Grant awards under this part shall comply with applicable law including, without limitation, the requirements of:

(a) Executive Order 12372 entitled “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs”, 48 FR 3130, and the DOE Regulation implementing this Executive Order entitled “Intergovernmental Review of Department of Energy Programs and Activities” (10 CFR part 1005);

(b) Office of Management and Budget Circular A-97, entitled “Rules and Regulations Permitting Federal Agencies to Provide Specialized or Technical Services to State and Local Units of Government under Title III of the Inter-Governmental Coordination Act of 1968;”

(c) Unless in conflict with provisions of this part, the DOE Financial Assistance Rule (10 CFR part 600); and

(d) Such other procedures applicable to this part as DOE may from time to time prescribe for the administration of financial assistance.

(e)

(1) States, Tribes and their subawardees, including, but not limited to subrecipients, subgrantees, contractors and subcontractors that participate in the program established under this Part are required to treat all requests for information concerning applicants and recipients of WAP funds in a manner consistent with the Federal Government's treatment of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, including the privacy protections contained in Exemption (b)(6) of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6). Under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6), information relating to an individual's eligibility application or the individual's participation in the program, such as name, address, or income information, are generally exempt from disclosure.

(2) A balancing test must be used in applying Exemption (b)(6) in order to determine:

(i) Whether a significant privacy interest would be invaded;

(ii) Whether the release of the information would further the public interest by shedding light on the operations or activities of the Government; and

(iii) Whether in balancing the privacy interests against the public interest, disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.

(3) A request for personal information including but not limited to the names, addresses, or income information of WAP applicants or recipients would require the State or other service provider to balance a clearly defined public interest in obtaining this information against the individuals' legitimate expectation of privacy.

(4) Given a legitimate, articulated public interest in the disclosure, States and other service providers may release information regarding recipients in the aggregate that does not identify specific individuals. However, a State or service provider must apply an FOIA Exemption (b)(6) balancing test to any request for information that can not be satisfied by such less-intrusive methods.

[49 FR 3629, Jan. 27, 1984, as amended at 75 FR 11422, Mar. 11, 2010; 77 FR 11737, Feb. 28, 2012]