California Environmental Reporting System: Business

CERS Privacy Policy

Separate from any data entered into CERS to meet Unified Program and state electronic reporting mandates, other pages on the web sites that comprise the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS) collect a small amount of information about the user which may be retained (see "cookies" definition below). Collection of this information is required to deliver the services CERS provides and which are mandated in statute. Even if you do nothing during your visit to CERS websites but browse/download information, some pages may automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:


  • The Internet Protocol (IP) address and domain name used. The IP address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer.
  • The type of browser and operating system you used.
  • The date and time you visited a site.
  • The web pages or services you accessed at a site.
  • The website you visited prior to coming to the site.
  • The website you visit as you leave this website.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. This information does not identify you personally and is used for gathering website statistics. The information we automatically collect and store in our logs about your visit helps us to analyze our website to continually improve the value of the materials available. Our website logs do not identify a visitor by personal information, and we make no attempt to link other websites with the individuals that browse this website.


Government Code Section 11015.5.(a)(6) prohibits all State agencies from distributing or selling any electronically collected personal information, as defined above, about users to any third party without the permission of the user. The State does not sell any "electronically collected personal information." Any distribution of "electronically collected personal information" will be solely for the purposes for which it was provided to us.


The State may provide or distribute certain lists and statistical reports of regulatory information as provided by law, but no personal information is sold or distributed, and all relevant legal protections still apply to the State's websites.


Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Usage of a cookie is normally not linked to any personally identifiable information while on this site. In a few cases, some pages do make use of cookies for personal identification, but users of these pages are advised of the usage and volunteer the identification information.