Court Opinion

ID: 9564333
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 18:58:11.628581+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:21.594216
License: Public Domain

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
The question in this case is whether Explosive Safety Quantity Distance (“ESQD”) arc maps are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). The Navy claims the maps are exempt under FOIA Exemption 2 and Exemption 7(F). Exemption 2 covers information “related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(2). Exemption 7(F) covers “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes” that, if disclosed, “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.” Id. § 552(b)(7)(F). The majority holds that ESQD maps are exempt under Exemption 2. It does not reach Exemption 7(F).
The majority’s holding is inconsistent with both the statute and the uniform case law interpreting Exemption 2. I would hold that the ESQD maps are not exempt under either FOIA Exemption 2 or Exemption 7(F).
I. Background
Naval Magazine Indian Island (“NMII”) is an ordnance storage depot located on the northwest side of Indian Island on Port Townsend Bay in Washington State. The bay is on the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula, where the Straits of Juan de Fuca come in from the Pacific Ocean to meet Puget Sound. The bay is used by many kinds of pleasure and work boats. The northern part of NMII is a little more than two miles southeast of the town of Port Townsend across the open water of the bay, and several hundred feet west of Fort Flagler State Park on nearby Marrowstone Island. The southern part of NMII is a little more than a mile east of the towns of Port Hadlock and Irondale across the open water of the bay. NMII is used to store and transship ammunition, weapons, weapon components and explosives for the Navy, U.S. Joint Forces, Homeland Security and other federal agencies and allied forces. The Navy is responsible for all operations on NMII.
Glen Scott Milner is a life-long resident of the Puget Sound region. For the past twenty years he has done research and written about explosive hazards related to Navy activities in Puget Sound. He has published articles in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, BASIC (British American Security Information Council, in London), Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Kitsap Sun, Port Townsend Leader, Washington Free Press, and Real Change in Seattle. In addition, numerous radio and television shows and newspaper articles have featured his comments about local Navy activities or used information that he obtained through FOIA.
The Navy develops ESQD arc maps as part of its explosives safety program. On an arc map,1 an hypothesized explosion is at the focus of the arc. The arc represents the distance at which the force of the explosion will be felt. The distance between the site of the explosion and the arc varies depending on the kind and quantity *973of ordnance. ESQD arc maps are essentially safety maps, telling the Navy (and anyone else who is allowed to see them) not only where different kinds and quantities of ordnance should be stored, but also how far away people and structures should be located to ensure their safety in the event of an explosion.
Milner submitted two FOIA requests to the Navy, one on December 7, 2003, and the other on February 3, 2004, for information about explosion hazards at NMII. The district court found Milner’s two requests “substantially identical” and treated them as a single FOIA request. Milner requested three kinds of documents:
[1] [A]ll documents on file regarding ESQD arcs or explosive handling zones at the ammunition depot at Indian Island. This would include all documents showing impacts or potential impacts of activities in the explosive handling zones to the ammunition depot and the surrounding areas[;] ...
[2] all maps and diagrams of the ammunition depot at Indian Island which show ESQD arcs or explosive handling zones”[;][and]
[3] documents regarding any safety instructions or operating procedures for Navy or civilian maritime traffic within or near the explosive handling zones or ESQD arcs at the ammunition depot at Indian Island.
The Navy identified seventeen document packages totaling about 1,000 pages that met Milner’s request. The Navy disclosed most of these documents to Milner, but withheld 81 documents, claiming that their disclosure could threaten the security of NMII and the surrounding community.
