Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the City of Richland (the City), WA for the Purchase of Aerostrip® Fine Pore [Bubble] Diffusers Manufactured Outside of the United States Under the Section 1605 Waiver Authority Based on the Conclusion That Iron, Steel, and the Relevant Manufactured Goods Are Not Produced in the United States in Sufficient and Reasonably Available Quantities and of a Satisfactory Quality, 5588-5589 [2010-2255]
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5588
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 3, 2010 / Notices
Having established both a proper basis
to specify the particular good required
for this project, and that this
manufactured good was not available
from a producer in the United States,
the WMTMUA is hereby granted a
waiver from the Buy American
requirements of Section 1605(a) of
Public Law 111–5 for the purchase of a
Kubota MBR unit that incorporates flatplate MBR membrane cartridges using
ARRA funds, as specified in the
WMTMUA ’s request of June 5, 2009.
This supplementary information
constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c)
for waivers ‘‘based on a finding under
subsection (b).’’
Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
Dated: January 19, 2010.
Judith A. Enck,
Regional Administrator, Region 2.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bryan Fiedorczyk, CWSRF ARRA
Program Analyst, Grants & Strategic
Planning Unit, Office of Water &
Watersheds (OWW), (206) 553–0506,
U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW–137), 1200
Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA
98101.
[FR Doc. 2010–2252 Filed 2–2–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[FRL–9109–3]
Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
the City of Richland (the City), WA for
the Purchase of Aerostrip® Fine Pore
[Bubble] Diffusers Manufactured
Outside of the United States Under the
Section 1605 Waiver Authority Based
on the Conclusion That Iron, Steel, and
the Relevant Manufactured Goods Are
Not Produced in the United States in
Sufficient and Reasonably Available
Quantities and of a Satisfactory Quality
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional
Administrator of EPA Region 10, is
hereby granting a waiver of the Buy
America requirements of ARRA Section
1605 under the authority of Section
1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality]
to the City for the purchase of
Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers supplied
by Treatment Equipment Company in
Bellevue, Washington and
manufactured in Austria. This is a
project specific waiver and only applies
to the use of the specified product for
the ARRA project being proposed. Any
other ARRA recipient that wishes to use
the same product must apply for a
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:34 Feb 02, 2010
Jkt 220001
separate waiver based on project
specific circumstances. The applicant
indicates that Aerostrip® Fine Pore
Diffusers are the only feasible
equipment to retrofit Richland’s existing
Waste Water Treatment Facility aeration
basins. The Aerostrip® Fine Pore
Diffusers are only manufactured in
Austria. No other fine pore diffusers are
available or capable of meeting the
aeration process design requirements.
The Acting Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the
review and recommendations of the
Grants & Strategic Planning Unit. The
City has provided sufficient
documentation to support their request.
DATES: Effective Date: December 16,
2009.
In accordance with ARRA Section
1605(c), the EPA hereby provides notice
that it is granting a project waiver of the
requirements of Section 1605(b)(2) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the City for the
acquisition of Aerostrip® Fine Pore
Diffusers supplied by Treatment
Equipment Company in Bellevue,
Washington and manufactured in
Austria. The applicant indicates that
Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers are the
only feasible equipment to retrofit
Richland’s existing Waste Water
Treatment Facility aeration basins. The
Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers are only
manufactured in Austria. No other fine
pore diffusers are available or capable of
meeting the aeration process design
requirements. Section 1605 of the ARRA
requires that none of the appropriated
funds may be used for the construction,
alteration, maintenance, or repair of a
public building or public work unless
all of the iron, steel, and manufactured
goods used in the project is produced in
the United States unless a waiver is
provided to the recipient by EPA. A
waiver may be provided if EPA
determines that (1) Applying these
requirements would be inconsistent
with public interest; (2) iron, steel, and
the relevant manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality;
or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and the
relevant manufactured goods produced
in the United States will increase the
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
cost of the overall project by more than
25 percent.
