(a) Any person submitting copies of records may assert a business confidentiality claim covering all or part of the submitted information. Any information covered by a claim will be disclosed by EPA only as provided in procedures set forth at part 2 of this title.

(b) If no claim accompanies a document at the time it is submitted to EPA, the document will be placed in an open file available to the public without further notice to the respondent.

(c) To asset a claim of confidentiality for information contained in a submitted record, the respondent must submit two copies of the document.

(1) One copy must be complete. In that copy, the respondent must indicate what information, if any, is claimed as confidential by marking the specific information on each page with a label such as “confidential”, “proprietary”, or “trade secret” and briefly state the basis of the claim.

(2) If some information is claimed as confidential, the respondent must submit a second copy of the record. The second copy must be complete, except that all information claimed as confidential in the first copy must be deleted.

(3) The first copy will be for internal use by EPA. The second copy will be placed in an open file to be available to the public.

(4) Failure to furnish a second copy when information is claimed as confidential in the first copy will be considered a presumptive waiver of the claim of confidentiality. EPA will notify the respondent by certified mail that a finding of a presumptive waiver of the claim of confidentiality has been made. The respondent will be given 30 days from the date of receipt of notification to submit the required second copy. If the respondent fails to submit the second copy within the 30 days, EPA will place the first copy in the public file.


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