The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows you to obtain information from various agencies of the Federal government including the current Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) and its operating contractors and as well as predecessor organizations. The Privacy Act (PA) is a companion to the FOIA. The PA allows individuals to seek access to Federal agency records about themselves.  

The purpose of the FOIA Page and its sub-pages is not exhaustive or definitive. It is designed to provide you with:

• a brief description of your rights under the FOIA and PA Acts
• specific information about the DOE-ID FOIA/PA programs
• links  to other FOIA and PA pages
• access to an electronic form, which can be sent directly to the DOE-ID FOIA Officer for processing your request

INFORMATION YOU CAN OBTAIN In general, you can inspect or obtain copies of publicly available materials maintained by the INL Technical Library & Information Center (TLIC) public reading room facilities located at 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83415. The TLIC is the home of the DOE-Idaho Operations Office Public Reading Room and those holdings are electronically searchable. If you do not locate the information that you are searching for, you can request access to specific agency records not available through the Public Reading Room by filing a FOIA request. Such materials will be made available to a requestor, except for information that is:

• properly classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy;
• related solely to internal personnel rules and practices;
• specifically made confidential by other statutes;
• trade secrets and commercial or financial information which is obtained from a person and is privileged or confidential;
• inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, except under certain circumstances;
• personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

SUBMITTING YOUR REQUEST Generally, you have a right to a decision within 20 working days of receipt of your inquiry. However, due to the complexity of certain requests and the need for classification and legal reviews, the request may take a longer time to fully respond.

Before making a request under the FOIA, make sure the information you seek is not available at the INL public reading room or  National Technical Information Service (NTIS),  Springfield, VA. If the information you seek is not available, then submit your request by completing the  electronic form  as provided, or write to the DOE-ID FOIA Officer, 1955 Fremont Avenue, MS 1170, Idaho Falls, ID 83415. 

To expedite your request, be as specific as possible in identifying the records you want. Include a brief description of why you need the records, since such information may serve as a basis for a fee reduction or discretionary release of otherwise exempt material. Include a statement about your willingness to pay fees, a request for a fee waiver, or a request for a fee estimate.

SEARCH, REVIEW AND COPY CHARGES With certain specific exceptions authorized by the FOIA Reform Act of 1986, a fee will generally be charged. DOE-ID may determine to waive or reduce fees in cases where furnishing the information primarily benefits the general public by significantly assisting citizens in understanding how their government works.  For more details about the DOE FOIA, see  10 CFR 1004.