THE NATIONAL DECLASSIFICATION CENTER
Releasing All We Can,
Protecting What We Must 1
I. Background
On 29 December 2009, President
Obama signed Executive Order 13526 (E.O. 13526), creating the National
Declassification Center (NDC) under the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), and a memo entitled “Implementation of the Executive
Order, Classified National Security Information.” The following day Archivist
of the United States David Ferriero established the NDC to achieve the goals of
ensuring that records are reviewed in a timely and efficiently, and making
these records available to the public. Once established, the Acting NDC
Director began developing a prioritization plan, in compliance with section
3.7(d) of E.O. 13526, for the declassification review and public release of
classified records held by NARA NARA
The plan was developed to
ensure that declassification resources are applied in a thorough and consistent
manner, while focusing on those records of the highest public interest.
II. Prioritization Method
To achieve the NDC goal of
making declassified records available to the public, three factors affect how
records will be prioritized:
1) High Public Interest – The
NDC will use a variety of sources, including public input through a variety of
social media technologies, and information about records requested in the NARA
research rooms, and by the public through the Freedom of Information Act, the
Presidential Records Act and Mandatory Declassification Review provisions of
E.O. 135264, to determine the level of public interest.
2) Likelihood of
Declassification – Factors include complexity of information, volume of tabs
(exemptions, exclusions, referrals) and age of material. There are a number of
lower level classified records which may lend themselves to quick turnaround,
while other records contain classified information that must be protected under
E.O. 13526 and will not result in significant public release.
3) Resources Required to Complete
Declassification – Some Record Groups (RGs) are have information that must be
protected under the provisions established in E.O. 13526, and contain multiple
referrals to other equity agencies. Addressing interagency referrals is labor
intensive for the NDC and the agencies in the current process. Performing
declassification is more difficult on records with multiple referrals and would
slow down the process. Researcher interest would determine how these records fit
into the prioritization plan.
|
To apply these criteria to classified
records and develop a balanced plan, the NDC developed a matrix that places
classified records in one of four categories. The categories are illustrated
on a four quadrant diagram (figure 1). Figure 1
|
|
|
High Public Interest
|
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
Easy
|
Difficult
|
|
3
|
4
|
|
Low Public Interest
|
|
|
|
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The following definitions were
applied to each axis:
• The horizontal axis represents the
likelihood of declassification and the level of effort required to move records
through the NDC to the open shelf. o Records determined to be “Easy” have few referrals and/or have a
high probability of declassification.
o Records determined to be “Difficult”
contain multiple referrals and/or have most of the documents exempted under
E.O. 13526.
• The vertical axis shows the level of
public interest in the declassification of the records (as defined above).
Using these definitions each category
(quadrant on Figure 1) was then defined as:
• Category 1 (High Interest, Easy to
process) – 1% of the backlog
• Category 2 (High Interest, Difficult to
process) – 90% of the backlog of Federal records and 100% of Presidential
materials referred through the RAC.
• Category 3 (Low Interest, Easy to
process) – 2% of the backlog
• Category 4 (Low Interest, Difficult to
process) – 7% of the backlog
Initially the NDC will devote
the majority of resources to the records in categories 1 and 2, with fewer
resources devoted to categories 3 and 4.
Using this matrix model, NDC
placed the classified record groups (RG) and Presidential materials into one of
the four categories. Each RG will be further subdivided to place each series or
collection into one of the four categories (see Appendix A). The NDC will use
this information to prioritize review of records in the RAC system and the IRC,
and to develop work plans that will focus on the highest priority records for
declassification review and release. In preparation for discussions with agency
partners and the public, the NDC, in coordination with the Office of
Presidential Libraries, developed the following draft prioritization plan:
III. Prioritization Plan
Within the NDC there will be two separate
workflows:
• Quality Assurance review and release of
the eligible material within the 408 million page backlog of Federal records
cited in the President’s Memo5;
• Declassification review and release of
interagency referrals of eligible Federal records through the IRC, and
Presidential records referred through the RAC.
