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 Newport, RI, 36069-36071 [2010-15342]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 121 / Thursday, June 24, 2010 / Notices
[FRL–9167–5]
Clean Air Act Operating Permit
Program; Petition for Objection to a
Federal Operating Permit for Waste
Management of Louisiana L.L.C.,
Woodside Landfill and Recycling
Center (WLRC), Walker, Livingston
Parish, LA
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final action.
SUMMARY: This document announces
that the EPA Administrator has
responded to a citizen petition asking
EPA to object to the part 70 Operating
Permit for WLRC, Walker, Livingston
Parish, Louisiana, issued by the
Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality. Specifically, the Administrator
has partially granted and partially
denied the petition submitted by Tulane
Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of
the Louisiana Environmental Action
Network, Concerned Citizens of
Livingston Parish, Mr. O’Neil
Couvillion, and Mr. Harold Wayne
Breaud (Petitioners), to object to the part
70 operating permit for WLRC in
Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Pursuant to section 505(b)(2) of the
Clean Air Act (Act), the petitioner may
seek judicial review of those portions of
the petition which EPA denied in the
United States Court of Appeals for the
appropriate circuit. Any petition for
review shall be filed within 60 days
from the date this notice appears in the
Federal Register, pursuant to section
307 of the Act.
ADDRESSES: You may review copies of
the final order, the petition, and other
supporting information at EPA Region 6,
1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–
2733. EPA requests that if at all
possible, you contact the individual
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section to view copies of the
final order, petition, and other
supporting information. If you wish to
examine these documents, you should
make an appointment at least 24 hours
before visiting day. The final order is
also available electronically at: https://
www.epa.gov/region07/air/title5/
petitiondb/petitions/
woodside_decision2009.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bonnie Braganza, Air Permits Section,
Multimedia Planning and Permitting
Division, EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross
Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733,
telephone (214) 665–7340, or email at
braganza.bonnie@epa.gov.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 Jun 23, 2010
Jkt 220001
The Act
affords EPA a 45-day period to review,
and, as appropriate, object to operating
permits proposed by State permitting
authorities under Title V of the Act.
Section 505(b)(2) of the Act authorizes
any person to petition the EPA
Administrator within 60 days after the
expiration of this review period to
object to title V operating permits if EPA
has not done so. Petitions must be based
only on objections to the permit that
were raised with reasonable specificity
during the public comment period
provided by the State, unless the
petitioner demonstrates that it was
impracticable to raise these issues
during the comment period or the
grounds for the issues arose after this
period.
On January 2, 2009, EPA received a
petition from the Petitioners requesting
that EPA object to the issuance of the
title V operating permit to WLRC for the
operation of the landfill in Walker,
Livingston Parish, Louisiana. The
petitioners claim that: (1) The title V
permit fails to include monitoring
requirements sufficient to assure
compliance with permit limits; (2)
LDEQ erred in determining the amount
of carbon monoxide emissions for
purposes of assessing the applicability
of Prevention of Significant
Deterioration requirements; (3) the title
V permit fails to include nonattainment
new source review; and (4) LDEQ failed
to meet the public notice requirements
before issuing the title V permit.
On May 27, 2010, the Administrator
issued an order partially granting and
partially denying the petition. The order
explains the reasons behind EPA’s
conclusion to partially grant and
partially deny the petition for objection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Dated: June 11, 2010.
Al Armendariz,
Regional Administrator, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2010–15331 Filed 6–23–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9167–9]
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
Newport, RI
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a
waiver of the Buy American
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36069
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 Newport, RI (‘‘City’’) for the
purchase of a foreign manufactured
ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection
treatment system for the Easton Beach
Project in Newport, Rhode Island. 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. Based
upon information submitted by the City
and its consulting engineer, it has been
determined that there are currently no
domestically manufactured UV
disinfection treatment systems available
to meet the City’s project specifications
and construction schedule. The
Regional Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and
recommendations of the Municipal
Assistance Unit. The Assistant
Administrator of the Office of
Administration and Resources
Management has concurred on this
decision to make an exception to
Section 1605 of ARRA. This action
permits the purchase of a foreign
manufactured UV light disinfection
treatment system by the City, as
specified in its February 4, 2010 request.
DATES:
Effective Date: June 15, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918–1658, or David Chin,
Environmental Engineer, (617) 918–
1764, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU),
Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP),
U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite
100, Boston, MA 02109–3912.
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(b)(2) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the City of Newport, RI
(‘‘City’’) for the purchase of a nondomestically manufactured mediumpressure UV light disinfection treatment
system from Trojan Technologies,
manufactured in Canada, to meet the
City’s design and performance
specifications and construction
schedule as part of its proposed Easton
Beach Project in Newport, RI. Trojan
Technologies has a U.S. manufacturing
facility in Ontario, California, but that
site is not currently equipped to
conduct a specific product test
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
E:\FR\FM\24JNN1.SGM
24JNN1
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
36070
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 121 / Thursday, June 24, 2010 / Notices
procedure required for this project’s
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 a public works project
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 the public interest; (2)
iron, steel, and the relevant
manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of
iron, steel, and the relevant
manufactured goods produced in the
United States will increase the cost of
the overall project by more than 25
percent.
