Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District, New Hampshire, 44361-44363 [E9-20798]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices
significant weaknesses in the
justification provided. The report
confirmed the waiver applicants’ claim
that NSF Standard 55 Class A UV
disinfection equipment of the size
specified are not available from a
domestic manufacturer.
The purpose of the ARRA is to
stimulate economic recovery in part by
funding current infrastructure
construction, not to delay projects that
are ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring utilities,
such as these Water Systems, to revise
their standards and specifications and to
start the bidding process again. The
imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects otherwise
eligible for State Revolving Fund
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 a fundamental economic purpose
of the ARRA, which is to create or retain
jobs. The construction must be
completed prior to September 1, 2009
when the students return for the new
school year.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU)
has reviewed these waiver requests and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the Bristol
Family Center in Bristol, Vermont, the
Kids in the Country School in Dover,
Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union
High School in Brandon, Vermont is
sufficient to meet the criteria listed
under Section 1605(b) of the ARRA 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 these project waivers is
the authorization provided in Section
1605(b)(2) of the ARRA. 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
Systems’ technical specifications and
requirements, a waiver from the Buy
American requirement is justified.
The March 31, 2009 Delegation of
Authority Memorandum provided
Regional Administrators with the
authority to issue exceptions to Section
1605 of the 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
these projects, and that this
manufactured good was not available
VerDate Nov<24>2008
21:38 Aug 27, 2009
Jkt 217001
from a producer in the United States,
the Bristol Family Center Water System,
Kids in the Country Water System, and
Otter Valley Union High School Water
System are hereby granted waivers from
the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for
the purchase of the specified UV
disinfection equipment using ARRA
funds as documented in the Systems’
requests of June 18, 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: August 19, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region I, New
England.
[FR Doc. E9–20800 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8950–7]
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of
Section 1605 (Buy American) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Plymouth
Village Water & Sewer District, New
Hampshire
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The EPA 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 Plymouth
Village Water & Sewer District, New
Hampshire (‘‘District’’) for the purchase
of a foreign manufactured rotary sludge
dewatering press. 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 District’s
proposed wastewater treatment facility
improvements will include a
replacement of the existing belt filter
press for sludge generated at the plant.
Based upon information submitted by
the District and its consultants, it was
determined that a 6 channel rotary press
sludge dewatering unit, manufactured
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
44361
by Fournier Industries of Quebec,
Canada, will meet the District’s design
and performance specifications. The
Acting Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the
review and recommendations of the
Municipal Assistance Unit. The District
through its design engineer, has
provided sufficient documentation to
support their request. The Assistant
Administrator of the Office of
Administration and Resources
Management has concurred on this
decision to make an exception to
Section 1605 of ARRA. This action
permits the purchase of a 6 channel
rotary press sludge dewatering unit,
manufactured by Fournier Industries, by
the District, as specified in its June 26,
2009 waiver request, as part of the
improvements to the wastewater
treatment facility.
DATES: Effective Date: August 17, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mark Spinale, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918–1547, or Katie Connors,
Environmental Engineer, (617) 918–
1658, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU),
Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP),
U.S. EPA, One Congress Street, CMU,
Boston, MA 02114.
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 Sections 1605(b)(2) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the Plymouth Village
Water & Sewer District (‘‘District’’), New
Hampshire for the purchase of a 6
channel rotary press sludge dewatering
unit, manufactured by Fournier
Industries of Quebec, Canada. It has
been determined that this rotary press
meets the District’s technical
specifications for design and
performance of a sludge dewatering unit
as part of its wastewater treatment plant
improvement project. Based on the
information provided by the applicant,
there are no domestically manufactured
rotary sludge presses at this time that
meet the specific design criteria
established for this unit in the District’s
project.
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, or unless a waiver is
provided to the recipient by the head of
the appropriate agency, here the EPA. A
waiver may be provided if EPA
determines that (1) applying these
requirements would be inconsistent
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28AUN1
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
44362
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices
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.
