§ 26.92 Sensitive or classified information.
(a)Policy. VA will not disclose information that is protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Although VA will not release protected information to the public, VA may in some cases use sensitive or classified information in preparing NEPA analyses. VA policy for withholding sensitive and classified information will not contravene VA's commitment to public engagement under NEPA. When a NEPA analysis relies on sensitive or classified information, VA must withhold the protected information from intentional disclosure while releasing the environmental analysis to the public. VA will not disclose sensitive information, including an individual veteran's medical records, personal information, or other information considered perso
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§ 26.92 Sensitive or classified information.
(a) Policy. VA will not disclose information that is protected from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Although VA will not release protected information to the public, VA may in some cases use sensitive or classified information in preparing NEPA analyses. VA policy for withholding sensitive and classified information will not contravene VA's commitment to public engagement under NEPA. When a NEPA analysis relies on sensitive or classified information, VA must withhold the protected information from intentional disclosure while releasing the environmental analysis to the public. VA will not disclose sensitive information, including an individual veteran's medical records, personal information, or other information considered personal. Generally, VA will use veterans' information in the aggregate in a NEPA analysis to identify trends, needs, levels, types, and locations of services or benefits that VA provides. VA must protect classified information for national security reasons. See the Freedom of Information Act for an explanation of classified information.
(b) Documentation. VA must assess and document the environmental effects of its proposed action despite the presence of sensitive or classified environmental information. If only part of the environmental information is sensitive or classified, VA will segregate the sensitive or classified information from the remainder of the environmental information. VA will disclose the non-sensitive and non-classified information to the public in the NEPA analysis.