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SAMPLE LETTER A

Generic Substantiation

Approved OMB 2020-0003

Approval expires 01/31/2014

REQUEST FOR SUBSTANTIATION FROM AN AFFECTED BUSINESS IN RESPONSE 

TO A REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

BY CERTIFIED U.S. MAIL; RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

(Name, title, and address of the [designated] representative of the affected business)

Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request XX-FOI-XXXXX-XX

Dear (Addressee):

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA" or "Agency") has received a request 

under the FOIA for certain records [if submitted by the business whose information it is: that 

you submitted to the EPA] [if submitted by an entity other than the business whose 

information it is: in EPA's possession] pertaining to [description of the information that is 

the subject of the advance or final confidentiality determination]. [If information has 

been claimed as CBI: You have claimed (all or part) of this information as confidential 

business information ("CBI").] [If no claim has been made: In accordance with applicable 

EPA regulations, 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B, the EPA has determined that you might be 

expected to assert a claim that some or all of [if submitted by the business whose information 

it is: the information you submitted to the EPA] [if submitted by an entity other than the 

business whose information it is: this information in EPA's possession] is confidential business 

information (“CBI”).] Under the EPA regulations, 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B, the FOIA 

request has been initially denied to afford you an opportunity to provide comments to [If no 

claim has been made: claim this information as CBI and] substantiate your claim(s) as 

described below.

This letter is to notify you that the EPA (appropriate legal office) will be making a(n) 

(advance or final) confidentiality determination concerning the information you have claimed as 

CBI. If you feel that some or all of the information is entitled to confidential treatment, you must 

make the showings above with specific reference to those portions of the information you 

consider confidential. 

Please be specific by page (including Bates Stamp, if applicable), paragraph and sentence 

when identifying and substantiating the information subject to your claim. Where your claim, as 

originally made or as modified by your response to this letter, does not include all information on a 
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page, please attach a copy of each such page with brackets around the text that you claim to be CBI.

Any information not specifically identified as subject to a confidentiality claim and substantiated 

as such in your response to this letter will be disclosed to the requestor without further notice to 

you. Please note that if a page, document, group or class of documents claimed by you to be CBI 

contains a significant amount of information which (appropriate legal office) determines is not CBI, 

your CBI claim regarding that page, document, group or class of documents may be denied.

For each item or class of information that you continue to claim as CBI, please answer 

the following questions, giving as much detail as possible. Your comments in response to these 

questions will be used by the EPA to determine whether the information has been shown to meet 

the requirements listed above so as to be entitled to confidential treatment:

1. For what period of time do you request that the information be maintained as 

confidential, e.g., until a certain date, until the occurrence of a specified event, or 

permanently? If the occurrence of a specific event will eliminate the need for 

confidentiality, please specify that event. 

2. Information submitted to the EPA becomes stale over time. Why should the 

information you claim as confidential be protected for the time period specified in 

your answer to question #1?

3. What measures have you taken to protect the information claimed as confidential? 

Have you disclosed the information to anyone other than a governmental body or 

someone who is bound by an agreement not to disclose the information further? If so, 

why should the information be considered confidential?

4. Is the information contained in any publicly available material such as the Internet, 

publicly available databases, promotional publications, annual reports, or articles? If 

so, specify which. 

5. Is there any means by which a member of the public could obtain access to the 

information? Is the information of a kind that you would customarily not release to 

the public?

6. Has any governmental body made a determination as to the confidentiality of the 

information? If so, please attach a copy of the determination.

7. For each item or category of information claimed as confidential, explain with 

specificity why release of the information is likely to cause substantial harm to your

competitive position. Explain the specific nature of those harmful effects, why they 

should be viewed as substantial, and the causal relationship between disclosure and 

such harmful effects. How could your competitors make use of this information to 

your detriment?