Jefferson County Commissioner Phil Johnson states in a declaration that he wrote two letters to Rear Admiral W.D. French requesting a meeting between Navy officials and the general public concerning safety of ordnance storage and handling at NMII. Jefferson County encompasses the towns of Port Townsend, Port Hadlock and Irondale. In his first letter, dated February 21, 2006, Commissioner Johnson recounted that Captain Kurtz, the then-Commanding Officer of NMII, and his staff had provided a tour of NMII to “local governmental leaders and the press.” He wrote, “The three hours that we spent touring the facilities and listening to the presentations about the Magazine’s safety record, the ‘standard operating procedures’ and the Navy’s environmental program were indeed impressive.” Commissioner Johnson then proposed a discussion lasting one to two hours at Fort Worden State Park “with our general public, Captain Kurtz and his staff,” and with a “neutral facilitator who will keep the audience focused on the purpose of the meeting.” Admiral French wrote back thanking Commissioner Johnson for his “support of the U.S. Navy,” stating that “the Navy values its outstanding relationship with Jefferson County,” and describing meetings Captain Kurtz had had with different groups, including the Chambers of Commerce of Port Hadlock and Port Townsend. However, Admiral French did not mention Commissioner Johnson’s proposal for a general public meeting.
In a second letter to Admiral French, dated April 3,2006, Commissioner Johnson again requested a general public meeting. This time he proposed that an “open public forum” be held at the Jefferson County Courthouse. He proposed that Captain Kurtz and his staff appear on a panel with “panelists from the Hospital, Emergency Operations and Law Enforcement/Fire.” He again proposed that there be a “neutral moderator, who we will provide, to insure that the forum remains focused on NAV MAG Indian Island and the plans for the island.” This time, Admiral French responded to Commissioner Johnson’s pro*974posal. He declined, writing on May 3, 2006:
Thank you for your letter ... in which you propose that a public forum be held ... with presentations by the Navy, the local hospital, your Emergency Operations Department, Law Enforcement and the East Jefferson Fire District. While we appreciate this opportunity and desire to keep the lines of communication open, we prefer to continue our current outreach program.
Admiral French listed occasions on which Captain Kurtz had spoken to “many community groups and civic organizations in the Port Townsend area.” He stated, “We believe that these public engagements have been quite successful in providing information to the citizens of Jefferson County.”
On September 11, 2006, Milner sued the Navy under FOIA seeking disclosure of the documents the Navy had refused to provide in response to his FOIA request.
Commander George Whitbred IV, the current Commanding Officer of NMII, states in a declaration filed in this suit that ESQD arcs “define minimum separation distances for quantities of explosives based on required degrees of protection. These separation distances are established to afford reasonable safety to Department of Navy shore activities, and, to the extent possible, protect adjacent public and private property.” Commander Whitbred states that “ESQD arcs can be ‘reverse engineered’ with the right information,” and that “some arcs reveal more than others about the particular ammunition, explosive or weapons system.” He states that arc maps are provided to civilian members of the public on a “case-by-case basis.” Commander Whitbred states further:
We sometimes share ESQD information with “first responders” at both Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend. However, ESQD information is not released to the general public if a determination is made that the release might pose a serious threat of death or injury to any person — either inside or outside the installation boundaries.
Milner states in a declaration that the Navy submarine base at Bangor, Washington, “handles much of the ammunition that is sent to Indian Island. The ammunition is routed by railcars and then sent by truck to Indian Island.” He further states that the Navy has voluntarily handed over to him, pursuant to FOIA requests, comparable arc maps for ordnance stored at the Bangor base. The Navy’s behavior with respect to the arc maps for the Bangor base contrasts sharply with its behavior with respect to the arc maps for NMII, even though the same type of ordnance is stored at both bases. Milner states:
Numerous documents showing ESQD arcs and related information about the Bangor base, similar to the documents I requested for Indian Island, have been released to me through FOIA. One 1995 document ... lists 33 different sites with ESQD arcs at Naval Base KitsapBangor. The Net Explosives Weight at these sites is listed from 5,000 to 3.72 million pounds.... The document also contains a map showing ESQD arcs at Bangor. Numerous similar maps showing ESQD arcs at Bangor have been released to me in the past.
Bangor is the Puget Sound base for the Navy’s Trident nuclear submarines. The Bangor base is located on the north-eastern shore of Hood Canal, a little less than 40 miles due south of Port Townsend. Despite its name, Hood Canal is not a canal; rather, it is a long narrow inlet of Puget Sound mostly running north and south along the eastern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. The nearest town to the Ban*975gor base is Silverdale, four or five miles across land to the south.
