Section 596.10  Definitions

 

"Commission" shall mean the Illinois Commerce Commission.

 

"Gas" shall mean natural gas, flammable gas or gas that is toxic or corrosive.

 

"Inspection information" shall include all information that has come to the Commission in the course of any inspection or other activity performed by any agent or employee of the Commission under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Gas Pipeline Safety Act [220 ILCS 20] (Act), including, without limitation, any account, record, memorandum, book, paper, document, plan, report, plant, facility, equipment or other property of any person subject to Commission jurisdiction under the Act, including any evaluation and associated evaluation documentation of such inspections or other activity by any agent or employee of the Commission irrespective of the medium in which the information exists.

 

"Person" shall mean any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality, or cooperative association and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative.

 

"Pipeline facilities" shall include new and existing pipe, rights-of-way and any equipment, facility or building used in the transportation of gas or the treatment of gas during the course of that transportation.

 

"Transportation of gas" shall mean the gathering, transmission or distribution of gas by pipeline or its storage within this State and not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Pipeline Act (49 USC 60101 et seq.).

 

Section 596.20  Public Availability of Inspection Information

 

Any inspection information regarding any person who either engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates pipeline facilities within this State under the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Illinois Gas Pipeline Safety Act, except to the extent that information is confidential or proprietary, shall be made available to the public by the Commission and may be posted on the Commission's website.

 

Section 596.30  Confidential or Proprietary Information

 

Any person, as set forth in Section 596.20, who believes that any inspection information is confidential or proprietary shall request that the Commission enter an order to protect the confidential or proprietary information pursuant to 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200.430.  For purposes of this Section, a "proceeding" shall mean the docketed proceeding established by the Commission to consider the request of any person that the Commission enter an order to protect confidential or proprietary information.  Any party granted the right to intervene in the proceeding shall be given an opportunity to respond to any person requesting an order protect confidential or proprietary information.  The petitioning party shall be given an opportunity to reply to such response.  All response and replies shall be filed and served as provided in 83 Ill. Adm. Code 200.190(e).

 

Section 596.40  Pre-Existing Inspection Information

 

To the extent that the Commission seeks to make inspection information gathered previous to October 1, 2012 available to the public or post that inspection information to the Commission's website, it shall make available copies of all inspection information to be posted or otherwise made available to the public to the affected person to review for a period of at least 60 days.  The person shall be permitted to request that the Commission enter an order to protect the confidential or proprietary information prior to the information being posted to the Commission's website or any other public dissemination pursuant to Section 596.30.

 

Section 596.50  Inspection Information Posted on Commission Website

 

In all cases other than those addressed in Section 596.40, any affected person shall be given 14 days to review all inspection information attributed to the person, prepared based on information provided by the person, or otherwise gathered from the person prior to it being posted to the Commission's website for review, or otherwise being made available to the public.