Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the City of North Pole (the City) Alaska, 8063-8065 [2010-3525]
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mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices
questions, preliminary comments and
other materials) for the March 10–11,
2010 meeting and the April 8, 2010 and
April 9, 2010 teleconferences will be
placed on the CASAC Web site on the
Web pages for those public meetings,
accessible through the calendar link on
the blue navigational bar at https://
www.epa.gov/casac. The Particulate
Matter Urban-Focused Visibility
Assessment: (January 2010) is available
at https://www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/
standards/pm/s_pm_2007_risk.html.
The Quantitative Health Risk
Assessment for Particulate Matter—
Second External Review Draft (February
2010) will be available on or about
February 5, 2010 at https://www.epa.gov/
ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/
s_pm_2007_risk.html. The Policy
Assessment for the Review of Particulate
Matter National Ambient Air Quality
Standards: First External Review Draft
(February 2010) will be available on or
about February 26, 2010 at https://
www.epa.gov/ttn/naaqs/standards/pm/
s_pm_2007_pa.html.
Procedures for Providing Public Input:
Interested members of the public may
submit relevant written or oral
information for consideration on the
topics included in this advisory activity.
Oral Statements: To be placed on the
public speaker list for the March 10–11,
2010 meeting, interested parties should
notify Dr. Holly Stallworth, DFO, by email no later than March 4, 2010.
Individuals making oral statements will
be limited to five minutes per speaker.
To be placed on the public speaker list
for the April 8, 2010 teleconference,
interested parties should notify Dr.
Stallworth, DFO, by e-mail no later than
April 1, 2010. Individuals making oral
statements on the teleconference will be
limited to three minutes per speaker.
Written Statements: Written statements
for the March 10–11, 2010 meeting
should be received in the SAB Staff
Office by March 4, 2010, so that the
information may be made available to
the CASAC Panel for its consideration
prior to this meeting. Written statements
for the April 8, 2010 teleconference
should be received in the SAB Staff
Office by April 1, 2010. Written
statements should be supplied to the
DFO in the following formats: one hard
copy with original signature and one
electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable
file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS
Word, WordPerfect, MS PowerPoint, or
Rich Text files in IBM–PC/Windows 98/
2000/XP format). Submitters are asked
to provide versions of each document
submitted with and without signatures,
because the SAB Staff Office does not
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:25 Feb 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
publish documents with signatures on
its Web sites.
Accessibility: For information on
access or services for individuals with
disabilities, please contact Dr.
Stallworth at the phone number or email address noted above, preferably at
least ten days prior to the
teleconference, to give EPA as much
time as possible to process your request.
Dated: February 16, 2010.
Vanessa T. Vu,
Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office.
[FR Doc. 2010–3518 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9116–5]
RIN 2040–AF10
Stakeholder Meeting Regarding
Revisions to the Unregulated
Contaminant Monitoring Regulation
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA) requires the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate
regulations establishing criteria for a
monitoring program for unregulated
contaminants. Monitoring varies based
on system size, source water, and
contaminants likely to be found. SDWA
also specifies that for systems serving
10,000 persons or fewer, only a
representative sample of systems must
monitor. Per SDWA, EPA is required to
issue, every five years, a list of not more
than 30 unregulated contaminants to be
monitored by public water systems. The
first list of unregulated contaminants
was published on September 17, 1999,
and the second list on January 4, 2007.
The third list is scheduled to be
proposed by November 2010.
The purpose of this notice is to
announce a public stakeholder meeting
to present information to stakeholders
concerning the status of the Agency’s
efforts in the areas of analyte selection,
analytical methods, sampling design,
determination of minimum reporting
levels, and other possible revisions to
the current Unregulated Contaminant
Monitoring Regulation.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
April 7, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be
held at the Crystal City Marriott at
Reagan National Airport, in the Salon D
PO 00000
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8063
Room, at 1999 Jefferson Davis Highway,
Arlington, VA 22202. The hotel is
located near the Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport, and has
access to the Crystal City Station on the
Blue and Yellow Lines of the
Washington Metrorail System (Metro).
The Marriott’s telephone number is
(703) 413–5500.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
General background information, please
contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline,
phone: (800) 426–4791 or (703) 412–
3330. Technical information contact
David J. Munch or Brenda D. Parris,
USEPA, Office of Ground Water and
Drinking Water, Mail Code 140, 26 West
Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati,
OH 45268, or by e-mail:
munch.dave@epa.gov or
parris.brenda@epa.gov. An
informational package will be prepared
and available at the meeting. If you wish
to receive this package prior to the
meeting, contact Maureen Devitt Stone
of The Cadmus Group at
maureen.stone@cadmusgroup.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
meeting is open to the public.
