As required by paragraph 14 of the Consent Agreement and Order (4-2022-051-NOPSO), Freeport LNG (Freeport) submitted its Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) to PHMSA. Freeport has requested confidential treatment of the RCFA in accordance with PHMSA regulations in 49 CFR § 190.343, including providing PHMSA with a redacted copy of the RCFA for public release. While PHMSA conducts its FOIA review (to determine whether the redacted portions are protected under statutory requirements), PHMSA has posted the version redacted by Freeport in its FOIA Electronic Reading Room.

The FOIA review for records designated as confidential commercial information requires a notification process (the submitter notice process) as set out in DOT's FOIA regulations, 49 CFR § 7.29. This process requires PHMSA to notify a submitter of information marked confidential in order to give the submitter an opportunity to explain/provide justification of its objections to the release of the information. The submitter has an opportunity to provide a detailed statement of any such objections. The submitter's statement must specify all grounds for withholding any of the information. The burden is on the submitter to identify with specificity all information for which exempt treatment is sought and to persuade the agency that the information should not be disclosed.

PHMSA considers specific grounds for nondisclosure prior to determining whether to disclose commercial information. Whenever PHMSA decides to disclose such information over the objection of a submitter, PHMSA provides the submitter with a written notice of intent to disclose, which is sent to the submitter prior to the specified date upon which disclosure is intended.

View the IFO Group RCFA Report here.