Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, VT, the Kids in the Country School Water System in Dover, VT, and the Otter Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, VT, 44360-44361 [E9-20800]
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44360
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 166 / Friday, August 28, 2009 / Notices
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8951–2]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
the Bristol Family Center Water
System in Bristol, VT, the Kids in the
Country School Water System in
Dover, VT, and the Otter Valley Union
High School Water System in Brandon,
VT
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a
project waiver of the Buy American
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 Bristol Family Center Water
System in Bristol, Vermont, the Kids in
the Country Water System in Dover,
Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union
High School in Brandon, Vermont (the
‘‘Systems’’) for the purchase of NSF–55
Class A certified Ultra Violet (UV)
disinfection equipment. This is a project
specific waiver and only applies to the
use of the specified product for the
ARRA funded projects being proposed.
Any other ARRA project that may wish
to use the same product must apply for
a separate waiver based on project
specific circumstances. The UV
disinfection equipment under
consideration is manufactured outside
of the United States by a company based
in Canada and meets the water systems’
technical specifications and
requirements. The Acting Regional
Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and
recommendations of the Municipal
Assistance Unit. The Systems have
provided sufficient documentation to
support each individual 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 the ARRA. This action
permits the purchase of specific UV
disinfection equipment for the proposed
projects being implemented by the
Bristol Family Center Water System in
Bristol, Vermont, Kids in the Country
Water System in Dover, Vermont, and
Otter Valley Union High School Water
System in Brandon, Vermont.
DATES: Effective Date: August 19, 2009.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
21:38 Aug 27, 2009
Jkt 217001
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918–1658, or David Chin,
Environmental Engineer, (617) 918–
1764, 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)
and pursuant to Section 1605(b)(2) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, EPA hereby provides
notice that it is granting a project waiver
to the Bristol Family Center Water
System in Bristol, Vermont, the Kids in
the Country Water System in Dover,
Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union
High School Water System in Brandon,
Vermont (the ‘‘Systems’’) for the
acquisition of NSF–55 Class A certified
Ultra Violet (UV) disinfection
equipment manufactured outside of the
United States.
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 are produced in the
United States, or unless a waiver is
provided to the recipient by the head of
the appropriate agency, here EPA. A
waiver may be provided if EPA
determines that (1) applying these
requirements would be inconsistent
with the 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 State of Vermont requires that
water supply installations must comply
with the Vermont Standards for Water
System Design, Construction and
Protection (Vermont Water Supply
Rule—Chapter 21). In order to meet
these standards the State of Vermont
requires public water systems using UV
disinfection to use National Sanitation
Foundation (NSF) Standard 55
(Ultraviolet Microbial Water Treatment
Systems) Class A certified UV
equipment. The State of Vermont,
Agency of Natural Resources, Water
Supply Division (VTANR) has identified
several lines of UV disinfection systems
with NSF–55 Class A certification, all
manufactured in Canada. The Water
Systems are proposing to use the UV
Pure Hallett 15xs and 30 ultraviolet
disinfection water systems. The design
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
engineer and the VTANR have
conducted research and determined that
there are no domestic manufacturers
that have NSF–55 Class A certification
at the time of these waiver requests.
The design engineers for the Bristol
Family Center Water System indicated
that they intend to use two Hallett 30
(30 gpm) UV units for the school
buildings. The estimated cost for all of
the UV equipment for Bristol Family
Center Water System in Bristol,
Vermont is $4,000. For the Kids in the
Country Water System, the engineers
intend to use two Hallett 15xs (15 gpm)
The estimated cost for all of the UV
equipment for the Kids in the Country
Water System in Dover, Vermont is
$3,400. For the Otter Valley Union High
School Water System, the design
engineers intend to use four Hallett 30
(30 gpm) UV units for the school
buildings. The estimated cost for all of
the UV equipment for the Otter Valley
Union High School Water System in
Brandon, Vermont is $8,000.
The designs for all three Systems took
into account the limited space available
for retrofitting the water supply and
distribution systems, as well as the
attributes of the specific equipment. The
Systems’ submissions clearly articulated
functional reasons for their technical
specifications and requirements, and
have provided sufficient documentation
that the relevant manufactured goods
are not produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantity and of a satisfactory quality to
meet its design specifications and
requirements.
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’’. After extensive
research by the design engineers and the
VTANR, information has been provided
to the EPA documenting that there is
currently no other UV disinfection
equipment from a domestic
manufacturer available to meet the
Systems’ exact design specifications and
requirements.