5 In section 2 of the President’s memo he states “Under the
direction of the National Declassification
Declassification Review and Interagency
Referrals
By analyzing the goals and deadlines for
each of these processes the NDC has determined that - for Federal records - the
primary focus must be eliminating the backlog. For Federal records, the
processing of interagency Federal referrals will be a secondary focus. This
approach will make the largest volume of declassified records available to the
public in the shortest period of time. The NDC will concentrate the majority of
the declassification review resources on Federal records that fall into
categories one and two of the prioritization plan, with fewer resources
utilized on categories three and four.
A similar analysis of approaches to
declassification of interagency referrals, led to the conclusion that the
primary focus for these materials must be processing of interagency referrals.
The priority for interagency referrals will be the high interest Presidential
records in the RAC.
|
Using input from reference archivists at
Archives II and the Office of Presidential Libraries, the chart below
outlines the top priorities for the backlog and interagency referrals. Backlog
Priorities
(Federal Records)
|
Interagency Referral Priorities
(Presidential and Federal Records)
|
|
Category 1 Records
|
Presidential Referrals through RAC
|
|
Category 2 Records: High Interest RGs that
account for 2/3 of records pulled for
researchers at Archives II:
• Department of State
o RG 59 – General Records of the
Department of State
o RG 84 – Records of the Foreign Service
Posts of the Department of State
• RG 306 – Records of the
• RG 19 – Records of the Bureau of Ships
• Army (Units in WWII,
o RG 407 – Records of the Adjutant
General's Office, 1917
o RG 472 – Records of the
• RG 226 – Records of the Office of Strategic
Services
• High level military records
o RG 218 – Records of the
o RG 319 – Records of the Army Staff
o RG 330 – Records of the Office of the
Secretary of Defense
o RG 338 – Records of
o RG 342 – Records of
Category 3 Records
Category 4 Records
|
• Harry S Truman - Remaining Backlog of
Referrals
• Dwight D. Eisenhower - Remaining
Backlog of Referrals
• John F. Kennedy – National Security
Files
• Lyndon Baines Johnson – National
Security Files
• Richard Nixon o Erlichman and Haldeman Staff Member
Office Files
o President’s Office File
o Latin American Country Files
• Gerald R. Ford – National Security
Files
• Jimmy Carter o Brzezinski Materials
o Jimmy Carter Presidential – President’s
Files – Staff Secretary’s File
o NSC Institutional Files, 1977-81
o Donated Historical Material – Mondale,
Walter F.
• Kissinger Collection Scanned at the Library
of Congress - Materials related to
Federal Record Referrals
• Federal Records in the IRC
|
The annual goals and resource
allocations for processing and review of Federal and Presidential records in
the NDC will be approved by the NDC Director in consultation with Office of
Presidential Libraries, NDC management, agencies participating in the NDC, and
the public. The NDC Director will provide each agency with a list of NDC
priorities to guide their declassification work planning, the volume of Federal
and Presidential records in their review queues under the NDC, and review
deadlines for records under the NDC. Agencies will be expected to provide a
sufficient number of reviewers to meet established NDC goals, or accept
automatic declassification of their equities
as outlined in E.O. 13526.
This plan sets the priorities for the
remainder of the current and next fiscal years. NDC priorities will be updated
at three year intervals, or as needed based on changing priorities and
workloads.
IV. Public Input
The NDC is committed to focusing our
efforts on those records determined to be of high public interest. Draft
prioritization plans will be created using NARA
The NDC will update prioritization
plans as high priority records are declassified and priorities change. We will
continue to use social media tools to encourage and collect public input for
future updates. Through these efforts we will maintain a plan that strives to
meet the expectations of the public and the President’s vision for an
interagency National Declassification Center
1
The Public Interest Declassification Board is an advisory committee established by Congress in order to
promote the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and
reliable documentary record of significant U.S.
