Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
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Legal Notices


Note: Questions about the content found on this Web page should be sent to Agency Counsel.

Public access to information

In the State of Washington, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

All of the information collected at this site becomes public records that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists. RCW 42.56.070 states that Each agency, in accordance with published rules, shall make available for public inspection and copying all public records, unless the record falls within the specific exemptions of RCW 42.56 or other statute which exempts or prohibits disclosure of specific information or records. To the extent required to prevent an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy interests protected by RCW 42.56, an agency shall delete identifying details in a manner consistent with RCW 42.56 when it makes available or publishes any public record; however, in each case, the justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing.

In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act or other law governing the agency’s disclosure of records, the Public Records Act or other applicable law will control.

General disclaimer

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site has many links to other Web sites. These include links to Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another Web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Neither the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, nor any agency, officer, or employee of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.

Copyright

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency provides the information on this server to the public, but retains copyright on all text, graphic images, and other content. Express written permission is required from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to distribute the text or graphics to others in any fashion, or to "mirror" this information on your server. Copies of the information may be printed for your own personal use. Questions about this Copyright statement should be directed to Agency Counsel.

Terms and conditions of use

By visiting the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site, users agree that they will not use the site for any unlawful activity, or use it in any way that would violate the following terms and conditions.

This Web site is governed and construed by the laws of the State of Washington. Any use of the Web site shall comply with all Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and State of Washington laws and regulations, as well as with all federal laws and regulations. Any lawsuit or claim arising from this Web site shall be brought in the King County Superior Court, Seattle, Washington.

Linkage

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency links to external Web sites in the hope that users will find reference material on air-quality related subjects. Because Puget Sound Clean Air Agency cannot control those sites, it cannot be held responsible for content included in them. Moreover, in no way should an external link be considered any form of endorsement by Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Privacy notice

Section A. Introduction.

Thank you for visiting the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site and reviewing our Privacy Notice. This statement addresses collection, use and security of and access to information that may be obtained through use of www.pscleanair.org. This notice covers the following topics:

Section B. Information Collected and How it is Used.

Information collected if you only browse this site.

If you do nothing during your visit to our Web site but browse, read pages or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. The Internet Protocol address and domain name used. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol address to direct Internet traffic to you. This address can be translated to determine the domain name of your service provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu);

  2. The type of browser and operating system you used;

  3. The date and time you visited this site;

  4. The Web pages or services you accessed at this site;

  5. The Web site you visited prior to coming to this Web site; and

  6. Search phrases used.

The information we automatically collect or store is logged and used by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency only to improve the content of our Web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency analyzes this information to determine how our Web site is being used, so that we may continually improve the site's usefulness to the public.

What we collect if you volunteer information.

If during your visit to our Web site you participate in a survey, send an e-mail, or perform some other transaction online, the following additional information will be collected:

  1. The e-mail address, and contents of e-mail, for those who communicate with us via e-mail.

  2. Information volunteered in response to a survey.

  3. Information volunteered through an online form for any other purpose. The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video and graphic information formats you send us.

We use your e-mail to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you may identify, to further improve our Web site or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information is used to evaluate and improve programs.  Information from other online forms is used for business purposes.

Section C. Personal Information and Choice.

You may choose whether to provide personal information online.

"Personal information" is information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes such things as an individual's name, address and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending us e-mail, participating in a survey, or completing an online form. You may choose not to contact us by e-mail, participate in a survey or to provide any personal information using an online form. Your choice to not participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse our Web site and read or download any information provided on the site. Click here for other options.

If personal information is requested on the Web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact the Records Administrator or Records Assistant as shown in the Contact Information Section of this statement.

Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children online or by e-mail will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access.

Section D. Public Access to Information.

In the State of Washington, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

All of the information collected at this site becomes public records that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Public Records Act or other law governing the agency’s disclosure of records, the Public Records Act or other applicable law will control.

Section E. Review and Correction of Personally Identifiable Information.

You can review any personally identifiable information we collect about you by using the information in the Contact Information section at the end of this Notice. You may recommend changes to your personally identifiable information you believe to be inaccurate by submitting an e-mail or written request that credibly shows the inaccuracy. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. (RCW 43.105.310)

Section F. Cookies.

To better serve our users, we use "cookies" to customize your browsing experience with our Web site. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your Web browser.

Cookies created on your computer by using this Web site do not contain personally identifying information, do not compromise your privacy or security and cannot be accessed by any other Web site. We use cookies to store randomly generated session identifiers, which allow our Web server to ensure data continuity across individual page requests. Choosing not to accept cookies may cause some interactive Web applications on our Web site to function incorrectly, but will not affect your general ability to browse this site.

Section G. Security.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency takes precautions to safeguard personal information you provide through our Web services.

This section should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site.

Section H. Disclaimer.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site has many links to other Web sites. These include links to Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. After you follow a link on our site to one of these other sites, you will no longer be on the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site. This Privacy Notice will not apply and you will be subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Neither the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, nor any officer or employee of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.

Section I. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Contact Information.

To review your personal information, or request correction of your personal information: Stella Nehen or Charly McCreary.

Use of communication forums

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Web site has or will contain threaded discussions, chat rooms, and other communication forums. By participating in any of these, users agree to send and receive messages that are both proper and related to the forum topic. The following actions are prohibited:

  • Defaming, harassing, threatening or otherwise violating the legal rights of others, including their privacy (see below)

  • Misrepresenting one's person, background, or character

  • Posting any defamatory, infringing, obscene, false, or unlawful material

  • Selling, advertising, or exchanging any goods or services unless expressly allowed

  • Posting any copyrighted material owned by a third party

Also, you agree to use any Puget Sound Clean Air Agency forum at your own risk. While championing proper use of such forums, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency cannot guarantee that violations of the above code will not occur.