DEQ Small Business Panel to meet

Rules and Regulations

All official Wyoming State Rules and Regulations are kept at the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office. Click here to view all current Rules and Regulations.

Trade Secret Confidentiality Requests

Entities requesting permits from the DEQ are required to provide detailed descriptions of the activities or processes involved, so the DEQ may evaluate compliance with standards to protect public health and the natural resources of the state. These descriptions often include information that is considered "trade secrets" or proprietary by the entity. The DEQ must balance the obligation to keep confidential any trade secrets or proprietary information disclosed during the permitting process with the obligation to comply with the Wyoming Public Records Act (W.S. 16-4-203(d)) and Wyoming Environmental Quality Act (W.S. 35-11-1101(a)).

The following checklist has been developed for submitting requests to keep documents containing "trade secrets" confidential. The checklist summarizes the trade secret confidentiality issue in the State of Wyoming and refers to three documents that provide guidance for such requests:

  1. seminal August 29, 2011 letter from former DEQ Director John Corra to a member of industry describing the components of a trade secret confidentiality request and the extent to which the DEQ will be able to keep this information confidential. These concepts are reiterated and refined in the checklist
  2. An excerpt from the Wyoming Supreme Court’s March 2014 decision in Powder River Basin Res. Council v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Comm’n., 320 P.3d 222 (Wyo. 2014), adopting the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) definition of “trade secrets.” 
  3. 40 C.F.R. § 2.208 lists additional criteria that must be met in order for information to be considered a “trade secret.”

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DEQ Small Business Panel to meet

Casper, WY –The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Small Business Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP) will meet in Casper, WY on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
 
“We enjoy meeting with small businesses across the state to gather input on the DEQ’s rules and regulations and how the Compliance Advisory Panel can assist in the rulemaking process by giving small businesses a voice,” said Landon Brown DEQ Pollution Prevention Coordinator. 
 
The public is invited to participate on these subjects, as well as on any other environmental issues affecting small businesses in Wyoming.
 
The meeting will begin at 10:00 AM at the DEQ Casper Field Office at 152 North Durbin Street Suite 100.
 
For more information or to identify any ADA needs to attend the meeting, please contact Landon Brown at 307-777-7347.
 

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