Notice of Nationwide Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy America Requirement) of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for Projects that Solicited Bids on or after October 1, 2008 and prior to February 17, 2009 that are Financed through the Clean or Drinking Water State Revolving Funds using Assistance Provided under ARRA, 26397-26398 [E9-12793]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 / Notices
of the methods should be directed to the
appropriate applicant.
Linda S. Sheldon,
Acting Director, National Exposure Research
Laboratory.
[FR Doc. E9–12789 Filed 6–1–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
disabilities, please contact Jennifer
Peyser at (202) 965–6215 or
jpeyser@RESOLV.org. To request
accommodation of a disability, please
contact Jennifer Peyser at least 10 days
prior to the meeting to give EPA as
much time as possible to process your
request.
Dated: May 22, 2009.
Regina Langton,
Designated Federal Officer.
[FR Doc. E9–12794 Filed 6–1–09; 8:45 am]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8913–1]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
NACEPT Subcommittee on Promoting
Environmental Stewardship
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
[FRL–8911–9]
SUMMARY: Under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, Public Law 92–463,
EPA gives notice of a meeting of the
NACEPT Subcommittee on Promoting
Environmental Stewardship.
The purpose of the proposed
Subcommittee on Promoting
Environmental Stewardship (SPES) of
the National Advisory Council for
Environmental Policy and Technology
(NACEPT) will be to advise the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
on how to promote broad, organizationwide environmental stewardship
practices in the regulated community
and other sectors, as appropriate, in
order to enhance human health and
environmental protection. A copy of the
meeting agenda will be posted at
https://www.epa.gov/ocem/.
DATES: The NACEPT Subcommittee on
Promoting Environmental Stewardship
will hold an open meeting on June 30,
2009 (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) and July 1, 2009 (9
a.m.–4:30 p.m.) Eastern.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs,
One Potomac Yard Conference Center
(1st Floor), 2777 S. Crystal Dr.,
Arlington, VA 22202. The meeting is
open to the public, with limited seating
on a first-come, first-served basis.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regina Langton, Designated Federal
Officer, langton.regina@epa.gov, 202–
566–2178, U.S. EPA Office of Policy,
Economics, and Innovation (MC1807T),
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Requests
to make brief oral comments or provide
written statements to the SPES should
be sent to Jennifer Peyser at (202) 965–
6215 or jpeyser@RESOLV.org. All
requests must be received no later than
June 16, 2009.
Meeting Access: For information on
access or services for individuals with
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:43 Jun 01, 2009
Jkt 217001
Notice of Nationwide Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy America Requirement) of
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) for Projects that
Solicited Bids on or after October 1,
2008 and prior to February 17, 2009
that are Financed through the Clean or
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
using Assistance Provided under
ARRA
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
The EPA is hereby granting a
nationwide waiver of the Buy America
requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section
1605(b)(1) (public interest waiver) for
eligible projects that solicited bids on or
after October 1, 2008, and prior to
February 17, 2009, the date of
enactment of ARRA, and that did so in
reasonable and prudent, specific
anticipation of ARRA funding, or any
other source of timely funding. This
action permits the use of non-domestic
iron, steel, and manufactured goods in
such projects funded by ARRA that may
otherwise be prohibited under section
1605(a).
SUMMARY:
DATES:
Effective Date: May 22, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jordan Dorfman, Attorney-Advisor,
Office of Wastewater Management, (202)
564–0614, or Philip Metzger, AttorneyAdvisor, Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water, (202) 564–3776,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c),
the EPA hereby provides notice that it
is granting a nationwide waiver of the
requirements of section 1605(a) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
26397
requirements, for eligible projects for
which a Clean or Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund will conclude or has
concluded an assistance agreement
using ARRA funds for projects that
solicited bids on or after October 1, 2008
and prior to February 17, 2009.
The basis for the nationwide waiver is
the requirement in the SRF
appropriations heading of ARRA Title
VII for giving priority to those projects
that are ready to proceed to construction
within 12 months of the enactment of
ARRA, as follows:
That, notwithstanding the priority rankings
they would otherwise receive under each
program, priority for funds appropriated
herein shall be given to projects on a State
priority list that are ready to proceed to
construction within 12 months of the date of
enactment of this Act.
