§ 485-A:18 — Investigation and Inspection; Records

I. Any authorized member or agent of the department may enter any land or establishment for the purpose of collecting information that may be necessary to the purposes of this chapter and no owner of such establishment shall refuse to admit any such member or employee.
II. The department, its employees and authorized agents shall at reasonable times have access to any records and monitoring equipment and shall have the authority to sample effluents of any person subject to RSA 485-A:13, I(a) and RSA 485-A:5. Upon written request of the department, such person shall provide to the department such information pertaining to any activities of such person to which this chapter applies as the department may reasonably require. Any information obtained pursuant to this section or under this chapter shall be available to the public at the offices of the department, subject to paragraph III.
III. Any other provisions of law notwithstanding, upon a showing satisfactory to the department by any person that any record, report, or information or any particular part thereof, to which the department has access, if made public would divulge methods or processes entitled to protection as trade secrets of such person, the department shall consider such record, report, information or particular part thereof confidential, and it shall thereafter not be disclosed to the public. All financial information shall be considered confidential for purposes of this chapter. Nothing in this section shall preclude the department from transmitting any such confidential information to any agency of the United States having jurisdiction over water pollution, provided that such agency is authorized by law to maintain the confidentiality of such information and agrees to maintain the confidentiality of any such information. In no case, however, shall effluent data, standards or limitations, names or addresses of permit applicants or permittees, nor permit applications or permits be considered confidential information.

Legislative History

1989, 339:1. 1996, 228:106, eff. July 1, 1996.