(a) A reporting entity shall provide access to the records required by this article to any authorized representative of the Department upon request.

(b) If the Department requests copies of specific records either prior to, in lieu of, or after an inspection, then a reporting entity shall provide the copies within 10 business days, unless additional time is necessary to search for, collect, and examine records to respond to the request. In no case shall the copies be delayed more than an additional 14 days, unless agreed to by the Department.

(c) A reporting entity shall provide records to the Department electronically, and in a format that will allow effective review, such as searchable portable document format (PDF), spreadsheet, or other searchable format.

(d) Pursuant to section 41821.5(g)(7) of the Public Resources Code, a reporting entity may redact the records subject to inspection or copying by the Department before inspection or submittal, to exclude confidential pricing information contained in the records, such as contract terms and conditions, including information on pricing, credit terms, volume discounts, and other proprietary business terms.

(e) Pursuant to section 41821.5(g)(1) of the Public Resources Code, the records maintained by a reporting entity to support a report shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure by the Department under the California Public Records Act [Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code].

(f) Pursuant to section 41821.5(i) of the Public Resources Code, a reporting entity may designate information as a trade secret and request that the records provided to the Department in accordance with this section be exempt from disclosure. The Department will review the request as provided in Public Resources Code section 40062 and implementing regulations.

(g) For purposes of this article, whether retained by a reporting entity or submitted to the Department as part of a report required by this article or as part of an audit or in lieu of an audit, the following types of records shall be deemed to be confidential and not subject to disclosure by the Department, whether or not the record is identified as such by the person furnishing the information to the Department, without the need to follow the procedure set forth in section 17046(c):

(h) Pursuant to section 41821.6 of the Public Resources Code, in order to ensure that records required pursuant to this article are accurate and properly maintained, in addition to inspecting all relevant records, the Department may conduct audits, perform site inspections, observe facility operations, and otherwise investigate the recordkeeping and reporting of persons subject to the requirements of this article. Any records, reports, notes, studies, drawings, schematics, photographs, or trade secrets, as defined in section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, obtained, produced, or created by the Department in connection with or arising from such audits, inspections, or observations are confidential, shall not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act [Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code], and shall be deemed confidential and not subject to disclosure according to subsection (g).

(i) Government entity requests for inspections or records shall be subject to the provisions of Public Resources Code section 41821.5(g) and shall not be subject to the Department's compliance procedures outlined in sections 18815.10, 18815.11 and 18815.12 of this article.