Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the City of Gloucester, MA, 6389-6391 [2010-2817]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 2010 / Notices
establishes both a proper basis to
specify a particular manufactured good,
and that the domestic manufactured
good that is currently available cannot
be delivered in the necessary timeframe
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
temporary 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 in
the necessary timeframe, the Town of
Troy, Vermont 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
non-domestic manufactured butterfly
valves and actuators documented in
Town’s waiver request submitted to the
EPA on November 19, 2009. This
supplementary information constitutes
the detailed written justification
required by Section 1605(c) for waivers
based on a finding under subsection (b).
Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
Dated: January 29, 2010.
Ira Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. 2010–2810 Filed 2–8–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
[FRL–9112–5]
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of
Section 1605 (Buy American) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the City of
Gloucester, MA
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a
waiver of the Buy American
requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:39 Feb 08, 2010
Jkt 220001
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 City of Gloucester, Massachusetts
(‘‘City’’) for the purchase of foreign
manufactured rotary sludge dewatering
presses. 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 City’s proposed
wastewater treatment facility
improvements will include replacement
of the existing belt filter press for sludge
generated at the plant. Based upon
information submitted by the City and
its consultants, it was determined that
two 6-channel rotary press sludge
dewatering units, manufactured by
Fournier Industries of Quebec, Canada,
will meet the City’s design and
performance specifications. The
Regional Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and
recommendations of the Municipal
Assistance Unit. The City, through its
consulting engineers, 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 two, six channel
rotary press sludge dewatering units,
manufactured by Fournier Industries, by
the City, as specified in its September
28, 2009 request, as part of the
improvements to the wastewater
treatment facility.
DATES: Effective Date: January 29, 2010.
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 Sections 1605(c)
and 1605(b)(2), the EPA hereby provides
notice that it is granting a project waiver
of the requirements of Sections 1605(a)
of Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the City of Gloucester,
(‘‘City’’), Massachusetts for the purchase
of two, six channel rotary press sludge
dewatering units, manufactured by
Fournier Industries of Quebec, Canada.
It has been determined that these rotary
presses meet the City’s technical
specifications for design and
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
6389
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 that at this time
meet the specific design criteria
established for this unit in the City’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
with public the 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 wastewater treatment facility for
the City is a primary treatment plant
designed to handle an annual average
flow of 7.24 million gallons per day.
The plant began operations in 1984, and
in the early 1990’s the facility was
modified to provide an ocean outfall
extension as well as odor control and
disinfection improvements. Plant
improvements again occurred in the
mid-2000’s with the replacement of
various pumps and sludge removal
mechanisms. However, no other
significant expansions or upgrades have
occurred during the 25 years of
operations.
Most of the equipment at the
treatment facility is original equipment
that has largely reached or exceeded its
expected service life. The City is now
replacing major components of the
facility through a phased program of
equipment replacement and facility
refurbishment. Included in the first
phase of the facility-wide improvements
is the installation of a new rotary sludge
dewatering unit to replace the existing
belt filter press. The City is requesting
a waiver from the Buy American
Provisions for the purchase of two
foreign made rotary press sludge
dewatering units manufactured by
Fournier Industries (Quebec, Canada).
The key selection criteria established
by the City and its consulting engineers
for the sludge dewatering equipment
include:
E:\FR\FM\09FEN1.SGM
09FEN1
Cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
6390
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 2010 / Notices
• Maintain or improve the dewatered
dry solids concentration of 24% or
greater.
• Minimize service water
consumption during operation.
• Minimize long term operations and
maintenance costs.
• Reduce odors and improve working
conditions for operators by minimizing
exposure to odorous and hazardous
gases released from the sludge as well
as exposure to bio-aerosols and
pathogens. To achieve this goal,
enclosed dewatering equipment is
required.
• Allow for automatic adjustment for
variation in feed solids concentrations
and sludge mix ratios to provide
consistent and optimum cake solids.
• Allow for unattended, automatic
operation.
• Allow for backup capacity during
periods of equipment failure and
routine maintenance.
As part of the review of potentially
viable sludge dewatering units, four
technologies were evaluated by the City
and their consultants: (1) Belt filter
press, (2) centrifuge system; (3) screw
press and (4) rotary press. Of the four
technologies, it was determined that the
rotary sludge press is the preferred
technology because it ranked the highest
in terms of meeting the key criteria
highlighted above. In particular, the
rotary presses manufactured by Fournier
Industries were identified as a
technically and economically feasible
unit meeting all of the selection criteria
established as part of the design
requirements. The Fournier Rotary
Presses are the preferred technology for
installation at the City’s wastewater
treatment plant because of the following
advantages:
• High cake solids concentration.
