Review of a Document or Material for Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information

10 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart C
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

10 C.F.R. § 1017.14 Designated officials.

(a) Reviewing Official—(1) Authority. A Reviewing Official with cognizance over the information contained in a document or material is authorized to determine whether the document or material contains UCNI based on applicable guidance. A Reviewing Official marks or authorizes the marking of the document or material as specified in § 1017.16. (2) Request for designation. Procedures for requesting that a DOE Federal or contractor employee be designated as a Reviewing Official are contained in Departmental directives issued by the Secretary. DOE may also designate other Government agency employees, contractors, or other individuals granted routine access under § 1017.20 as Reviewing Officials. (3) Designation. Prior to being designated as a Reviewing Official, each employee must receive training approved by DOE that covers the requirements in these regulations and be tested on his or her proficiency in using applicable UCNI guidance. Upon successful completion of the training and test, he or she is designated as a Reviewing Official only while serving in his or her current position for a maximum of 3 years. The employee does not automatically retain the authority when he or she leaves his or her current position. The employee cannot delegate this authority to anyone else, and the authority may not be assumed by another employee acting in the employee's position. At the end of 3 years, if the position still requires the authority, the employee must be retested and redesignated by DOE as a Reviewing Official. (b) Individuals approved to use DOE or joint DOE classification guidance—(1) Authority. Other Government agency employees who are approved by DOE or another Government agency to use classification guidance developed by DOE or jointly by DOE and another Government agency may also be approved to review documents for UCNI and to make UCNI determinations. This authority is limited to the UCNI subject areas contained in the specific classification guidance that the individual has been approved to use. (2) Designation. Individuals must be designated this authority in writing by the appropriate DOE or other Government agency official with cognizance over the specific DOE or joint DOE classification guidance. (c) Denying Official—(1) Authority. A DOE Denying Official for unclassified information with cognizance over the information contained in a document is authorized to deny a request made under statute (e.g., the FOIA, the Privacy Act) or the mandatory review provisions of Executive Order 12958, as amended, “Classified National Security Information,” and its successor orders, for all or any portion of the document that contains UCNI. The Denying Official bases his or her denial on applicable guidance, ensuring that the Reviewing Official who determined that the document contains UCNI correctly interpreted and applied the guidance. (2) Designation. Information on the designation of DOE Denying Officials is contained in 10 CFR Part 1004, Freedom of Information (see definition of the term “Authorizing or Denying Official” in § 1004.2).

10 C.F.R. § 1017.15 Review process.

(a) Reviewing documents for UCNI. Anyone who originates or possesses a document that he or she thinks may contain UCNI must send the document to a Reviewing Official for a determination before it is finalized, sent outside of his or her organization, or filed. If the originator or possessor must send the document outside of his or her organization for the review, he or she must mark the front of the document with “Protect as UCNI Pending Review” and must transmit the document in accordance with the requirements in § 1017.27. The Reviewing Official must first determine whether the document is widely disseminated in the public domain, which means that the document under review is publicly available from a Government technical information service or depository library, for example, or that it can be found in a public library or an open literature source, or it can be accessed on the Internet using readily available search methods. (1) If the document is determined to be widely disseminated in the public domain, it cannot be controlled as UCNI. The Reviewing Official returns the document to the person who sent it to the Reviewing Official and informs him or her why the document cannot be controlled as UCNI. This does not preclude control of the same information as UCNI if it is contained in another document that is not widely disseminated. (2) If the document is not determined to be widely disseminated in the public domain, the Reviewing Official evaluates the information in the document using guidance to determine whether the document contains UCNI. If the Reviewing Official determines that the document does contain UCNI, the Reviewing Official marks or authorizes the marking of the document as specified in § 1017.16. If the Reviewing Official determines that the document does not contain UCNI, the Reviewing Official returns the document to the person who sent it and informs him or her that the document does not contain UCNI. For documentation purposes, the Reviewing Official may mark or authorize the marking of the document as specified in § 1017.17(b). (3) If no applicable guidance exists, but the Reviewing Official thinks the information should be identified as UCNI, then the Reviewing Official must send the document to the appropriate official identified in applicable DOE directives issued by the Secretary or his or her designee. The Reviewing Official should also include a written recommendation as to why the information should be identified as UCNI. (b) Review exemption for documents in files. Any document that was permanently filed prior to May 22, 1985, is not required to be reviewed for UCNI while in the files or when retrieved from the files for reference, inventory, or similar purposes as long as the document will be returned to the files and is not accessible by individuals who are not Authorized Individuals for the UCNI contained in the document. However, when a document that is likely to contain UCNI is removed from the files for dissemination within or outside of the immediate organization, it must be reviewed by a Reviewing Official with cognizance over the information. (c) Reviewing material for UCNI. Anyone who produces or possesses material that he or she thinks may contain or reveal UCNI must consult with a Reviewing Official for a determination. If the Reviewing Official determines that the material does contain or reveal UCNI, the Reviewing Official marks or authorizes the marking of the material as specified in § 1017.16(b).