The Navy has not contradicted Milner’s statement about the nature and quantity of ordnance at Bangor. Nor has it contradicted his statement that it has voluntarily released to him under FOIA numerous arc maps for the ordnance stored at the Bangor base. Though it undoubtedly could have done so, the Navy has not provided affidavits or declarations from anyone connected with the Bangor base. Commander Whitbred of NMII has provided the Navy’s only response to Milner’s statements about the Bangor base. He states in his declaration, “I am not an expert on Trident Submarines; nor do I know the reasons why information about ESQD arcs might have been released by those commands in the past.”
Both parties moved for summary judgment. The Navy contended that the documents were protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemptions 2 and 7(F). The district court granted summary judgment to the Navy under Exemption 2. The court did not address Exemption 7(F). Milner timely appealed.
II. Discussion
I would hold that neither Exemption 2 nor Exemption 7(F) permits the Navy to withhold the requested ESQD arc maps.
A. FOIA
The goal of FOIA is “to open agency action to the light of public scrutiny.” U.S. Dep’t of Justice v. Reporters Comm, for Freedom of the Press, 489 U.S. 749, 772, 109 S.Ct. 1468, 103 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989) (internal quotation omitted). FOIA revised § 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), which Congress had declared was “full of loopholes which allow agencies to deny legitimate information to the public.” S.Rep. No. 813, 89th Cong., 1st Sess., 3 (1965) (“Senate Report”); see also H.R.Rep. No. 1497, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 4 (“House Report”) (“Section 3 of the [APA], though titled ‘Public Information’ and clearly intended for that purpose, has been used as an authority for withholding, rather than disclosing, information.”). In the words of the Supreme Court, “Section 3 was generally recognized as falling far short of its disclosure goals and came to be looked upon more as a withholding statute than a disclosure statute.” Dep’t of Air Force v. Rose, 425 U.S. 352, 360, 96 S.Ct. 1592, 48 L.Ed.2d 11 (1976) (quoting EPA v. Mink, 410 U.S. 73, 79, 93 S.Ct. 827, 35 L.Ed.2d 119 (1973)).
FOIA mandates that government agencies disclose their records through three methods. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a). Section 552(a)(1) requires that agencies publish certain information in the Federal Register. Section 552(a)(2) requires that certain other types of material be made available for public inspection and copying. Section 552(a)(3), upon which Milner relies, requires disclosure of all other reasonably described records not already released under § 552(a)(1) or (a)(2).
Federal agencies may withhold requested documents only if they fall under one of the nine enumerated exemptions to mandatory disclosure under FOIA. Exemptions under FOIA “must be narrowly construed.” Rose, 425 U.S. at 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592. Exemptions under FOIA are also “explicitly exclusive.” U.S. Dep’t of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136, 151, 109 S.Ct. 2841, 106 L.Ed.2d 112 (1989) (quoting Adm’r FAA v. Robertson, 422 U.S. 255, 262, 95 S.Ct. 2140, 45 L.Ed.2d 164 (1975)). That is, we may not read additional exemptions into FOIA, no matter how desirable such exemptions might be in the view of the agency or the court. See also Dep’t of Interior v. Klamath Water Users Protective Ass’n, 532 U.S. 1, 7-8, 121 S.Ct. 1060, 149 L.Ed.2d 87 (2001); Maricopa *976Audubon Soc’y v. U.S. Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1082, 1085 (9th Cir.1997). The existence of these nine enumerated exemptions “do[es] not obscure the basic policy that disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of the Act.” Rose, 425 U.S. at 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592.
B. FOIA Exemption 2
FOIA Exemption 2 allows agencies to withhold “matters ... related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(2). The question before us is whether ESQD arc maps are “related solely to internal personnel rules and practices” within the meaning of Exemption 2.1 would hold that they are not.