EPA’s national contractor has
prepared a technical assessment report
for these Systems dated June 25, 2009
based on the waiver requests submitted.
The report determined that the waiver
request submittal was complete, that
adequate technical information was
provided, and that there were no
E:\FR\FM\28AUN1.SGM
28AUN1
hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
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
E:\FR\FM\28AUN1.SGM
28AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 166 (Friday, August 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44360-44361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20800]
[[Page 44360]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8951-2]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to the Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, VT, the
Kids in the Country School Water System in Dover, VT, and the Otter
Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, VT
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a project waiver of the Buy
American 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 Bristol Family Center Water System in
Bristol, Vermont, the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover,
Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, Vermont
(the ``Systems'') for the purchase of NSF-55 Class A certified Ultra
Violet (UV) disinfection equipment. This is a project specific waiver
and only applies to the use of the specified product for the ARRA
funded projects being proposed. Any other ARRA project that may wish to
use the same product must apply for a separate waiver based on project
specific circumstances. The UV disinfection equipment under
consideration is manufactured outside of the United States by a company
based in Canada and meets the water systems' technical specifications
and requirements. The Acting Regional Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and recommendations of the Municipal
Assistance Unit. The Systems have provided sufficient documentation to
support each individual 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 the ARRA. This action
permits the purchase of specific UV disinfection equipment for the
proposed projects being implemented by the Bristol Family Center Water
System in Bristol, Vermont, Kids in the Country Water System in Dover,
Vermont, and Otter Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon,
Vermont.
DATES: Effective Date: August 19, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918-1658, or David Chin, Environmental Engineer, (617) 918-1764,
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) and
pursuant to Section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, EPA hereby provides notice that it is granting a project
waiver to the Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, Vermont,
the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, Vermont, and the Otter
Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, Vermont (the
``Systems'') for the acquisition of NSF-55 Class A certified Ultra
Violet (UV) disinfection equipment manufactured outside of the United
States.
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 are produced in the
United States, or unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by the
head of the appropriate agency, here EPA. A waiver may be provided if
EPA determines that (1) applying these requirements would be
inconsistent with the 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 State of Vermont requires that water supply installations must
comply with the Vermont Standards for Water System Design, Construction
and Protection (Vermont Water Supply Rule--Chapter 21). In order to
meet these standards the State of Vermont requires public water systems
using UV disinfection to use National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)
Standard 55 (Ultraviolet Microbial Water Treatment Systems) Class A
certified UV equipment. The State of Vermont, Agency of Natural
Resources, Water Supply Division (VTANR) has identified several lines
of UV disinfection systems with NSF-55 Class A certification, all
manufactured in Canada. The Water Systems are proposing to use the UV
Pure Hallett 15xs and 30 ultraviolet disinfection water systems. The
design engineer and the VTANR have conducted research and determined
that there are no domestic manufacturers that have NSF-55 Class A
certification at the time of these waiver requests.
The design engineers for the Bristol Family Center Water System
indicated that they intend to use two Hallett 30 (30 gpm) UV units for
the school buildings. The estimated cost for all of the UV equipment
for Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, Vermont is $4,000.
For the Kids in the Country Water System, the engineers intend to use
two Hallett 15xs (15 gpm) The estimated cost for all of the UV
equipment for the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, Vermont is
$3,400. For the Otter Valley Union High School Water System, the design
engineers intend to use four Hallett 30 (30 gpm) UV units for the
school buildings. The estimated cost for all of the UV equipment for
the Otter Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, Vermont is
$8,000.
The designs for all three Systems took into account the limited
space available for retrofitting the water supply and distribution
systems, as well as the attributes of the specific equipment. The
Systems' submissions clearly articulated functional reasons for their
technical specifications and requirements, and have provided sufficient
documentation that the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantity and
of a satisfactory quality to meet its design specifications and
requirements.
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''. After extensive research by the design engineers and the
VTANR, information has been provided to the EPA documenting that there
is currently no other UV disinfection equipment from a domestic
manufacturer available to meet the Systems' exact design specifications
and requirements.
EPA's national contractor has prepared a technical assessment
report for these Systems dated June 25, 2009 based on the waiver
requests submitted. The report determined that the waiver request
submittal was complete, that adequate technical information was
provided, and that there were no
[[Page 44361]]
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 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
