A.(1) Department records and information obtained under this Subtitle, or by any rule, regulation, order, license, or permit term or condition adopted or issued hereunder, or by any investigation authorized thereby, shall be available to the public, unless nondisclosure is requested in writing, and such information is determined by the department to require confidentiality. Such information may be classified as confidential by the department if the secretary makes a written determination that confidentiality is necessary to:

            (a) Prevent impairment of an ongoing investigation or prejudice to the final decision regarding a violation; or

            (b) Protect trade secrets, proprietary secrets and information, and commercial or financial information.

            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, information contained in a voluntary environmental self-audit authorized by La. Rev. Stat. 30:2044 shall be held confidential by the department and shall be withheld from public disclosure until a final decision is made, or for a period not to exceed two years, whichever occurs first. Any final decision made by the department shall be public and published on the department’s website. However, nothing in this Paragraph shall prohibit a request for confidentiality pursuant to Subparagraph (1)(b) of this Subsection. Information that is required to be reported to a state or federal agency by statute, regulation, or permit, including but not limited to notifications required by La. Rev. Stat. 30:2025(J), 2060(H), 2076(D), 2183(I), and 2204(A), shall not be held confidential.

            (3) Nondisclosure shall not apply to necessary use by duly authorized officers or employees of state or federal government in carrying out their responsibilities under this Subtitle or applicable federal law, and air emission data or discharges to surface and ground waters and the location and identification of any buried waste materials shall be not construed as confidential information.

            B. The department shall adopt such regulations as are necessary to effectively implement this Section in strict accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, La. Rev. Stat. 49:950 et seq.

            C. Any employee of the department or any former employee of the department or any authorized contractor acting as a representative of the secretary or the department who is convicted of intentional disclosure or conspiracy to disclose trade secrets or other information which has been determined to be confidential pursuant to regulations applicable hereto is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

            D.(1) The department shall restrict access to certain security sensitive information which shall be the same type of information as described in La. Rev. Stat. 44:3.1 for the purpose of preventing the distribution or dissemination of such information via the Internet by the department, its employees, or by an authorized contractor acting as a representative of the secretary or the department. Any information to which access is restricted shall not be distributed or disseminated via the Internet by the department or its employees, or an authorized contractor acting as a representative of the secretary or the department. The department shall adopt such rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act as are necessary to fully describe the information to which access is restricted and to effectively implement this Subsection.

            (2) Any employee of the department or any former employee of the department or any authorized contractor acting as a representative of the secretary or the department who is convicted of the intentional distribution or dissemination of any information via the Internet to which access has been restricted pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.

            (3) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed or interpreted in a manner to prevent or restrict the intradepartmental transfer or communication of information to be used in the performance of official duties.

            Acts 1979, No. 449, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 702, §1, eff. July 23, 1981; Acts 1982, No. 323, §1; Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1986, No. 347, §1, eff. June 30, 1986; Acts 1993, No. 570, §1; Acts 2004, No. 636, §1, eff. July 5, 2004; Acts 2021, No. 481, §1.