Policy on Release of Water Resources Division Information Products
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1998 15:27:08 -0500
To: "E - All WRD Employees"
From: Bob Hirsch
Subject: WRD Memorandum No. 99.07
Cc: " WRD Archive File, "
In Reply Refer To:
Mail Stop 441
WATER RESOURCES DIVISION MEMORANDUM NO. 99.07
Subject: Policy on Release of Water Resources Division Information
Products
The Water Resources Division (WRD) policy is that, in general, no
restrictions will be placed on the timing or distribution of WRD
information products. There are very few exemptions to this open
information release policy as described below.
In the past few years, an increasing number of districts have been
approached by customers requesting that various limits and restrictions be
applied to the public release of our information products - - data and
interpretive reports. If WRD were to restrict the release of information
products whenever requested, we would give the appearance of "taking
sides" by releasing data to one party while keeping it confidential from
other interested parties.
The Nation, however, needs scientific data that are collected by a highly
respected non-regulatory agency with an unbiased and credible reputation.
When negotiating with our partners, we should make it clear that our open
information release policy is vital to maintaining this stature. In
addition, these characteristics benefit our partners and are particularly
valuable to them because many water issues involve interjurisdictional
disputes. We should impress upon our partners that the open information
release policy actually serves their interests by enhancing the credibility
of the results.
Guidelines and exemptions to this policy are as follows:
This policy does not supersede the normal review and approval process
that currently applies to WRD reports.
This policy only applies to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected data
and interpretive reports and not to specific information products
collected from other sources and published by the USGS.
Release of information collected outside the United States, through
international agreements, is not subject to this policy. Procedures for
releasing data collected internationally should be developed in
consultation with WRD's International Water Resources Branch and should
be released in accordance with the funding agreement and/or memorandum of
understanding that established the international work effort.
This policy limits the use of Administrative Reports as a means of
supplying information to other Federal agencies. Information in an
Administrative Report becomes the property of the "owner" and precludes
the full and open release of the information by the USGS. An
Administrative Report should not be used unless it is part of a
procedure, agreed to by the USGS and the other Federal agency, that
includes the timely subsequent publication of a USGS series report
containing the information documented in the Administrative Report. An
Administrative Report could also be used if it were part of an approved
exemption as described below. Other appropriate USGS publication types,
such as Open-File Reports and Water Resources Investigations Reports,
should be used to ensure public access.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the overriding guidance
for valid restrictions to the release of Government information. For
example, FOIA allows an agency to withhold information related to
national security. FOIA also protects USGS documents from release that
are predecisional and part of the deliberative process. Predecisional
documents are protected to encourage candid and frank discussion among
USGS officials. Examples of predecisional documents that can be withheld
include colleague review comments, reports in draft form, field
notebooks, and preliminary laboratory analyses. Protected information is
generally analytical and subjective rather than factual in nature. The
deliberative process privilege does not allow us to withhold purely
factual information from a FOIA request, except where doing so would
reveal the bureau's deliberative process. Refer to the Department of the
Interior (DOI) FOIA Handbook and 383 DOI Departmental Manual 15 for FOIA
policy. A valid FOIA justification for the restriction of the release of
information DOES NOT have to be submitted to headquarters for approval.
It should be noted, however, that very few of the FOIA exemptions,
besides the deliberative process exemption, typically apply to WRD work.
Valid reasons for an exemption (in addition to FOIA exemptions) include
such things as: (1) work at the request of the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to supply data to the DOJ and/or another Federal agency that is
involved as a party in litigation, and
(2) selected work for Indian tribes that may be required by the DOI as
part of the Department's trust responsibility.
Very few exemptions to this policy will be granted because of the
potential harm that restrictions on the release of information have
toward our reputation as an unbiased provider of hydrologic information.
Agreements for work that propose restrictions to the open release of
information collected by the USGS (other than valid FOIA exemptions) must
be submitted through either a Regional Hydrologist or the Assistant Chief
Hydrologist for Research to the Assistant Chief Hydrologist for
Operations for approval. The documentation accompanying the agreement
submitted for approval should contain (1) an explanation of the reason
for a restriction, and (2) a justification for undertaking the work. If
the agreement calls for a delay, the maximum duration of that delay must
be stated in the agreement.
If we are to maintain our scientific credibility, impartial reputation, and
integrity as the Nation's earth science agency, we must promote the open
public release of USGS information products as stated in this policy. We
believe that protecting our reputation is so important that, in most cases,
it would be better to decline work that requires a restriction than to risk
harm to our reputation.
(sgnd 12/23/98)
Robert M. Hirsch
Chief Hydrologist
WRD Distribution:E
"This WRD memorandum does not supersede any previous WRD memorandum."