Statements from the public will be taken
if time permits. This meeting will be
held in a building that is accessible to
persons using wheelchairs and scooters.
Any person needing special
accommodations at this meeting,
including wheelchair access, should
contact Susan Bjork of The Cadmus
Group at (617) 673–7166 or
susan.bjork@cadmusgroup.com, as soon
as possible, but preferably no less than
five business days before the scheduled
meeting.
Dated: February 18, 2010.
Cynthia C. Dougherty,
Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking
Water.
[FR Doc. 2010–3534 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9114–8]
Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
the City of North Pole (the City) Alaska
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional
Administrator of EPA Region 10 is
hereby granting a waiver of the Buy
America requirements of ARRA Section
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8064
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices
1605(a) 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 for the purchase of ORION ®
Water Meter Monitor with Leak
Detection Indicator in-home water meter
monitors manufactured in Malaysia by
Escatech, Inc., under license from
Badger Meter, Inc., located in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 waiver
applicant states that the Badger in-home
water meter monitors are the only
devices that are compatible with the
water meter heads installed by the City
since 2007. No other water meter
monitors meet satisfactory quality to
meet the specifications.
The Acting Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the
review and recommendations of the
Drinking Water Unit. The City has
provided sufficient documentation to
support their request.
DATES: Effective Date: February 11,
2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Johnny Clark, DWSRF ARRA Program
Management Analyst, Drinking Water
Unit, Office of Water & Watersheds
(OWW), (206) 553–0082, U.S. EPA
Region 10 (OWW–136), 1200 Sixth
Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
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 Section 1605(a) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the City for the
acquisition of ORION ® Water Meter
Monitor with Leak Detection Indicator
in-home water meter monitors
manufactured in Malaysia by Escatech,
Inc., under license from Badger Meter,
Inc., located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The applicant indicates that Badger inhome water meter monitors are the only
devices that are compatible with the
water meter heads installed by the City
since 2007 and that no other water
meter monitors are capable or meeting
satisfactory quality to meet the technical
specifications. 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
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:25 Feb 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
is produced in the United States unless
a waiver is provided to the recipient by
EPA. A waiver may be provided under
Section 1605(b) 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.
This ARRA-funded project involves
implementing a Water Meter
Replacement Project by (1) improving
efficiency by providing customers with
a single meter reading platform and (2)
promoting water conservation by
providing customers with in-home
monitoring devices. Because of extreme
winter temperatures that can reach
¥60° F., the City requires that water
meters be installed inside heated
structures. Moreover, the in-home
monitoring feature strongly promotes
water conservation through the early
detection and remediation of leaks. The
City has used residential water meters
supplied by Badger Meter, Inc. since the
1990s. In 2007, the City began replacing
the heads on previously installed water
meters with water meter heads
containing a new transmitting
technology, also from Badger Meter, Inc.
The replacement Badger water meter
head transmits a radio signal that can
only be read by Badger Meter licensed
meter reading technology including the
in-home water meter monitoring units
which are the subject of this waiver
request. The City has completed the
installation of approximately 425 of
these meters, with the cost of procuring
and installing the remaining
approximately 100 replacement meters
to be supported by this ARRA assistance
agreement.
An inquiry by EPA’s national
contractor confirmed that no other
electronic monitoring device is
compatible with the Badger meter
transmitter system. Based on available
information, it is unlikely that another
in-home meter monitoring device that is
not licensed by Badger Meter, Inc.
would function with the City’s existing
meter configuration. Use of another
meter monitoring system would thus
likely require replacement of the
existing 425 meters and transmitters.
EPA finds these considerations as
stated by the City provide ample
functional justification for their
specification of these meters,
particularly because the use of meters
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
with the specified features is required
for their effective performance in the
respects required by the City. Further, as
the City initiated its procurement and
installation of these meters in 2007, well
before the enactment of ARRA, the
decision to do so was clearly not an
attempt to avoid application of the Buy
American provisions of ARRA.
Therefore, the City’s specifications for
the particular Badger Meter model and
features were justified.
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
‘‘satisfactory quality ’’ as the quality of
iron, steel or the relevant manufactured
good as specified in the project plans
and design. The City has provided
information to the EPA representing that
there are currently no domestic
manufacturers of the in-home water
meter monitors that meet the project
specification requirements. Based on
additional research by EPA’s consulting
contractor (Cadmus), and to the best of
the Region’s knowledge at this time,
there does not appear to be any other
manufacturers capable of meeting the
City’s specifications.
