Public availability of permit application information

1. Except as provided in subdivisions a, b, and c, all information submitted to the commission with a permit application for coal exploration shall be made available for public inspection and copying at the office of the state geologist. a. The state geologist shall not make information submitted with a coal exploration permit application available for public inspection, if the person submitting it requests in writing, at the time of permit application submission, that it not be disclosed and the state geologist determines that the information is confidential. However, such information shall remain confidential only for the time period specified in North Dakota Century Code section 38-12.1-04. b. The state geologist shall determine that permit application information is confidential only if it concerns trade secrets or is privileged commercial or financial information which relates to the competitive rights of the person intending to conduct coal exploration. c. Information requested to be held as confidential under this subsection shall not be made publicly available until after proper notice and hearing before the commission. 2. Basic data collected during the course of the exploration and submitted to the state geologist shall be confidential and available only to the office of the state geologist. The period of confidentiality shall continue for a period of two years, beginning on the expiration date of the permit. One year extensions shall be granted if an application for extension is filed with the state geologist prior to the expiration date of the confidentiality period. In no event shall the total period of confidentiality exceed the time period specified in North Dakota Century Code section 38-12.1-04. 3. The permitholder may waive the holder's right to confidentiality by providing written notice of the waiver to the state geologist.