8. Do you assert that the information is submitted on a voluntary or a mandatory basis? 

Please explain the reason for your assertion. If you assert that the information is 

voluntarily submitted information, please explain whether the information is the kind 

that would customarily not be released to the public. 
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9. Whether you assert t the information as voluntary or involuntary, please address why

disclosure of the information would tend to lessen the availability to the EPA of 

similar information in the future.

10. If you believe any information to be (a) trade secret (s), please so state and explain 

the reason for your belief. Please attach copies of those pages containing such 

information with brackets around the text that you claim to be (a) trade secret (s). 

11. Explain any other issue you deem relevant (including, if pertinent, reasons why you 

believe that the information you claim to be CBI is not emission data or effluent data).

[For contract-related CBI: Enclosed is the EPA Class Determination 1-95 entitled, 

Confidentiality of Certain Business Information Submitted by Contractors and Prospective

Contractors, which addresses the treatment of different types of information related to

contracts. You may consider reviewing Class Determination 1-95 as you develop your

response.]

Please note that you bear the burden of substantiating your confidentiality claim(s). 

Generalized or conclusory statements will be given little or no weight in EPA’s determination on 

the confidentiality of the information you claim to be CBI. 

Your comments must be postmarked or hand delivered to this office, or e-mailed to (email address), by the 15th working day after your receipt of this letter. You may seek an 

extension of time to submit your comments to this office, but the request must be made before 

the end of the 15-day period. Except in extraordinary circumstances, no extension will be 

approved without the consent from the FOIA requester. Failure to submit your comments within 

that time will be regarded as a waiver of your confidentiality claim or claims, and the EPA may

release the information. 

If you wish to claim any information that you provide in your response to this letter to 

itself be confidential, you must mark the response "CONFIDENTIAL" or with a similar 

designation, and must bracket all text in the response that you so claim. Information so 

designated will be disclosed by the EPA only to the extent allowed by, and by means of the 

procedures set forth in, 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B. If you fail to claim the information provided 

in your response as confidential, it may be made available to the public without further notice to 

you.

Should you have any questions concerning this matter, please call me at (telephone 

number).

Sincerely,

________________________________

(Signature andTitleand OfficeNameand Address)

[Enclosure]
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SAMPLE LETTER B

Generic Substantiation

Approved OMB 2020-0003

Approval expires 01/31/2014

REQUEST FOR SUBSTANTIATION FROM AN AFFECTED BUSINESS IN RESPONSE 

TO A REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 

BY CERTIFIED U.S. MAIL; RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

(Name, title, and address of the [designated] representative of the affected business)

Re: _________

Dear (Addressee):

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA” or “Agency” is seeking to determine 

the entitlement to confidentiality of [description of the information that is the subject of the 

advance or final confidentiality determination] [if submitted by the business whose 

information it is: that you submitted to the EPA] [if submitted by an entity other than the 

business whose information it is: in EPA’s possession.] [If information has been claimed 

as CBI: You have claimed (all or part) of this information as confidential business information 

(“CBI”).] [If no claim has been made: In accordance with applicable EPA regulations, 40 

C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B, the EPA has determined that you might be expected to assert a claim 

that some or all of [if submitted by the business whose information it is: the information 

you submitted to the EPA] [if submitted by an entity other than the business whose 

information it is: this information in EPA’s possession] is confidential business information 

(“CBI”).] 

This letter is to notify you that the EPA (appropriate legal office) will be making a(n) 

(advance or final) confidentiality determination concerning the information you have claimed as 

CBI. If you feel that some or all of the information is entitled to confidential treatment, you must 

make the showings above with specific reference to those portions of the information you 

consider confidential. 
5

Please be specific by page (including Bates Stamp, if applicable), paragraph and sentence 

when identifying and substantiating the information subject to your claim. Where your claim, as 

originally made or as modified by your response to this letter, does not include all information on a 

page, please attach a copy of each such page with brackets around the text that you claim to be CBI. 

