(a) Any information obtained or used in the administration of a State program shall be available to EPA upon request without restriction. This includes the timely data transfers in compliance with all requirements of 40 CFR parts 3 and 127 (including the required data elements in appendix A to part 127). If the information has been submitted to the State under a claim of confidentiality, the State must submit that claim to EPA when providing information under this section. Any information obtained from a State and subject to a claim of confidentiality will be treated in compliance with the regulations in 40 CFR part 2. If EPA obtains information from an authorized state NPDES program, which is not claimed to be confidential, EPA may make that information available to the public without further notice. Timely means that the authorized state, tribe, or territory submits these data transfers (see the data elements in appendix A to 40 CFR part 127) to EPA within 40 days of when the state, tribe, or territory completed the activity or received a report submitted by a regulated entity. For example, the data regarding a state inspection of an NPDES-regulated entity that is finalized by the state on October 5th must be electronically transferred to EPA no later than November 14th of that same year (e.g., 40 days after October 5th). EPA must become the initial recipient of electronic NPDES information from NPDES-regulated entities if the state, tribe, or territory does not consistently maintain these timely data transfers or does not comply with 40 CFR parts 3 and 127. See 40 CFR 127.2(b) and 127.27 regarding the initial recipient.

(b) EPA shall furnish to States with approved programs the information in its files not submitted under a claim of confidentiality which the State needs to implement its approved program. EPA shall furnish to States with approved programs information submitted to EPA under a claim of confidentiality, which the State needs to implement its approved program, subject to the conditions in 40 CFR part 2.