(a)(1) The record shall consist of the request for an interpretation and any supporting documents, all relevant evidence presented at any public proceedings, written comments and any information in the possession of DOE that has been made part of the record.

(2) DOE may investigate and corroborate any statement in a request or related documents and may utilize in its evaluation any relevant facts obtained by the investigation. DOE may solicit or accept submissions from third persons relevant to the request for interpretation, or any other document submitted under this subpart, and the person requesting the interpretation will be afforded an opportunity to respond to these submissions.

(3) The General Counsel or his delegate will issue an interpretation on the basis of the information provided in the request, unless that information is supplemented by other information brought to the attention of DOE during the proceeding. DOE's interpretation will, therefore, depend on the accuracy of the factual statements, and the requesting party may rely upon it only to the extent that the facts of the actual situation correspond to those upon which the interpretation is based.

(b) Criteria. (1) DOE will base its FUA interpretations on the DEOA and FUA, as applicable, and the regulations and published rulings of DOE as applied to the specific factual situation presented.

(2) DOE will take into consideration previously issued interpretations dealing with the same or a related issue.