Any information not specifically identified as subject to a confidentiality claim and substantiated 

as such in your response to this letter will be disclosed to the requestor without further notice to 

you. Please note that if a page, document, group or class of documents claimed by you to be CBI 

contains a significant amount of information which our (appropriate legal office) determines is not 

CBI, your CBI claim regarding that page, document, group or class of documents may be denied

For each item or class of information that you continue to claim as CBI, please answer 

the following questions, giving as much detail as possible. Your comments in response to these 

questions will be used by the EPA to determine whether the information has been shown to meet 

the requirements listed above so as to be entitled to confidential treatment:

1. For what period of time do you request that the information be maintained as 

confidential, e.g., until a certain date, until the occurrence of a specified event, or 

permanently? If the occurrence of a specific event will eliminate the need for 

confidentiality, please specify that event. 

2. Information submitted to the EPA becomes stale over time. Why should the 

information you claim as confidential be protected for the time period specified in 

your answer to question #1?

3. What measures have you taken to protect the information claimed as confidential? 

Have you disclosed the information to anyone other than a governmental body or 

someone who is bound by an agreement not to disclose the information further? If so, 

why should the information be considered confidential?

4. Is the information contained in any publicly available material such as the Internet, 

publicly available databases, promotional publications, annual reports, or articles? If 

so, specify which. 

5. Is there any means by which a member of the public could obtain access to the 

information? Is the information of a kind that you would customarily not release to 

the public?

6. Has any governmental body made a determination as to the confidentiality of the 

information? If so, please attach a copy of the determination.

7. For each item or category of information claimed as confidential, explain with 

specificity why release of the information is likely to cause substantial harm to your

competitive position. Explain the specific nature of those harmful effects, why they 

should be viewed as substantial, and the causal relationship between disclosure and 

such harmful effects. How could your competitors make use of this information to 

your detriment?
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8. Do you assert that the information is submitted on a voluntary or a mandatory basis? 

Please explain the reason for your assertion. If you assert that the information is 

voluntarily submitted information, please explain whether the information is the kind 

that would customarily not be released to the public. 

9. Whether you assert the information as voluntary or involuntary, please address why

disclosure of the information would tend to lessen the availability to the EPA of 

similar information in the future.

10. If you believe any information to be (a) trade secret (s), please so state and explain 

the reason for your belief. Please attach copies of those pages containing such 

information with brackets around the text that you claim to be (a) trade secret (s). 

11. Explain any other issue you deem relevant (including, if pertinent, reasons why you 

believe that the information you claim to be CBI is not emission data or effluent data).

[For contract-related CBI: Enclosed is the EPA Class Determination 1-95 entitled, 

Confidentiality of Certain Business Information Submitted by Contractors and Prospective

Contractors, which addresses the treatment of different types of information related to

contracts. You may consider reviewing Class Determination 1-95 as you develop your

response.]

Your comments must be postmarked or hand delivered to this office, or e-mailed to (email address), by the 15th working day after your receipt of this letter. You may seek an 

extension of time to submit your comments to this office, but the request must be made before 

the end of the 15-day period. Except in extraordinary circumstances, no extension will be 

approved without the consent from the FOIA requester. Failure to submit your comments within 

that time will be regarded as a waiver of your confidentiality claim or claims, and the EPA may

release the information. 

If you wish to claim any information that you provide in your response to this letter to 

itself be confidential, you must mark the response "CONFIDENTIAL" or with a similar 

designation, and must bracket all text in the response that you so claim. Information so 

designated will be disclosed by the EPA only to the extent allowed by, and by means of the 

procedures set forth in, 40 C.F.R. Part 2, Subpart B. If you fail to claim the information provided 

in your response as confidential, it may be made available to the public without further notice to 

you. 

Should you have any questions concerning this matter, please call me at (telephone 

number).

Sincerely,

________________________________

(Signature andTitleand OfficeNameand Address)

[Enclosure]