• Low odor emissions due to the
enclosed design.
• Provides for continuous operation
and has the flexibility to increase
capacity based on influent flow.
• Low maintenance due to the slow
rotational speed, requiring minimal
operator attention.
• Low energy requirements resulting
in low operation and maintenance costs.
• Each channel is an independent
self-contained modular unit which can
be interchanged with other same model
rotary presses.
• Low noise and vibration output due
to low operations speeds.
• Compact size resulting in smaller
building and room footprint
requirements.
• Filtration elements within each
channel are of a non-clogging design
which does not require washwater
during operation.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:39 Feb 08, 2010
Jkt 220001
The project specifications stipulate
that the rotary press equipment be
capable of meeting the following design
and performance criteria:
• Type of Unit: six channel rotary
press
• Blended Sludge Fraction (%
Solids):
60–90% Primary Sludge
5–10% Scum
5–30% Septage
• Sludge Feed Concentration (%
Solids): 2–8%
• Dry Solids Feed Rate: 200–400 dry
lbs/hr/channel
• Hydraulic Sludge Feed Rate: 35–
160 gpm
• Dewatered Sludge Solids
Concentration (% Solids):
test condition (I)—30% minimum
test condition (II)—25% minimum
The project specifications also
expressly require that the manufacturer
of the rotary press have a minimum of
10 years demonstrated experience in the
design, application, fabrication and
supply of rotary press equipment for
wastewater treatment plants. The
specifications go on to further require
that demonstration of experience shall
take the form of a list of not less than
10 operating sludge dewatering
installations of similar service and size
including process performance data.
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 one
and two channel rotary fan presses and
currently cannot meet the design
specifications calling for a six channel
rotary press, or the experience
requirements specified for this proposed
project. The domestic manufacturer has
only been manufacturing and installing
its rotary fan press since 2004, which is
less than the 10 year experience
requirement specified for the project.
For these reasons, the Fournier
Industries Rotary Sludge Press is the
only unit at the present time that is
acceptable in terms of meeting the
design and experience specifications of
this 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
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
defines ‘‘satisfactory quality’’ as ‘‘the
quality of steel, iron or manufactured
good specified in the project plans and
designs.’’
The City 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 the sludge dewatering unit.
The evaluation of all of the submitted
documentation by EPA’s technical
review team supports the City’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 City’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 ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring SRF
eligible recipients such as the City 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 City
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
E:\FR\FM\09FEN1.SGM
09FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 2010 / Notices
from a producer in the United States,
the City 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 6-channel rotary
press sludge dewatering units
documented in City’s waiver request
submittal dated September 28, 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: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
Dated: January 29, 2010.
Ira Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. 2010–2817 Filed 2–8–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Existing Collection;
Emergency Extension
Cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information
collection—Emergency extension
without change: Employer Information
Report (EEO–1).
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC or Commission) announces that
it submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) a
request for an emergency extension of
the Employer Information Report (EEO–
1) on January 20, 2010, to be effective
after the January 31, 2010 expiration
date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Edwards, Director, Program
Research and Surveys Division, 131 M
Street, NE., Room 4SW30F, Washington,
DC 20507; (202) 663–4958 (voice) or
(202) 663–7063 (TTY).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EEOC
has collected information from certain
private employers on the EEO–1 Report
form since 1966.
Overview of Information Collection
Collection Title: Employer
Information Report (EEO–1).
OMB Number: 3046–0007.
Frequency of Report: Annual.
Type of Respondent: Private
employers with 100 or more employees
VerDate Nov<24>2008
14:39 Feb 08, 2010
Jkt 220001
and certain Federal Government
contractors and first-tier subcontractors
with 50 or more employees.
Description of Affected Public: Private
employers with 100 or more employees
and certain Federal Government
contractors and first-tier subcontractors
with 50 or more employees.
Reporting Hours: 599,000.
Respondent Cost: $11.4 million.
Federal Cost: $2.1 million.
Number of Forms: 1.
Abstract: Section 709(c) of Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(c), requires
employers to make and keep records
relevant to a determination of whether
unlawful employment practices have
been or are being committed, to preserve
such records and to produce reports as
the Commission prescribes by
regulation or order. Accordingly, the
EEOC issued regulations prescribing the
EEO–1 reporting requirement.