This waiver also relies on the
requirement in the SRF appropriations
heading that all funds must be under
contract or construction within 12
months of the enactment of ARRA, as
follows:
That the Administrator shall reallocate
funds appropriated herein for the Clean and
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
(Revolving Funds) that are not under contract
or construction within 12 months of the date
of enactment of this Act.
As authorized by the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act and the Safe
Drinking Water Act, base State programs
(not appropriated under ARRA) are not
required to meet a deadline for having
appropriated funds under contract or
under construction. States are required
to commit funds appropriated to
projects within 1 year. Binding
commitments, in the context of the SRF
programs, are typically executed in the
form of loan agreements. Loan
agreements, however, do not carry a
particular statutory deadline for
assistance recipients to enter contracts
or to begin construction. For
appropriations under ARRA, however,
States are required to ensure that all
funds are under contract or construction
within 1 year of enactment of ARRA.
In order to meet the special
requirements authorized by ARRA, most
importantly the requirement to have all
funds under contract or construction
within 12 months of enactment, States
began the development of priority lists
and intended use plans (IUP) prior to,
and in anticipation of, passage of the
Act. Such advance planning was
considered crucial by both States and
EPA. EPA actively encouraged such
planning in anticipation of possible
deadlines for construction. Those States
that effectively planned for such an
eventuality took the additional step of
E:\FR\FM\02JNN1.SGM
02JNN1
26398
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 / Notices
encouraging potential assistance
recipients to begin the planning and
design phase of project construction,
and in some cases, actually solicit bids
on the plans and designs. Projects that
have solicited bids are in most cases
considered to be in a ready-to-proceed
category as among projects listed on
State IUPs. Under the exceptional
emphasis on expeditious construction of
ARRA’s SRF language quoted above,
States will generally give the highest
priority for ARRA SRF funding to
eligible projects that clearly qualify to
be in a ready-to-proceed category. This
statutory language also confirms the
appropriateness of proactive steps States
had taken to encourage SRF projects’
readiness for expeditious construction.
Moreover, the ARRA SRF language cited
in EPA’s nationwide waiver for
refinanced projects specified October 1,
2008 as the opening of the window
within which initiation of relevant
action can properly be considered done
‘‘in anticipation of ARRA’’ (74 FR
15722).
To be included under this waiver,
potential assistance recipients must
show a verifiable basis on which they
believed it was reasonable and prudent
to solicit bids for these projects prior to
concluding an assistance agreement
with the State SRF. Such verification
will show some objective basis under
which these actions were reasonably
and prudently undertaken in specific
anticipation of ARRA funding, or any
other source of timely funding. Such
action may include an affirmative
communication from a funding source,
such as a binding commitment, high
placement on a priority list, or other
indicative and verifiable
communication from an SRF or other
government funding source, or
regarding any affirmative steps taken to
secure private bond financing from an
appropriate industry entity. Any such
objective verification would show that
bid solicitations were undertaken
reasonably and prudently, in order to
fulfill Congress’ intent in passing ARRA
and in particular to create jobs and spur
economic recovery ‘‘by commencing
activities and expenditures as
expeditiously as possible’’ (See ARRA
Section 3(b)).
The imposition of ARRA’s Buy
American requirements on projects
eligible for SRF assistance whose
assistance applicants had solicited bids
on or after October 1, 2008 and prior to
February 17, 2009, the date when those
requirements were imposed, would
require the time-consuming rebidding of
those projects and potentially a
redesign. Specifically, those projects
that can show a reasonable and prudent
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:43 Jun 01, 2009
Jkt 217001
basis to solicit bids prior to the passage
of the ARRA would be harmed by the
imposition of these requirements post
bid solicitation. This imposition would
particularly conflict with the intentions
and objectives of the bases on which
those projects reasonably and prudently
solicited bids for project construction
prior to the passage of the ARRA: based
on an affirmative communication by a
State SRF program, or in order to meet
requirements set forth or identified by a
financing agency or source of funds in
order to ensure receipt of financing for
the project. This would clearly frustrate
Congress’ expressed intent for
expeditious construction of projects
supported by the State Revolving Funds
or that had otherwise made themselves
ready to proceed, and may imperil
portions of States’ ARRA funding if it
renders them unable to meet ARRA’s
stringent time requirements for the
entirety of their SRF appropriations.
These projects are most likely to
proceed to construction in a relatively
short period of time, thereby creating
jobs and stimulating the economy.
ARRA Section 1605(b)(1) authorized
the Administrator to waive the
requirements of Section 1605(a) in any
case or category of cases in which she
finds that applying subsection (a) would
be inconsistent with the public interest.
