On May 6, 2002, President Bush granted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christine Todd Whitman the authority to classify information as "Secret." This order was published in the May 9, 2002, Federal Register. The delegation of this authority is provided in accordance with Executive Order 12958 of April 17, 1995, entitled ''Classified National Security Information.'' Executive Order 12958 prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information. According to E.O. 12958, information may be classified at three levels: Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential. President Bush’s May 6 order allows Administrator Whitman to classify information as Secret or Confidential, but not as Top Secret. The Executive Order indicates that Confidential should be used for information which an unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause "damage" to national security, Secret classification for "serious damage" and Top Secret for "exceptionally grave damage." Once the information has been classified a person can only gain access to the information if it meets three requirements:

1. An agency head or the agency head's designee determines eligibility for access;
2. The person has signed an approved nondisclosure agreement; and
3. The person has a "need-to-know" the information.

According to EPA sources, the Agency discovered shortly after September 11 that its authority to classify material that could pose a threat to national security was limited. Based upon their concern that some of the information EPA might develop in its efforts to learn more about potential chemical, biological, or radiological threats could potentially have national security implications it re-applied for original classification authority. It is also reported that the authority is expected to be used "sparingly," if for no other reason than the fact that few EPA employees have clearance. While President Bush’s May 6 order only grants this classification authority to Administrator Whitman, under E.O. 12958 the Administrator also gains the ability to delegate the authority to classify original information secret or confidential to other government officials such as senior EPA officials. EPA's policy over the past dozen years has been to operate in the sunshine. Republican EPA Administrator William Reilly promulgated a "fishbowl" policy where the agency should operate as though it were in a fishbowl for all to see, and a Democratic administration continued this policy. Where it needs secrecy, EPA already has the authority to make confidential business information (CBI) confidential, along with enforcement information being used in a legal case and information that is considered pre-decisional. The May 6 order follows a March 19 White House memo instructing agencies to carefully consider whether "sensitive but not classified" information should be disclosed to the public. Unlike this new order, the terms "sensitive budget not classified" are not defined.