This ARRA-funded project involves
upgrading the aeration system in one of
the Waste Water Treatment Facility’s
existing aeration basins, AB2
(replacement of an existing mechanical
aeration system with a fine bubble strip
membrane diffuser aeration system) and
installation of additional fine bubble
strip membrane aeration diffusers in the
facility’s other existing aeration basin,
AB1. This project will thus complete the
facility’s aeration system upgrade
originally designed (using proprietary
strip membrane diffusers) to replace the
mechanical aeration systems in the
facility’s two aeration basins. Important
objectives of the project’s improvements
are to reduce energy consumption by
more than 70% and reduce the
discharge of suspended solids,
biochemical oxygen demand and
nitrogen into the Columbia River.
Further requirements of the project
dictated by the constraints of the
existing facility include (1) Retrofit
installation in the existing sloped wall
basins, (2) compatibility with the
aeration diffusers installed in a previous
system upgrade, and (3) limiting the size
of the associated aeration system blower
upgrade to the available capacity of the
facility’s existing electrical system
infrastructure. The objectives described
above reflect appropriate and desirable
performance upgrades central to the
function of the facility, and are a
justifiable basis for specifications to
achieve those objectives. Similarly, the
requirements for compatibility with
various features of the existing facility
are justified as appropriate and
necessary specifications for a retrofit
project.
The applicant states that the engineer
for the original project design evaluated
fine bubble diffusers available from four
manufacturers, and concluded that the
Aerostrip® diffusers were the best
selection for the project because:
b The project would require smaller
aeration blowers since the Aerostrip®
diffusers:
Æ Generate smaller bubbles
(creating a higher oxygen transfer
surface area and efficiency).
Æ Operate at lower air flow per
surface area to provide the required
dissolved oxygen concentration to the
wastewater under aeration.
Æ Use lower minimum air flow to
open the pores of the diffuser.
b The smaller aeration blower
requirement resulting from the use of
the Aerostrip® diffusers allows the
blower equipment to be implemented
without requiring an upgrade to the
facility’s electrical power system.
E:\FR\FM\03FEN1.SGM
03FEN1
jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 3, 2010 / Notices
b The strip configuration of the
Aerostrip® diffusers (available in
several dimensional configurations) is
compatible with physical retrofit
requirements of the project (i.e., some
diffusers require installation on sloped
walls of the existing aeration basins).
Information provided by the applicant
also indicates that the Aerostrip®
diffuser is preferable for the project
because:
b It is compatible with the aeration
diffuser upgrade previously
implemented in AB1 (which will allow
for symmetrical flow/Biochemical
Oxygen Demand (BOD) loading to the
two aeration basins, simplifying the
operation of the treatment plant).
b It will provide the requisite
aeration capacity for the upgrade project
within the facility’s existing two
aeration basins (i.e., use of an alternate
fine bubble diffuser would require the
design and construction of a third
aeration basin to provide the required
aeration capacity for the design BOD
loading).
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ
Memorandum, Implementation of Buy
American provisions of Public Law
111–5, the ‘‘American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009’’, defines
‘‘reasonably available quantity’’ as the
quantity of iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is available or will
be available at the time needed and
place needed, and in the proper form or
specification as specified in the project
plans and design. The City has
incorporated specific technical design
features for the proposed project based
on the performance characteristics of
the Aerostrip® diffusers to meet the
highest flow and loading demands of
the Richland Waste Water Treatment
Facility and the appropriate constraints
of a retrofit project in an existing facility
while minimizing energy consumption,
operating costs and future capital
improvements.
The City has provided information to
the EPA representing that there are
currently no fine pore diffusers of
comparable quality available from a
domestic manufacturer to meet its
specifications.
Based on additional research by EPA’s
consulting contractor (Cadmus), and to
the best of the Region’s knowledge at
this time, there does not appear to be
other fine pore diffusers available to
meet the City’s specifications.