I agree with part of the majority’s analysis. I agree that we should adopt the reasoning of the D.C. Circuit articulated in Crooker v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, 670 F.2d 1051 (D.C.Cir.1981) (en banc). I further agree that our circuit’s three decisions dealing with Exemption 2 — Hardy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, 631 F.2d 653 (9th Cir. 1980); Dirksen v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, 803 F.2d 1456 (9th Cir.1986); and Maricopa Audubon Society v. United States Forest Service, 108 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir.1997) — are not inconsistent with Crooker. Finally, I agree that under Crooker, documents must be “predominantly internal” and pertain to “personnel rules and practices of an agency” to qualify under Exemption 2.
However, I strongly disagree with the majority’s application of the part of Crook-er that deals with what it calls “the circumvention requirement.” Maj. Op. at 969-70. Crooker held that a predominantly internal document whose release might result in the circumvention of agency regulation is protected under Exemption 2. Circumvention of agency regulation has a precise, and restricted, meaning. Crooker and all subsequent cases have held that the circumvention must be by a person or entity that is subject to regulation by the agency in question.
Crooker carefully described the sort of circumvention of agency regulation that qualifies a document for exemption under Exemption 2. Crooker noted that the Supreme Court’s opinion in Rose had left open the question whether documents that would permit circumvention of regulation were exempted by Exemption 2. Crooker answered the question, holding that such documents were exempted. It quoted from Rose to make clear the sort of circumvention at issue. First, the Court in Rose had referred to Exemption 2 as being potentially available
only where necessary to prevent the circumvention of agency regulations that might result from disclosure to the subjects of regulation of the procedural manuals and guidelines used by the agency in discharging its regulatory function.
Crooker, 670 F.2d at 1066 (quoting Rose, 425 U.S. at 364, 96 S.Ct. 1592) (emphasis altered). Second, the Court had noted that the primary focus of the House Report on Exemption 2 had been on “exemption of disclosures that might enable the regulated to circumvent agency regulation.” Crooker, 670 F.2d at 1066 (quoting Rose, 425 U.S. at 366-67, 96 S.Ct. 1592) (emphasis added). Thus, under Crooker, agency documents embodying “personnel rules and practices” are exempt under Exemption 2 only when they are “procedural manuals and guidelines used by the agency in discharging its regulatory function,” and only when their disclosure “to the subjects of regulation” might result in the “circumvention of agency regulations.” Crooker, 670 F.2d at 1066 (quoting Rose, 425 U.S. at 364, 96 S.Ct. 1592).
*977Examples of documents whose release might result in circumvention of agency regulation by regulated persons or entities include “instructions to such government officials as investigators and bank examiners.” Crooker, 670 F.2d at 1057. The documents we held exempt under Exemption 2 in Hardy and Dirksen are further examples of such documents. In Hardy, we held exempt under Exemption 2 a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (“BATF”) training manual whose disclosure risked circumvention of BATF regulation by parties subject to that regulation. In Dirksen, we held exempt under Exemption 2 a document containing Medicare processing Guidelines whose disclosure risked circumvention of agency reimbursement regulations by Medicare providers subject to Health and Human Services regulation. In Hardy, we emphasized that the BATF manual was a law enforcement manual, and in Dirksen, we analogized the Guidelines document to a law enforcement manual.
In a consistent line of cases decided after Crooker, the D.C. Circuit has restricted the application of Exemption 2 to documents whose release would permit the subjects of the agency’s regulation to circumvent that regulation. In National Treasury Employees Union v. United States Customs Service, 802 F.2d 525 (D.C.Cir.1986), the court held that the Customs Service could withhold “crediting plans” it used to evaluate job applicants. Id. at 531. The court determined that “release of the plans creates a significant risk that the Service’s applicant evaluation program will be seriously compromised” because “advance knowledge of the plans by applicants would allow and induce at least some of them to embellish — or perhaps even fabricate — their backgrounds to suit the appropriate crediting plan.” Id. at 529.
