Abt Associates Awarded 7-Year EPA Oil Program Technical Assistance Contract

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Abt Associates Awarded 7-Year EPA Oil Program Technical Assistance Contract

Environmental Practice Area to Provide Technical Support for Regulatory

Development, Analysis, Implementation, and Assessment

MASSACHUSETTS, CAMBRIDGE, May. 29 -/E-Wire/-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Abt Associates a $12.7 million, seven-year contract for technical support for the EPA Oil Program Center (OPC). Abt Associates' responsibilities on this critical environmental protection project include regulatory development, policy analysis, implementation, and evaluation.

"Under this contract, Abt Associates and an impressive team of subcontractors and consultants will provide a wide range of regulatory, technical, and outreach services for a small EPA office with a critical mission: oil pollution prevention and response as well as homeland security," commented Peter Eglinton of Abt Associates, the project director.

The OPC is responsible for preventing, preparing for, and responding to discharges of oil into or upon the navigable waters of the United States and on the adjoining shorelines. To meet its objectives, the OPC develops national strategy, programs, technical policies, regulations, and guidelines. The OPC's jurisdiction includes not only petroleum products (crude and refined) but also vegetable oils and animal fats (edible and unrefined) and other non-petroleum oils.

Abt Associates' Environmental practice area will provide a wide range of technical support in regulatory development; economic, scientific, and engineering research and analysis; communication and outreach; development of training programs; and meeting and logistical arrangements. Specifically, Abt Associates will provide analytical and technical support to the EPA in its development of regulations, policies, or other guidance associated with the OPC under the authorities of the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act, as well as any new legislation that may be enacted.

Abt Associates also will provide analytical and technical support to the EPA in its communications efforts to various stakeholders, including upper management, other EPA divisions, and regional officers. Abt Associates will work with the EPA to develop training materials for a wide range of audiences and will assist with related meetings and training activities.

"Abt Associates offers the OPC over 25 years of experience throughout virtually all of the EPA as a prime contractor providing support to both regulatory and non-regulatory programs, including economic analysis, risk assessment, information management, and training and outreach activities," Eglinton stated. "We combined these qualifications and our OPC experience with an outstanding group of subcontractors and consultants to present a team with unparalleled analytical skills, background in oil spill regulatory policy, and historical knowledge of the EPA's oil pollution prevention and response activities."

Environmental Expertise

Abt Associates' researchers and consultants deliver high-quality, innovative consulting services and solutions for complex environmental management, regulatory, and policy challenges. Abt Associates' Environmental practice area provides environmental services -- including multi-disciplinary scientific research and policy analysis -- to government agencies worldwide, including the EPA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other U.S. federal agencies and state and local governments; non-U.S. government ministries (e.g., environment, natural resources, energy, and agriculture); the Inter-American Development Bank; the World Bank; nongovernmental organizations; and select private-sector clients.

For more information on Abt Associates' environmental expertise, go to http://abtassociates.com/environment.

Abt Associates (www.abtassociates.com) is a private, employee-owned company that applies rigorous research and consulting techniques, as well as technical assistance expertise, to a wide range of issues in social and economic policy, international development, business research and consulting, and clinical trials and registries. Since its founding in 1965, Abt Associates has provided services to U.S. federal, state and local governments; foreign governments; international organizations; foundations; and business and industry. Its staff of over 1,000 employees is located in offices in Cambridge, Lexington, and Amherst, Massachusetts; and offices in Bethesda, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Old Greenwich, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Cairo, Egypt; and Pretoria, South Africa.

For more information, contact Peter Broderick, Abt Associates Corporate Communications, (617) 349-2882, [REDACTED-EMAIL], or Maureen Bailey at BCI, (617) 557-0011, [REDACTED-EMAIL].

Peter Broderick, 617/349-2882

[REDACTED-EMAIL]

Maureen Bailey, 617/557-0011

http://www.abtassociates.com

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