The City is proposing a disinfection
system to treat storm water discharging
into Easton Beach, a recreational area.
The UV disinfection system is designed
to treat as much as 62 MGD of storm
water that has historically been the
source of elevated concentration levels
of bacterial contamination sufficient to
cause health officials to close the Easton
Beach area for recreational purposes
during certain weather/runoff events.
The project specifications are for a
medium pressure UV light disinfection
system capable of treating up to 62 MGD
with the following parameters: (1)
Minimum 55% UV transmittance in
storm water runoff, with a minimum of
30 mg/L total suspended solids (TSS)
concentration, (2) 40 mW-sec/cm2
applied UV dose, (3) The Rhode Island
Department of Health beach closure
standard is that each sample shall be
less than or equal to 104 Enterococci
colonies/100 mL; a 20 year lifetime
process performance guarantee will be
required of the disinfection system
supplier, (4) Allowable headloss at Peak
Flow 18 inches, maximum from the
controlling weir to the discharge pumps
outlet, (5) Requisite UV dose at 254 nm
wavelength: 40 mW-sec/cm2, (6)
Ultraviolet transmittance at 253.7 nm:
55%, and (7) effluent to be able to meet
30 mg/L of Total Suspended Solids
(TSS).
Trojan Technologies (‘‘Trojan’’)
manufactures the applicable 3000+ UV
disinfection treatment unit domestically
in the Ontario, California plant as well
as outside the U.S. in Canada. However,
due to the beach closure standard by the
RIDOH and the specification of a 20
year lifetime process performance
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 Jun 23, 2010
Jkt 220001
guarantee for the UV system, the
product will be subject to a device test
cell procedure. Trojan’s California site is
not equipped for this test procedure at
this time. However, the Canadian site is
currently equipped for the test. The test
is performed at the site of manufacture
in Canada, according to the City’s
design engineer.
The supporting documentation and
independent research and
communication with select
manufacturers of medium pressure UV
disinfection systems conducted by
EPA’s national contractor demonstrate
that there are no U.S. manufacturers
able to meet all the project
specifications and the construction
schedule. The design engineer for the
City had identified one domestic
manufacturer in the United States.
According to the City’s design engineer,
although the domestic manufacturer
could meet most of the project
specifications and performance criteria,
if the City used the domestic UV
disinfection system, a redesign of the
system would be required before
construction could take place. The
domestic system is larger than the
proposed Trojan system and an increase
in the size of the structure housing for
the UV system would be necessary.
Additionally, the electrical system of
the UV system would also need to be
redesigned if the domestic system was
used. Project permits that have been
approved for the proposed Trojan
system would likely have to be modified
and/or new permits would need to be
secured because of the increase in the
size of the structure. EPA confirmed that
the footprint would increase by 50
percent for the domestic system. There
has already been considerable public
concern regarding the size of the actual
proposed stormwater disinfection
structure being located in a popular and
busy recreational section of Newport.
There is a great deal of local and tourist
traffic in the area. In addition, there are
a number of site constraints involved
with the proposed project. For example,
one of the design requirements noted by
the City of Newport was that the amount
of land that may be disturbed is less
than 25,000 square feet in order to
minimize impacts to existing buried
utilities, the existing street or right-ofway, as well as the nearby stream and
dam. The City is concerned that
significantly increasing the size of the
structure will raise additional public
concern and would indefinitely delay
the project. The redesign of the structure
would take months to complete and that
along with the expected permitting
process would ultimately delay the
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
construction of the project by at least 2–
3 months. An independent review of the
submitted documentation by EPA’s
national contractor confirmed this
evidence.
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 potential
SRF eligible recipients, such as the City
of Newport, RI, to revise their design
standards and specifications as well as
their construction schedule. 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. In addition, the
timely construction of the new
stormwater disinfection system would
allow further protection of Easton Beach
and its users. The project delays are of
particular concern for implementation
of the system within the recreation
season of 2010.
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ
Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy
American provisions of P.L. 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 Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU)
has reviewed this waiver request and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the City
establishes both a proper basis to
specify a particular manufactured good,
and that the domestic manufactured
good that is currently available does not
meet all of the design specifications and
the construction schedule 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
E:\FR\FM\24JNN1.SGM
24JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 121 / Thursday, June 24, 2010 / Notices
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.