Furthermore, the purpose of the
ARRA provisions was to stimulate
economic recovery by funding current
infrastructure construction, not to delay
projects that are already shovel ready by
requiring entities, like the City, to revise
their design and potentially choose a
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:34 Feb 02, 2010
Jkt 220001
more costly and less efficient project.
The imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects eligible
for CWSRF assistance would result in
unreasonable delay and thus displace
the ‘‘shovel ready’’ status for this project.
To further delay construction is in
direct conflict with the most
fundamental economic purposes of
ARRA; to create or retain jobs.
The Grants & Strategic Planning Unit
has reviewed this waiver request and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the City is
sufficient to meet the following criteria
listed under Section 1605(b), 2 CFR
176.60–176.170, and in the April 28,
2009, Implementation of Buy American
provisions of Public Law 111–5, the
‘‘American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009’’ Memorandum: Iron, steel,
and the manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality.
The basis for this project waiver is the
authorization provided in Section
1605(b)(2), due to the lack of production
of this product in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality
in order to meet the City’s design
specifications. The March 31, 2009
Delegation of Authority Memorandum
provided Regional Administrators with
the authority to issue exceptions to
Section 1605 of ARRA within the
geographic boundaries of their
respective regions and with respect to
requests by individual grant recipients.
Having established both a proper basis
to specify the particular good required
for this project, and that this
manufactured good was not available
from a producer in the United States,
the City is hereby granted a waiver from
the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for
the purchase of Aerostrip® Fine Pore
Diffusers supplied by Treatment
Equipment Company in Bellevue,
Washington and manufactured in
Austria as specified in the City’s request
of November 6, 2009. This
supplementary information constitutes
the detailed written justification
required by Section 1605(c) for waivers
based on a finding under subsection (b).
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section 1605.
Dated: December 21, 2009.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA, Region
10.
[FR Doc. 2010–2255 Filed 2–2–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
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5589
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9109–1]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office;
Request for Public Nominations of
Experts To Conduct a Peer Review of
EPA’s Draft Document ‘‘An Advisory
Value for Conductivity Using Field
Data: An Adaptation of the U.S. EPA’s
Standard Methodology for Deriving
Water Quality Criteria’’
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Request for additional public
nominations.
SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office is seeking
public nomination of experts to conduct
a peer review of EPA’s draft document
‘‘An Advisory Value for Conductivity
using Field Data: An Adaptation of the
U.S. EPA’s Standard Methodology for
Deriving Water Quality Criteria’’
DATES: Nominations should be
submitted by February 17, 2010 per the
instructions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any
member of the public wishing further
information regarding this request for
nominations may contact Mr. Edward
Hanlon, Designated Federal Officer
(DFO), SAB Staff Office, by telephone/
voice mail at (202) 343–9946; by fax at
(202) 233–0643 or via email at
hanlon.edward@epa.gov. General
information concerning the EPA Science
Advisory Board can be found at the EPA
SAB Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/
sab. Any inquiry regarding EPA’s Office
of Research and Development (ORD)
draft document entitled ‘‘An Advisory
Value for Conductivity using Field Data:
An Adaptation of the U.S. EPA’s
Standard Methodology for Deriving
Water Quality Criteria’’ should be
directed to Dr. Michael Slimak, ORD’s
Associate Director of Ecology, National
Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA), who may be contacted via
telephone at (703) 347–8524 or by email at slimak.michael@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Recent published
scientific information indicates that
discharges from mountaintop mining
and valley-fill operations in Southern
Appalachia may be linked to degraded
water quality and adverse impacts on
in-stream biota. Discharges from surface
coal mining, valley-fills and associated
operations are regulated under the Clean
Water Act (CWA) and under the Surface
Mining Control and Reclamation Act of
1977 (SMCRA). Under the CWA,
discharges from mountaintop mining
E:\FR\FM\03FEN1.SGM
03FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5588-5589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2255]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9109-3]
Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to the City of Richland (the City), WA for the Purchase of
Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore [Bubble] Diffusers Manufactured Outside of the
United States Under the Section 1605 Waiver Authority Based on the
Conclusion That Iron, Steel, and the Relevant Manufactured Goods Are
Not Produced in the United States in Sufficient and Reasonably
Available Quantities and of a Satisfactory Quality
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional Administrator of EPA Region 10, is hereby
granting a waiver of the Buy America requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality] to the City for the purchase
of Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore Diffusers supplied by Treatment Equipment
Company in Bellevue, Washington and manufactured in Austria. This is a
project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified
product for the ARRA project being proposed. Any other ARRA recipient
that wishes to use the same product must apply for a separate waiver
based on project specific circumstances. The applicant indicates that
Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore Diffusers are the only feasible equipment to
retrofit Richland's existing Waste Water Treatment Facility aeration
basins. The Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore Diffusers are only manufactured in
Austria. No other fine pore diffusers are available or capable of
meeting the aeration process design requirements. The Acting Regional
Administrator is making this determination based on the review and
recommendations of the Grants & Strategic Planning Unit. The City has
provided sufficient documentation to support their request.
DATES: Effective Date: December 16, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Fiedorczyk, CWSRF ARRA Program
Analyst, Grants & Strategic Planning Unit, Office of Water & Watersheds
(OWW), (206) 553-0506, U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW-137), 1200 Sixth Avenue,
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), the EPA hereby provides
notice that it is granting a project waiver of the requirements of
Section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American requirements, to
the City for the acquisition of Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore Diffusers
supplied by Treatment Equipment Company in Bellevue, Washington and
manufactured in Austria. The applicant indicates that Aerostrip[reg]
Fine Pore Diffusers are the only feasible equipment to retrofit
Richland's existing Waste Water Treatment Facility aeration basins. The
Aerostrip[reg] Fine Pore Diffusers are only manufactured in Austria. No
other fine pore diffusers are available or capable of meeting the
aeration process design requirements. Section 1605 of the ARRA requires
that none of the appropriated funds may be used for the construction,
alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work
unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the
project is produced in the United States unless a waiver is provided to
the recipient by EPA. A waiver may be provided if EPA determines that
(1) Applying these requirements would be inconsistent with public
interest; (2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of iron,
steel, and the relevant manufactured goods produced in the United
States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25
percent.
This ARRA-funded project involves upgrading the aeration system in
one of the Waste Water Treatment Facility's existing aeration basins,
AB2 (replacement of an existing mechanical aeration system with a fine
bubble strip membrane diffuser aeration system) and installation of
additional fine bubble strip membrane aeration diffusers in the
facility's other existing aeration basin, AB1. This project will thus
complete the facility's aeration system upgrade originally designed
(using proprietary strip membrane diffusers) to replace the mechanical
aeration systems in the facility's two aeration basins. Important
objectives of the project's improvements are to reduce energy
consumption by more than 70% and reduce the discharge of suspended
solids, biochemical oxygen demand and nitrogen into the Columbia River.
Further requirements of the project dictated by the constraints of the
existing facility include (1) Retrofit installation in the existing
sloped wall basins, (2) compatibility with the aeration diffusers
installed in a previous system upgrade, and (3) limiting the size of
the associated aeration system blower upgrade to the available capacity
of the facility's existing electrical system infrastructure. The
objectives described above reflect appropriate and desirable
performance upgrades central to the function of the facility, and are a
justifiable basis for specifications to achieve those objectives.
Similarly, the requirements for compatibility with various features of
the existing facility are justified as appropriate and necessary
specifications for a retrofit project.
