ACTION TO SAFEGUARD INFORMATION REGARDING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND OTHER SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS RELATED TO HOMELAND SECURITY (W/ATTACHMENTS)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Keywords: CARD MEMO
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0000928993
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: June 23, 2015
• Document Release Date: January 14, 2010
• Case Number: F-2003-00079
• Publication Date: March 19, 2002

APPROVED FOR
RELEASE DATE:
28-Dec-2009
 THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 19, 2002
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS-OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
FROM: ANDREW H. CARD,
Assistant to the President
and Chief of Staff
SUBJECT: Action to Safeguard InformaticsnRegarding Weapons
of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive Documents
Related to Homeland Security
As noted in many discussions during the past several months,
you and your department or agency have an obligation to
safeguard Government records regarding weapons of mass destruc-
tion. Weapons of mass destruction include chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear weapons. Government information,
regardless of its age, that could reasonably be. expected to
assist in the development or use-of weapons of mass destruction,
including information about the current locations of stockpiles
of nuclear materials that could be exploited for use in such
weapons, should not be disclosed inappropriately.
I asked the Acting Director of the Information Security Oversight
Office and the Co-Directors of the Justice Department's Office
of Information and Privacy to prepare guidance for reviewing
Government information in your department or agency regarding
weapons of mass destruction, as well as other information that
could be misused to harm the security of our Nation and the
safety of our people. Their guidance is-attached, and it should
be distributed to appropriate officials within your department
or agency, together with this memorandum, to assist in your
undertaking an immediate reexamination of current measures for
identifying and safeguarding all such information at your
department or agency.
All departments and agencies should review their records
management procedures and, where appropriate, their holdings of
documents to ensure that they are acting in accordance with the
attached guidance. They should report the completion, or status,
of their review to my office through the office of Homeland
Security no later than 90 days from the date of this memorandum.
 If agency officials need assistance in determining the
classification status of records related to the development
or use of weapons of mass destruction, they should contact
the Information Security Oversight office, at 202-219-5250.
For assistance in determining the classification of nuclear
and radiological weapons classified under the Atomic Energy
Act, they should contact the Department of Energy's Office
of Security, at 202-586-3345. If they need assistance in
applying exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
to sensitive but unclassified information, they should contact
the Justice Department's Office of Information and Privacy
(OIP), at 202-514-3642, or consult OIP's FOIA Web site at
www.usdoj.gov/04foia/index/html.
 Information Security Oversight Office
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washingtrm, DC 20408
March 19, 2002
MEMORANDUM FOR DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
,LAURA L.S. KIMBERLY
Acting Director
~Information Security Oversight Office
CHARD L. HUFF
DANIEL J. METCALFE
o-Directors
Office of Information and Privacy
Department of Justice
SUBJECT: Safeguarding Information Regarding Weapons of Mass
Destruction and Other Sensitive Records Related to
Homeland Security
At the request of the Assistant to the President and Chief of
Staff, we have prepared this memorandum to provide guidance for
reviewing Government information regarding weapons of mass
destruction, as well as other information that could be misused
to harm the security of our nation or threaten public safety. It
is appropriate that all federal departments and agencies consider
the need to safeguard such information on an ongoing basis and
also upon receipt of any request for records containing such
information that is made under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), 5 U.S.C. ? 552 (2000). Consistent with existing law and
policy, the appropriate steps for safeguarding such information
will vary according to the sensitivity of the information
involved and whether the information currently is classified.
I. Classified Information
? If the information currently is classified and is equal to or
less than 25 years old, it should remain classified in
accordance with Executive Order 12956, Sec. 1.5 and Sec. 1.6.
Although classified information generally must be declassified
within 10 years of its original classification, classification
or reclassification may be extended for up to 25 years in the
case of information that could reasonably be expected to
'reveal information that would assist in the development or
use of weapons of mass destruction." Id., Sec. 1.6(d)(2).
 ? If the information is more than 25 years old and is still
classified, it should remain classified in accordance with
Executive Order 12958, Sec. 3.4(b)(2), which authorizes agency
heads to exempt from automatic declassification any "specific
information, the release of which should be expected to . .
reveal information that would assist in the development or use
of weapons of mass destruction." (Agencies should note that
the automatic declassification date for any classified
information over 25 years old that involves the equities of
more than one agency was extended until April 2003 by
Executive Order 13142. Agencies have until then to exempt
such information from automatic declassification under any one
of the pertinent exemption categories in Executive order
12958, Sec. 3.4(b).)
In this regard, agencies should note that Department of
Defense (DOD) information that involves the equities of more
than one DOD component is considered to have multi-agency
equities. Information maintained by the Defense Technical
Information Center (DTIC) or the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) also is deemed to have multi-agency
equities, i.e., those pertaining to DTIC or NARA and those
pertaining to the component agency or agencies that created
the information.
II. Previously Unclassified or Declassified Information
? If the information, regardless of age, never was classified
and never was disclosed to the public under proper authority,
but it could reasonably be expected to assist in the
development or use of weapons of mass destruction, it should
be classified in accordance with Executive Order 12958, Part
1, subject to the provisions of Sec. 1.8(d) if the information
has been the subject of an access demand (or Sec 6.1(a) if the
information concerns nuclear or radiological weapons).
? If such sensitive information, regardless of age, was
classified and subsequently was declassified, but it never was
disclosed to the public under proper authority, it should be
reclassified in accordance with Executive Order 12958, Part 1,
subject to the provisions of Sec. 1.8(d) if the information
has been the subject of an access demand (or Sec 6.1(a) if the
information concerns nuclear or radiological weapons).
