A Review of the Department of Energy Classification Policy and Practice (1995) / Chapter Skim
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5 DECLASSIFYING DOCUMENTS
5 DECLASSIFYING DOCUMENTS
Pages 67-82
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From page 67... ...
must find a means for reviewing documents to determine whether they contain only unclassified information and, if so, for releasing them to an often skeptical public. This chapter reviews the process of handling classified documents, inclucling declassification, and suggests a number of both general and specific improvements.
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From page 68... ...
The constant challenge for the Department is to identify and then locate the documents of interest to the inquirer, determine whether they are commingled with classified information, anti -- if not -- make them available. The first aspect of the challenge is simply the huge quantity of classified documents.
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From page 69... ...
That assessment is an essential first step in formulating plans to address the problem. As part of the Openness Initiative, in June 1994 the Under Secretary of Energy requested heads of DOE headquarters elements, field office managers, and contractors to prepare plans for a systematic review of classified records for (lecIassification as part of a Department-wide systematic declassification review program, including proposed schedules and budgets.4 It is appropriate to defer commitment to any firm schedule for declassification 2 U.S.
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From page 70... ...
At present, DOE has only very aggregated and approximate figures for security costs.6 Requiring each budgetary unit in the Department to estimate the net current year and long-term costs resulting from classification and declassification actions in that year would provicle some incentive to minimize needless creation of classified documents and to expedite clecIassification.7 Since resources for the declassification effort will be limited, priorities will have to be set to determine which documents or classes of documents should be declassified first. Setting such priorities is primarily a policy or value judgment that DOE should make with substantial input from stakeholders.
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From page 71... ...
DOE should set priorities for declassifying documents of historical value using a process like the one it has already established with the National Archives and Records Administration and stakeholders to deal with documents transferred to the National Archives. DOE estimates that there are already on the order of 3 million classified DOE documents in the National Archives.~° The DOE is "Moreover, given public and congressional concern today that sufficient resources are not being devoted to current FOIA, Privacy Act, and mandatory review requesters, diverting limited available resources to a time-consuming review process that is not driven by customer demand is unacceptable" (Joint Security Commission, 1994, p.
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From page 72... ...
~ ~ The Department and the National Archives and Records Administration co-hosted a stakeholders meeting in January 1994 to discuss priorities for declassification review with historians, archivists, and researchers. The priority list that the Archives supplied was approved by the stakeholders and is being followed.~2 This process should be continued and expanded.
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From page 73... ...
DOE has taken an important step in this direction by making available through INTERNET a publicly accessible computer database, called OPENNET,is that provides bibliographic and locator information on There is a risk that these reviewers could prove to be so steeped in the "old culture" that they resist the new declassification approach. Strong, clear direction and continuing assessment of their work, especially in its early stages, will be necessary.
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From page 74... ...
Anecdotal evidence suggests that different declassification officials applying the same guidance may reach startlingly different conclusions as to the classified content of a document. The reliability of the entire system is suspect if significant variances are a frequent occurrence.
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From page 75... ...
Given the concern that it is more damaging to national interests to release classified information inadvertently than to fad! to release declassified information, it is not surprising that there are objections to proposals for bulk declassification in which large numbers of documents meeting certain criteria, such as age or inclusion in a particular set of files, would be i9 Segments of the DOE community have significant expertise in the application of computer technologies and, if charged with the task, could no doubt offer numerous suggestions for designing the Department's management system in a fashion that will facilitate the classification, declassification, and handling of the Department's files.
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From page 76... ...
This initial screening could be concluctecI by suitably trained individuals or perhaps by machine using the artificial intelligence approach discussed below. Documents in the categories least likely to contain such information could then be subjected to a less rigorous declassification review, such as by one person instead of two.
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From page 77... ...
This would avoid questions about reliability of AI as a means of ensuring that documents do not contain RD. If AI proves to be a useful method for screening in declassification reviews, its implementation should be integrates} with any broader document management system developed by DOE in order to get double value from the cost of entering documents into computer form for the Al system.
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From page 78... ...
B Newly Generated Documents As noted earlier, the Committee has been told that DOE is losing ground on the sheer volume of classified documents: new cIassifiect records are being generated faster than others are being decIassifiecI.
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From page 79... ...
The classifier of new documents should be required to identify the paragraphs of the DOE classification guide requiring the classification action. The DOE's classification process should require that all newly generated documents be marked in a way that not only facilitates declassification, but also increases accountability anti discourages needless or automatic classification.
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From page 80... ...
CIassif~ec! addenda or tear sheets to separate classified from uncIassif~eci information could be used whenever only a small portion of an otherwise unclassified document contains classified information.28 This would facilitate review ant!
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From page 81... ...
* Taken together, this combination of broad policy changes, investment in better processes, and specific adjustments in procedures should go a long way to address the currently daunting problems of managing DOE's classified document holdings.
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