OAR 340-214-0130: Reporting: Information Exempt from Disclosure

(1) Pursuant to the provisions of ORS 192.311 to 192.478, all information submitted to DEQ is subject to inspection upon request by any person unless such information is determined to be exempt from disclosure pursuant to section (2) or (3). (2) If an owner or operator claims that any writing, as that term is defined in ORS 192.311, is confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part, the owner or operator must comply with the following procedures: (a) The writing must be clearly marked with a request for exemption from disclosure. For a multi-page writing, each page must be so marked. (b) The owner or operator must state the specific statutory provision under which it claims exemption from disclosure and explain why the writing meets the requirements of that provision. (c) For writings that contain both exempt and non-exempt material, the proposed exempt material must be clearly distinguishable from the non-exempt material. If possible, the exempt material must be arranged so that it is placed on separate pages from the non-exempt material. (3) For a writing to be considered exempt from disclosure as a “trade secret,” it must meet all of the following criteria: (a) The information cannot be patented; (b) It must be known only to a limited number of individuals within a commercial concern who have made efforts to maintain the secrecy of the information; (c) It must be information that derives actual or potential economic value from not being disclosed to other persons; (d) It must give its users the chance to obtain a business advantage over competitors not having the information; and (e) It must not be emissions data. [NOTE: This rule is included in the State of Oregon Clean Air Act Implementation Plan that EQC adopted under OAR 340-200-0040.]