1. (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.
2. (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.
3. (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.

4. (d) Confidentiality of information.

   1. (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. Each claim of classified data or confidentiality must be made upon submission, and each page must be stamped "confidential," or the material will be considered available for public review. Confidential information is 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, and includes confidential information under 5 United States Code, §552(b)(4), 18 United States Code, §1905, 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. (2) If the commission or executive director agrees with the designation, the agency will not provide the information for public inspection. The agency may return classified or confidential information to the person providing it if the person so requests and the information has served the purpose for which it was submitted.
   3. (3) If a claim of classified data or confidentiality is not approved, the person submitting the information will be notified. If the person elects to withdraw the information, it will be withheld from public review until withdrawn. If the person who submitted the information is an applicant, the executive director shall not consider the information upon preparing the draft permit, and the commission and executive director shall not consider the information upon determining to grant or deny the application.
   4. (4) The name and address of an applicant or permittee will not be considered confidential.
   5. (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. (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. (7) For Texas pollutant discharge elimination system applications, information required relating to the contents of the application for permit 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. (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).

Source Note:The provisions of this §1.5 adopted to be effective June 6, 1996, 21 TexReg 4689.