§ 143-345.14. Authority to collect data; administration and enforcement; confidentiality. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 143‑345.14. Authority to collect data; administration and enforcement; confidentiality.

(a)        The Department of Administration shall have the authority toobtain from prime suppliers of petroleum products specific petroleum supplydata concerning State‑level sales and projected sales by month for NorthCarolina that is currently reported on the federal Form EIA‑782C,"Monthly Report of Petroleum Products Sold in States for Consumption"or its successor, at such time that these data requirements are not being metthrough any federal reporting procedure. The petroleum products subject to thisreporting requirement are: finished gasoline (all grades), #1 distillate,kerosene, #2 fuel oil, #2 diesel fuel, aviation gasoline (finished), kerosene‑typejet fuel, naphtha‑type jet fuel, #4 fuel, residual fuel oil (less than orequal to one percent sulfur), residual fuel oil (greater than one percentsulfur), propane (consumer grade). The authority to collect energy data fromsuppliers of petroleum products into North Carolina, that is granted to theDepartment of Administration in this section, shall be limited to the petroleumvolume data that is reported on the Form EIA‑782C or its successor.

(b)        "Prime suppliers" shall be defined as thosesuppliers which make the first sale of the named product into North Carolina,excluding jobbers, distributors, and retail dealers.

(c)        The Department of Administration shall adopt rules andregulations for the administration of this data collection program and theAttorney General and the law enforcement authorities of the State and itspolitical subdivisions shall enforce the provisions of this section and allorders, rules, and regulations promulgated thereunder. Any enforcement actionmay be brought upon the relation of the Department of Administration or thedirection of the Attorney General.

(d)        Any person or corporation who willfully refuses to providethe petroleum supply data in accordance with the conditions described herein,or who knowingly or willfully submits false information in any reports requiredherein or refuses to file any reports shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(e)        Any civil action brought to enforce the provisions of thissection shall be brought in the Superior Court of Wake County or in thesuperior court of the county in which the acts or practices constituting aviolation occurred or are occurring.

(f)         The Department of Administration shall keep confidentialany individually identifiable energy information to the extent necessary tocomply with the confidentiality requirements of the reporting agency, and anysuch information shall not be subject to the public disclosure requirements ofG.S. 132‑6. "Individually identifiable energy information"shall be defined as any individual record or portion of a record or aggregateddata containing energy information about a person or persons obtained from anysource, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to revealinformation about a specific person. (2000‑140, s. 76(i).)