Notice2023-04755
Clean Water Act; Contractor Access to Confidential Business Information
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to transfer confidential business information (CBI) collected from numerous industries under a newly awarded contract, effective November 1, 2022, to Eastern Research Group (ERG) and its subcontractors. Transfer of this information is necessary for ERG to assist the Office of Water in the preparation of effluent guidelines and standards and with its effluent guidelines planning and review activities. Much of the information being transferred was or will be collected under the authority of section 308 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Interested persons may submit comments on this intended transfer of information to the person listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14362-14363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04755]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-10742-01-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 and its subcontractors.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to transfer
confidential business information (CBI) collected from numerous
industries under a newly awarded contract, effective November 1, 2022,
to Eastern Research Group (ERG) and its subcontractors. Transfer of
this information is necessary for ERG to assist the Office of Water in
the preparation of effluent guidelines and standards and with its
effluent guidelines planning and review activities. Much of the
information being transferred was or will be collected under the
authority of section 308 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Interested
persons may submit comments on this intended transfer of information to
the person listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
DATES: Comments on the transfer of data are due March 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document Control
Officer, Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T), U.S. EPA, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460, or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#13607a77777a62667a3d727b7e7261537663723d747c65"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c5b6aca1a1acb4b0aceba4ada8a4b785a0b5a4eba2aab3">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: M. Ahmar Siddiqui, Document Control
Officer, at (202) 566-1044, or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e1d070a0a071f1b07400f06030f1c2e0b1e0f40090118"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a8dbc1ccccc1d9ddc186c9c0c5c9dae8cdd8c986cfc7de">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has transferred CBI to various
contractors and subcontractors over the history of the effluent
guidelines program under 40 CFR 2.302(h). 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.
Pursuant to 40 CFR 2.302(h)(2), EPA is giving notice that,
effective November 1, 2022, it has entered into a new contract with
ERG, contract number 68HERC23D0001, located in Chantilly, Virginia. The
purpose of this contract is to secure technical and engineering
analysis support for EPA in its development, review, implementation,
and defense of water-related initiatives
[[Page 14363]]
for a variety of industries. To obtain assistance in responding to this
contract, ERG has entered into contracts with the following
subcontractors and consultant: Avanti Corporation (located in
Alexandria, Virginia), Corollo Engineering (located in Walnut Creek,
California), Craftwater (located in San Diego, California), GrantTech
(located in New London, Connecticut), Great Lakes Environmental Center
(GLEC, located in Traverse City, Michigan), Horsley Witten Group, Inc.
(located in Sandwich, Massachusetts), Rumley Solutions, Inc., dba/
Hummingbird Firm (located in Atlanta, Georgia), LimnoTech, Inc., dba/
LimnoTech (located in Washington, District of Columbia), Mabbett &
Associates, Inc. (located in Stoneham, Massachusetts), PG
Environmental, LLC (located in Chantilly, Virginia and Golden,
Colorado), and RESPEC Inc. (located in Rapid City, South Dakota and
Decatur, Georgia).
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. ERG will adhere to an EPA-approved security plan which
describes procedures to protect CBI. ERG will apply the procedures in
this plan to CBI previously gathered by EPA and to CBI that may be
gathered in the future. The security plan specifies 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 ERG consists of
information previously collected by EPA to support the development and
review of effluent limitations guidelines and standards under the CWA
and that EPA had transferred to ERG under a previous contract with
them. 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 to ERG
under the new contract: airport deicing; aquaculture; centralized waste
treatment; coal bed 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; shale gas extraction; steam electric power
generation; textile mills; timber products processing; tobacco;
transportation equipment cleaning; and other industrial categories that
EPA has reviewed or may review as part of its CWA required annual
review activities.
EPA also intends to transfer to ERG 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 ERG to carry out the work
required by its contract to support EPA's effluent guidelines planning
and review process and the development of effluent limitations
guidelines and standards.
Deborah Nagle,
Director, Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water.
[FR Doc. 2023-04755 Filed 3-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 8, 2023.
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