[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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