Last May the Government Printing Office published a 266-page document on its website providing detailed information on civilian nuclear sites, locations, facilities, and activities in the US, but GAO has said no single agency or office was entirely responsible for releasing such sensitive information and instead pointed to a wider, more diffuse problem.
The Speaker of House asked GAO to find out who released the report, why, and what impact it could have on security, and GAO concluded that all of the agencies and offices involved in preparing and publishing the draft declaration share some responsibility for its release.
The report echoes concerns of a recent task force on sensitive but not classified information led by DHS secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder. It recommended a single, standardized framework for marking, safeguarding and disseminating sensitive but unclassified information across the federal government.
According to GAO-10-251, none of the agencies that prepared the draft declaration – the Departments of Energy and Commerce, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – took the added precaution of ensuring that the consolidated draft they helped prepare had a US security designation on each page of the document.
The final version of the document was marked only with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s designation – "Highly Confidential Safeguards Sensitive," which does not have legal significance in the US.
The Department of State sent a transmittal letter to the National Security Council indicating that the contents of the draft declaration should be treated as Sensitive but Unclassified, but not all federal agencies use this designation, sowing confusion.
GAO concluded that national security was not damaged as a result of the release, but all those involved agreed the document should not have been posted to the GPO website.