10 C.F.R. § 1017.16 Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information markings on documents or material.

(a) Marking documents. If a Reviewing Official determines that a document contains UCNI, the Reviewing Official must mark or authorize the marking of the document as described in this section. (1) Front marking. The following marking must appear on the front of the document: (2) Page marking. The marking “Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information” must be placed on the bottom of the front of the document and on the bottom of each interior page of the document that contains text or if more convenient, on the bottom of only those interior pages that contain UCNI. The page marking must also be placed on the back of the last page. If space limitations do not allow for use of the full page marking, the acronym “UCNI” may be used as the page marking. (3) Classified documents. UCNI front and page markings are not applied to a classified document that also contains UCNI. If a classified document is portion marked, the acronym “UCNI” is used to indicate those unclassified portions that contain UCNI. (4) Obsolete “May Contain UCNI” marking. The “May Contain UCNI” marking is no longer used. Any document marked with the “May Contain UCNI” marking is considered to contain UCNI and must be protected accordingly until a Reviewing Official or Denying Official determines otherwise. The obsolete “May Contain UCNI” marking reads as follows: (b) Marking material. If possible, material containing or revealing UCNI must be marked as described in § 1017.16(a)(1). If space limitations do not allow for use of the full marking in § 1017.16(a)(1), the acronym “UCNI” may be used. Unauthorized dissemination subject to civil and criminal sanctions under section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2168). Reviewing Official: (Name/Organization) Date: Guidance Used: Not for Public Dissemination May contain Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information subject to section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2168). Approval by the Department of Energy prior to release is required.

10 C.F.R. § 1017.17 Determining that a document or material no longer contains or does not contain Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information.

(a) Document or material no longer contains UCNI. A Reviewing Official with cognizance over the information in a document or material marked as containing UCNI may determine that the document or material no longer contains UCNI. A Denying Official may also determine that such a document or material no longer contains UCNI. The official making this determination must base it on applicable guidance and must ensure that any UCNI markings are crossed out (for documents) or removed (for material). The official marks or authorizes the marking of the document (or the material, if space allows) as follows: (b) Document or material does not contain UCNI. A Reviewing Official with cognizance over the information in a document or material may confirm that an unmarked document or material does not contain UCNI based on applicable guidance. No UCNI markings are required in this case; however, for documentation purposes, the Reviewing Official may mark or may authorize the marking of the document or material with the same marking used in § 1017.17(a). Reviewing/Denying Official: (Name and organization) Date:

10 C.F.R. § 1017.18 Joint documents or material.

If a document or material marked as containing UCNI is under consideration for decontrol and falls under the cognizance of another DOE organization or other Government agency, the Reviewing Official or Denying Official must coordinate the decontrol review with that DOE organization or other Government agency. Any disagreement concerning the control or decontrol of any document or material that contains UCNI that was originated by or for DOE or another Government agency is resolved by the Secretary or his or her designee.

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