Therefore, for the foregoing reasons,
applying Buy America requirements to
projects that reasonably and prudently
solicited bids prior to the passage of
ARRA in specific anticipation of ARRA
funding, or any other source of timely
funding, would be inconsistent with the
public interest.
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section 1605.
Dated: May 22, 2009.
Michael Shapiro,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. E9–12793 Filed 6–1–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8911–8]
Notice of Nationwide Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) for de minimis
Incidental Components of Projects
Financed Through the Clean or
Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
Using Assistance Provided Under
ARRA
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a
nationwide waiver of the Buy American
requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section
1605(b)(1) (public interest waiver) for de
minimis incidental components of
eligible water infrastructure projects
funded by ARRA. This action permits
the use of non-domestic iron, steel, and
manufactured goods when they occur in
de minimis incidental components of
such projects funded by ARRA that may
otherwise be prohibited under section
1605(a).
Effective Date: May 22, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jordan Dorfman, Attorney-Advisor,
Office of Wastewater Management, (202)
564–0614, or Philip Metzger, AttorneyAdvisor, Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water, (202) 564–3776,
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c),
the EPA hereby provides notice that it
is granting a nationwide waiver of the
requirements of section 1605(a) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, allowing the use of nondomestic iron, steel, and manufactured
goods when they occur in de minimis
incidental components of eligible
projects for which a Clean or Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) has
concluded or will conclude an
assistance agreement using ARRA
funds, where such components
comprise no more than 5 percent of the
total cost of the materials used in and
incorporated into a project.
Among the General Provisions of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA), Section 1605(a)
requires that ‘‘all of the iron, steel, and
manufactured goods used in’’ a public
works project built with ARRA funds
must be produced in the United States,
unless the head of the respective
Federal department or agency
determines it necessary to waive this
requirement based on findings set forth
in Section 1605(b). In addition,
expeditious construction of SRF projects
is made a high priority by a provision
in the ARRA Title VII appropriations
heading for the SRFs, which states
‘‘[t]hat the Administrator shall
reallocate funds * * * where projects
are not under contract or construction
within 12 months of’’ ARRA enactment
(February 17, 2010). The finding
relevant to this waiver is that ‘‘applying
[ARRA’s Buy American requirement]
would be inconsistent with the public
interest’’ (1605(b)(1)).
DATES:
E:\FR\FM\02JNN1.SGM
02JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26397-26398]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-12793]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8911-9]
Notice of Nationwide Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy America
Requirement) of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
for Projects that Solicited Bids on or after October 1, 2008 and prior
to February 17, 2009 that are Financed through the Clean or Drinking
Water State Revolving Funds using Assistance Provided under ARRA
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a nationwide waiver of the Buy
America requirements of ARRA Section 1605 under the authority of
Section 1605(b)(1) (public interest waiver) for eligible projects that
solicited bids on or after October 1, 2008, and prior to February 17,
2009, the date of enactment of ARRA, and that did so in reasonable and
prudent, specific anticipation of ARRA funding, or any other source of
timely funding. This action permits the use of non-domestic iron,
steel, and manufactured goods in such projects funded by ARRA that may
otherwise be prohibited under section 1605(a).
DATES: Effective Date: May 22, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jordan Dorfman, Attorney-Advisor,
Office of Wastewater Management, (202) 564-0614, or Philip Metzger,
Attorney-Advisor, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, (202) 564-
3776, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20460.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), the
EPA hereby provides notice that it is granting a nationwide waiver of
the requirements of section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, for eligible projects for which a Clean or Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund will conclude or has concluded an assistance
agreement using ARRA funds for projects that solicited bids on or after
October 1, 2008 and prior to February 17, 2009.
The basis for the nationwide waiver is the requirement in the SRF
appropriations heading of ARRA Title VII for giving priority to those
projects that are ready to proceed to construction within 12 months of
the enactment of ARRA, as follows:
That, notwithstanding the priority rankings they would otherwise
receive under each program, priority for funds appropriated herein
shall be given to projects on a State priority list that are ready
to proceed to construction within 12 months of the date of enactment
of this Act.
This waiver also relies on the requirement in the SRF appropriations
heading that all funds must be under contract or construction within 12
months of the enactment of ARRA, as follows:
That the Administrator shall reallocate funds appropriated
herein for the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
(Revolving Funds) that are not under contract or construction within
12 months of the date of enactment of this Act.
