy Orders per the Invention Secrecy Act and performs annual reviews of Patent Applications previously placed under Secrecy Order.
• Conducts extensive intra and interagency and intergovernmental coordination of classified documents requested under the FOIA or involved in litigation to ensure that all classified information is identified and redacted prior to releasing the information to the requester or litigants.
• Conducts a systematic review of classified documents for Headquarters organizations to determine which may be declassified, based on the degree of public and researcher interest and the likelihood of declassification upon review.