Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-15081
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Clean Water Act: Contractor Access To Confidential Business Information
Posted Date: 2013-12-31T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79692-79693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing 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 
siddiqui.ahmar@epa.gov.

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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