III. Sensitive But Unclassified Information
In addition to information that could reasonably be expected to
assist in the development or use of weapons of mass destruction,
which should be classified or reclassified as described in
 Parts I and II above, departments and agencies maintain and
control sensitive information related to America's homeland
security that might not meet one or more of the standards for
classification set forth in Part 1 of Executive Order 12958. The
need to protect such sensitive information from inappropriate
disclosure should be carefully considered, on a case-by-case
basis, together with the benefits that result from the open and
efficient exchange of scientific, technical, and like
information.
All departments and agencies should ensure that in taking
necessary and appropriate actions to safeguard sensitive but
unclassified information related to America's homeland security,
they process any Freedom of Information Act request for records
containing such information in accordance with the Attorney
General's FOIA Memorandum of October 12, 2001, by giving full and
careful consideration to all applicable FOIA exemptions. See
FOIA Post, "New Attorney General FOIA Memorandum Issued" (posted
10/15/01) (found at www.usdoj.gov/oip/foiapost/.
which discusses and provides electronic
links to further guidance on the authority available under
Exemption 2 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. ? 552(b)(2), for the protection
of sensitive critical infrastructure information. In the case of
information that is voluntarily submitted to the Government from
the private sector, such information may readily fall within the
protection of Exemption 4 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. ? 552(b)(4).
As the accompanying memorandum from the Assistant to the
President and Chief of Staff indicates, federal departments and
agencies should-not hesitate to consult with the Office of
Information and Privacy, either with general anticipatory
questions or on a case-by-case basis as particular matters arise,
regarding any FOIA-related homeland security issue. Likewise,
they should consult with the Information Security Oversight
Office on any matter pertaining to the classification,
declassification, or reclassification of information regarding
the development or use of weapons of mass destruction, or with
the Department of Energy's Office. of Security if the information
concerns nuclear or radiological weapons.
 UNCLASSIFIED// F C 7O
MEMORANDUM FOR: Andrew H. Card, Jr.
Assistant to the President
and Chief of Staff
The White House
VIA: Director, Office of Homeland Security
SUBJECT: Central Intelligence Agency's Response to
19 March 2002 Memorandum Entitled "Action
to Safeguard Information Regarding Weapons
of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive
Documents Related to Homeland Security"
Reference: Your Memo for Heads of Executive
Departments and Agencies, dtd 19 Mar 02,
Same Subject
1. On behalf of the Director of Central Intelligence,
I shared the subject White House memorandum and accompanying
guidance from the Information Security Oversight Office and
the Department of Justice with all CIA Deputy Directors,
Mission Support Office Directors, and Staff and Center
Directors. I sent a covering memorandum with the White
House package and requested that the guidance be widely
and appropriately circulated to all components involved in
review, release and declassification activities; I asked
each component to review current procedures and to report
the s-:atus of the review and any actions taken as a result
of they new guidance to safeguard radiological, chemical,
biological, and nuclear (WMD) information, as well as other
sensitive information related to Homeland Security.
2. Accordingly, all offices have examined their
current processes and holdings of documents, and they have
UNCLASSIFIED When Separated
from Attachment
 UNCLASSIFIED//F O
SUBJECT: Central Intelligence Agency's Response
to 19 March 2002 Memorandum Entitled "Action
to Safeguard Information Regarding Weapons
of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive
Documents Related to Homeland Security"
confirmed that procedures are in place to protect WMD and
other sensitive information that might be misused to harm
the security of the United States or its citizens. As a
result of the White House memorandum and accompanying
guidance, several specific enhancements to our current
procedures have been put into place. The attachment
highlights CIA's actions to safeguard sensitive information
and further ensure information placed in public venues
is carefully scrutinized prior to making the information
available to the public.
3. CIA appreciates the new guidance and the
opportunity it affords to reexamine our procedures. The
changes noted in the attachment reflect the fact that our
review and release procedures are evolving and adaptive
rather than static; we are constantly updating our practices
to improve quality. The White House guidance has been
integrated into our procedures using this approach. If
you have any questions, please contact
or have a member of your staff contact
Alan C. Wade
Chief Information Officer
 UNCLASSIFIED//FfO
SUBJECT: Central Intelligence Agency's Response
to 19 March 2002 Memorandum Entitled "Action
to Safeguard Information Regarding Weapons
of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive
Documents Related to Homeland Security"
UNCLASSIFIED//F/0
 UNCLASSIFIED//FCyU0
(U) Enhancements to Ensure Protection of WZ4D
and Other Sensitive Information
Related to Homeland Security
2. (U//FO'qO) Each CIA Directorate, the Mission Support
Offices, and the DCI's staff have scrutinized review processes
and re-publicized their procedures to ensure that all offices
consult with Information Review Officers prior to releasing
information to the public in any venue.
3. (U/f'SU.0) The Agency's classification guide is
currently under review; new classification guidance will be
included for sensitive Homeland Security information. The WMD
classification guidance will be reviewed and expanded, if
necessary, to encompass the full range of nuclear, radiological,
biological, and chemical information.
4. (U//F~Q) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
for records containing WMD and sensitive homeland security
information will continue to be processed in accordance with the
Act's provisions and applicable regulations. The new guidance
will be used as each request is processed.
UNCLASSIFIED / / FC}t0