The District has requested a waiver
from the Buy American Provision for
the purchase of a foreign made rotary
press sludge dewatering unit as part of
its wastewater treatment plant
improvement project. The purchase of
the new rotary sludge press is intended
to replace the existing belt filter press
which is approaching the end of its
useful life. The estimated cost of the
overall improvements to the District’s
wastewater treatment plant is estimated
at $5.2 million, of which the cost of the
foreign made rotary sludge press unit is
priced at $330,000.
The consulting engineers for the
District set forth the following key
criteria for evaluating sludge dewatering
technologies. The various technologies
were evaluated based on the ability to:
• Maintain the current annual average
dewatered sludge cake solids of
approximately 25% or higher.
• Improve environmental working
conditions in the dewatering area by
minimizing worker exposure to odorous
and hazardous gases released from the
sludge as well as exposure to bioaerosols and pathogens. Enclosed
dewatering equipment will achieve this
goal.
• Automatically adjust for variation
in feed solids concentrations and sludge
mix ratios to provide consistent and
optimum cake solids.
• Allow for unattended, automatic
operation freeing up operators for other
needed tasks.
• Keep the dewatering operation as
simple as possible while still
maintaining optimum dewatering
performance.
• Allow for some degree of backup
capacity during periods of equipment
failure and routine maintenance.
• Equipment must have a proven
track record of low annual operation
and maintenance costs and reliability.
As part of the review of potentially
viable sludge dewatering units, four
technologies were considered by the
District and their consultants: (1) Rotary
press; (2) screw press; (3) centrifuge;
and (4) belt filter press. Of the four
technologies, it was determined that the
rotary sludge press is the desired
technology because it ranked the highest
in terms of meeting the key criteria
highlighted above. The rotary press
VerDate Nov<24>2008
21:38 Aug 27, 2009
Jkt 217001
option, for example, has one of the
lowest maintenance requirements due to
the slow rotational speed, and has one
of the highest degrees of redundancy.
Low rotational speeds results in less
susceptibility to wear from high grit
sludge.
The rotary press would have six
parallel channels on-line with the
ability to take one or two channels offline for maintenance without having to
disrupt treatment operation. The rotary
press option also represented the lowest
capital cost option that met the District’s
goals and current and future throughput
capacity of 220 pounds/hour per
channel for a total capacity of 1,100
pounds per hour, with one additional
channel available for redundancy
purposes.
The technical memorandum prepared
by the District’s consulting engineers
indicates that the rotary press
technology has been use in the
Canadian market for a number of years.
The technical memorandum further
indicates that of the other manufacturers
that have similar dewatering units,
Fournier Industries is considered the
only rotary press manufacturer that
meets the design specifications for this
proposed project. The project
specification requires that ‘‘the rotary
press shall have the capacity to have 6
channels mounted on the drive shaft
with 3 on each side. The sludge shall be
continuous feed, and the unit built to
operate continuously.’’ The
specifications also state that ‘‘the
dewatering equipment shall be capable
of hydraulic flow capacity range of 5 to
15 gpm per channel, or for a 6 channel
unit, 30 to 90 gpm of 3.0 to 5.0%
thickened sludge.’’
Based on the review of available
information, there is only one domestic
manufacturer of similar rotary type
presses for municipal sludge. However,
this manufacturer only produces 1 and
2 channel rotary fan presses and
currently cannot meet the design
specifications required by this proposed
project.
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’ ’’
(‘‘Memorandum’’), 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 same Memorandum
defines ‘‘satisfactory quality’’ as ‘‘the
quality of steel, iron or manufactured
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
good specified in the project plans and
designs.’’
The District has requested a waiver of
the ARRA Buy American provisions on
the basis of unavailability of a U.S.
manufactured product that will meet the
design and performance criteria
specified for this sludge dewatering
unit. The evaluation of all of the
submitted documentation by EPA’s
technical review team supports the
District’s claim that at this time no
domestic manufacturer can provide a
suitable rotary sludge dewatering press
which meets the specifications for this
unit. Based on the information
available, and to the best of our
knowledge, there do not appear to be
other rotary press sludge dewatering
units manufactured in the United States
that are available at this time to meet the
District’s design specifications and
performance requirements for this unit.
Furthermore, the purpose of the
ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery
by funding current infrastructure
construction, not to delay projects that
are already ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring
SRF eligible recipients such as the
District to revise their design standards
and specifications. The imposition of
ARRA Buy American requirements in
this case would result in unreasonable
delay for this project. To delay this
construction would directly conflict
with a fundamental economic purpose
of ARRA, which is to create or retain
jobs.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU)
has reviewed this waiver request and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the District
established both a proper basis to
specify the particular good required and
that this manufactured good was not
available from a producer in the United
States able to meet the design
specifications for the proposed project.
The information provided is sufficient
to meet the following criteria listed
under Section 1605(b) of the ARRA and
in the April 28, 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 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,
E:\FR\FM\28AUN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices
the District is hereby granted a waiver
from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5.
This waiver permits use of ARRA funds
for the purchase of the specified
Fournier Industries 6 channel rotary
press sludge dewatering unit
documented in District’s waiver request
submittal dated June 26, 2009 as part of
its wastewater treatment plant
improvements. 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: August 17, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. E9–20798 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE
UNITED STATES
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Notice of Open Meeting of the
Advisory Committee of the ExportImport Bank of the United States (ExIm Bank)
SUMMARY: The Advisory Committee was
established by Public Law 98–181,
November 30, 1983, to advise the
Export-Import Bank on its programs and
to provide comments for inclusion in
the reports of the Export-Import Bank of
the United States to Congress.
Time and Place: Wednesday,
September 9, 2009 from 9:30 a.m. to 12
p.m. The meeting will be held at Ex-Im
Bank in the Main Conference Room
1143, 811 Vermont Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20571.
Agenda: Agenda items include a short
summary of the Bank’s recent activities,
plus reports from the two
Subcommittees of the 2009 Advisory
Committee members.
Public Participation: The meeting will
be open to public participation, and the
last 10 minutes will be set aside for oral
questions or comments. Members of the
public may also file written statement(s)
before or after the meeting. If you plan
to attend, a photo ID must be presented
at the guard’s desk as part of the
clearance process into the building, and
you may contact Susan Houser to be
placed on an attendee list. If any person
wishes auxiliary aids (such as a sign
language interpreter) or other special
accommodations, please contact, prior
to September 5, 2009, Susan Houser,
Room 1273, 811 Vermont Avenue, NW.,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
21:38 Aug 27, 2009
Jkt 217001
Washington, DC 20571, Phone: (202)
565–3232.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Houser, Room 1273, 811 Vermont
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20571, (202)
565–3232.
Jonathan Cordone, Sr.,
Vice President and General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9–20707 Filed 8–27–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6690–01–M
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Notice of information
collections to be submitted to OMB for
review and approval under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the FDIC hereby gives
notice that it plans to submit to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a request for OMB review and
renewal of the collections of
information described below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before September 28, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are
invited to submit written comments to
the FDIC by any of the following
methods:
• https://www.FDIC.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/notices.html.
• E-mail: comments@fdic.gov Include
the name of the collection in the subject
line of the message.
• Mail: Leneta G. Gregorie (202–898–
3719), Counsel, Room F–1064, Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20429.
• Hand Delivery: Comments may be
hand-delivered to the guard station at
the rear of the 17th Street Building
(located on F Street), on business days
between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
All comments should refer to the
relevant OMB control number. A copy
of the comments may also be submitted
to the OMB desk officer for the FDIC:
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, New Executive Office Building,
Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leneta Gregorie, at the address
identified above.
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
44363
Proposal
to renew the following currently
approved collections of information:
1. Title: Application Pursuant to
section 19 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act.
OMB Number: 3064–0018.
Form Number: FDIC 6710/07.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Affected Public: Insured depository
institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
22.
Estimated Time per Response: 16
hours.
Total Annual Burden: 352 hours.
