Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Appeals
Regulations
Cases
Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Web Resources
The Freedom
of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the
Privacy
Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, together contain the general principles under
which executive agencies, such as the Department of Energy, make information in
their possession available to the public and at the same time protect the
privacy interest of individuals about whom the agency has obtained information.
Each of these statutes requires the agencies to promulgate regulations that
specify how these principles will be implemented. The Department of Energy's
FOIA and Privacy Act regulations, 10 C.F.R. Parts 1004 and 1008, respectively,
provide that individuals may request information from the Department of Energy
(and in some instances correct it). The FOIA requires that documents held by
federal agencies generally be released to the public upon request. Pursuant to
an appropriate request, agencies are required to search their records for
responsive documents. If responsive documents cannot be located, the requester
must be told whether the requested record is known to have been disposed of or
never to have existed. 10 C.F.R. § 1004.4(d). The FOIA lists nine
exemptions that set forth the types of information which may be withheld at the
discretion of an agency. 5 U.S.C. § 552(b); 10 C.F.R. § 1004.10(b).
The DOE regulations further provide that a document exempt from mandatory
disclosure under the FOIA shall nonetheless be released to the public, whenever
the DOE determines that disclosure is not contrary to federal law and in the
public interest. 10 C.F.R. § 1004.1.
A requester of information must receive a written response to each request.
These initial agency determinations may be appealed to the Office of Hearings
and Appeals. Decisions of the Office of Hearings and Appeals constitute the
agency's final determinations on requests made under either statute. OHA
decisions issued after January 1, 1995 are available by clicking the Cases link above.
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