GENERAL54783 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

s s Mr. David Shelton, Director February 24, 1981 Page Six (1) to impair the Government's ability to obtain necessary information in the future; or (2) to cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the person from wham the information was obtained. (Emphasis added) Using the narrative description above regarding the analogous treatment of the FOIA §(b)(4) exemption, the following assertions are submitted in support of DCC's claim of confidential treatment of its hydrology report: (1) "Customarily Confidential" Test. Most, if not all, Colorado coal operators wish to and/or have taken steps to protect as confidential their hydrologic and geologic investigations, reports, etc. which have only recently been required as part of MRP applications. These hydrologic/ geologic studies and reports usually describe or supplement other descriptions of the coal deposit which upon close analysis by a competitor can lead to an identification of certain mining and/or reclamation costs of the mining operation. As such hydrologic studies have been required in all MRP applications for only a short time, the "customary" aspect of this subject should be examined only over the past few years. In this writer's experience, he has known of no instance where coal operators have exchanged such hydrologic information, except where some financial investment by the reviewing company was an inducement to the exchange of such information. Hydrologic studies done for or by coal companies have customarily been viewed as a valuable asset of the owning company and customarily not released to the public at large, directly, or indirectly through public agencies. (2) "Impair Government's Ability to Obtain Such Information in the Future" Test. It is our understanding that a number of coal operators have and are filing claims of confidentiality on hydrology and other specific data reports. An increase of such claims could be viewed as a potential impairment of the CMLR's ability to secure such information in the future, particularly if all such claims for confidentiality are unilaterally denied by the CMLR. A claim of confidentiality, however, does not now impair the CMLR from using this information to meet its statutory obligations. If CMLR were to deny, on some theory of legal - authority, all pending and future claims of confidential information, then it is conceivable that the CMLR might ~ become the subject of either amendatory legislation or law suits challenging the CMLR's authority and action in denying such claims. Such a possible response.could further impair or impede the agency's ability to secure this information.