Furthermore, the purpose of the
ARRA provisions was to stimulate
economic recovery by funding current
infrastructure construction, not to delay
projects that are already shovel ready by
requiring entities, like the City, to revise
their design and potentially choose a
more costly and less effective project.
The imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects eligible
for DWSRF 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 the most
fundamental economic purposes of
ARRA; to create or retain jobs.
The Drinking Water Unit has
reviewed this waiver request and has
determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the City is
sufficient to meet the following criteria
listed under Section 1605(b) 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), due to the lack of production
of this product in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
E:\FR\FM\23FEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices
quantities and of a satisfactory quality
in order to meet the City’s design
specifications. 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 City is hereby granted a waiver from
the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for
the purchase ORION ® Water Meter
Monitor with Leak Detection Indicator
in-home water meter monitors
manufactured in Malaysia by Escatech,
Inc., under license from Badger Meter,
Inc., located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
as specified in the City’s request of
November 23, 2009. This supplementary
information constitutes the detailed
written justification required by Section
1605(c) for waivers based on a finding
under subsection (b).
Authority: P.L. 111–5, section 1605.
Issued on: February 11, 2010.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA, Region
10.
[FR Doc. 2010–3525 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE
UNITED STATES
Sunshine Act Meeting
ACTION: Notice of a partially open
meeting of the Board of Directors of the
Export-Import Bank of the United
States.
Thursday, February 18,
2010 at 9:30 a.m. The meeting will be
held at Ex-Im Bank in Room 1143, 811
Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20571.
mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
TIME AND PLACE:
OPEN AGENDA ITEMS: Item No. 1: Ex-Im
Bank Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory
Committee for 2010.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: The meeting will
be open to public observation for Item
No. 1 only.
FURTHER INFORMATION: For further
information, contact: Office of the
VerDate Nov<24>2008
16:25 Feb 22, 2010
Jkt 220001
Secretary, 811 Vermont Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20571, (202) 565–3957.
Jonathan J. Cordone,
Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010–3322 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6690–01–M
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Notice of Public Information Collection
Being Reviewed by the Federal
Communications Commission,
Comments Requested
February 17, 2010.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications
Commission, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork burden
invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the
following information collection, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. An
agency may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control
number. No person shall be subject to
any penalty for failing to comply with
a collection of information subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that
does not display a valid control number.
Comments are requested concerning (a)
Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information shall have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of the Commission’s
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on the respondents,
including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology and (e) ways to
further reduce the information burden
for small business concerns with fewer
than 25 employees.
The FCC may not conduct or sponsor
a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid control
number. No person shall be subject to
any penalty for failing to comply with
a collection of information subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that
does not display a valid control number.
DATES: Persons wishing to comment on
this information collection should
submit comments by April 26, 2010. If
you anticipate that you will be
submitting comments, but find it
difficult to do so within the period of
time allowed by this notice, you should
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8065
advise the contact listed below as soon
as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to
Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax
at (202) 395–5167, or via e-mail at
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and
to Cathy Williams, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), via
e-mail at Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov and to
PRA@fcc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information about the
information collection send an e-mail to
PRA@fcc.gov or contact Cathy Williams
at (202) 418–2918.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060–0647.
Title: Annual Survey of Cable
Industry Prices.
Form Number: Form 333.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities; State, local or Tribal
Government.
Number of Respondents and
Responses: 758 respondents and 758
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 6
hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual
Reporting Requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 4,548 hours.
Total Annual Cost: None.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory.
The statutory authority for this
information collection is in Sections 4(i)
and 623(k) of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
If individual respondents to this survey
wish to request confidential treatment of
any data provided in connection with
this survey, they can do so upon written
request, in accordance with Sections
0.457 and 0.459 of the Commission’s
rules. To receive confidential treatment
of their data, respondents need only
describe the specific information they
wish to protect and provide an
explanation of why such confidential
treatment is appropriate.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No
impact(s).
Needs and Uses: The Cable Television
Consumer Protection and Competition
Act of 1992 (‘‘Cable Act’’) requires the
Commission to publish annually a
report on average rates for basic cable
service, cable programming service, and
equipment. The report must compare
the prices charged by cable operators
subject to effective competition and
those that are not subject to effective
competition. The Annual Cable Industry
Price Survey is intended to collect the
data needed to prepare that report. The
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8063-8065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3525]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9114-8]
Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to the City of North Pole (the City) Alaska
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Acting Regional Administrator of EPA Region 10 is hereby
granting a waiver of the Buy America requirements of ARRA Section
[[Page 8064]]
1605(a) 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 for the
purchase of ORION [supreg] Water Meter Monitor with Leak Detection
Indicator in-home water meter monitors manufactured in Malaysia by
Escatech, Inc., under license from Badger Meter, Inc., located in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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 waiver applicant states that the Badger in-home
water meter monitors are the only devices that are compatible with the
water meter heads installed by the City since 2007. No other water
meter monitors meet satisfactory quality to meet the specifications.