The applicant states that the engineer for the original project
design evaluated fine bubble diffusers available from four
manufacturers, and concluded that the Aerostrip[reg] diffusers were the
best selection for the project because:
[ballot] The project would require smaller aeration blowers since
the Aerostrip[reg] diffusers:
[cir] Generate smaller bubbles (creating a higher oxygen transfer
surface area and efficiency).
[cir] Operate at lower air flow per surface area to provide the
required dissolved oxygen concentration to the wastewater under
aeration.
[cir] Use lower minimum air flow to open the pores of the
diffuser.
[ballot] The smaller aeration blower requirement resulting from the
use of the Aerostrip[reg] diffusers allows the blower equipment to be
implemented without requiring an upgrade to the facility's electrical
power system.
[[Page 5589]]
[ballot] The strip configuration of the Aerostrip[reg] diffusers
(available in several dimensional configurations) is compatible with
physical retrofit requirements of the project (i.e., some diffusers
require installation on sloped walls of the existing aeration basins).
Information provided by the applicant also indicates that the
Aerostrip[reg] diffuser is preferable for the project because:
[ballot] It is compatible with the aeration diffuser upgrade
previously implemented in AB1 (which will allow for symmetrical flow/
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) loading to the two aeration basins,
simplifying the operation of the treatment plant).
[ballot] It will provide the requisite aeration capacity for the
upgrade project within the facility's existing two aeration basins
(i.e., use of an alternate fine bubble diffuser would require the
design and construction of a third aeration basin to provide the
required aeration capacity for the design BOD loading).
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ Memorandum, Implementation of Buy
American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the ``American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009'', defines ``reasonably available quantity''
as the quantity of iron, steel, or relevant manufactured good is
available or will be available at the time needed and place needed, and
in the proper form or specification as specified in the project plans
and design. The City has incorporated specific technical design
features for the proposed project based on the performance
characteristics of the Aerostrip[reg] diffusers to meet the highest
flow and loading demands of the Richland Waste Water Treatment Facility
and the appropriate constraints of a retrofit project in an existing
facility while minimizing energy consumption, operating costs and
future capital improvements.
The City has provided information to the EPA representing that
there are currently no fine pore diffusers of comparable quality
available from a domestic manufacturer to meet its specifications.
Based on additional research by EPA's consulting contractor
(Cadmus), and to the best of the Region's knowledge at this time, there
does not appear to be other fine pore diffusers available to meet the
City's specifications.
Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA provisions was to stimulate
economic recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not
to delay projects that are already shovel ready by requiring entities,
like the City, to revise their design and potentially choose a more
costly and less efficient project. The imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects eligible for CWSRF assistance would
result in unreasonable delay and thus displace the ``shovel ready''
status for this project. To further delay construction is in direct
conflict with the most fundamental economic purposes of ARRA; to create
or retain jobs.
The Grants & Strategic Planning Unit has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by the City is sufficient to meet the following criteria listed under
Section 1605(b), 2 CFR 176.60-176.170, and in the April 28, 2009,
Implementation of Buy American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the
``American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009'' Memorandum: Iron,
steel, and the manufactured goods are not produced in the United States
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality.
The basis for this project waiver is the authorization provided in
Section 1605(b)(2), due to the lack of production of this product in
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and
of a satisfactory quality in order to meet the City's design
specifications. The March 31, 2009 Delegation of Authority Memorandum
provided Regional Administrators with the authority to issue exceptions
to Section 1605 of ARRA within the geographic boundaries of their
respective regions and with respect to requests by individual grant
recipients. Having established both a proper basis to specify the
particular good required for this project, and that this manufactured
good was not available from a producer in the United States, the City
is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of Aerostrip[reg]
Fine Pore Diffusers supplied by Treatment Equipment Company in
Bellevue, Washington and manufactured in Austria as specified in the
City's request of November 6, 2009. This supplementary information
constitutes the detailed written justification required by Section
1605(c) for waivers based on a finding under subsection (b).
Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.
Dated: December 21, 2009.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2010-2255 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
