N.J. Admin. Code § 7:31-10.7

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:31-10.7 - Determinations of petitions to withhold privileged trade secret or security information

(a) Upon receipt of a petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information, the Department shall first make a determination that the information petitioned to be withheld as privileged trade secret or security information has not been the subject of a prior determination by the Department of a petition to withhold the same information concerning the same covered process, or if it has, that the prior determination upheld the owner or operator's petition to withhold the information.

1. If such a prior determination held that the petition to withhold the trade secret or security information was invalid, the Department shall notify the petitioner that the information petitioned to be withheld from the Department is the subject of a prior determination concerning the withholding of the same information in which it was held that such petition was invalid, and the Department shall require the petitioner to submit or disclose the information to the Department.

(b) Failure of petitioner to furnish timely substantiation or to pay the required fee waives its petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information and the Department will require the petitioner to submit or disclose the information to the Department. Failure to furnish substantiation or to pay the required fee does not affect the owner or operator's right to assert a confidentiality claim concerning the same information.

(c) If the Department determines that the petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information is not the subject of a prior determination, the Department shall determine whether the petitioner has presented sufficient support for its petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information in its substantiation. A petition to withhold such information as privileged will be considered sufficient if, assuming all the information contained in the substantiation is true, this supporting information meets the criteria set forth in (d) below.

(d) A substantiation submitted under N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.6 will be determined to be sufficient to support a petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information if the substantiation asserts specific facts to support the following conclusions:

1. The petitioner has established that the information sought to be withheld as privileged trade secret or security information is in accordance with the criteria in N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.6(c)1 through 10;

2. The petitioner has not disclosed the information sought to be withheld to any other person other than to the petitioner's employees involved in its use, or, if the information relates to national security, to officers or employees of the United States government; and

3. The petitioner is not required by any state or Federal law or regulation to disclose the information to any governmental entity or agency, regardless of any right of the petitioner to make a claim or confidentiality upon disclosing the information to such governmental entity or agency.

(e) If the petition does not meet the criteria for sufficiency set forth in (d) above, the Department shall notify the petitioner in writing of this fact by certified mail (return receipt requested). The notification shall include the reasons for the Department's initial decision that the petition is insufficient, and shall inform the petitioner of its right to submit in writing supplemental information to the Department within 30 days of receipt of the notice in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.6(g) to support the facts asserted in its substantiation. The notification may specifically request supplemental information in particular areas relating to the petition and shall inform the petitioner of its right to claim as confidential, any confidential information contained in any supplemental information it submits, and will include a reference to N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.4(d) and (e) as the source for the proper procedures for making such confidentiality claim.

(f) Upon receipt of supplemental information or after the 30 day period to submit supplemental information has expired, the Department shall determine whether the petition meets the standard of sufficiency set forth in (d) above.

1. If after receipt of supplemental information, the Department determines that the petition is sufficient, the Department will make a final determination concerning the petition to withhold trade secret or security information in accordance with (g) below.

2. If after the expiration of the 30 day period specified in (e) above, no supplemental information has been received by the Department, and the Department makes a final determination that the petition is still insufficient, the Department will notify the petitioner by certified mail (return receipt requested) that its petition is considered abandoned. The notice shall state the basis for the determination and will require the owner or operator to submit or disclose the information to the Department within 30 days of the registrant's receipt of the Department's determination. A determination that a petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information is insufficient does not affect a registrant's right to assert a confidentiality claim concerning the same information, unless the determination of insufficiency concluded that the information sought to be withheld is not confidential information.

(g) Once a petition has been determined to be sufficient under (d) or (f)1 above, the Department will determine whether the petition to withhold trade secret or security information will be granted or denied.

1. The petitioner will be notified by regular mail that its petition has been granted if the Department determines that the information submitted in support of the petition is true and that the information sought to be withheld is a trade secret or security information which meets the following criteria:

i. The information is trade secret or security information entitled to be treated as confidential information in accordance with the criteria established in N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.6(c)1 through 10;

ii. The information has never been released to any person other than to the petitioner's employees who are involved in its use, or, if the information relates to national security, to officers or employees of the United States government;

iii. The information is not otherwise required to be disclosed by any Federal or state law or regulation to any governmental entity or agency, regardless of any right by the petitioner to make a claim of confidentiality upon disclosing the information to any such governmental entity or agency; and

iv. The information is not included on the list provided at N.J.A.C. 7:31-10.3(b).

2. If the Department determines that the information submitted in support of the petition is not true or that the information sought to be withheld is not a trade secret or security information which is entitled to be treated as privileged in accordance with the criteria set forth in (g)1 above, the petitioner shall be notified by certified mail (return receipt requested) that its petition has been denied. The notification shall state the basis for the determination, and shall advise the petitioner of its right to request an adjudicatory hearing in accordance with the procedures specified at N.J.A.C. 7:31-11.3(b). Unless a request for an adjudicatory hearing is received within the registrant to submit or disclose the information to the Department within 30 days of the registrant's receipt of the Department's denial of its petition. A denial of a petition to withhold privileged trade secret or security information does not affect an owner or operator's right to assert a confidentiality claim concerning the same information, unless the denial concluded that the information sought to be withheld is not confidential information.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:31-10.7

Amended by R.1998 d.355, effective 7/20/1998.
See: 30 N.J.R. 908(a), 30 N.J.R. 2728(a).
Substituted references to owners and operators for references to registrants and changed N.J.A.C. references throughout; and in (a), substituted a reference to the same covered process for a reference to the same facility.
Amended by R.2009 d.85, effective 3/16/2009.
See: 40 N.J.R. 5109(a), 41 N.J.R. 1206(b).
In the introductory paragraph of (d), and in (d)1 and (g)1i, updated the N.J.A.C. references; and in (d)1, deleted "entitled to protection as confidential information" preceding "in accordance".