FOIA 5 USC 552(c) exempts information from disclosure. For some national security (nuclear weapons – 91b radioactive material) & law enforcement content, the agency can legally lie to you about its nonexistence, 5 USC 552(c) – on top of Glomar (“can’t confirm or deny”) responses.
To avoid both of these scenarios, exclusions authorize the agency to “treat the records as not subject to the requirements of the [FOIA].” This permits an agency to respond to a request seeking excluded records without revealing their existence [lie], while also allowing the agency to respond to the vast majority of requests in the traditional manner, i.e., by advising the requester whether records exist, and if they do, by releasing any information that is not exempt and asserting exemptions for any material properly protected from disclosure.
https://www.justice.gov/oip/blog/foia-guidance-6
CERCLA exempts this information from disclosure.
“(2) Classified information
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all requirements of the Atomic Energy Act [42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.] and all Executive orders concerning the handling of restricted data and national security information, including “need to know” requirements, shall be applicable to any grant of access to classified information under the provisions of this chapter or under title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 [42 U.S.C. 11001 et seq.].”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/9620
Federal Facility Agreement for George AFB exempts this information from disclosure.
Legal grounds for withholding records about radioactive contamination that is the result of the nuclear weapons program.
23.1 The Parties may request of one another access to or a copy of any record or document relating to this Agreement or the IRP [Installation Restoration Program]. If the Party that is the subject of the request (the originating Party) [the Department of Defense and the Air Force] has the record or document, that Party shall provide access to or a copy of the record or document; provided, however, that no access to or copies of records or documents need be provided if they are subject to claims of attorney-client privilege, attorney work product, deliberative process, enforcement confidentiality, or properly classified for national security under law or executive order.
Page 43, 23. RELEASE OF RECORDS
George Air Force Base (George AFB) Federal Facility Agreement – DOD, Air Force – 21 September 1990
The Air Force acknowledged that it routinely withheld information and records about classified radioactive waste from Federal, State, and Local regulators, contractors, and the public.
“All activities supporting the nuclear defense program are highly classified to protect national security. Since this included weapons maintenance waste materials during the period involved, information on the amounts and locations of this waste was not found in the historical records searches originally performed as a basis for cleanup. The recent availability of the documents from the Cold War era has led to the discovery of locations where low-level radioactive waste from weapons maintenance activities may have been buried in the WSAs [Weapons Storage Areas].
Page 1, column 2
Buried Radioactive Weapons Maintenance Waste – Air Force Real Property Agency (AFRPA) – 8 May 2003
Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW):
Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) is broadly defined as radioactive waste that is not classified as high-level waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel, or byproduct material from uranium mining/processing.
91(b) radioactive material (RAM):
The term “91(b)” refers to highly classified radioactive material (RAM) covered under Section 91(b) of the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 associated with current nuclear weapons material, legacy nuclear weapons maintenance wastes, residuals from nuclear weapons accident/incidents, some residuals from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, and residuals from nuclear reactor operations. https://www.georgeafb.info/91b-radioactive-material/
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