Code of Federal Regulations Title 7. Agriculture § 7.400.702 Confidentiality and duration of confidentiality

(a) Pursuant to section 508(h)(4)(A) of the Act, prior to approval by the Board, any 508(h) submission submitted to the Board under section 508(h) of the Act, concept proposal submitted under section 522 of the Act, or index-based weather plan of insurance submitted under section 523(i) of the Act, including any information generated from the 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance, will be considered confidential commercial or financial information for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and will not be released by FCIC to the public, unless the applicant authorizes such release in writing.

(b) Once the Board approves a 508(h) submission or an index-based weather plan of insurance, information provided with the 508(h) submission (including information from the concept proposal) or the index-based weather plan of insurance, or generated in the approval process, may be released to the public, as applicable, including any mathematical modeling and data, unless it remains confidential business information under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). While the expert reviews are releasable once the 508(h) submission or an index-based weather plan of insurance has been approved, the names of the expert reviewers may be redacted to prevent any undue pressure on the expert reviewers.

(c) Any 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance disapproved by the Board will remain confidential commercial or financial information in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) (no information related to such 508(h) submission, concept proposal, or index-based weather plan of insurance will be released by FCIC unless authorized in writing by the applicant).

(d) All 508(h) submissions, concept proposals, and index-based weather plans of insurance, will be kept confidential until approved by the Board and will be given an identification number for tracking purposes, unless the applicant advises otherwise.