Your Rights under the FOIA, the
Privacy Act, and other Privacy Laws
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The Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act
Division/Office is responsible for administering policies, programs,
and procedures to ensure DOE compliance with the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA), 5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C. 552a,
respectively.
The resources on these pages are provided to aid in
finding
answers to your questions about programs of the Department of Energy
and to obtain information that is publicly available without submitting
a FOIA request. If the information is not available here, submit a Freedom
of Information Act request electronically.
To assist obtaining publicly available information, we
suggest
you first conduct a search on the specific topic or information you are
seeking using the SEARCH function on the DOE Home
Page. From the results of the search if you can determine
which DOE Program Office or Field Operations Sites might have the
needed information, you can proceed to that location’s Public Reading
Facilities using the FOIA Requester Service Centers and FOIA
Public Liaisons list. This list provides FOIA Web Page
addresses for each location from which Public Reading Facility and DOE
FOIA Public Liaison contact information can be obtained.
Please note, many of the documents on these pages will
require
Adobe Reader for viewing.
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
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Privacy Act
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The Freedom of Information Act allows individuals
to
obtain documents in the possession and control of agencies within the
Executive Branch of the Federal Government. FOIA requests require NETL
to conduct a search of existing documents to determine whether any are
responsive to the request. NETL is not required to create a document in
order to respond to a FOIA request or to answer questions posed under
FOIA requests.
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The Privacy Act of 1974 allows individuals to
learn how
records containing personal information are collected, maintained,
used, and disseminated by the Federal Government. The Act provides
certain safeguards for the protection of this information. The Act
permits an individual to gain access to personal information maintained
by an Agency, and to seek amendment of any incorrect or incomplete
information.
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Statute and Code
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Statute and Code
- Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a
- DOE implementing regulations: Title 10, Code of
Federal Regulations, Section 1008
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Electronic
FOIA Form
Frequently Requested Documents
Additional information regarding the rights of
individuals is
available via the FOIA/Privacy Act reference materials posted by the
Federal Consumer Information Center at www.Firstgov.gov.
| Contacts |
- FOIA and Privacy Act requests should be
directed to:
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Ann
Dunlap, FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
National Energy Technology Laboratory
626 Cochrans Mill Road
P.O. Box 10940
Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940
Office Phone: 412-386-6167
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| When preparing your request, please do not
hesitate to
contact the above-listed FOIA/Privacy Act Officer should you have any
questions regarding the filing of your request or NETL’s processing
procedures. |
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- Under FOIA, DOE documents of general interest
are
available to the public, NETL’s public reading room contact is:
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JoAnn
Yuill, Librarian
National Energy Technology Laboratory
P.O. Box 880 , 3610 Collins Ferry Road
Morgantown , WV 26507-0880
Office Phone: 304-285-4184
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| Department
of Energy FOIA/PA Homepage |
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| List of FOIA Requester Service Centers,
Public Liaisons |
How to Make a Request
| FOIA
requests must be: |
Privacy
Act requests must be: |
- In writing
- Identified as a "Freedom of Information Act
Request"
- Contain a reasonable description of the
document(s)
sought
- Include an assurance to pay search and/or
duplication
fees
Failure to follow these instructions could result
in
rejection of the request.
Requests should be as specific as possible. If
known,
please provide as much information about the documents sought as
possible. If the request is considered too vague or too burdensome to
process, you will be contacted directly by the Freedom of Information
Officer, who will assist you in narrowing the scope of your request.
For FOIA requests that meet the requirements for processing, NETL
normally responds within 20 working days.
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- In writing and signed by the individual
requesting
the information
- Identified as a "Privacy Act Request"
- Include the identification information required
by
the Department's regulations, Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations,
Section 1008.4
- Specify if possible the title and identifying
number
of the system of records as listed in DOE's published notices of
systems of records
- Provide any additional information that will
aid NETL
in responding to the request
- Indicate if appropriate, the time, place and
form of
access sought.
Requests should be as specific as possible. For
Privacy
Act requests that meet the requirements for processing, NETL normally
responds within 10 to 20 working days from the date of receipt.
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How to Appeal
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In the event that an NETL FOIA request is either
fully
or partially denied, or if no responsive documents were found, the
requester may appeal the determination within 30 days from the date the
NETL response was received.
The appeal should be identified as a "Freedom of
Information Act Appeal" and should be sent to:
Director
Office of
Hearings and Appeals, HG-1
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington , D.C. 20585
Judicial review is available thereafter within the
district in which the appellant resides or has a principal place of
business, or in which the Department's records are situated, or in the
District of Columbia.
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In the event that an NETL Privacy Act request is
denied,
the requester may appeal the determination within 30 calendar days from
the date the NETL response was received.
The appeal should be identified as a "Privacy Act
Appeal" and should be:
- In writing and signed by the individual denied
- include the words "Privacy Act Appeal" in all
capital letters on the envelope and letter
- include a copy of the original request for
access or
for amendment/correction
- include a copy of NETL's denial letter
- State the reasons why the requester believes
the
denial is in error.
If the denial relates to records maintained in a
government-wide systems of records, reported as a system of records by
the Office of Personnel Management, the appeal should be directed to:
Assistant Director for Agency Compliance and
Evaluation
Office of Personnel Management
1900 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20415
All other appeals relating to NETL records systems
should be directed to:
Director
Office of
Hearings and Appeals, HG-1
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585
Administrative and judicial review is available
once the
appeal determination is made.
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