West Virginia Code § 22-5-10

Records, reports, data or information; confidentiality; proceedings upon
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request to inspect or copy.
(a) All air quality data, emission data, permits, compliance schedules, orders of the director,
board orders and any other information required by a federal implementation program (all
for convenience hereinafter referred to in this section as "records, reports, data or
information") obtained under this article shall be available to the public, exceept that upon a
showing satisfactory to the director, by any person, that records, reports, data or
information or any particular part thereof, to which the director has acrcess under this article
if made public, would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of
the person, the director shall consider these records, reports, data or information or a
particular portion thereof confidential: Provided, That this confidentiality does not apply to
the types and amounts of air pollutants discharged and that tthese records, reports, data or
information may be disclosed to other officers, employees or authorized representatives of
the state or of the federal environmental protection agency concerned with enforcing this
article, the federal Clean Air Act, as amended, or the federal Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, as amended, when relevant to any official proceedings thereunder: Provided,
however, That the officers, employees or authorized representatives of the state or federal
environmental protection agency protect these records, reports, data or information to the
same degree required of the director by this section. The director shall promulgate
legislative rules regarding the protection of records, reports, data or information, or trade
secrets, as required by this section.
(b) Upon receipt of a request for records, reports, data or information which constitute trade
secrets and prior to makLing a final determination to grant or deny the request, the director
shall notify the person claiming that any record, report, data or information is entitled to
protection as a trade secret, and allow the person an opportunity to respond to the request
in writing.
(c) All requests to inspect or copy documents must state with reasonable specificity the
docWuments or type of documents sought to be inspected or copied. Within five business days
of the receipt of a request, the director or his or her designate shall by order: (1) Advise the
person making the request of the time and place at which the person may inspect and copy
the documents, which, if the request addresses information claimed as confidential, may not
be sooner than thirty days following the date of the determination to disclose, unless an
earlier disclosure date is agreed to by the person claiming the confidentiality; or (2) deny the
request, stating in writing the reasons for denial. If the request addresses information
claimed as confidential, notice of the action taken pursuant to this subsection shall also be
provided to the person asserting the claim of confidentiality.
Any person adversely affected by a determination, by order or otherwise, regarding
information confidentiality under this article may appeal the determination to the air quality
board pursuant to the provisions of article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code. The filing
of a timely notice of appeal shall stay any determination, by order or otherwise, to disclose
confidential information pending a final decision on the appeal. The scope of review is
limited to the question of whether the records, reports, data or other information, or any
particular part thereof sought to be inspected or copied, are entitled to be treated as
confidential under subsection (a) of this section. The air quality board shall afford
evidentiary protection in appeals as is necessary to protect the confidentiality of the
information at issue, including the use of in camera proceedings and the sealing of records
where appropriate.
(d) In lieu of the provision of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, the provision of this section
shall apply to determinations of confidentiality. r

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