Author: Walter G. Wright
As noted in previous blog posts, http://www.mitchellwilliamslaw.com/clean-air-act-federal-district-court-asks-to-enjoin-construction-of-a-louisiana-direct-reduced-iron-manufacturing-facility-because-of-alleged-technology-changes, Nucor Corporation and Nucor-Yamato Steel Company (collectively, "Nucor") previously appealed to the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission and challenged certain aspects of an air permit issued by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to Big River Steel, LLC ("Big River") for a new steel mill in Northeast Arkansas.
Big River filed a request on November 13th that the Commission's Administrative Hearing Officer ("AHO") grant a Protective Order. Big River had challenged certain discovery propounded by Nucor.
AHO, Charles Moulton, issued a December 18th Protective Order which states it will govern the use of all designated non-public, confidential and commercially and competitively sensitive information and documents, including all copies, excerpts and summaries thereof, revealed or produced during the course of discovery in the proceeding by any person whether in response to a document request, interrogatory, deposition, subpoena, or otherwise, of disclosure of which in an unprotected manner would likely result in competitive or economic harm. See In the Matter of Big River Steel, LLC "“ Docket No. 13-13006-P (Order No. 10). The Protective Order also addresses discovery materials during discovery by any nonparties, etc.
The Protective Order clarifies the status of documents that are in the public domain which are properly placed in the public domain. It also addresses procedure for designating discovery materials confidential and dictates the disposition of those discovery materials designated as confidential.
A number of other procedures are described along with detailed definitions of key terms.
A copy of the Protective Order can be downloaded below.
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