12.9—Closed meetings.
(a)
The requirements of § 12.8 (c) and (d) of this part that meetings shall be open to the public and that the public shall be afforded an opportunity to participate in such meetings shall not apply to any advisory committee meeting which the President or the Administrator determines is concerned with matters listed in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c).
(b)
An advisory committee which seeks to have all or part of its meetings closed shall notify the Administrator before the scheduled date of the meeting. The notification shall be in writing and shall specify the reasons why any part of the meeting should be closed.
(c)
A request that the meeting be closed will be granted upon determination by the Administrator that the request is in accordance with the policies of this part. The Administrator's determination will be in writing and will state the specific reasons for closing all or part of the meeting. The determination will be made available to the public upon request.
(d)
The Administrator may delegate responsibility for making the determination required by paragraph (c) of this section. In any case where the determination to close the meeting is made by the Administrator's delegate, the determination will be reviewed by the Chief Counsel.
(e)
When a meeting is closed to the public, the advisory committee shall issue a report, at least annually, setting forth a summary of its activities in such meetings, addressing those related matters as would be informative to the public and consistent with the policy of 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and of this part. Notice of the availability of such annual reports shall be published in accordance with § 12.11 of this part.