Energy stays out of the fray

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 | 7:44 a.m.

The Energy Department wants to stay out of the brouhaha over whether to make public a heavily censored federal grant application submitted by UNLV's Institute for Security Studies.

Darwin Morgan, a spokesman for the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the $2.5 million being sought by the institute, said Monday that his agency was surprised by UNLV's decision to drag it into the fray.

"We don't understand why they came to us for relief," Morgan said. "It's up to the university to determine what is releasable in that document - not us."

Last week, UNLV and institute officials blacked out large portions of a copy of the application requested by the Sun, insisting that the information was proprietary.

The extensive censoring makes it impossible to tell from the 26-page document, which was stamped "for official use only," precisely how the counterterrorism institute plans to spend the Energy Department money.

But under pressure from university system regents and Chancellor Jim Rogers, who do not believe there is a legitimate reason to keep the information secret, UNLV agreed Friday to take steps to make the entire application public.

As part of that effort, UNLV General Counsel Richard Linstrom faxed a letter Friday to Kathy Izell, the Energy Department's chief lawyer in Nevada, asking for a waiver of department policies so that the application could be uncensored.

Morgan, however, said Monday that Izell and other officials familiar with how the department classifies information told him that there is no such waiver available.

"The bottom line is that this is a state document," Morgan said. "The markings on the document were made by the state. We're not in a position to do anything with it."

That explanation prompted Regent Steve Sisolak, an outspoken critic of the institute, to urge the university to make the entire application public as soon as possible.

"If the Energy Department isn't objecting, then I would hope that in the spirit of open government, the university would release it immediately," Sisolak said.

Linstrom, though, said Monday he could not commit to doing that until he reviews the Energy Department's response to his request.