Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to Valley City, ND, 364-365 [E9-31404]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2010 / Notices
appropriate. The final ICR package will
then be submitted to OMB for review
and approval pursuant to 5 CFR
1320.12. At that time, EPA will issue
another Federal Register notice
pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to
announce the submission of the ICR to
OMB and the opportunity to submit
additional comments to OMB. If you
have any questions about this ICR or the
approval process, please contact the
technical person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Dated: December 30, 2009.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies
Division.
[FR Doc. E9–31408 Filed 1–4–10; 8:45 am]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9100–7]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
Valley City, ND
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
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 of a
satisfactory quality] to Valley City, ND
for the Zenon ZeeWeed 1000 membrane
filter manufactured by General Electric
Water & Process Technologies for a
capacity of 4 MGD. This is a projectspecific 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 projectspecific circumstances. These
membrane filters are manufactured in
Canada, and meet Valley City’s
performance specifications and
requirements. The Acting Regional
Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and
recommendation of EPA Region 8’s
Technical & Financial Services Unit.
Valley City has provided sufficient
documentation to support its 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
16:41 Jan 04, 2010
Jkt 220001
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 Valley City for the Zenon ZeeWeed
1000 model of submerged membranes
which are manufactured in Canada.
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.
This manufactured good will be used
as part of Valley City’s Surface Water
Treatment Plant renovation. Valley City
states that only ZeeWeed 1000
submerged membranes meet the specific
needs of this project, which requires a
technology that can be installed into an
existing basin previously used for
pretreatment purposes. This basin will
be retrofitted to house the ZeeWeed
1000 modules, thus taking advantage of
the product’s small footprint relative to
other alternatives. The City provided a
copy of the contractor’s specifications
that state the product must be
manufactured by Zenon Environmental,
Inc. or equivalent, and the product must
meet certain performance standards for
pH, turbidity, temperature, alkalinity,
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
VerDate Nov<24>2008
permits the purchase of the Zenon
ZeeWeed 1000 membrane filter for the
Surface Water Treatment Plant upgrades
being implemented by Valley City that
may otherwise be prohibited under
Section 1605(a) of the ARRA.
DATES: Effective Date: December 9, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jody
Ostendorf, ARRA Coordinator, (303)
312–7814, or Brian Friel, SRF
Coordinator, (303) 312–6277, Technical
& Financial Services Unit, Water
Program, Office of Partnerships &
Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region
8, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO
80202.
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
hardness, sodium, sulfate, chloride, iron
and manganese.
The City also provided a letter from
an engineer with the State of North
Dakota asserting a lack of domestic
alternatives to the Zenon ZeeWeed 1000
submerged membranes. The letter states,
‘‘that the Zenon ZeeWeed 1000
membrane filter will be required to be
used in Washburn and Valley City water
treatment plant renovations because:
1. The Washburn and Valley City
water treatment plant renovation
projects will be using the existing
infrastructure (existing filter bays)
which require using the compact
immersed vacuum membrane filters.
Membrane filters for this waiver are as
defined in the EPA Membrane Filter
Guidance Manual for compliance under
the LT2ESWTR. Zenon is the only
manufacturer of immersed vacuum
membranes that meet the required
specifications. The Zenon ZeeWeed
1000 membrane cartilages are
manufactured in Canada, but all the
piping, pumps, etc. will be
manufactured and assembled in
America.
2. The Zenon ZeeWeed 1000
membrane meets the requirements of
the LT2ESWTR of 3.5 log removal of
Giardia and 4.0 log removal of
Cryptosporidium.
3. To the best of our knowledge, there
are no current domestic membrane
manufacturers that meet the
specifications of the ZeeWeed 1000
membrane. Any domestic alternative
membrane process would require
extensive renovation and/or building
addition resulting in substantial cost
increases.’’
Given this requirement by the State
and in light of the reasonableness of the
retrofit specification, Valley City did not
have a basis to use an alternative
compliance technology within the
ARRA time requirements for SRF
projects to be under contract or
construction by February 17, 2010.
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ
Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy
American provisions of Public Law
111–5, the ‘American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009’,’’ defines
reasonably available quantity as ‘‘the
quantity of iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is available or will
be available at the time needed and
place needed, and in the proper form or
specification as specified in the project
plans and design.’’
The applicant met the procedures
specified for the availability inquiry as
appropriate to the circumstances by
conducting on-line research and
contacting suppliers, and all sources
indicated that submerged ultrafiltration
E:\FR\FM\05JAN1.SGM
05JAN1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 2 / Tuesday, January 5, 2010 / Notices
membrane treatment systems are only
manufactured outside of the U.S.
