[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 176 (Monday, September 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55577-55578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22746]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9200-8]
Clean Water Act; Contractor Access to Confidential Business
Information
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Water
intends to transfer confidential business information (CBI) collected
from numerous industries to Westat, and its subcontractors. The
information being transferred was or will be collected under the
authority of section 308 of the Clean Water Act (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 (CAA) and section 3007 of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA). Transfer of the information will allow the
contractor and subcontractors to access information necessary to
support EPA in the planning, development, and review of effluent
limitations guidelines and standards under the CWA. Interested persons
may submit comments on this intended transfer of information to the
address noted below.
DATES: Comments on the transfer of data are due September 20, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Mr. M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document
Control Officer, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), Room 6231S
EPA 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 e-mail 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 Westat, contract number EP-C-10-023, located in Rockville,
Maryland. The purpose of this contract is to secure statistical
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, Westat has entered
into contracts with the following subcontractors: Soller Environmental
(located in Berkeley, California), Tamre Cordoza (located in Seattle,
Washington), Alice Shelly (located in Austin, Texas), Peter Guttorp
(located in Seattle, Washington), and Richard Davis (located in New
York, New York).
All EPA contractor, subcontractor, and consultant personnel are
bound by the requirements and sanctions
[[Page 55578]]
contained in their contracts with EPA and in EPA's confidentiality
regulations found at 40 CFR part 2, subpart B. Information submitted
under a claim of business confidentiality is handled in accordance with
EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, subpart B and in accordance with
EPA procedures, including comprehensive system security plans (SSPs),
that are consistent with those regulations. When EPA has determined
that disclosure of information claimed as CBI to contractors is
necessary, the corresponding contract must address the appropriate use
and handling of the information by the contractor and the contractor
must require its personnel who require access to information claimed as
CBI to sign written non-disclosure agreements before they are granted
access to data.
Westat will adhere to EPA-approved security plans which describe
procedures to protect CBI. Westat 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 Westat 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; 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; steam electric power generation; textile
mills; timber products processing; tobacco; and transportation
equipment cleaning.
EPA also intends to transfer to Westat 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 Westat 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: September 8, 2010.
Ephraim S. King,
Director, Office of Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2010-22746 Filed 9-10-10; 8:45 am]
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