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FOIA Overview
The
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Title 5, United States Code, Section
552, was signed into law on July 4, 1966, by President Lyndon
Johnson. The FOIA has since been amended in 1974, 1986, and most
recently, with the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of
1996.
Lyndon Johnson pronounced in his statement issued at the time he
signed the FOIA into law, "This legislation springs from one of our most
essential principles: a democracy works best when the people have all
the information that the security of the Nation permits." The FOIA
establishes the premise that government information should be accessible
to the people. Before the FOIA was signed in 1966, the burden was the on
the requester to demonstrate a need to know, and there were no judicial
remedies for those denied access. With the passage of the FOIA, the
standard of a need to know has become a right to know, and the burden
has shifted to the government to prove why records should not be
disclosed. Judicial remedies are also provided.
The FOIA applies to documents held by agencies in the executive
branch of the federal government, such as the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE). The FOIA does not apply to Congress or the judicial branch, nor
does it apply to records of state or local governments. However, many
state governments have their own open records laws. You may request
information about a state's laws by writing the attorney general of the
state.
The FOIA requires that certain information, such as descriptions of
agency organization and office addresses, statements of agency
operations, rules of procedures, general policy statements, final
opinions made in the adjudication of cases, and administrative staff
manuals that affect the public must be made available for inspection by
the general public. This is accomplished through the use of public
reading rooms.
All other agency records may be requested under the FOIA, regardless
of the format of the record (i.e., electronic records, photographs,
videos, tape recordings, etc.). The FOIA requires that a requester ask
for documents, not information. This means that an agency need only look
for an existing document, not create documents or answer questions in
response to FOIA requests.
Although the FOIA is primarily a disclosure law, not all documents
requested under the FOIA are automatically released. There are
nine
exemptions under which records may be withheld from public inspection.
The FOIA mandates a response within 20 days of receipt of a request
(excluding weekends and federal holidays). The Nevada Site Office
strives to meet this processing time frame; however, due to voluminous
requests, and classification and legal reviews, some requests may take a
longer period of time to complete.
All requests made pursuant to the FOIA become a matter of public
record, with personal information about requesters deleted. Requests for
classified records, including requests for mandatory review pursuant to
Executive Order 12598, will automatically be considered a FOIA request.
The DOE Director of the Office of Declassification in Washington, D.C.,
is responsible for the release determination of any classified records
that are identified as responsive to FOIA requests.
The adequacy of search for documents, the partial or full denial of
documents, and fees assessed may be appealed. Such appeals must be made
in writing, within 30 days of receipt of the denial letter, to the
following address:
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals, HG-1
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585
Judicial review will thereafter be available within the district in
which the requester resides or has their principal place of business, in
which the Department’s records are situated, or in the District of
Columbia.
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