As authorized by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the
Safe Drinking Water Act, base State programs (not appropriated under
ARRA) are not required to meet a deadline for having appropriated funds
under contract or under construction. States are required to commit
funds appropriated to projects within 1 year. Binding commitments, in
the context of the SRF programs, are typically executed in the form of
loan agreements. Loan agreements, however, do not carry a particular
statutory deadline for assistance recipients to enter contracts or to
begin construction. For appropriations under ARRA, however, States are
required to ensure that all funds are under contract or construction
within 1 year of enactment of ARRA.
In order to meet the special requirements authorized by ARRA, most
importantly the requirement to have all funds under contract or
construction within 12 months of enactment, States began the
development of priority lists and intended use plans (IUP) prior to,
and in anticipation of, passage of the Act. Such advance planning was
considered crucial by both States and EPA. EPA actively encouraged such
planning in anticipation of possible deadlines for construction. Those
States that effectively planned for such an eventuality took the
additional step of
[[Page 26398]]
encouraging potential assistance recipients to begin the planning and
design phase of project construction, and in some cases, actually
solicit bids on the plans and designs. Projects that have solicited
bids are in most cases considered to be in a ready-to-proceed category
as among projects listed on State IUPs. Under the exceptional emphasis
on expeditious construction of ARRA's SRF language quoted above, States
will generally give the highest priority for ARRA SRF funding to
eligible projects that clearly qualify to be in a ready-to-proceed
category. This statutory language also confirms the appropriateness of
proactive steps States had taken to encourage SRF projects' readiness
for expeditious construction. Moreover, the ARRA SRF language cited in
EPA's nationwide waiver for refinanced projects specified October 1,
2008 as the opening of the window within which initiation of relevant
action can properly be considered done ``in anticipation of ARRA'' (74
FR 15722).
To be included under this waiver, potential assistance recipients
must show a verifiable basis on which they believed it was reasonable
and prudent to solicit bids for these projects prior to concluding an
assistance agreement with the State SRF. Such verification will show
some objective basis under which these actions were reasonably and
prudently undertaken in specific anticipation of ARRA funding, or any
other source of timely funding. Such action may include an affirmative
communication from a funding source, such as a binding commitment, high
placement on a priority list, or other indicative and verifiable
communication from an SRF or other government funding source, or
regarding any affirmative steps taken to secure private bond financing
from an appropriate industry entity. Any such objective verification
would show that bid solicitations were undertaken reasonably and
prudently, in order to fulfill Congress' intent in passing ARRA and in
particular to create jobs and spur economic recovery ``by commencing
activities and expenditures as expeditiously as possible'' (See ARRA
Section 3(b)).
The imposition of ARRA's Buy American requirements on projects
eligible for SRF assistance whose assistance applicants had solicited
bids on or after October 1, 2008 and prior to February 17, 2009, the
date when those requirements were imposed, would require the time-
consuming rebidding of those projects and potentially a redesign.
Specifically, those projects that can show a reasonable and prudent
basis to solicit bids prior to the passage of the ARRA would be harmed
by the imposition of these requirements post bid solicitation. This
imposition would particularly conflict with the intentions and
objectives of the bases on which those projects reasonably and
prudently solicited bids for project construction prior to the passage
of the ARRA: based on an affirmative communication by a State SRF
program, or in order to meet requirements set forth or identified by a
financing agency or source of funds in order to ensure receipt of
financing for the project. This would clearly frustrate Congress'
expressed intent for expeditious construction of projects supported by
the State Revolving Funds or that had otherwise made themselves ready
to proceed, and may imperil portions of States' ARRA funding if it
renders them unable to meet ARRA's stringent time requirements for the
entirety of their SRF appropriations. These projects are most likely to
proceed to construction in a relatively short period of time, thereby
creating jobs and stimulating the economy.
ARRA Section 1605(b)(1) authorized the Administrator to waive the
requirements of Section 1605(a) in any case or category of cases in
which she finds that applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with
the public interest. Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, applying Buy
America requirements to projects that reasonably and prudently
solicited bids prior to the passage of ARRA in specific anticipation of
ARRA funding, or any other source of timely funding, would be
inconsistent with the public interest.
Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.
Dated: May 22, 2009.
Michael Shapiro,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. E9-12793 Filed 6-1-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