Employers in the private sector with 100
or more employees and some Federal
contractors with 50 or more employees
have been required to submit EEO–1
reports annually since 1966. The
individual reports are confidential.
EEO–1 data is used by EEOC to
investigate charges of employment
discrimination against employers in
private industry and to provide
information about the employment
status of minorities and women. The
data is shared with the Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs
(OFCCP), U.S. Department of Labor, and
several other Federal agencies. Pursuant
to § 709(d) of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, as amended, EEO–1 data is
also shared with State and local Fair
Employment Practices Agencies
(FEPAs).
Burden Statement: The estimated
number of respondents included in the
annual EEO–1 survey is 45,000 private
employers. The estimated number of
establishment-based responses per
reporting company is between three and
four EEO–1 reports annually. The
annual number of responses is
approximately 170,000. The form is
estimated to impose 599,000 burden
hours annually. In order to help reduce
survey burden, respondents are
encouraged to report data electronically
whenever possible.
Dated: January 29, 2010.
Stuart J. Ishimaru,
Acting Chairman, for the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2010–2767 Filed 2–8–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570–01–P
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
6391
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Existing Collection;
Emergency Extension
AGENCY: Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information
collection—Emergency extension
without change: State and Local
Government Information Report (EEO–
4).
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC or Commission) announces that
it submitted to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) a
request for an emergency extension of
the State and Local Government
Information Report (EEO–4), on January
20, 2010, to be effective after the January
31, 2010 expiration date.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Edwards, Director, Program
Research and Surveys Division, 131 M
Street, NE., Room 4SW30F, Washington,
DC 20507; (202) 663–4958 (voice) or
(202) 663–7063 (TTY).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EEOC
has collected information from State
and local governments with 100 or more
full-time employees since 1974.
Overview of Information Collection
Collection Title: State and Local
Government Information Report (EEO–
4).
OMB Number: 3046–0008.
Frequency of Report: Biennial.
Type of Respondent: State and local
government jurisdictions with 100 or
more Employees.
Description of Affected Public: State
and local governments excluding
elementary and secondary public school
districts.
Number of Responses: 13,456.
Reporting Hours: 44,719.
Cost to Respondents: $1,045,000.
Number of Forms: 1.
Form Number: EEOC Form 164.
Federal Cost: $187,500.
Abstract: Section 709(c) of Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(c), requires
employers to make and keep records
relevant to a determination of whether
unlawful employment practices have
been or are being committed, to preserve
such records and to produce reports as
the Commission prescribes by
regulation or order. Accordingly, the
EEOC issued regulations prescribing the
reporting requirements for State and
local governments. State and local
E:\FR\FM\09FEN1.SGM
09FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 26 (Tuesday, February 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6389-6391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2817]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9112-5]
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy
American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
to the City of Gloucester, MA
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 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 City of Gloucester, Massachusetts (``City'') for the
purchase of foreign manufactured rotary sludge dewatering presses. 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 City's proposed
wastewater treatment facility improvements will include replacement of
the existing belt filter press for sludge generated at the plant. Based
upon information submitted by the City and its consultants, it was
determined that two 6-channel rotary press sludge dewatering units,
manufactured by Fournier Industries of Quebec, Canada, will meet the
City's design and performance specifications. The Regional
Administrator is making this determination based on the review and
recommendations of the Municipal Assistance Unit. The City, through its
consulting engineers, 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 two, six channel rotary press sludge dewatering units,
manufactured by Fournier Industries, by the City, as specified in its
September 28, 2009 request, as part of the improvements to the
wastewater treatment facility.
DATES: Effective Date: January 29, 2010.
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 Sections 1605(c) and
1605(b)(2), the EPA hereby provides notice that it is granting a
project waiver of the requirements of Sections 1605(a) of Public Law
111-5, Buy American requirements, to the City of Gloucester,
(``City''), Massachusetts for the purchase of two, six channel rotary
press sludge dewatering units, manufactured by Fournier Industries of
Quebec, Canada. It has been determined that these rotary presses meet
the City'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
that at this time meet the specific design criteria established for
this unit in the City'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 with public the 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 wastewater treatment facility for the City is a primary
treatment plant designed to handle an annual average flow of 7.24
million gallons per day. The plant began operations in 1984, and in the
early 1990's the facility was modified to provide an ocean outfall
extension as well as odor control and disinfection improvements. Plant
improvements again occurred in the mid-2000's with the replacement of
various pumps and sludge removal mechanisms. However, no other
significant expansions or upgrades have occurred during the 25 years of
operations.
