[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR517]

[Page 864-865]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
   CHAPTER III--NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE 
                                INTERIOR
 
PART 517_FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  517.5  Confidential commercial information.

    (a) Notice to submitters. The Commission shall, to the extent 
permitted by law, provide a submitter who provides confidential 
commercial information to the Commission, with prompt notice of a FOIA 
request or administrative appeal encompassing the confidential 
commercial information if the Commission may be required to disclose the 
information under the FOIA. Such notice shall either describe the exact 
nature of the information requested or provide copies of the records or 
portions thereof containing the confidential commercial information. The 
Commission shall also notify the requester that notice and an 
opportunity to object has been given to the submitter.
    (b) When notice is required. Notice shall be given to a submitter 
when:
    (1) The information has been designated by the submitter as 
confidential commercial information protected from disclosure. 
Submitters of confidential commercial information shall use good faith 
efforts to designate, either at the time of submission or a reasonable 
time thereafter, those portions of their submissions they deem protected 
from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA because disclosure could 
reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm. Such 
designation shall be deemed to have expired ten years after the date of 
submission, unless the requester provides reasonable justification for a 
designation period of greater duration; or
    (2) The FOIA Officer has reason to believe that the information may 
be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA.
    (c) Opportunity to object to disclosure. The Commission shall afford 
a submitter a reasonable period of time to

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provide the Commission with a detailed written statement of any 
objection to disclosure. The statement shall specify all grounds for 
withholding any of the information under any exemption of the FOIA, and 
if Exemption 4 applies, shall demonstrate the reasons the submitter 
believes the information to be confidential commercial information that 
is exempt from disclosure. Whenever possible, the submitters claim of 
confidentiality shall be supported by a statement or certification by an 
officer or authorized representative of the submitter. Information 
provided by a submitter pursuant to this paragraph may itself be subject 
to disclosure under the FOIA.
    (d) Notice of intent to disclose. The FOIA Officer shall carefully 
consider a submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure 
prior to determining whether to disclose the information requested. 
Whenever the FOIA Officer determines that disclosure is appropriate, the 
FOIA Officer shall, within a reasonable number of days prior to 
disclosure, provide the submitter with written notice of the intent to 
disclose which shall include a statement of the reasons for which the 
submitter's objections were overruled, a description of the information 
to be disclosed, and a specified disclosure date. The FOIA Officer shall 
also notify the requester that the requested records will be made 
available.
    (e) Notice of lawsuit. When a requester brings suit seeking to 
compel disclosure of confidential commercial information, the FOIA 
Officer shall promptly notify the submitter of this action.
    (f) Exceptions to the notice requirements under this section. The 
notice requirements under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section shall 
not apply if:
    (1) The FOIA Officer determines that the information should not be 
disclosed;
    (2) The information lawfully has been published or officially made 
available to the public;
    (3) Disclosure of the information is required by law (other than the 
FOIA);
    (4) The information requested is not designated by the submitter as 
exempt from disclosure in accordance with this part, when the submitter 
had the opportunity to do so at the time of submission of the 
information or within a reasonable time thereafter, unless the agency 
has substantial reason to believe that disclosure of the information 
would result in competitive harm; or
    (5) The designation made by the submitter in accordance with this 
part appears obviously frivolous. When the FOIA Officer determines that 
a submitter was frivolous in designating information as confidential, 
the FOIA Officer must provide the submitter with written notice of any 
final administrative disclosure determination within a reasonable number 
of days prior to the specified disclosure date, but no opportunity to 
object to disclosure will be offered.