Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 1 - PURPOSE OF RULES, GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 1.5 - Records of the Agency

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Subject to the
				limitations provided in the acts administered by the commission and the Public
				Information Act and copyright law, information collected, assembled, or
				maintained by the agency is public record open to inspection and copying during
				regular business hours.
(b) If
				classified data of the federal government or confidential information in the
				records of the agency is the subject of an open records request under the
				Public Information Act, the executive director may submit a request to the
				Texas attorney general under Texas Government Code, §
									552.301,
				seeking a determination that the information is within an exception to the
				requirement to provide the information to the public.
(c) Subject to the limitations of this
				section, the agency will provide copies of its records upon request. The agency
				may furnish copies at the rates published in its operating procedures, or may
				contract for the copies to be made at the expense of the person requesting
				them. The agency may charge the fees specified in Texas Government Code, §
									603.004
				for the reproduction services listed in that section. The agency may waive a
				charge if the cost to the agency to collect the charge will exceed the amount
				of the charge. Copies may be certified by the executive director or the chief
				clerk.
(d) Confidentiality of
				information.
(1) A person submitting
				information to the agency may request that the information be designated as
				classified data of the federal government, or as confidential. When an
				applicant, a person making a claim of confidentiality under Texas Health and
				Safety Code, §
										382.041(a),
				or a person submitting a response to a bid solicitation submits classified data
				or confidential information, each claim of classified data or confidentiality
				must be made upon submission, and each page must be stamped "confidential."
				Confidential information may include information relating to trade secrets,
				secret processes, or economics of operation, or information that if made public
				would give any advantage to competitors or bidders. It may also include
				confidential information under
				5
				United States Code,
				§552(b)(4), and special
				rules cited in 40 Code of Federal Regulations, §§2.301-2.309;
				provided, however, that the composition of any defined waste subject to the
				jurisdiction of the commission may not be regarded as confidential
				information.
(2) If the commission
				or executive director agrees with the designation, the agency will not provide
				the information for public inspection. If the agency receives an open records
				request for the information, the executive director will submit a request to
				the Texas attorney general as provided in subsection (b) of this section for a
				determination as to whether the information must be disclosed.
(3) If the executive director does not agree
				with a claim of classified data or confidentiality, the person submitting the
				information will be notified. If the agency receives an open records request
				for the information, and the person submitting the information continues to
				assert a claim of confidentiality, the executive director may submit a request
				to the Texas attorney general as provided in subsection (b) of this section for
				a determination as to whether the information must be disclosed.
(4) The name and address of an applicant or
				permittee will not be considered confidential.
(5) For injection well applications,
				information which deals with the existence, absence, or levels of contaminants
				in drinking water will not be considered confidential.
(6) This section shall not be construed so as
				to make confidential any effluent data, including effluent data in permits,
				draft permits, and permit applications.
(7) For Texas pollutant discharge elimination
				system applications, information required for the permit application will not
				be considered confidential. This includes information submitted on the forms
				themselves and any attachments used to supply information required by the
				forms.
(8) This section does not
				create privileges from discovery of documents in contested case hearings under
				Chapter 80 of this title (relating to Contested Case Hearings).