2
The Interagency
Referral
Center NARA NARA College Park
3
The Remote Archives Capture Program was established in 1996 as a joint effort between the Presidential
Libraries and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to facilitate
declassification review and referral of classified Presidential papers in
remote locations. This program digitally scans remotely located Presidential
classified records and makes all twenty-five year old classified materials
available electronically for declassification review in a centralized location
in the Washington , DC
4 Researchers may submit FOIA and MDR
requests for records at NARA
5 In section 2 of the President’s memo he states
“Under the direction of the National Declassification Center (NDC), and
utilizing recommendations of an ongoing Business Process Review in support of the NDC, referrals and quality
assurance problems within a backlog of
more than 400 million pages of accessioned Federal records previously
subject to automatic declassification
shall be addressed in a manner that will permit public access to all
declassified records from this backlog no later than December 31, 2013.”
6 Appendix A – Breakdown of NARA
|
Category 1 Record Groups (High Interest,
Easy to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
24
|
Bureau of Navy Personnel (Deck Logs)
|
14
|
57
|
|
107
|
Secretary of War
|
1
|
1
|
|
153
|
JAG (Army)
|
13
|
94
|
|
160
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
226
|
Office of Strategic Services
|
12
|
13
|
|
260
|
|
4
|
8
|
|
263
|
Central Intelligence Agency
|
23
|
178
|
|
272
|
Kennedy Assassination Commission
|
1
|
1
|
|
273
|
National Security Counsel
|
37
|
334
|
|
304
|
Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
|
2
|
18
|
|
331
|
Allied Operational and Occupation
Headquarters WWII
|
24
|
11
|
|
332
|
|
4
|
5
|
|
336
|
Chief, Transportation
|
42
|
429
|
|
337
|
HQ, Army Ground Forces
|
53
|
133
|
|
359
|
Office of Science and Technology
|
22
|
878
|
|
472
|
U.S Forces in
|
59
|
121
|
|
494
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
500
|
U.S. Army Major Operational and Tactical
Formations (WWII and after)
|
1
|
1
|
|
2,286 cuft
|
|||
|
Category 2 Record Groups (High Interest,
Difficult to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
19
|
Bureau of Ships
|
393
|
4851
|
|
38
|
Chief of Naval Operations
|
405
|
5631
|
|
43
|
International Conferences, Commissions
and Expositions
|
23
|
73
|
|
59
|
State Department
|
1273
|
9434
|
|
60
|
Department of Justice
|
1930
|
7044
|
|
65
|
Federal Bureau of Investigation
|
104
|
2073
|
|
72
|
Bureau of Aeronautics
|
82
|
8393
|
|
74
|
Bureau of Ordnance
|
34
|
4578
|
|
77
|
Chief of Engineers
|
121
|
603
|
|
84
|
Foreign Service Posts
|
1122
|
8152
|
|
92
|
Quartermaster General
|
21
|
143
|
|
111
|
Chief Signal Officer
|
88
|
697
|
|
127
|
|
149
|
1313
|
|
156
|
Chief of Ordnance
|
148
|
1739
|
|
159
|
Inspector General (Army)
|
21
|
30
|
|
175
|
Chemical Warfare Service
|
17
|
139
|
|
181
|
Naval Districts and Shore Establishments
|
82
|
855
|
|
204
|
Pardon Attorney
|
1
|
2
|
|
218
|
Joint Chiefs of Staff
|
179
|
3918
|
|
255
|
National Aeronautics and Space Admin.