Therefore, based on the information
provided to EPA and to the best of our
knowledge at this time, Zenon ZeeWeed
1000 submerged membranes are not
manufactured in the United States, and
no other U.S. manufactured product can
meet Valley City’s performance
specifications and requirements.
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 cities
such as Valley City 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 ARRA State Revolving Fund
assistance would result in unreasonable
delay and thus displace the ‘‘shovel
ready’’ status for this project. To further
delay project implementation is in
direct conflict with a fundamental
economic purpose of the ARRA, which
is to create or retain jobs.
EPA’s national contractor prepared a
technical assessment report dated
December 2, 2009 based on the
submitted waiver request. 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 comparable domestic products that
can meet the project specifications.
The Technical & Financial Services
Unit has reviewed this waiver request
and has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by Valley City
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 this
project waiver 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 Valley City’s
performance 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
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:41 Jan 04, 2010
Jkt 220001
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
this project, and that this manufactured
good was not available from a producer
in the United States, Valley City is
hereby granted a waiver from the Buy
American requirements of Section
1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for the
purchase of Zenon ZeeWeed 1000
submerged membranes using ARRA
funds as specified in the City’s request
of September 16, 2009. This
supplementary information constitutes
the detailed written justification
required by Section 1605(c) for waivers
‘‘based on a finding under subsection
(b).’’
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section
1605.
Dated: December 28, 2009.
Carol Rushin,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. E9–31404 Filed 1–4–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Change in Bank Control Notices;
Acquisition of Shares of Bank or Bank
Holding Companies
The notificants listed below have
applied under the Change in Bank
Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and
§ 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12
CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank
holding company. The factors that are
considered in acting on the notices are
set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12
U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).
The notices are available for
immediate inspection at the Federal
Reserve Bank indicated. The notices
also will be available for inspection at
the office of the Board of Governors.
Interested persons may express their
views in writing to the Reserve Bank
indicated for that notice or to the offices
of the Board of Governors. Comments
must be received not later than January
20, 2010.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
(Colette A. Fried, Assistant Vice
President) 230 South LaSalle Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60690-1414:
1. Notice by Hans J. Welker, White
Lake, Michigan, to acquire more than 25
percent of the voting shares of Clarkston
Financial Corporation, Waterford,
Michigan, and thereby indirectly
acquire control of Clarkston State Bank,
Clarkston, Michigan.
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
365
2. Notice by Mark A. Murvay, Lake
Angelus, Michigan, to acquire more than
25 percent of the voting shares of
Clarkston Financial Corporation,
Waterford, Michigan, and thereby
indirectly acquire control of Clarkston
State Bank, Clarkston, Michigan.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, December 30, 2009.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E9–31255 Filed 1–4–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210–01–S
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Formations of, Acquisitions by, and
Mergers of Bank Holding Companies
The companies listed in this notice
have applied to the Board for approval,
pursuant to the Bank Holding Company
Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)
(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part
225), and all other applicable statutes
and regulations to become a bank
holding company and/or to acquire the
assets or the ownership of, control of, or
the power to vote shares of a bank or
bank holding company and all of the
banks and nonbanking companies
owned by the bank holding company,
including the companies listed below.
The applications listed below, as well
as other related filings required by the
Board, are available for immediate
inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank
indicated. The application also will be
available for inspection at the offices of
the Board of Governors. Interested
persons may express their views in
writing on the standards enumerated in
the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the
proposal also involves the acquisition of
a nonbanking company, the review also
includes whether the acquisition of the
nonbanking company complies with the
standards in section 4 of the BHC Act
(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise
noted, nonbanking activities will be
conducted throughout the United States.
Additional information on all bank
holding companies may be obtained
from the National Information Center
website at www.ffiec.gov/nic/.
Unless otherwise noted, comments
regarding each of these applications
must be received at the Reserve Bank
indicated or the offices of the Board of
Governors not later than January 29,
2010.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
(Steve Foley, Vice President) 1000
Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia
30309:
1. Florida Shores Shamrock, Inc.,
Naples Florida, to become a bank
holding company by acquiring at least
E:\FR\FM\05JAN1.SGM
05JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 364-365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31404]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9100-7]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to Valley City, ND
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 of a satisfactory quality] to Valley City, ND for the Zenon
ZeeWeed 1000 membrane filter manufactured by General Electric Water &
Process Technologies for a capacity of 4 MGD. 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 project-specific circumstances. These membrane filters are
manufactured in Canada, and meet Valley City's performance
specifications and requirements. The Acting Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the review and recommendation of EPA
Region 8's Technical & Financial Services Unit. Valley City has
provided sufficient documentation to support its 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 the Zenon ZeeWeed 1000
membrane filter for the Surface Water Treatment Plant upgrades being
implemented by Valley City that may otherwise be prohibited under
Section 1605(a) of the ARRA.
