South Carolina Code 48-56-160. Disclosure of records and reports
(B) The department shall keep confidential any part of a record, report, or other information obtained in the administration of this section, other than emission data, discharge data, or information contained in a cooperative agreement, upon a showing satisfactory to the department by any person that the part of a record, report, or other information would, if made public, divulge a method or process that is entitled to protection as a trade secret, as defined in § 30-4-40, of that person.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 48-56-160
- Cooperative agreement: means an agreement entered into under § 48-56-30. See South Carolina Code 48-56-20
- Department: means the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. See South Carolina Code 48-56-20
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Person: means an individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, unit of local government, state agency, federal agency, or other legal entity. See South Carolina Code 48-56-20
(C) If the department refuses to release information on the grounds that it is confidential under subsection (B) and a person challenges that refusal, the department shall inform the applicant or participant of that challenge. Unless the applicant or participant authorizes the department to release the information, the applicant or participant shall pay the reasonable costs incurred by this State to defend the refusal to release the information.
(D) Subsection (B) does not prevent the disclosure of any information to a representative of the department for the purpose of administering this chapter.