Most of the equipment at the treatment facility is original
equipment that has largely reached or exceeded its expected service
life. The City is now replacing major components of the facility
through a phased program of equipment replacement and facility
refurbishment. Included in the first phase of the facility-wide
improvements is the installation of a new rotary sludge dewatering unit
to replace the existing belt filter press. The City is requesting a
waiver from the Buy American Provisions for the purchase of two foreign
made rotary press sludge dewatering units manufactured by Fournier
Industries (Quebec, Canada).
The key selection criteria established by the City and its
consulting engineers for the sludge dewatering equipment include:
[[Page 6390]]
Maintain or improve the dewatered dry solids concentration
of 24% or greater.
Minimize service water consumption during operation.
Minimize long term operations and maintenance costs.
Reduce odors and improve working conditions for operators
by minimizing exposure to odorous and hazardous gases released from the
sludge as well as exposure to bio-aerosols and pathogens. To achieve
this goal, enclosed dewatering equipment is required.
Allow for automatic adjustment for variation in feed
solids concentrations and sludge mix ratios to provide consistent and
optimum cake solids.
Allow for unattended, automatic operation.
Allow for backup capacity during periods of equipment
failure and routine maintenance.
As part of the review of potentially viable sludge dewatering
units, four technologies were evaluated by the City and their
consultants: (1) Belt filter press, (2) centrifuge system; (3) screw
press and (4) rotary press. Of the four technologies, it was determined
that the rotary sludge press is the preferred technology because it
ranked the highest in terms of meeting the key criteria highlighted
above. In particular, the rotary presses manufactured by Fournier
Industries were identified as a technically and economically feasible
unit meeting all of the selection criteria established as part of the
design requirements. The Fournier Rotary Presses are the preferred
technology for installation at the City's wastewater treatment plant
because of the following advantages:
High cake solids concentration.
Low odor emissions due to the enclosed design.
Provides for continuous operation and has the flexibility
to increase capacity based on influent flow.
Low maintenance due to the slow rotational speed,
requiring minimal operator attention.
Low energy requirements resulting in low operation and
maintenance costs.
Each channel is an independent self-contained modular unit
which can be interchanged with other same model rotary presses.
Low noise and vibration output due to low operations
speeds.
Compact size resulting in smaller building and room
footprint requirements.
Filtration elements within each channel are of a non-
clogging design which does not require washwater during operation.
The project specifications stipulate that the rotary press
equipment be capable of meeting the following design and performance
criteria:
Type of Unit: six channel rotary press
Blended Sludge Fraction (% Solids):
60-90% Primary Sludge
5-10% Scum
5-30% Septage
Sludge Feed Concentration (% Solids): 2-8%
Dry Solids Feed Rate: 200-400 dry lbs/hr/channel
Hydraulic Sludge Feed Rate: 35-160 gpm
Dewatered Sludge Solids Concentration (% Solids):
test condition (I)--30% minimum
test condition (II)--25% minimum
The project specifications also expressly require that the
manufacturer of the rotary press have a minimum of 10 years
demonstrated experience in the design, application, fabrication and
supply of rotary press equipment for wastewater treatment plants. The
specifications go on to further require that demonstration of
experience shall take the form of a list of not less than 10 operating
sludge dewatering installations of similar service and size including
process performance data.
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 one and two channel
rotary fan presses and currently cannot meet the design specifications
calling for a six channel rotary press, or the experience requirements
specified for this proposed project. The domestic manufacturer has only
been manufacturing and installing its rotary fan press since 2004,
which is less than the 10 year experience requirement specified for the
project. For these reasons, the Fournier Industries Rotary Sludge Press
is the only unit at the present time that is acceptable in terms of
meeting the design and experience specifications of this 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 City 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 the sludge
dewatering unit. The evaluation of all of the submitted documentation
by EPA's technical review team supports the City'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 City'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 ``shovel ready'' by requiring SRF eligible recipients
such as the City 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 City 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
[[Page 6391]]
from a producer in the United States, the City 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 6-channel rotary press sludge
dewatering units documented in City's waiver request submittal dated
September 28, 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: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Dated: January 29, 2010.
Ira Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. 2010-2817 Filed 2-8-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