|
7
|
1346
|
|
266
|
Securities and Exchange Commission
|
1
|
31
|
|
285
|
Commerce Records Relating to
International Commercial Operations (see RG 489)
|
6
|
145
|
|
286
|
|
945
|
7937
|
|
298
|
Office of Naval Research
|
130
|
645
|
|
306
|
|
212
|
1276
|
|
313
|
Naval Operating Forces
|
766
|
7560
|
|
319
|
Army Staff
|
1741
|
17372
|
|
326
|
Atomic Energy Commission
|
88
|
1322
|
|
330
|
Office of the Secretary of Defense
|
1299
|
7222
|
|
335
|
Office of the Secretary of the Army
|
84
|
1030
|
|
338
|
|
1927
|
2943
|
|
340
|
Office of the Secretary of the Air Force
|
171
|
2784
|
|
341
|
HQ
|
670
|
6971
|
|
342
|
|
581
|
8866
|
|
343
|
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
|
446
|
7349
|
|
344
|
Naval Ship Systems Command (NAVSEA)
|
420
|
6653
|
|
349
|
Joint Commands
|
67
|
101
|
|
373
|
Defense Intelligence Agency
|
119
|
662
|
|
383
|
|
89
|
321
|
|
402
|
Bureau of Naval Weapons
|
150
|
4626
|
|
407
|
Records of the Adjutant General’s Office
|
47
|
292
|
|
428
|
General Records of the Department of the
Navy
|
139
|
1175
|
|
429
|
Records of Organizations in Executive
Office of the President (Federal Records)
|
32
|
370
|
|
430
|
Energy Research and Development Agency
|
2
|
5
|
|
434
|
Department of Energy
|
4
|
114
|
|
449
|
Independent Counsels
|
189
|
1707
|
|
460
|
Watergate Special Prosecution Force
|
2
|
4
|
|
518
|
|
128
|
430
|
|
529
|
|
9
|
3
|
|
530
|
|
4
|
4
|
|
531
|
|
39
|
333
|
|
549
|
|
49
|
208
|
|
550
|
|
86
|
318
|
|
151,793 cuft
|
|||
|
Category 3 Record Groups (Low Interest,
Easy to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
15
|
Veterans Affairs
|
1
|
4
|
|
21
|
District Courts
|
1
|
1
|
|
31
|
Federal Housing Administration
|
1
|
5
|
|
37
|
Hydrographic Office
|
3
|
103
|
|
39
|
Bureau of Accounts (Treasury)
|
1
|
7
|
|
40
|
Commerce
|
65
|
383
|
|
48
|
Interior
|
5
|
11
|
|
50
|
Treasurer of the
|
1
|
1
|
|
57
|
|
1
|
24
|
|
64
|
National Archives and Records
Administration
|
7
|
26
|
|
70
|
Bureau of Mines
|
1
|
1
|
|
80
|
General Records of the Department of the
Navy
|
2
|
9
|
|
85
|
Immigration and Naturalization Service
|
14
|
235
|
|
87
|
Secret Service
|
5
|
30
|
|
90
|
Public Health Service
|
2
|
2
|
|
118
|
|
3
|
227
|
|
125
|
Judge Advocate General (Navy)
|
11
|
25
|
|
131
|
Office of Alien Property
|
2
|
1
|
|
143
|
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
|
1
|
17
|
|
151
|
Bureau of Forei1gn and Domestic Commerce
|
83
|
164
|
|
166
|
Foreign Agricultural Service
|
5
|
14
|
|
167
|
National
|
5
|
10
|
|
168
|
National Guard Bureau
|
1
|
1
|
|
173
|
Federal Communications Commission
|
3
|
14
|
|
174
|
Department of Labor
|
9
|
9
|
|
185
|
|
2
|
24
|
|
197
|
Civil Aeronautics Board
|
6
|
30
|
|
203
|
Chief of Finance (Army)
|
5
|
10
|
|
216
|
Office of Censorship
|
2
|
3
|
|
220
|
Temporary Committees, Commissions and
Boards
|
18
|
91
|
|
227
|
Office of Scientific Research and Development
|
1
|
1
|
|
237
|
Federal Aviation Administration
|
19
|
190
|
|
242
|
Collection of Foreign Records Seized
|
5
|
7
|
|
257
|
Bureau of Labor Statistics
|
||
|
303
|
National Council on Marine Resources and
Engineering Development
|
1
|
5
|
|
307
|
National Science Foundation
|
1
|
1
|
|
311
|
Records of the FEMA
|
2
|
9
|
|
333
|
International Military Agencies
|
47
|
288
|
|
361
|
Records of the Defense Logistics Agency
|
2
|
7
|
|
368
|
Heritage Conservation and Recreation
Service
|
1
|
1
|
|
375
|
Bureau of Economic Analysis
|
6
|
8
|
|
377
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
378
|
Economic Development Administration
|
2
|
1
|
|
389
|
Provost Marshal General
|
1
|
1
|
|
396
|
Office of Emergency Preparedness
|
6
|
14
|
|
406
|
|
1
|
1
|
|
412
|
Records of the Environmental Protection
Agency
|
1
|
9
|
|
417
|
National Telecommunications and
Information Administration
|
15
|
104
|
|
420
|
Records of the Overseas Private
Investment Corp.
