Answer_to_Question_Posed_-_2015.03.10.pdf

U.S. DOT Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) RFQ #DTPH5615Q00001 Autofrettage Testing of SCBA COPVs Question & Answer – 3/10/2015

QUESTION & ANSWER

Autofrettage Testing of SCBA Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels

PHMSA RFQ #DTPH5615Q00001

3/10/2015

QUESTION

Is our proposal, and all of the information contained within it, confidential (i.e., is not available for someone in the public domain to obtain)?

Follow-up Question: If the entire proposal is not confidential, can we mark company sensitive information (settings, materials, methods, etc.) as confidential?

ANSWER

PHMSA treats all source selection information in accordance with FAR 3.104-4 - Disclosure, protection, and marking of contractor bid or proposal information and source selection information. Individuals responsible for preparing material that may be source selection information must mark the cover page and each page that the individual believes contains source selection information with the legend “Source Selection Information—See FAR 2.101 and 3.104.”

The Freedom of Information Act generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, of access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions thereof) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions, or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. In particular, PHMSA would evaluate whether the information submitted was protected under 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), which protects from disclosure the release of "[t]rade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential."