Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Town of Greensboro, Maryland, 59174-59175 [E9-27613]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 17, 2009 / Notices
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 Town’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
Town 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 Town
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,
the Town 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 two specified
Fournier Industries 4-channel rotary
press sludge dewatering units
documented in Town’s waiver request
submittal dated August 13, 2009 as part
of its wastewater treatment plant
improvements. This supplementary
VerDate Nov<24>2008
20:50 Nov 16, 2009
Jkt 220001
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: November 3, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. E9–27617 Filed 11–16–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–8982–3]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
the Town of Greensboro, Maryland
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional
Administrator of EPA Region III 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 Town of Greensboro for the
purchase of a moving bed biological
reactor (Geo-Reactor®) containment
drum, which is a major component of
the Geo-Reactor® wastewater treatment
process, for retrofit installation into an
existing Rotating Biological Contactor
(RBC) basin at its Wastewater Treatment
Plant (WWTP). Greensboro indicates
that the Geo-Reactor® treatment process
is necessary to achieve the wastewater
treatment levels required by the
National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permits
issued for this WWTP. The GeoReactor® containment drum under
consideration is manufactured by a
company located in Canada and no
United States manufacturer produces an
alternative that meets Greensboro’s
justified technical specifications,
including retrofit capacity. This is a
project specific waiver and only applies
to the use of the specified product for
the ARRA funded project being
proposed. Any other ARRA project that
may wish to use the same product must
apply for a separate waiver based on the
specific project circumstances. The
Acting Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the
review and recommendations of the
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
EPA Region III, Water Protection
Division, Office of Infrastructure and
Assistance. Greensboro has provided
sufficient documentation to support its
request.
The Assistant Administrator of the
EPA’s 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 Geo-Reactor®
containment drum for the proposed
replacement and retrofit project being
implemented by Greensboro.
DATES: Effective Date: November 5, 2009
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Chominski, Deputy Associate
Director, (215) 814–2162, or David
McAdams, Environmental Engineer,
(215) 814–5764, Office of Infrastructure
& Assistance (OIA), Water Protection
Division, U.S. EPA Region III, 1650
Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103–
2029.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c),
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 Town of Greensboro
for the acquisition of a Geo-Reactor®
containment drum manufactured by
Jebco Industries, located in Canada, for
Parkson Corporation. Greensboro has
been unable to find an American made
moving bed biological reactor
manufacturer to meet its specific
wastewater 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 are 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.
Greensboro’s waiver request is to
allow the purchase of a Geo-Reactor®
containment drum for use in
improvements to its existing WWTP.
This project will upgrade its existing
WWTP by replacing an existing RBC
treatment unit with a new Geo-Reactor®
E:\FR\FM\17NON1.SGM
17NON1
mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 17, 2009 / Notices
treatment unit. The containment drum
is an integral component of the GeoReactor® treatment process because it
holds the plastic media which supports
the attached biological biomass. The
plastic media consists of irregular
shaped pieces which are designed to
maximize the surface area and prevent
pieces from interlocking with each
other. The plastic media will provide
approximately 150,000 square feet of
surface area for the attached biological
biomass. The containment drum is
specifically designed to fit within the
existing RBC basin. The process utilizes
the rotational design of the RBC process
by having the containment drum rotate
slowly. The plastic media pieces are
raised out of the wastewater and tumble
back as the drum reaches its apex. The
movement aids the transfer of oxygen to
the biomass and the sloughing off of
excess biomass from the media. The
Geo-Reactor® treatment process
combines the requisite biological media
surface area within the confines of the
existing RBC basin.
After an engineering analysis of
alternate treatment processes,
Greensboro determined the GeoReactor® treatment process to be the
most environmentally sound and cost
effective solution, and in January 2008
completed the installation of a GeoReactor® treatment unit in one of
Greensboro’s two RBC basins. This
proposal to procure and retrofit a
second such Geo-Reactor® treatment
unit would also enable Greensboro to
provide necessary treatment
redundancy and standardize its
operation, maintenance, and spare parts
functions for this equipment. The GeoReactor® is a waste water treatment
process which is designed to meet the
effluent requirements of the waste load
allocation under the NPDES permit. In
addition, in anticipation of procuring
the Geo-Reactor® treatment process,
Greensboro has already incorporated
specific technical design requirements
for installation of the Geo-Reactor®
containment drum within the existing
RBC basin at their WWTP, including
specific geometry and configuration. To
require Greensboro to redesign its
project would cause an unacceptable
delay to the initiation of construction.
