(a) Upon the request of any person furnishing any report, notice, application, plan, or other document required by this division, including any research or survey information requested by the board for the purpose of implementing its programs, neither the board nor an enforcement agency, in accordance with subdivisions (c) and (d), shall make available for inspection by the public any portion of the report, notice, application, plan, or other document that contains a trade secret, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, that has been identified pursuant to subdivision (b).

(b) Any person furnishing information, as described in subdivision (a), to the board or an enforcement agency pursuant to this division shall, at the time of submission, identify all information which the person believes is a trade secret. Any information not identified by the person as a trade secret shall be made available to the public, unless exempted from disclosure by another provision of law.

(c) (1) With regard to information that has been identified as a trade secret pursuant to subdivision (b), the board, upon its own initiative, or upon receipt of a request for public information pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall determine whether any or all of the information has been properly identified as a trade secret. If the board determines that the information is not a trade secret, the board shall notify the person who furnished the information by certified mail.

(2) The person who furnished the information shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of the notice required by paragraph (1) to provide the board with a complete justification and statement of the grounds on which the trade secret privilege is claimed. The justification and statement shall be submitted to the board by certified mail.

(3) The board shall determine whether the information is protected as a trade secret within 15 days from the date of receipt of the justification and statement or, if no justification and statement is filed, within 45 days from the date of the notice required by paragraph (1). The board shall notify the person who furnished the information and any party who has requested the information pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code of that determination by certified mail. If the board has determined that the information is not protected as a trade secret, this final notice shall also specify a date, not sooner than 15 days from the date of the date of mailing of the final notice, when the information shall be available to the public.

(d) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the board or an enforcement agency may release information submitted and designated as a trade secret only to the following public agencies under the following conditions:

(1) To other public agencies in connection with the responsibilities of the board or an enforcement agency under this division or for use in making reports.

(2) To the state or any state agency in judicial review for enforcement proceedings involving the person furnishing the information.

(e) For the purpose of implementing this section, the disclosure of information shall be consistent with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1041, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1997.)