§ 2.18 - Mandatory declassification review [3.4].

(a) Except as provided by section 3.4 (b) of the Order, all information classified by the Department under the Order or any predecessor Executive Order shall be subject to declassification review by the Department, if:

(1) The request is made by a United States citizen or permanent resident alien, a Federal agency, or a state or local government;

(2) The request describes the document or material containing the information with sufficient specificity to enable the Department to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort; and

(3) The requester provides substantial proof as to his or her United States citizenship or status as a permanent resident alien, e.g., a copy of a birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, official passport or some other means of identity which sufficiently describes the requester's status. A permanent resident alien is any individual, who is not a citizen or national of the United States, who has been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws, such status not having changed. Permanent means a relationship of continuing or lasting nature, as distinguished from temporary, but a relationship may be permanent even though it is one that may be dissolved eventually at the instance either of the United States or of the individual, in accordance with law.

(b) Processing—(1) Initial Requests for Classified Records Originated by the Department. Requests for mandatory declassification review shall be directed to the Departmental Office of Security, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. Upon receipt of each request for declassification, pursuant to section 3.4 of the Order, the following procedures shall apply:

(i) The Departmental Office of Security shall acknowledge the receipt of the request in writing.

(ii) A valid mandatory declassification review request need not identify the requested information by date or title of the responsive records, but must be of sufficient particularity to allow Treasury personnel to locate the records containing the information sought with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever a request does not reasonably describe the information sought, the requester shall be notified by the Departmental Office of Security that unless additional information is provided or the scope of the request is narrowed, no further action will be undertaken.

(iii) The Departmental Office of Security shall determine the appropriate office or bureau to take action on the request and shall forward the request to that office or bureau.

(iv) In responding to mandatory declassification review requests, the appropriate reviewing officials shall make a prompt declassification determination. The Departmental Office of Security shall notify the requester if additional time is needed to process the request. Reviewing officials shall also identify the amount of search and/or review time required to process the request. The Department shall make a final determination within one year from the date of receipt except in unusual circumstances. When information cannot be declassified in its entirety, reasonable efforts, consistent with other applicable laws, will be made to release those declassified portions of the requested information which constitute a coherent segment. Upon the denial or partial denial of an initial request, the Departmental Office of Security shall also notify the requester of the right of an administrative appeal which must be filed with the Assistant Secretary (Management) within 60 days of receipt of the denial.

(v) When the Department receives a mandatory declassification review request for records in its possession that were originated by another agency, the Departmental Office of Security shall forward the request to that agency. The Departmental Office of Security shall include a copy of the records requested together with the Department's recommendations for action. Upon receipt, the originating agency shall process the request in accordance with the Directive 32 CFR 2001.32(a)(2)(i). The originating agency shall also be requested to communicate its declassification determination to Treasury.

(vi) When another agency forwards to the Department a request for information in that agency's custody that has been classified by Treasury, the Departmental Office of Security shall:

(A) Advise the other agency as to whether it can notify the requester of the referral;

(B) Review the classified information in coordination with other agencies that have a direct interest in the subject matter; and

(C) Respond to the requester in accordance with the procedures in § 2.18(b)(1)(iv). If requested, Treasury's determination shall be communicated to the referring agency.

(vii) Appeals of denials of a request for declassification shall be referred to the Assistant Secretary (Management) who shall normally make a determination within 30 working days following the receipt of an appeal. If additional time is required to make a determination, the Assistant Secretary (Management) shall notify the requester of the additional time needed and provide the requester with the reason for the extension. The Assistant Secretary (Management) shall notify the requester in writing of the final determination and, as applicable, the reasons for any denial.

(viii) Except as provided in this paragraph, the Department shall process mandatory declassification review requests for classified records containing foreign government information in accordance with § 2.18(a). The agency that initially received or classified the foreign government information shall be responsible for making a declassification determination after consultation with concerned agencies. If upon receipt of the request, the Department determines that Treasury is not the agency that received or classified the foreign government information, it shall refer the request to the appropriate agency for action. Consultation with the foreign originator through appropriate channels may be necessary prior to final action on the request.

(ix) Mandatory declassification review requests for cryptologic information and/or information concerning intelligence activities (including special activities) or intelligence sources or methods shall be processed solely in accordance with special procedures issued by the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence, respectively.

(x) The fees to be charged for mandatory declassification review requests shall be for search and/or review and duplication. The fee charges for services of Treasury personnel involved in locating and/or reviewing records shall be at the rate of a GS-10, Step 1, for each hour or fraction thereof, except that no charge shall be imposed for search and/or review consuming less than one hour.

(A) Photocopies per page up to 81/2″ by 14″ shall be charged at the rate of 10 cents each except that no charge will be imposed for reproducing ten (10) pages or less when search and/or review time requires less than one hour.

(B) When it is estimated that the costs associated with the mandatory declassification review request will exceed $100.00, the Departmental Office of Security shall notify the requester of the likely cost and obtain satisfactory written assurance of full payment or may require the requester to make an advance payment of the entire fee before continuing to process the request. The Department reserves the right to request prepayment after a mandatory declassification review request is processed and before documents are released. In the event the requester does not agree to pay the actual charges, he or she shall advise how to proceed with the mandatory declassification review request. Failure of a requester to pay charges after billing will result in future requests not being honored.

(C) In order for a requester's initial request to be processed it shall be accompanied by a statement that he or she is agreeable to paying fees for search and/or review and copying. In the event the initial request does not include this statement, processing of the request will be held in abeyance until such time as the required statement is received. Failure to provide a response within a reasonable amount of time will serve as the basis for administratively terminating the mandatory declassification review request.

(D) Payment of fees shall be made by check or money order payable to the Treasurer of the United States. Fees levied by the Department of the Treasury for mandatory declassification review requests are separate and distinct from any other fees which might be imposed by a Presidential Library, the National Archives and Records Administration or another agency or department.