Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(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).