The Acting Regional Administrator is making this determination
based on the review and recommendations of the Drinking Water Unit. The
City has provided sufficient documentation to support their request.
DATES: Effective Date: February 11, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Johnny Clark, DWSRF ARRA Program
Management Analyst, Drinking Water Unit, Office of Water & Watersheds
(OWW), (206) 553-0082, U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW-136), 1200 Sixth Avenue,
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.
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
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American requirements, to the
City for the acquisition of ORION [supreg] Water Meter Monitor with
Leak Detection Indicator in-home water meter monitors manufactured in
Malaysia by Escatech, Inc., under license from Badger Meter, Inc.,
located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The applicant indicates that Badger
in-home water meter monitors are the only devices that are compatible
with the water meter heads installed by the City since 2007 and that no
other water meter monitors are capable or meeting satisfactory quality
to meet the technical specifications. 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 unless a waiver is provided to
the recipient by EPA. A waiver may be provided under Section 1605(b) 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.
This ARRA-funded project involves implementing a Water Meter
Replacement Project by (1) improving efficiency by providing customers
with a single meter reading platform and (2) promoting water
conservation by providing customers with in-home monitoring devices.
Because of extreme winter temperatures that can reach -60[deg] F., the
City requires that water meters be installed inside heated structures.
Moreover, the in-home monitoring feature strongly promotes water
conservation through the early detection and remediation of leaks. The
City has used residential water meters supplied by Badger Meter, Inc.
since the 1990s. In 2007, the City began replacing the heads on
previously installed water meters with water meter heads containing a
new transmitting technology, also from Badger Meter, Inc. The
replacement Badger water meter head transmits a radio signal that can
only be read by Badger Meter licensed meter reading technology
including the in-home water meter monitoring units which are the
subject of this waiver request. The City has completed the installation
of approximately 425 of these meters, with the cost of procuring and
installing the remaining approximately 100 replacement meters to be
supported by this ARRA assistance agreement.
An inquiry by EPA's national contractor confirmed that no other
electronic monitoring device is compatible with the Badger meter
transmitter system. Based on available information, it is unlikely that
another in-home meter monitoring device that is not licensed by Badger
Meter, Inc. would function with the City's existing meter
configuration. Use of another meter monitoring system would thus likely
require replacement of the existing 425 meters and transmitters.
EPA finds these considerations as stated by the City provide ample
functional justification for their specification of these meters,
particularly because the use of meters with the specified features is
required for their effective performance in the respects required by
the City. Further, as the City initiated its procurement and
installation of these meters in 2007, well before the enactment of
ARRA, the decision to do so was clearly not an attempt to avoid
application of the Buy American provisions of ARRA. Therefore, the
City's specifications for the particular Badger Meter model and
features were justified.
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 ``satisfactory quality '' as the
quality of iron, steel or the relevant manufactured good as specified
in the project plans and design. The City has provided information to
the EPA representing that there are currently no domestic manufacturers
of the in-home water meter monitors that meet the project specification
requirements. Based on additional research by EPA's consulting
contractor (Cadmus), and to the best of the Region's knowledge at this
time, there does not appear to be any other manufacturers capable of
meeting the City's specifications.
Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA provisions was to stimulate
economic recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not
to delay projects that are already shovel ready by requiring entities,
like the City, to revise their design and potentially choose a more
costly and less effective project. The imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects eligible for DWSRF 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 the most fundamental economic purposes of ARRA; to create
or retain jobs.
The Drinking Water Unit has reviewed this waiver request and has
determined that the supporting documentation provided by the City is
sufficient to meet the following criteria listed under Section 1605(b)
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), due to the lack of production of this product in
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
[[Page 8065]]
quantities and of a satisfactory quality in order to meet the City's
design specifications. 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 City
is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase ORION [supreg]
Water Meter Monitor with Leak Detection Indicator in-home water meter
monitors manufactured in Malaysia by Escatech, Inc., under license from
Badger Meter, Inc., located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as specified in the
City's request of November 23, 2009. This supplementary information
constitutes the detailed written justification required by Section
1605(c) for waivers based on a finding under subsection (b).
Authority: P.L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued on: February 11, 2010.
Michelle L. Pirzadeh,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2010-3525 Filed 2-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