In Schiller v. NLRB, 964 F.2d 1205 (D.C.Cir.1992), the court similarly allowed the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to withhold documents containing the agency’s litigation strategies in Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”) actions. Id. at 1207. The EAJA allows prevailing parties to recover attorney’s fees and costs from the agency in certain circumstances. See 5 U.S.C. § 504. The court held that requiring the NLRB to disclose its litigation strategies would “compromisfe] the Board’s ability to defend itself in EAJA actions.” 964 F.2d at 1208.
In PHE, Inc. v. Department of Justice, 983 F.2d 248 (D.C.Cir.1993), the court allowed the FBI to claim Exemption 2 for the section of its Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines related to interstate transportation of obscene matter. Id. at 251. This withheld section “detailed specific documents, records and sources of information available to Agents investigating obscenity violations, as well as the type of patterns of criminal activity to look for when investigating certain violations.” Id. The court agreed with the government that the disclosure of this portion of the Manual would “provide[ ] violators with an opportunity to impede lawful investigations.” Id.
The case law in other circuits is consistent with that of the D.C. Circuit. In Caplan v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, 587 F.2d 544 (2d Cir.1978), the Second Circuit held exempt under Exemption 2 a BATF Raids and Searches training manual. Id. at 546. The court stated that releasing the manual would “significantly assist those engaged in criminal activity by acquainting them with the intimate details of the strategies employed in its detection.” Id. at 547. The Seventh Circuit followed suit in Kaganove v. EPA, 856 F.2d 884 (7th Cir.1988), holding ex*978empt under Exemption 2 an EPA document used to rate job candidates. Id. at 889-90. The court found that disclosing the document would allow job applicants to exaggerate their credentials to receive higher ratings. Id. at 890.
The majority does not acknowledge the limited sense in which circumvention of agency regulation is used in the case law interpreting Exemption 2. The majority has cited no case — and can cite no case — in which Exemption 2 was applied more broadly than in the cases I have just described. In all of the reported cases dealing with the issue, Exemption 2 applies only to documents whose release would risk circumvention by a regulated person or entity. Exemption 2 does not apply in this case because there is no such person or entity. The Navy is not acting as a regulatory or law enforcement agency, and the arc maps do not regulate anyone or anything outside the Navy itself.
The majority ignores a consistent line of cases in which agency maps have been held not to qualify under Exemption 2. Most important is our own case, Maricopa Audubon Society v. United States Forest Service, 108 F.3d 1082 (9th Cir.1997), in which we held that Forest Service maps showing the locations of goshawk nests were not protected from disclosure under Exemption 2. 108 F.3d at 1086-87. We so held despite the concern expressed by the district court that if the maps fell into the wrong hands harm to the goshawks could result. Id. at 1084.
Other cases include Audubon Society v. United States Forest Service, 104 F.3d 1201 (10th Cir.1997), Living Rivers, Inc. v. United States Bureau of Reclamation, 272 F.Supp.2d 1313 (D.Utah 2003), and De-Lorme Publishing Co. v. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration of the United States Department of Commerce, 917 F.Supp. 867 (D.Me.1996). In Audubon, the Tenth Circuit held that maps identifying Mexican spotted owl nest sites were not protected from disclosure under Exemption 2. 104 F.3d at 1204. In Living Rivers, the district court determined that the Bureau of Reclamation could not withhold maps showing which downstream areas would be flooded if the Hoover Dam or the Glen Canyon Dam failed. 272 F.Supp.2d at 1318. The court so held despite the government’s contention that releasing the maps “would [compromise] dam security and the security of the surrounding populations.” Id. at 1315. In DeLorme, the district court rejected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s attempt to withhold compilations of its nautical charts from disclosure under Exemption 2. 917 F.Supp. at 876.
