2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 8 - Environmental and Animal Control and Protection › Chapter 6A - Brownfield Revitalization › Subchapter IV - Hazardous Substance Response › § 8–634.03. Access to information

§ 8–634.03. Access to information.
(a) The Mayor, upon reasonable notice, may require any person who has or may have responsive information to:
(1) Furnish information or documents relating to:
(A) The identification, nature, and quantity of material that has been or is generated, stored, treated, or disposed of at a facility or transported to a facility;
(B) The nature or extent of the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from a facility; or
(C) The ability of a person to pay for or perform a cleanup;
(2) Grant the Mayor access at reasonable times to any facility, establishment, place, property, or location to inspect and copy all documents or records relating to matters set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection; or
(3) Copy or furnish to the Mayor all such documents or records relating to matters set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection at the expense of the person.
(b)(1) A record, report, or other information obtained from a person under this section shall be available to the public, except upon a showing satisfactory to the Mayor that the record, report, or other information, or a part thereof, other than health or safety effects data, if made public would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as a trade secret.
(2) The information, or a portion thereof, shall be considered confidential, except that a record, report, document, or other information may be disclosed by the Mayor when relevant in a proceeding under this chapter.
[(3)]
A person required to provide information under this section shall not claim that the information is entitled to protection unless the request for confidentiality is made in writing at the time the record, report, or other information is submitted to the Mayor.
(4) The following information shall not be exempt from disclosure under § 2-534(a)(14):
(A) The trade name, common name, or generic class or category of the hazardous substance;
(B) The physical properties of the hazardous substance, including its boiling point, melting point, flash point, specific gravity, vapor density, solubility in water, and vapor pressure at 20 degrees Celsius;
(C) The hazards to health and the environment posed by the substance, including physical hazards such as explosion, and potential acute and chronic health hazards;
(D) The potential routes of human or ecological exposure to the substance at the facility, establishment, place, or property being investigated, entered, or inspected under this chapter;
(E) The location of disposal of a waste stream;
(F) Monitoring data or analysis of monitoring data pertaining to disposal activities;
(G) Hydrogeologic or geologic data; or
(H) Groundwater monitoring data.
(c) This chapter shall not prevent or preclude the Mayor from securing access or obtaining information in any other lawful and reasonable manner, including by issuing a subpoena to compel the production of information.
(June 13, 2001, D.C. Law 13-312, § 403; as added Apr. 8, 2011, D.C. Law 18-369, § 2(k), 58 DCR 996.)
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 2(k) of Brownfield Revitalization Emergency Amendment Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-667, December 28, 2010, 58 DCR 95).