February 13, 2013

Business Confidentiality Claims for Imports and Exports

EPA periodically receives Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for documents or data received or issued by the agency pertaining to imports and exports of hazardous waste, particularly cathode ray tubes (CRTs), lead-acid batteries, and universal wastes. On January 14, 2013, EPA notified businesses that may have been involved in such import/export activities during calendar year 2012 or earlier, giving fair warning before the agency releases these documents and data to outside parties via the FOIA process. [78 FR 2669]

This notice provides “affected businesses” an opportunity to assert a claim that information sought regarding their operations should be treated as confidential business information (CBI). Businesses wishing to assert a CBI claim must submit a response to EPA supporting their claim by February 13, 2013.

An “affected business” is defined in §2.201(d) as a “…business which has asserted (and not waived or withdrawn) a business confidentiality claim covering the information, or a business which could be expected to make such a claim if it were aware that disclosure of the information to the public was proposed.”

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This document addresses issues of a general nature related to the federal RCRA regulations. Persons evaluating specific circumstances dealing with the RCRA regulations should review state and local laws and regulations, which may be more stringent than federal requirements. In addition, the assistance of a qualified professional should be enlisted to address any site-specific circumstances.