Greensboro has provided information
to the EPA demonstrating that there are
no moving bed biological reactors
manufactured in the United States in
sufficient and reasonable quantity and
of a satisfactory quality to meet the
required technical specification.
Greensboro surveyed ten moving bed
biological reactors manufacturers as part
of its market research to locate domestic
manufacturers of moving bed biological
VerDate Nov<24>2008
20:50 Nov 16, 2009
Jkt 220001
reactors for WWTPs. It was unable to
locate any acceptable domestic
manufacturers because those U.S.-based
manufacturers with biological treatment
technologies similar to the Geo-Reactor®
system were not capable of providing
the required 150,000 square feet of
biological media surface area as a
retrofit within the confines of the
existing RBC basin.
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’’ (‘‘EPA
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.’’ Greensboro has incorporated
specific technical design requirements
which are justified by legitimate,
performance and regulatory compliance
objectives, as well as the applicant’s
prior experience with and investment in
this technology, for the retrofit
installation of a Geo-Reactor® treatment
process, which includes the
containment drum, at its WWTP.
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
communities, such as Greensboro, to
revise their standards and
specifications, institute a new bidding
process, and potentially choose a more
costly, less efficient project. 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.
Based on additional research
conducted by EPA’s Office of
Infrastructure and Assistance (OIA) in
Region III, there does not appear to be
another moving bed biological reactor
manufactured domestically that would
meet Greensboro’s technical
specification. EPA’s national contractor
prepared a technical assessment report
dated October 8, 2009 based on the
waiver request submitted. The report
determined that the waiver request
submittal was complete, that adequate
technical information was provided,
and that there were no significant
weaknesses in the justification
provided. The report confirmed the
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
59175
waiver applicant’s claim that there are
no American-made moving bed
biological reactors that met the media
surface area requirement within the
confines of an existing RBC basin.
The OIA has reviewed this waiver
request and to the best of our knowledge
at the time of review has determined
that the supporting documentation
provided by Greensboro is sufficient to
meet the criteria listed under Section
1605(b), OMB’s regulations at 2 CFR
176.60–176.170, and in the April 28,
2009 EPA 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 Greensboro’s justified
technical specifications, 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 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 Town of
Greensboro is hereby granted a waiver
from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for
the purchase of a Geo-Reactor®
containment drum using ARRA funds as
specified in Greensboro’s request of July
28, 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: November 5, 2009.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III.
[FR Doc. E9–27613 Filed 11–16–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
E:\FR\FM\17NON1.SGM
17NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59174-59175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27613]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8982-3]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to the Town of Greensboro, Maryland
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional Administrator of EPA Region III 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
Town of Greensboro for the purchase of a moving bed biological reactor
(Geo-Reactor[supreg]) containment drum, which is a major component of
the Geo-Reactor[supreg] wastewater treatment process, for retrofit
installation into an existing Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) basin
at its Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Greensboro indicates that the
Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process is necessary to achieve the
wastewater treatment levels required by the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued for this WWTP. The
Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum under consideration is
manufactured by a company located in Canada and no United States
manufacturer produces an alternative that meets Greensboro's justified
technical specifications, including retrofit capacity. This is a
project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified
product for the ARRA funded project being proposed. Any other ARRA
project that may wish to use the same product must apply for a separate
waiver based on the specific project circumstances. The Acting Regional
Administrator is making this determination based on the review and
recommendations of the EPA Region III, Water Protection Division,
Office of Infrastructure and Assistance. Greensboro has provided
sufficient documentation to support its request.
The Assistant Administrator of the EPA's 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 Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum for the proposed replacement and
retrofit project being implemented by Greensboro.
DATES: Effective Date: November 5, 2009
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Chominski, Deputy Associate
Director, (215) 814-2162, or David McAdams, Environmental Engineer,
(215) 814-5764, Office of Infrastructure & Assistance (OIA), Water
Protection Division, U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), 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 Town of Greensboro for the acquisition of a Geo-
Reactor[supreg] containment drum manufactured by Jebco Industries,
located in Canada, for Parkson Corporation. Greensboro has been unable
to find an American made moving bed biological reactor manufacturer to
meet its specific wastewater 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 are 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.