General Description of Collection:
Section 19 of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Act (FDI), 12 U.S.C. 1829,
requires the FDIC’s consent prior to any
participation in the affairs of an insured
depository institution by a person who
has been convicted of crimes involving
dishonesty or breach of trust. To obtain
that consent, an insured depository
institution must submit an application
to the FDIC for approval on Form FDIC
6710/07.
2. Title: Procedures for Monitoring
Bank Protection Act Compliance.
OMB Number: 3064–0095.
Form Numbers: None.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Affected Public: Insured state
nonmember banks.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
5,110.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.5
hours.
Total Annual Burden: 2,555 hours.
General Description of Collection: The
Bank Protection Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C.
1881–1884) requires each Federal
supervisory agency to promulgate rules
establishing minimum standards for
security devices and procedures to
discourage financial crime and to assist
in the identification of persons who
commit such crimes. To avoid the
necessity of constantly updating a
technology-based regulation, the FDIC
takes a flexible approach to
implementing this statute. It requires
each insured nonmember bank to
designate a security officer who will
administer a written security program.
The security program shall: (1) Establish
procedures for opening and closing for
business and for safekeeping valuables;
(2) establish procedures that will assist
in identifying persons committing
crimes against the bank; (3) provide for
initial and periodic training of
employees in their responsibilities
under the security program; and (4)
provide for selecting, testing, operating
and maintaining security devices as
prescribed in the regulation. In addition,
the FDIC requires the security officer to
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\28AUN1.SGM
28AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 166 (Friday, August 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44361-44363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20798]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8950-7]
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy
American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
to the Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District, New Hampshire
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA 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 Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District, New Hampshire
(``District'') for the purchase of a foreign manufactured rotary sludge
dewatering press. 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
District's proposed wastewater treatment facility improvements will
include a replacement of the existing belt filter press for sludge
generated at the plant. Based upon information submitted by the
District and its consultants, it was determined that a 6 channel rotary
press sludge dewatering unit, manufactured by Fournier Industries of
Quebec, Canada, will meet the District's design and performance
specifications. The Acting Regional Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and recommendations of the Municipal
Assistance Unit. The District through its design engineer, has provided
sufficient documentation to support their request. The Assistant
Administrator of the Office of Administration and Resources Management
has concurred on this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of
ARRA. This action permits the purchase of a 6 channel rotary press
sludge dewatering unit, manufactured by Fournier Industries, by the
District, as specified in its June 26, 2009 waiver request, as part of
the improvements to the wastewater treatment facility.
DATES: Effective Date: August 17, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Spinale, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918-1547, or Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, (617) 918-
1658, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), Office of Ecosystem Protection
(OEP), U.S. EPA, One Congress Street, CMU, Boston, MA 02114.
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 Sections 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, to the Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District
(``District''), New Hampshire for the purchase of a 6 channel rotary
press sludge dewatering unit, manufactured by Fournier Industries of
Quebec, Canada. It has been determined that this rotary press meets the
District's technical specifications for design and performance of a
sludge dewatering unit as part of its wastewater treatment plant
improvement project. Based on the information provided by the
applicant, there are no domestically manufactured rotary sludge presses
at this time that meet the specific design criteria established for
this unit in the District's project.
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, or unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by the
head of the appropriate agency, here the EPA. A waiver may be provided
if EPA determines that (1) applying these requirements would be
inconsistent
[[Page 44362]]
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.
The District has requested a waiver from the Buy American Provision
for the purchase of a foreign made rotary press sludge dewatering unit
as part of its wastewater treatment plant improvement project. The
purchase of the new rotary sludge press is intended to replace the
existing belt filter press which is approaching the end of its useful
life. The estimated cost of the overall improvements to the District's
wastewater treatment plant is estimated at $5.2 million, of which the
cost of the foreign made rotary sludge press unit is priced at
$330,000.
The consulting engineers for the District set forth the following
key criteria for evaluating sludge dewatering technologies. The various
technologies were evaluated based on the ability to:
Maintain the current annual average dewatered sludge cake
solids of approximately 25% or higher.