The key question in these cases was not whether the documents at issue were maps per se, but rather the consequence of the release of the maps. Even though there was some potential risk of harm from the release of the maps, their release did not risk circumvention of regulation by regulated persons or entities. I agree with the majority that releasing a map showing the location of cameras in a prison would be protected under Exemption 2. See Maj. Op. at 970 n.6. Such a map would be protected because its disclosure would risk circumvention of regulation by regulated persons, i.e. by the prison’s inmates. But our case is quite different. In our case, there is — at least, according to the Navy— a risk of harm from release of the maps. But the risk is not that a regulated person or entity will be thereby assisted in avoiding the agency’s regulation.
Given the foregoing extensive and consistent lines of precedent, the conclusion is *979inescapable that the arc maps at issue in this case are not exempt under Exemption 2. The ESQD arc maps do not qualify for Exemption 2 under this circuit’s analysis in Hardy and Dirksen; under the D.C. Circuit’s analysis in Crooker and subsequent cases; or under the analyses of the other circuits. The arc maps are not “procedural manuals [or] guidelines used by the agency in discharging its regulatory function” whose disclosure “to the subjects of regulation” might result in the “circumvention of agency regulations.” Crooker, 670 F.2d at 1066. Rather, the maps fall squarely under the analysis in our circuit’s decision in Maricopa, in the Tenth Circuit’s decision in Audubon, and in the district courts’ decisions in Living Rivers and DeLorme. I would therefore hold that the ESQD arc maps at issue in this appeal are not exempt under Exemption 2.
C. FOIA Exemption 7(F)
Because I would hold that the ESQD arc maps are not exempt under Exemption 2, I would also reach the question whether the maps are exempt under Exemption 7(F). Exemption 7(F) covers “matters that are ... records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(F). I would hold that the ESQD arc maps are not covered under Exemption 7(F) because they were not “compiled for law enforcement purposes.”
The Navy has the burden of proving that it is a “law enforcement” agency and that the ESQD arc maps were “compiled for law enforcement purposes.” Church of Scientology of Cal. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Army, 611 F.2d 738, 748 (9th Cir.1979). An agency with a “ ‘mixed’ function, encompassing both administrative and law enforcement functions, must demonstrate that it had a purpose falling within its sphere of enforcement authority in compiling the particular document.” Id. A law enforcement purpose is an “adjudicative or enforcement purpose[ ],” such as the “enforcement of any statute or regulation within the authority” of the agency. Id. “Information need not have been originally compiled for law enforcement purposes in order to qualify for the ‘law enforcement’ exemption, so long as it was compiled for law enforcement purposes at the time the FOIA request was made.” Lion Raisins v. U.S. Dep’t of Agric., 354 F.3d 1072, 1082 (9th Cir.2004) (quoting John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp., 493 U.S. 146, 155, 110 S.Ct. 471, 107 L.Ed.2d 462 (1989)).
The Navy concedes that it is an agency with a mixed function. Therefore, it must demonstrate that it “had a law enforcement purpose based upon properly delegated enforcement authority” for compiling the ESQD arc maps. Church of Scientology, 611 F.2d at 748. The Navy does not meet this standard. Agencies with law enforcement powers have the ability to conduct investigations or adjudications to enforce laws or regulations. See, e.g., Church of Scientology Int’l v. I.R.S., 995 F.2d 916, 919 (9th Cir.1993) (finding that the Exempt Organization Division of the IRS performs a law enforcement function “by enforcing the provisions of the federal tax code that relate to qualification for tax exempt status”); Lewis v. I.R.S., 823 F.2d 375, 379 (9th Cir.1987) (holding that the I.R.S. has a law enforcement purpose in the context of a criminal tax investigation); Binion v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 695 F.2d 1189, 1194 (9th Cir.1983) (stating that the F.B.I. has a “clear law enforcement mandate”). The divisions of the Navy responsible for producing ESQD arc maps and conducting operations on NMII have no such powers. These divisions are distinct from those with investigative powers, such as the Na*980val Investigative Service of the Office of Naval Intelligence, which we examined in Church of Scientology. 611 F.2d at 748.