Greensboro's waiver request is to allow the purchase of a Geo-
Reactor[supreg] containment drum for use in improvements to its
existing WWTP. This project will upgrade its existing WWTP by replacing
an existing RBC treatment unit with a new Geo-Reactor[supreg]
[[Page 59175]]
treatment unit. The containment drum is an integral component of the
Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process because it holds the plastic
media which supports the attached biological biomass. The plastic media
consists of irregular shaped pieces which are designed to maximize the
surface area and prevent pieces from interlocking with each other. The
plastic media will provide approximately 150,000 square feet of surface
area for the attached biological biomass. The containment drum is
specifically designed to fit within the existing RBC basin. The process
utilizes the rotational design of the RBC process by having the
containment drum rotate slowly. The plastic media pieces are raised out
of the wastewater and tumble back as the drum reaches its apex. The
movement aids the transfer of oxygen to the biomass and the sloughing
off of excess biomass from the media. The Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment
process combines the requisite biological media surface area within the
confines of the existing RBC basin.
After an engineering analysis of alternate treatment processes,
Greensboro determined the Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process to be
the most environmentally sound and cost effective solution, and in
January 2008 completed the installation of a Geo-Reactor[supreg]
treatment unit in one of Greensboro's two RBC basins. This proposal to
procure and retrofit a second such Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment unit
would also enable Greensboro to provide necessary treatment redundancy
and standardize its operation, maintenance, and spare parts functions
for this equipment. The Geo-Reactor[supreg] is a waste water treatment
process which is designed to meet the effluent requirements of the
waste load allocation under the NPDES permit. In addition, in
anticipation of procuring the Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process,
Greensboro has already incorporated specific technical design
requirements for installation of the Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment
drum within the existing RBC basin at their WWTP, including specific
geometry and configuration. To require Greensboro to redesign its
project would cause an unacceptable delay to the initiation of
construction.
Greensboro has provided information to the EPA demonstrating that
there are no moving bed biological reactors manufactured in the United
States in sufficient and reasonable quantity and of a satisfactory
quality to meet the required technical specification. Greensboro
surveyed ten moving bed biological reactors manufacturers as part of
its market research to locate domestic manufacturers of moving bed
biological reactors for WWTPs. It was unable to locate any acceptable
domestic manufacturers because those U.S.-based manufacturers with
biological treatment technologies similar to the Geo-Reactor[supreg]
system were not capable of providing the required 150,000 square feet
of biological media surface area as a retrofit within the confines of
the existing RBC basin.
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'' (``EPA 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.'' Greensboro has incorporated specific
technical design requirements which are justified by legitimate,
performance and regulatory compliance objectives, as well as the
applicant's prior experience with and investment in this technology,
for the retrofit installation of a Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment
process, which includes the containment drum, at its WWTP.
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 communities, such as Greensboro,
to revise their standards and specifications, institute a new bidding
process, and potentially choose a more costly, less efficient project.
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.
Based on additional research conducted by EPA's Office of
Infrastructure and Assistance (OIA) in Region III, there does not
appear to be another moving bed biological reactor manufactured
domestically that would meet Greensboro's technical specification.
EPA's national contractor prepared a technical assessment report dated
October 8, 2009 based on the waiver request submitted. The report
determined that the waiver request submittal was complete, that
adequate technical information was provided, and that there were no
significant weaknesses in the justification provided. The report
confirmed the waiver applicant's claim that there are no American-made
moving bed biological reactors that met the media surface area
requirement within the confines of an existing RBC basin.
The OIA has reviewed this waiver request and to the best of our
knowledge at the time of review has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by Greensboro is sufficient to meet the criteria
listed under Section 1605(b), OMB's regulations at 2 CFR 176.60-
176.170, and in the April 28, 2009 EPA 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 Greensboro's justified technical
specifications, 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 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 Town
of Greensboro is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American
requirements of Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of
a Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum using ARRA funds as specified in
Greensboro's request of July 28, 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: November 5, 2009.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region III.
[FR Doc. E9-27613 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