Improve environmental working conditions in the dewatering
area by minimizing worker exposure to odorous and hazardous gases
released from the sludge as well as exposure to bio-aerosols and
pathogens. Enclosed dewatering equipment will achieve this goal.
Automatically adjust for variation in feed solids
concentrations and sludge mix ratios to provide consistent and optimum
cake solids.
Allow for unattended, automatic operation freeing up
operators for other needed tasks.
Keep the dewatering operation as simple as possible while
still maintaining optimum dewatering performance.
Allow for some degree of backup capacity during periods of
equipment failure and routine maintenance.
Equipment must have a proven track record of low annual
operation and maintenance costs and reliability.
As part of the review of potentially viable sludge dewatering
units, four technologies were considered by the District and their
consultants: (1) Rotary press; (2) screw press; (3) centrifuge; and (4)
belt filter press. Of the four technologies, it was determined that the
rotary sludge press is the desired technology because it ranked the
highest in terms of meeting the key criteria highlighted above. The
rotary press option, for example, has one of the lowest maintenance
requirements due to the slow rotational speed, and has one of the
highest degrees of redundancy. Low rotational speeds results in less
susceptibility to wear from high grit sludge.
The rotary press would have six parallel channels on-line with the
ability to take one or two channels off-line for maintenance without
having to disrupt treatment operation. The rotary press option also
represented the lowest capital cost option that met the District's
goals and current and future throughput capacity of 220 pounds/hour per
channel for a total capacity of 1,100 pounds per hour, with one
additional channel available for redundancy purposes.
The technical memorandum prepared by the District's consulting
engineers indicates that the rotary press technology has been use in
the Canadian market for a number of years. The technical memorandum
further indicates that of the other manufacturers that have similar
dewatering units, Fournier Industries is considered the only rotary
press manufacturer that meets the design specifications for this
proposed project. The project specification requires that ``the rotary
press shall have the capacity to have 6 channels mounted on the drive
shaft with 3 on each side. The sludge shall be continuous feed, and the
unit built to operate continuously.'' The specifications also state
that ``the dewatering equipment shall be capable of hydraulic flow
capacity range of 5 to 15 gpm per channel, or for a 6 channel unit, 30
to 90 gpm of 3.0 to 5.0% thickened sludge.''
Based on the review of available information, there is only one
domestic manufacturer of similar rotary type presses for municipal
sludge. However, this manufacturer only produces 1 and 2 channel rotary
fan presses and currently cannot meet the design specifications
required by this proposed project.
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' '' (``Memorandum''), 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 same Memorandum defines
``satisfactory quality'' as ``the quality of steel, iron or
manufactured good specified in the project plans and designs.''
The District has requested a waiver of the ARRA Buy American
provisions on the basis of unavailability of a U.S. manufactured
product that will meet the design and performance criteria specified
for this sludge dewatering unit. The evaluation of all of the submitted
documentation by EPA's technical review team supports the District's
claim that at this time no domestic manufacturer can provide a suitable
rotary sludge dewatering press which meets the specifications for this
unit. Based on the information available, and to the best of our
knowledge, there do not appear to be other rotary press sludge
dewatering units manufactured in the United States that are available
at this time to meet the District's design specifications and
performance requirements for this unit.
Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic
recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay
projects that are already ``shovel ready'' by requiring SRF eligible
recipients such as the District to revise their design standards and
specifications. The imposition of ARRA Buy American requirements in
this case would result in unreasonable delay for this project. To delay
this construction would directly conflict with a fundamental economic
purpose of ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by the District established both a proper basis to specify the
particular good required and that this manufactured good was not
available from a producer in the United States able to meet the design
specifications for the proposed project. The information provided is
sufficient to meet the following criteria listed under Section 1605(b)
of the ARRA and in the April 28, 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 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,
[[Page 44363]]
the District is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American
requirements of Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5. This waiver
permits use of ARRA funds for the purchase of the specified Fournier
Industries 6 channel rotary press sludge dewatering unit documented in
District's waiver request submittal dated June 26, 2009 as part of its
wastewater treatment plant improvements. 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: August 17, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. E9-20798 Filed 8-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