DATES: Effective Date: December 9, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jody Ostendorf, ARRA Coordinator,
(303) 312-7814, or Brian Friel, SRF Coordinator, (303) 312-6277,
Technical & Financial Services Unit, Water Program, Office of
Partnerships & Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop
St., Denver, CO 80202.
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 Valley City for the Zenon ZeeWeed 1000 model of submerged
membranes which are manufactured in Canada.
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.
This manufactured good will be used as part of Valley City's
Surface Water Treatment Plant renovation. Valley City states that only
ZeeWeed 1000 submerged membranes meet the specific needs of this
project, which requires a technology that can be installed into an
existing basin previously used for pretreatment purposes. This basin
will be retrofitted to house the ZeeWeed 1000 modules, thus taking
advantage of the product's small footprint relative to other
alternatives. The City provided a copy of the contractor's
specifications that state the product must be manufactured by Zenon
Environmental, Inc. or equivalent, and the product must meet certain
performance standards for pH, turbidity, temperature, alkalinity,
hardness, sodium, sulfate, chloride, iron and manganese.
The City also provided a letter from an engineer with the State of
North Dakota asserting a lack of domestic alternatives to the Zenon
ZeeWeed 1000 submerged membranes. The letter states, ``that the Zenon
ZeeWeed 1000 membrane filter will be required to be used in Washburn
and Valley City water treatment plant renovations because:
1. The Washburn and Valley City water treatment plant renovation
projects will be using the existing infrastructure (existing filter
bays) which require using the compact immersed vacuum membrane filters.
Membrane filters for this waiver are as defined in the EPA Membrane
Filter Guidance Manual for compliance under the LT2ESWTR. Zenon is the
only manufacturer of immersed vacuum membranes that meet the required
specifications. The Zenon ZeeWeed 1000 membrane cartilages are
manufactured in Canada, but all the piping, pumps, etc. will be
manufactured and assembled in America.
2. The Zenon ZeeWeed 1000 membrane meets the requirements of the
LT2ESWTR of 3.5 log removal of Giardia and 4.0 log removal of
Cryptosporidium.
3. To the best of our knowledge, there are no current domestic
membrane manufacturers that meet the specifications of the ZeeWeed 1000
membrane. Any domestic alternative membrane process would require
extensive renovation and/or building addition resulting in substantial
cost increases.''
Given this requirement by the State and in light of the
reasonableness of the retrofit specification, Valley City did not have
a basis to use an alternative compliance technology within the ARRA
time requirements for SRF projects to be under contract or construction
by February 17, 2010.
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ Memorandum, ``Implementation of Buy
American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the `American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009','' defines reasonably available quantity as
``the quantity of iron, steel, or relevant manufactured good is
available or will be available at the time needed and place needed, and
in the proper form or specification as specified in the project plans
and design.''
The applicant met the procedures specified for the availability
inquiry as appropriate to the circumstances by conducting on-line
research and contacting suppliers, and all sources indicated that
submerged ultrafiltration
[[Page 365]]
membrane treatment systems are only manufactured outside of the U.S.
Therefore, based on the information provided to EPA and to the best of
our knowledge at this time, Zenon ZeeWeed 1000 submerged membranes are
not manufactured in the United States, and no other U.S. manufactured
product can meet Valley City's performance specifications and
requirements.
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 cities such as Valley City 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 ARRA State Revolving Fund assistance
would result in unreasonable delay and thus displace the ``shovel
ready'' status for this project. To further delay project
implementation is in direct conflict with a fundamental economic
purpose of the ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs.
EPA's national contractor prepared a technical assessment report
dated December 2, 2009 based on the submitted waiver request. 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 comparable
domestic products that can meet the project specifications.
The Technical & Financial Services Unit has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by Valley City 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 this project waiver 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 Valley City's
performance 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 this project, and that this manufactured
good was not available from a producer in the United States, Valley
City is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of Zenon ZeeWeed
1000 submerged membranes using ARRA funds as specified in the City's
request of September 16, 2009. This supplementary information
constitutes the detailed written justification required by Section
1605(c) for waivers ``based on a finding under subsection (b).''
Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.
Dated: December 28, 2009.
Carol Rushin,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. E9-31404 Filed 1-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
