Chapter 2, Section 5

1. The Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC 1905 along with the environmental statutes administered by the EPA, impose criminal penalties for disclosure of confidential business information (CBI) outside the Federal government, except where there is authority for such disclosure. Such penalties may include up to one year imprisonment and $1,000 or more in fines. SEE enrollees are not Federal employees. Therefore, authority is required for disclosure of CBI to SEE enrollees.

2. A SEE enrollee may have access to only selected CBI which is submitted pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the Solid Waste Disposal Act (also known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), and the Emergency Planning, & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

   For more specific guidance concerning what specific information submitted under these statutes is eligible for disclosure to SEE enrollees, and the steps which must be followed to make disclosures, see EPA's statute specific confidentiality regulations at 40 CFR Part 2, subpart B, sections 2.301 - 2.310, or contact the Office of the General Counsel; Alan D. Margolis, Assistant General Counsel, Information Law Practice Group at 202-564-5438.