Whenever the Department requests that an entity furnish records or information which may be entitled to confidential treatment as trade secrets under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712.05, the entity may raise a claim of confidentiality for trade secrets at the time of submission of the record or information to the Department.
001.01. If no claim of confidentiality for trade secrets accompanies the record or information when it is received by the Department, the claim is waived and the material may be made available to the public by the Department without further notice to the submitting entity, unless the claimant establishes a just reason for the claim subsequent to submission of the record or information under 002.001.02. The claimant shall certify the record or information by placing on or attaching at the time of submission a cover sheet with appropriate notice, reasons for asserting the claim, and language, such as trade secret, proprietary, or confidential.001.03. The appropriate notice and reasons for asserting the claim shall include: 001.03(A). Certification that the record or information is entitled to confidentiality as a trade secret and that such claim has not expired by its terms, been waived, or withdrawn;001.03(B). Description of reasonable measures the claimant has taken to protect the confidentiality of the information of record, and that it intends to continue to take such measures;001.03(C). Assurance that the information or record is not, and has not been, reasonably obtainable without the claimant's consent by other persons (other than governmental bodies) by use of legitimate means; and001.03(D). Reasons why or how disclosure of the information or record is likely to result in substantial harmful effects to the business's competitive position and what those harmful effects would be, why they should be viewed as substantial, and an explanation of the causal relationship between disclosure and such harmful effects.001.04. Allegedly confidential portions of otherwise non-confidential records and information should be clearly identified by the claimant and may be submitted separately to facilitate identification and handling by the Department. The Department may require the claimant to submit a separate copy of the record and information with the confidential portions omitted to facilitate requests for access by the public.001.05. If the entity desires confidential treatment only until a certain date or the occurrence of a certain event, the notice should so state.454 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 15, § 001
Amended effective 8/19/2023