[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79692-79693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31353]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9904-94-OW]
Clean Water Act; Contractor Access to Confidential Business
Information
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Intended Transfer of Confidential Business
Information to Contractor, Subcontractors, and Consultants.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA's) has authorized Abt
Associates, Inc. (Abt), its subcontractors, and its consultants to
access confidential business information (CBI) collected from numerous
industries. Transfer of this information is necessary for Abt to assist
EPA in the preparation of effluent guidelines and standards for certain
industries.
In accordance with 40 CFR Sec. 2.302(h), we have determined that
the contractors listed below require access to CBI submitted to EPA
under Section 308 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and in connection with
other programs listed below. Therefore, we are providing notice and an
opportunity to comment to the affected submitters of information. The
nature of the work and its necessity, and the type of access granted,
is described below for each contractor. Information has been provided
to this contractor under a previous agreement since May 30, 2007.
Transfer of the information to Abt will allow the contractor and
subcontractors to support EPA in the planning, development, and review
of effluent limitations guidelines and standards under the CWA. The
information being transferred was or will be collected under the
authority of Section 308 of the CWA. Some information being transferred
from the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry was collected under the
additional authorities of Section 114 of the Clean Air Act and Section
3007 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Interested persons
may submit
[[Page 79693]]
comments on this intended transfer of information to the address noted
below.
DATES: Comments on the transfer of data are due January 6, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Mr. M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document
Control Officer, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), Room 6231S
WJC West, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document
Control Officer, at (202) 566-1044, or via email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has transferred CBI to various
contractors and subcontractors over the history of the effluent
guidelines program. EPA determined that this transfer was necessary to
enable the contractors and subcontractors to perform their work in
supporting EPA in planning, developing, and reviewing effluent
guidelines and standards for certain industries.
Today, EPA is giving notice that it has entered into a contract
with Abt, contract number EP-C-13-039, located in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. The purpose of this contract is to secure economic and
environmental analysis support for EPA in its development, review,
implementation, and defense of water-related initiatives for a variety
of industries. To obtain assistance in responding to this contract, Abt
has entered into contracts with the following subcontractors: Aqua
Terra Consultants (located in Mountain View, California), Avanti
Corporation (located in Alexandria, Virginia), Great Lakes
Environmental Center (located in Traverse City, Michigan), Horizon
Systems Corporation (located in Herndon, Virginia), ICF International
(located in Fairfax, Virginia), PG Environmental (located in Herndon,
Virginia), RPS ASA dba Applied Science Associates (located in South
Kingstown, Rhode Island), and RTI International (located in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina). Abt has also entered into contracts
with the following consultants: Robert J. Johnston, Ph.D. (located in
Millville, Massachusetts) and R. Srinivasan, Ph.D. (located in College
Station, Texas).
All EPA contractor, subcontractor, and consultant personnel are
bound by the requirements and sanctions contained in their contracts
with EPA and in EPA's confidentiality regulations found at 40 CFR Part
2, Subpart B. Abt will adhere to EPA-approved security plans which
describe procedures to protect CBI. Abt will apply the procedures in
these plans to CBI previously gathered by EPA and to CBI that may be
gathered in the future. The security plans specify that contractor
personnel are required to sign non-disclosure agreements and are
briefed on appropriate security procedures before they are permitted
access to CBI. No person is automatically granted access to CBI: A need
to know must exist.
The information that will be transferred to Abt consists of
information previously collected by EPA to support the development and
review of effluent limitations guidelines and standards under the CWA.
In particular, information, including CBI, collected for the planning,
development, and review of effluent limitations guidelines and
standards for the following industries may be transferred: airport
deicing; aquaculture; centralized waste treatment; coalbed methane;
concentrated animal feeding operations; coal mining; construction and
development; drinking water treatment; industrial container and drum
cleaning; industrial laundries; industrial waste combustors; iron and
steel manufacturing; landfills; meat and poultry products; metal
finishing; metal products and machinery; nonferrous metals
manufacturing; oil and gas extraction (including coalbed methane); ore
mining and dressing; organic chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers;
pesticide chemicals; petroleum refining; pharmaceutical manufacturing;
pulp, paper, and paperboard manufacturing; unconventional oil and gas
extraction; steam electric power generation; textile mills; timber
products processing; tobacco; and transportation equipment cleaning.
EPA also intends to transfer to Abt all information listed in this
notice, of the type described above (including CBI) that may be
collected in the future under the authority of Section 308 of the CWA
or voluntarily submitted (e.g., in comments in response to a Federal
Register notice), as is necessary to enable Abt to carry out the work
required by its contract to support EPA's effluent guidelines planning
process and the development of effluent limitations guidelines and
standards.
Dated: December 13, 2013.
Elizabeth Southerland,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2013-31353 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
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