(a) The Department shall develop an Environmental Information System that will include general information about facilities and sites under the Department's regulatory jurisdiction as defined by Chapters 40, 60, 62, 63, 66, 70, 72, 74, 77, 78, and 91 of this title and Chapter 63 of Title 16. The Environmental Information System shall include information on all such facilities and sites related to permitting requirements, emissions and discharge monitoring and reporting data, compliance inspections, violations and enforcement actions. The System shall provide the public with information that indicates when a facility has been inspected, what violations are detected, when the facility comes into compliance, and any enforcement action that results from violations at the facility. (b) The Secretary shall create or contract with a third party to create a central unified notification system to notify the public in a timely manner of environmental releases. That system shall be designed in a such a manner as to ensure the notification, within 12 hours after the Department is informed of an environmental release, of: (1) The State Representative and State Senator in whose district the release occurred; (2) Any community or civic group the majority of whose membership lives within 5 miles of the reporting facility that has identified itself to the Department as an entity wishing to receive notice pursuant to this subsection; and (3) Any individual who lives within 5 miles of the reporting facility and who has identified himself or herself to the Department as a person wishing to receive notice pursuant to this subsection. (c) The facility from which an environmental release has occurred shall pay to the Department the cost of the Department's notification under subsection (b) of this section. Such cost shall include a prorated share of the annual fixed costs incurred by the Department for the maintenance of the notification system created pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and a prorated share of the initial development costs of the notification system to be equally distributed over the first 5 years of the system's existence, both to be determined in the sole discretion of the Department. The facility shall make payment under this subsection within 30 days of receiving written notice of the amount of payment due. Failure to make payment pursuant to this subsection in a timely fashion shall constitute a violation punishable under § 6005 of this title. For purposes of this section facility shall mean any building, structure, installation, equipment, pipe or pipeline (including any pipe into a sewer or publicly owned treatment works), wastewater treatment plant, pit, pond, lagoon, impoundment, landfill, storage container, or any site or area where an environmental release has occurred. (d) Any records, reports or information obtained pursuant to this chapter and any permits, permit applications and related documentation shall be available to the public for inspection and copying; provided, that upon a showing satisfactory to the Secretary by any person that such records, reports, permits, permit applications, documentation or information, or any part thereof (other than effluent data) would, if made public, divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of such person, the Secretary shall consider, treat and protect such record, report or information, or part thereof, as confidential; provided further, however: (1) That any such record, report or information accorded confidential treatment may be disclosed or transmitted to other officers, employees or authorized representatives of this State or of the United States concerned with carrying out this chapter or when relevant in any proceeding to effectuate the purpose of this chapter; and (2) That any report environmental release, air contaminant or water pollutant emissions may be made available to the public as reported and as correlated with any applicable emission standards or limitations.
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