Document ID: EPA-R03-OAR-2021-0237-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Access by Contractors to Information Claimed as Confidential Business Information: Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., Subcontractor of Contractor Arctic Slope Mission Services, LLC
Posted Date: 2021-04-05T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 63 (Monday, April 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17592-17594]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06931]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-R03-OAR-2021-0237; FRL-10022-17-Region 3]

Access to Confidential Business Information by Booz Allen 
Hamilton Inc., Subcontractor of Contractor Arctic Slope Mission 
Services, LLC

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of subcontractor access to confidential business 
information.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is 
allowing Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean, VA, subcontractor of 
contractor Arctic Slope Mission Services, LLC of Beltsville, MD, to 
access information which has been submitted to EPA under the 
environmental statutes administered by the Agency at its Region 3 
offices. Some of the information may be claimed

[[Page 17593]]

or determined to be confidential business information.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 26, 2021. Access to 
the confidential data began on or about February 15, 2017 and September 
29, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments by one of the following 
methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: klotz.michaelk@epa.gov.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-
2021-0237. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change and may be available online at 
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through https://www.regulations.gov, or email. The federal website, https://www.regulations.gov, is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA 
will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide 
it in the body of your comment. If you send an email comment directly 
to EPA without going through https://www.regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties, 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to 
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special 
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or 
viruses. EPA encourages electronic submittals, but if you are unable to 
submit electronically, please reach out to the EPA contact person 
listed in the notice for assistance. If you need assistance in a 
language other than English, or you are a person with disabilities who 
needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please reach out to 
the EPA contact person by email or telephone.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Klotz, (215) 814-5382; email 
address: klotz.michaelk@epa.gov; mailing address: EPA Region 3, Mission 
Support Division (Mail Code 3MD50), 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 
19103.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the general public. This action may, 
however, be of interest to anyone who submitted what may be determined 
to be confidential business information to EPA Region 3. Since other 
entities may also be interested, the Agency has not attempted to 
describe all the specific entities that may be affected by this action.

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    All documents in the docket are listed in the https://www.regulations.gov index, under docket identification number EPA-R3-
OAR-2021-0237. Although listed in the index, some information might not 
be publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure 
is restricted by statute. Publicly available docket materials are 
accessible electronically through https://www.regulations.gov.

II. What action is the Agency taking?

    EPA Region 3 manages records for all its divisions using the 
support of contractors and subcontractors. The contractors and 
subcontractors assist with indexing and filing both physical and 
digital records, and with determining the disposition of records to 
ensure compliance with the Federal Records Act. Under EPA contract EP-
W17-011 (the contract), and EPA Region 3 task orders 0037 and 0054, 
Arctic Slope Mission Services, LLC (ASMS) of 7000 Muirkirk Meadows 
Drive, Suite 100, Beltsville, MD 20705, is responsible for reviewing, 
sorting, filing, and indexing records, and identifying files as closed, 
active, or inactive, to determine whether they should be disposed of or 
stored at either the EPA Region 3 offices or the Federal Records 
Center. Pursuant to its contract, ASMS entered into a subcontract with 
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. (BAH) of 8283 Greensboro Drive, Mclean, VA 
22102. BAH is responsible for performing under these task orders. Task 
order 0037 concerns records for the Office of Regional Counsel and 
records for the Hazardous Site Cleanup Division, now called the 
Superfund and Emergency Management Division, while task order 0054 
addresses all other regional records.
    EPA has permitted, and will continue to permit, BAH personnel to 
have access to information submitted to EPA under the statutes 
administered by the Agency. Some of the information may be claimed or 
determined to be CBI. In accordance with 40 CFR 2.301(h)(2)(i) (Clean 
Air Act (CAA)), and any provisions from 40 CFR 2.302 through2.310 
incorporating 40 CFR 2.301(h)(2)(i) (Clean Water Act (CWA), Safe 
Drinking Water Act (SDWA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA), Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act (CERCLA)), 40 CFR 2.306(j) (Toxic Substances Control Act 
(TSCA)), 40 CFR 2.307(h)(3) (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)), 40 CFR 2.308(i) (Federal Food, Drug and 
Cosmetic Act (FDCA)), 40 CFR 350.23(b) (Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)), EPA has determined that under 
task orders 0037 and 0054, BAH requires access to CBI submitted to EPA, 
to perform successfully the duties required under the task orders.
    Among the procedures established by EPA's confidentiality 
regulations for granting access to CBI is prior notification to the 
submitters of CBI that BAH will have access to this information. See 40 
CFR 2.301(h)(2)(iii) for information submitted under the CAA, 
corresponding provisions of 40 CFR 2.302 through 2.311 for information 
submitted under the CWA, SDWA, RCRA, TSCA, FIFRA, FDCA, CERCLA, and 40 
CFR 350.23 for EPCRA. This notification is intended to fulfill that 
requirement. EPA Region 3 has permitted BAH personnel access to this 
information prior to publishing this document. All access to CBI under 
the contract and task orders has occurred and will continue to occur in 
accordance with EPA's polices and regulations for the handling of CBI 
at the EPA Region 3 offices located at 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 
PA, 410 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403-2567, 701 Mapes Road, Ft. 
Meade, MD 20755-5350, and 1060 Chapline Street, Suite 303, Wheeling, WV 
26003-2995. The contract and task orders include terms that require the 
proper treatment and safeguarding of CBI. As BAH is responsible for 
performing under task orders 0037 and 0054, its personnel have access 
to CBI pursuant to those task orders. BAH personnel sign nondisclosure 
agreements and are briefed on appropriate security procedures before 
they are permitted access to CBI. In addition, they attend annual, 
mandatory training on the proper treatment and protection of CBI.

[[Page 17594]]

    BAH access to CBI for task order 0037 began on February 15, 2017 
and will expire on February 14, 2022, if all four option years are 
exercised. BAH access to CBI for task order 0054 began on September 29, 
2017 and will expire on September 28, 2022, if all four option years 
are exercised. If the contract or task orders are further extended, 
this access will also continue for the duration of the extension 
without further notice.

Catharine McManus,
Mission Support Division Director, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 2021-06931 Filed 4-2-21; 8:45 am]
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