Even if the branch of the Navy that created the ESQD arc maps had law enforcement authority, these documents were not compiled for law enforcement purposes. Commander Whitbred stated that the Navy “use[s] these arcs to design, array, and construct ammunition storage facilities, and to organize ammunition operations for risk mitigation and enhanced safety.” This is not an “adjudicative or enforcement purpose[ ].” Church of Scientology, 611 F.2d at 748. I would therefore hold that the ESQD arc maps at issue in this appeal are not exempt under Exemption 7(F).
D. FOIA Exemption 1
I am myself a former Navy officer. I yield to no one in my admiration for the care and professionalism of the Navy in its handling of ordnance, at NMII and elsewhere.
There is reason to suspect that the Navy’s reluctance to release the ESQD arc maps for NMII is not based on the danger to national security that might be posed if the arc maps were released to Milner and the general public, but rather on the political difficulties that might be created by their release. This is strongly suggested by the contrast between the Navy’s behavior with respect to the arc maps for the Bangor base and its behavior with respect to comparable arc maps for NMII. The Navy voluntarily provided to Milner under FOIA numerous ESQD arc maps for the Bangor base. That base is located four to five miles across land from the nearest town. So far as the record reveals, there was little political sensitivity to the possible dangers posed by the storage of conventional ordnance at Bangor.
By contrast, the Navy has been unwilling to provide to Milner the comparable ESQD arc maps for the same type of ordnance stored at NMII. NMII is located a little more than two miles across open water from Port Townsend and a little more than a mile across open water from Port Hadlock and Irondale. It is clear from the record that there is substantial political sensitivity to the possible danger posed by the storage of ordnance at NMII. This political sensitivity is shown, for example, by Jefferson County Commissioner Johnson’s invitation to the Navy to appear at a public forum to discuss “NAV MAG Indian Island and the plans for the island” on a panel with local hospital, emergency operations, law enforcement and fire fighting personnel. The nature of the Navy’s response is shown by its unwillingness to accept the invitation, and its preference instead to continue to conduct its “current outreach program” in which Captain Kurtz, appearing alone, spoke to various community groups and civic organizations.
Commander Whitbred states in his declaration that a person may be able to “reverse engineer” ESQD arc maps, and thereby to discover information about “particular ammunition, explosive[s and] weapons systems,” with possible adverse consequences for national security. I have trouble reconciling Commander Whitbred’s statement about the national security risks of releasing the ESQD arc maps for NMII with the Navy’s failure to classify these maps. Exemption 1 of FOIA specifically exempts from disclosure classified matters “kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(1). This exemption is specifically designed to allow government agencies to withhold information that might jeopardize our national security. If the disclosure of the ESQD arc maps is as dangerous as Commander Whitbread claims, the Navy is acting irresponsibly by not classifying them. I would be willing to remand to the district court, even at this late stage in the *981litigation, in order to give the Navy an opportunity to classify the arc maps at NMII and thereby to qualify them under Exemption 1 if it truly believes that Commander Whitbred’s stated concerns about reverse engineering are legitimate. But my colleagues in the majority have declined to follow this course.
Conclusion
FOIA is a careful “balance between the interests of the public in greater access to information and the needs of the Government to protect certain kinds of information from disclosure.” John Doe Agency, 493 U.S. at 157, 110 S.Ct. 471. FOIA protects information that, if released, would jeopardize our national security or endanger the lives of individuals. Such information is protected under Exemption 1 if it is classified and under Exemption 7(F) if it is “compiled for law enforcement purposes” and “could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual” if disclosed. The majority’s determination to expand Exemption 2 to protect information that the Navy has not seen fit to classify distorts Congress’s careful balance and defies the Supreme Court’s instruction that FOIA exemptions “must be narrowly construed” and are “explicitly exclusive.” Rose, 425 U.S. at 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592; Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. at 151, 109 S.Ct. 2841 (quoting Robertson, 422 U.S. at 262, 95 S.Ct. 2140).
I conclude, based on a long line of consistent precedent in this and other circuits, that neither Exemption 2 nor Exemption 7(F) applies to the arc maps at issue in this appeal. I respectfully dissent.