[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 219 (Monday, November 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61872-61873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-29764]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6474-7]


Clean Water Act; Contractor Access to Confidential Business 
Information

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intended transfer of confidential business 
information to contractors and subcontractors.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to transfer 
confidential business information (CBI) collected from the pulp, paper, 
and paperboard manufacturing; pharmaceutical manufacturing; and other 
industries listed below to Science Applications International 
Corporation, Inc. (SAIC); Abt Associates, Inc.; Westat; Stratus 
Consulting; and their subcontractors. Transfer of the information will 
allow the contractors and subcontractors to support EPA to develop 
effluent limitations guidelines and standards and intake water 
regulations under the Clean Water Act (CWA), and in developing or 
evaluating the need for regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Toxic Substances 
Control Act (TSCA). The information being transferred was or will be 
collected under the authority of section 308 of the CWA. Some of the 
information was provided voluntarily by industrial facilities; this 
information also could have been collected under section 308. Some 
information being transferred from the pulp, paper, and paperboard 
industry was collected under the additional authorities of section 114 
of the CAA and section 3007 of the RCRA. 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 November 22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to Mr. David Hoadley, Document Control 
Officer, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303), 911 East Tower, U.S. 
EPA, 401 M Street S.W., Washington, DC 20460.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Hoadley, Document Control 
Officer, at (202) 260-7765.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has previously transferred to its 
contractors, SAIC (located in Reston, Virginia) and Abt Associates 
(located in Bethesda, Maryland) information, including CBI concerning 
certain industries collected under the authority of section 308 of the 
CWA. EPA determined that this transfer was necessary to enable the 
contractors and subcontractors to perform their work in supporting EPA 
in developing effluent guidelines and standards for certain industries. 
Notice to this effect was provided to the affected industries.
    Today, EPA is giving notice that it has entered into additional 
contracts, numbers 68-C-99-233 and 68-C-99-239, with SAIC and Abt 
Associates, respectively. EPA has also entered into two other 
contracts, 68-C-99-242, with Westat (located in Rockville, Maryland), 
and 68-W6-0055, with Stratus Consulting (located in Boulder, Colorado). 
The reason for these contracts is to secure additional contractor 
support in statistical analysis, survey and database development, 
economic analyses, and ecological analyses. To obtain assistance in 
responding to these contracts, SAIC, Abt Associates, and Westat have 
entered into contracts with their subcontractors.
    SAIC will provide similar statistical analysis support services as 
previously provided in contract number 68-C4-0046. In the new contract, 
SAIC has obtained the services of three subcontractors, Westat, Neptune 
and Company, Inc. (located in Los Alamos, New Mexico), and Premier, 
Inc. (located in Dunn Loring, Virginia) for additional statistical 
analysis support.
    Abt Associates will provide the same type of economic and 
regulatory analysis and evaluation support services as previously 
provided in contract number 68-C4-0060. In the new contract, Abt 
Associates has retained, from the previous contract, the economic 
analysis services of three subcontractors: Eastern Research Group 
(located in Lexington, Massachusetts); Industrial Economics, Inc. 
(located in Cambridge, Massachusetts); and RCG/Hagler Bailly Inc. 
(located in Boulder, Colorado). Abt Associates has also obtained the 
economic analysis services of five other subcontractors: ICF (located 
in Fairfax, Virginia); NRDA (Tuscaloosa, Alabama); Environomics 
(located in Bethesda, Maryland); GLEC (located in Traverse City, 
Michigan); and Tetra Tech (located in Fairfax, Virginia).
    Westat will provide general survey, statistical and data analysis, 
and database support. Westat also has obtained the services of three 
subcontractors: SAIC, NuStats International (located in Austin, Texas), 
and I-Solutions Group, Inc. (located in Vienna, Virginia) for 
additional support in surveys and statistical analysis.
    Stratus Consulting will provide ecological and economic analysis.
    All EPA contractor and subcontractor 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. 
SAIC, Abt Associates, Westat, Stratus Consulting, and their 
subcontractors adhere to EPA-approved security plans which describe 
procedures to protect CBI. The procedures in these plans are applied to 
CBI previously gathered by EPA for the industries identified below and 
to CBI that may be gathered in the future for these industries. The 
security plans specify that contractor and subcontractor 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.

[[Page 61873]]

    The information that will be transferred to SAIC, Abt Associates, 
Westat, and their subcontractors consists primarily of information 
previously collected by EPA to support the development of effluent 
limitations guidelines and standards under the CWA. (EPA does not 
intend to transfer this information to Stratus Consulting.) In 
particular, information, including CBI, collected for the development 
of effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the following 
industries may be transferred: airport deicing; centralized waste 
treatment; coal mining and remining; industrial laundries; industrial 
waste combustors; iron and steel; landfills; machinery products and 
manufacturing; oil and gas; organic chemicals; pesticide manufacturing; 
pesticides formulating, packaging, and repackaging; pharmaceutical 
manufacturing; petroleum refining; pulp, paper, and paperboard 
manufacturing; steam and electric; and transportation equipment 
cleaning.
    In addition, EPA will transfer to all four contractors (i.e., SAIC, 
Abt Associates, Westat, and Stratus Consulting) and their 
subcontractors information collected under Section 308 of the CWA to 
support development of regulations for intake of water under Section 
316(b) of the CWA. This information was and will be collected from 
plants that generate electricity by means of steam and thus have large 
cooling water needs. Facilities in the traditional steam electric 
utility category are classified under Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC) codes 4911 and 493, while nonutility power 
producers include Paper and Allied Products (SIC Major Group 26), 
Chemical and Allied Products (SIC Major Group 28), Petroleum and Coal 
Products (SIC Major Group 29), and Primary Metals (SIC Major Group 33).
    EPA also intends to transfer to SAIC, Abt Associates, Westat, 
Stratus Consulting, and their subcontractors 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, 
as is necessary to enable SAIC, Abt Associates, Westat, Stratus 
Consulting, and their subcontractors to carry out the work required by 
their contracts to support EPA's development of effluent limitations 
guidelines and standards and intake water regulations for the 
industries listed above.

    Dated: November 8, 1999.
Geoffrey H. Grubbs,
Director, Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 99-29764 Filed 11-12-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P