2.1—Processing of mandatory declassification review requests.
(a)
Except as provided by section 3.4(b) of Executive Order 13292, Further Amendment
to Executive Order 12958, as amended, Classified National Security
Information, all information classified by the Department of the Treasury under
these Orders or any predecessor Executive Order shall be subject to mandatory
declassification review by the Department, if:
(1)
The request for a mandatory declassification review describes the document or
material containing the information with sufficient specificity to enable Treasury
personnel to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort;
(2)
The information is not exempt from search and review under sections 105C, 105D,
or 701 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 431, 432 and 432a ); and
(3)
The information has not been reviewed for declassification within the past 2
years or the information is not the subject of pending litigation.
(b)
Requests for classified records originated by the Department of the Treasury
shall be directed to the Office of Security Programs, Attention: Assistant Director
(Information Security), 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. Upon
receipt of each request for mandatory declassification review, pursuant to section 3.5
of Executive Order 13292, the following procedures will apply:
(2)
(i)
A mandatory declassification review request need not identify the requested
information by date or title of the responsive records, but must be of sufficient
specificity to allow Treasury personnel to locate records containing the information
sought with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever a request does not reasonably
describe the information sought, the requester will be notified by the Office of
Security Programs that unless additional information is provided or the scope of the
request is narrowed, no further action will be undertaken with respect to the
request.
(ii)
If Treasury has reviewed the information within the past 2 years and determined
that all or part thereof remains classified, or the information is the subject of
pending litigation, the requester shall be so informed and advised of the requester's
appeal rights.
(3)
The Office of Security Programs will determine the appropriate Treasury offices
or bureaus to conduct the mandatory declassification review. The Office of Security
Programs will also advise Treasury and/or bureau reviewing officials concerning the
mandatory declassification review process. Classified information
relating to intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence
sources or methods, or cryptology will also be coordinated with the Office of the
Assistant Secretary (Intelligence and Analysis). As appropriate, the Office of
Security Programs will refer requests to other Federal departments and agencies having
a direct interest in the requested documents.
(4)
(i)
Treasury personnel undertaking a mandatory declassification review shall make
reasonable efforts to determine if particular information may be declassified.
Reviewing officials may rely on applicable exemption criteria under the Freedom of
Information Act, the Privacy Act, and any other applicable law that authorizes the
withholding of information. Reviewing officials shall also identify the amount of
search and review time required to process each request. Barring extenuating
circumstances, mandatory declassification reviews for reasonably small volumes of
records should be completed in a timely fashion. A final determination regarding large
volumes of records should ordinarily be made within one year of Treasury's receipt of
any mandatory declassification review request.
(ii)
If the Director, Office of Security Programs determines that a Treasury office
or bureau responsible for conducting a mandatory declassification review is not making
reasonable efforts to review classified information subject to a mandatory
declassification request, the Director may authorize Treasury-and/or bureau-originated
information to be declassified in consultation with the Department's Senior Agency
Official.
(iii)
If information cannot be declassified in its entirety, reasonable efforts,
consistent with applicable law, will be made to release those declassified portions of
the requested information that constitute a coherent segment. Upon the denial or
partial denial of a declassification request, the requester will be so informed by the
Office of Security Programs and advised of the requester's appeal rights.
(5)
(i)
If Treasury receives a mandatory declassification review request for
information in its possession that were originated by another Federal department or
agency, the Office of Security Programs will forward the request to that department or
agency for a declassification determination, together with a copy of the requested
records, a recommendation concerning a declassification determination, and a request
to be advised of that department's or agency's declassification determination. The
Office of Security Programs may, after consultation with the originating department or
agency, inform any requester of the referral unless such association is itself
classified under Executive Order 13292 or prior orders.
(ii)
Mandatory declassification review requests concerning classified information
originated by a Treasury office or bureau that has been transferred to another Federal
department or agency will be forwarded to the appropriate successor department or
agency for a declassification determination.
(6)
If another Federal department or agency forwards a mandatory declassification
review request to Treasury for information in its custody that was classified by
Treasury, the Office of Security Programs will:
(i)
Advise the referring department or agency as to whether it may notify the
requester of the referral; and
(ii)
Respond to the Federal department, agency, or requester, as applicable, in
accordance with the requirements of this section.
(7)
(i)
Upon the denial, in whole or in part, of a request for the mandatory
declassification review of information, the Office of Security Programs will so notify
the requester in writing and will inform the requester of the right to appeal the
classification determination within 60 calendar days of the receipt of the
classification determination. The notice will also advise the requester of the name
and address of the Treasury official who will be responsible for deciding an appeal
(the Deciding Official). The Office of Security Programs will coordinate appeals with
the appropriate Treasury offices and bureaus.
(ii)
The Deciding Official should make a determination on an appeal within 30 working days following the receipt of the appeal, or within 60 working
days following receipt if the Deciding Official determines that additional time is
required to make a determination and so notifies the requester. The Deciding Official
should notify the requester in writing of Treasury's determination on appeal and, if
applicable, the reasons for any whole or partial denial of the appeal. The Office of
Security Programs will also notify the requester of their right of a final appeal to
the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel, as appropriate, under 32 CFR
2001.33.
(8)
(i)
Treasury may charge fees for search, review, and duplicating costs in
connection with a mandatory declassification review request.
(A)
The fee for services of Treasury personnel involved in locating and/or reviewing
records will be charged at the rate of a GS-11, Step 1 employee, in the
Washington-Baltimore Federal pay area, in effect when the mandatory declassification
review request is received by the Office of Security Programs for searches that take
more than two hours or for review times that are greater than two hours. Fees may be
waived, in writing, by a bureau head or the equivalent Treasury official at the
Assistant Secretary level.
(B)
There is no fee for duplicating the first 100 pages of fully or partially
releasable documents. The cost of additional pages is 20 cents per page. No charges
shall be levied for search and/or review time requiring less than 2 hours.
(ii)
If it is estimated that the fees associated with a mandatory declassification
review will exceed $100, the Office of Security Programs will notify the requester in
writing of the estimated costs and shall obtain satisfactory written assurance of full
payment or require the requester to make an advance payment of the entire estimated
fee before proceeding to process the request. Treasury may request pre-payment where
the fee is likely to exceed $500. After 60 calendar days without receiving the
requester's written assurance of full payment or agreement to make pre-payment of
estimated fees (or to amend the mandatory declassification review request in a manner
as to result in fees acceptable to the requester), Treasury may administratively
terminate the mandatory declassification review request. Failure of a requester to pay
fees after billing will result in future requests not being honored. Nothing in this
paragraph will preclude Treasury from taking any other lawful action to recover
payment for costs incurred in processing a mandatory declassification review
request.
(iii)
Payment of fees shall be made by check or money order to the Treasurer of the
United States. Fees charged by Treasury for mandatory declassification review are
separate and distinct from any other fees that may be imposed by a Presidential
Library, the National Archives and Records Administration, or another Federal
department or agency.