Access to Information Orders
Decision Information
• 2004 STAC Report
• Section 17(1) (third party information) – not upheld
• 3rd party appeal - Decision to disclose upheld - Ministry ordered to disclose record
Decision Content
NATURE OF THE APPEAL:
The Ministry of the Environment (the Ministry) received the following request from an environmental group for access to information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act):
Since 1997/1998 the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has selectively required facilities to prepare Emission Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) Reports to demonstrate compliance with air pollution rules. This MOE auditing program is called Selected Targets for Air Compliance (STAC). With respect to this program we require copies of all of the MOE review reports of the ESDM reports submitted to the MOE under the STAC program since the programs inception.
The Ministry provided a Notice to the companies that submitted reports to it under the STAC program under section 28 of the Act and sought their views regarding disclosure of the requested information.
In regards to the current appeal, the Ministry provided a named company (the third party) a copy of the responsive record pertaining to it along with the section 28 Notice. After reviewing the third party’s submissions, the records, and previous decisions of this office, the Ministry advised the third party that it had decided to grant full access to the records at issue.
The third party appealed the Ministry’s decision to grant full access to the record at issue on the basis that section 17(1) applies to the information contained in it.