|
7
|
56
|
|
425
|
Financial Management Service
|
1
|
19
|
|
432
|
Economic Stabilization Programs
|
1
|
1
|
|
469
|
|
16
|
91
|
|
489
|
International Trade Administration
|
13
|
46
|
|
490
|
Peace Corps
|
10
|
45
|
|
509
|
Department of Defense Inspector General
|
6
|
29
|
|
2,422
|
|||
|
Category 4 Record Groups (Low Interest,
Difficult to Process) RG
|
Title
|
Entries
|
Volume
|
|
51
|
Office of Management and Budget
|
68
|
330
|
|
56
|
Department of the Treasury
|
166
|
1118
|
|
71
|
Bureau of Yards and Docks
|
17
|
201
|
|
112
|
Records of the Surgeon General (Army)
|
67
|
697
|
|
287
|
Publications of the
|
1
|
4
|
|
289
|
Naval Intelligence Command
|
46
|
369
|
|
291
|
Federal Property Resources Service
|
1
|
53
|
|
333
|
International Military Agencies
|
47
|
288
|
|
334
|
Interservice Agencies
|
319
|
600
|
|
345
|
Naval Electronic Systems Command
(NAVELEX)
|
72
|
394
|
|
346
|
Naval Ordinance Systems Command (NAVORD)
|
23
|
385
|
|
347
|
Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP)
|
5
|
11
|
|
353
|
Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental
Committees (State)
|
8
|
88
|
|
357
|
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
|
6
|
39
|
|
364
|
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
|
18
|
260
|
|
371
|
Defense Information Systems Agency
|
209
|
702
|
|
374
|
Defense Nuclear Agency/ Defense Threat
Reduction Agency
|
157
|
1225
|
|
384
|
Chief of Naval Material (NAVMAT)
|
30
|
85
|
|
385
|
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
(NAVFAC)
|
2
|
11
|
|
411
|
General Accounting Office
|
2
|
1
|
|
456
|
Defense Mapping Agency
|
166
|
814
|
|
476
|
Bureau of Export Administration
|
116
|
498
|
|
526
|
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
(NCIS)
|
5
|
36
|
|
544
|
|
555
|
1702
|
|
546
|
Continental Army Command (CONARC) (modern)
|
124
|
542
|
|
547
|
|
10
|
34
|
|
548
|
|
35
|
58
|
|
551
|
|
3
|
3
|
|
552
|
Military Traffic Management Command
(MTMC)
|
14
|
18
|
|
553
|
|
30
|
66
|
|
554
|
General HQs, Far East Command, Supreme
Commander Allied Powers, & United Nations Command (FECOM, SCAP, UNC)
|
185
|
803
|
|
555
|
|
4
|
4
|
|
11,439 cuft
|
|||
END
