DSHW-2024-005458

March 25, 2024
Clean Harbors Aragonite, LLC
c/o William L. Simmons, Facility GM III
11600 North Aptus Road
PO Box 1339
Grantsville, UT 84029-1339
RE:Clarification of Confidentiality Marks in Amended Documents for SCO 2212143 EPA IDNumber UTD981552177
Dear Mr. Simmons:
The Division has received the amended documents you submitted in response to Stipulation and Consent Order No. 2212143. The records include a document titled “US Waste Rejection Procedure.”
This record contains a Confidentiality Notice at the bottom of the first page and the word “Confidential”at the bottom of all the following pages. However, the cover letter does not
contain any claim of business confidentiality as required by Utah Code.
Based on these circumstances, it is not clear to the Division whether you intended to trigger management of the Records as confidential under the Government Records Access and Management
Act (GRAMA). The purpose of this letter is to provide you with an opportunity to clarify your intentions and to assist the Division in its classification and management of the Records.
The Records relate to a program the Division manages under primacy from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under Utah Code Section 19-1-306(2), the standards of the federal
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Section 552, govern access to records of the Division for which business confidentiality has been claimed to the extent that those records
relate to a program that is delegated, authorized or for which primacy has been granted to the state. 5 U.S.C. Section 552(b)(4) and related rules identify the kinds of information
that may be subject to a business confidentiality claim. However, the procedures under GRAMA, and not FOIA, apply to business confidentiality claims asserted under Utah Code Section
19-1-306(2).
Under GRAMA, Utah Code Section 63G-2-309(1)(a)(i), a person who wants to claim that a record provided to the Division is protected from disclosure to a member of the public because it
is confidential business information (CBI) shall provide with the record (A) a written claim of business confidentiality; and (B) a concise statement of reasons supporting the claim.
Because these requirements are procedural, they apply to the Records.
Whenever a complete CBI claim is submitted, the Division will determine whether information qualifies for CBI classification by examining that information under Exemption 4 of the Freedom
of Information Act. Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] is privileged or confidential,”
5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), from disclosure to the public.
Exemption 4 covers two distinct categories of information: (1) trade secrets; and (2) information that is (a) commercial or financial, and (b) obtained from a person, and (c) privileged
or confidential.
For more information about what is CBI under Exemption 4, please visit the U.S. Department of Justice’s guidance at: https://www.justice.gov/oip/exemption-4-after-supreme-courts-ruling-food-marketing-institute-v-argus-leader-media.
Without this information, the Division is unable to determine whether the CBI claim is valid. Under Utah law, records submitted to state agencies are presumptively public unless a statutory
exception applies, or the submitter has satisfied its burden to demonstrate that the records qualify under the business confidentiality standards.
AGENCY DETERMINATION:
Based on available information, the Division has made the following determinations: (1) if you intended to make a CBI claim, it is not sufficient to justify CBI classification of the
Records; and (2) the Records will be classified as Public Records within 30 days of the date of this letter.
However, the agency will afford you with an opportunity to submit additional information as to the CBI status of the Records within 30 days from the date that this notice is signed.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
The Division has identified the following potential actions you may take in response to this letter:
OPTION 1. If you do not disagree with the Agency Determination (e.g., you did not intend to trigger CBI treatment for the Records), no further action is required, and the Division will
manage the Records as public after 30 days.
OPTION 2. If you believe that the Records qualify for CBI status, you must provide a written claim of business confidentiality and a statement containing the reasons supporting the
claim to the Division within 30 days of the date of this letter. Please also include a description of the specific pages of the Records or other content that you are claiming as CBI.
More specifically, you may assert a CBI claim by highlighting, bracketing, boxing, or circling the information claimed as CBI, and by marking the page or document with language such
as “trade secret,” “proprietary,” “company confidential,” or “CBI.” You must provide a copy of the documents in which all the content remains visible. In addition to the original submission,
you may also submit a redacted version of the document that blacks out or removes the information you are claiming as CBI.
If you provide the claim as explained above, the Division will re-evaluate the status of the Records and will provide you with separate notice of the agency’s determination. Any future
agency action will be subject to appeal rights.
Please note that the Division does not consider email to be a secure method for submission of confidential information. To submit documents that you want to claim as CBI, mail them
to:
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4880
For express delivery, send to:
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
195 North 1950 West, Second Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
OPTION 3. If you disagree with the Agency Determination described above (specifically, if you believe that you have already complied with the requirements set forth in Utah Code Section
63G-2-309(1)(a)(i) as to the Records), you may appeal the Agency Determination described above within 30 days of the date of this letter by filing a notice of appeal, in accordance with
Utah Code 63G-2-401, to the following chief administrative officer for the Division:
Douglas J. Hansen, Division Director
Utah Department of Environmental Quality

Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4880
If you file an appeal, the Division is required to maintain the Records under CBI status until after the end of the appeal process, including judicial appeals. See Utah Code § 63G-2-309(2)(a).
If you do not provide additional CBI justification under Option 2, or appeal this Agency Action under Option 3, within 30 days of the date of this letter, the Division will manage the
Records as public records in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-309(2)(a).
If you have any questions, please call Tom Ball at [phone].
Sincerely,
Stevie Norcross, PhD, Assistant Director
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
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c:Boyd Swenson, UDEQ/DWMRCGabirelle Marinick, UDEQ/DWMRCKari Lundeen, UDEQ/DWMRC