This waiver permits use of ARRA funds
for the purchase of a non-domestic
manufactured ultraviolet light
disinfection treatment system
documented in City’s waiver request
submittal dated February 4, 2010. 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 June 15, 2010.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. 2010–15342 Filed 6–23–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[GN Docket No. 10–127; FCC 10–114]
Framework for Broadband Internet
Service
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: This document begins an
open, public process to consider the
adequacy of the current legal framework
within which the Commission promotes
investment and innovation in, and
protects consumers of, broadband
Internet service. Recent developments—
including a decision of the United
States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit and affirmation
from Congress that the Commission
plays a vital role with respect to
broadband—lead the Commission to
seek comment on our legal framework
for broadband Internet service.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by
July 15, 2010, and reply comments must
be submitted by August 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by GN Docket No. 10–127, by
any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Federal Communications
Commission’s Web Site: https://
fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 Jun 23, 2010
Jkt 220001
• People with Disabilities: Contact the
FCC to request reasonable
accommodations (accessible format
documents, sign language interpreters,
CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov
or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202–
418–0432.
For detailed instructions for
submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process,
see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Killion or David Tannenbaum,
Office of General Counsel, 202–418–
1700.
This is a
summary of the Commission’s Notice of
Inquiry (Notice), FCC 10–114, adopted
on June 17, 2010, and released on June
17, 2010. Interested parties may file
comments on or before July 15, 2010,
and reply comments on or before
August 12, 2010. Comments and reply
comments may be filed: (1) Using the
Commission’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS), (2) using the
Federal Government’s eRulemaking
Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies. See
Electronic Filing of Documents in
Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121,
May 1, 1998. All filings related to this
Notice should refer to GN Docket No.
10–127. Further, we strongly encourage
parties to develop responses to this
Notice that adhere to the organization
and structure of this Notice.
• Electronic Filers: Comments may be
filed electronically using the Internet by
accessing the ECFS: https://
fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.
• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to
file by paper must file an original and
four copies of each filing. If more than
one docket or rulemaking number
appears in the caption of this
proceeding, filers must submit two
additional copies for each additional
docket or rulemaking number.
Filings can be sent by hand or
messenger delivery, by commercial
overnight courier, or by first-class or
overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All
filings must be addressed to the
Commission’s Secretary, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission.
• All hand-delivered or messengerdelivered paper filings for the
Commission’s Secretary must be
delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445
12th St., SW., Room TW–A325,
Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours
are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries
must be held together with rubber bands
or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36071
• Commercial overnight mail (other
than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail
and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300
East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights,
MD 20743.
• U.S. Postal Service first-class,
Express, and Priority mail must be
addressed to 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20554.
Parties shall also serve one copy with
the Commission’s copy contractor, Best
Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals
II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY–B402,
Washington, DC 20554, (202) 488–5300,
or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com.
The inquiry this Notice initiates shall
be treated as a ‘‘permit-but-disclose’’
proceeding in accordance with the
Commission’s ex parte rules. Persons
making oral ex parte presentations are
reminded that memoranda summarizing
the presentations must contain
summaries of the substance of the
presentations and not merely a listing of
the subjects discussed. More than a one
or two sentence description of the views
and arguments presented generally is
required. Other requirements pertaining
to oral and written presentations are set
forth in section 1.1206(b) of the
Commission’s rules. Ex parte comments
may be filed at any time except during
the Sunshine Period. Ex parte comments
may be filed: (1) Using the
Commission’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS), (2) using the
Federal Government’s eRulemaking
Portal, (3) by filing paper copies, or (4)
by posting comments and ideas on the
Broadband.gov blog at https://
blog.broadband.gov/?categoryId=494971
or on https://broadband.ideascale.com/
a/ideafactory.do?discussionID=11271.
In addition to the usual methods for
filing ex parte comments, the
Commission is allowing ex parte
comments in this proceeding to be filed
by posting comments on https://
blog.broadband.gov/?categoryId=494971
and on https://broadband.ideascale.com/
a/ideafactory.do?discussionID=11271.
Accordingly, persons wishing to
examine the record in this proceeding
should examine the record on ECFS,
https://blog.broadband.gov/
?categoryId=494971 and https://
broadband.ideascale.com/a/
ideafactory.do?discussionID=11271.
Although those posting comments on
the blog may choose to provide
identifying information or may
comment anonymously, anonymous
comments will not be part of the record
in this proceeding and accordingly will
not be relied on by the Commission in
reaching its conclusions in this
rulemaking. The Commission will not
rely on anonymous postings in reaching
conclusions in this matter because of
E:\FR\FM\24JNN1.SGM
24JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 121 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36069-36071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15342]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9167-9]
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 Newport, RI
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 Newport, RI (``City'') for the purchase of a
foreign manufactured ultraviolet (UV) light disinfection treatment
system for the Easton Beach Project in Newport, Rhode Island. 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. Based upon information
submitted by the City and its consulting engineer, it has been
determined that there are currently no domestically manufactured UV
disinfection treatment systems available to meet the City's project
specifications and construction schedule. The Regional Administrator is
making this determination based on the review and recommendations of
the Municipal Assistance Unit. The Assistant Administrator of the
Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this
decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA. This action
permits the purchase of a foreign manufactured UV light disinfection
treatment system by the City, as specified in its February 4, 2010
request.
DATES: Effective Date: June 15, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918-1658, or David Chin, Environmental Engineer, (617) 918-1764,
Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP),
U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100, Boston, MA 02109-3912.
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(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, to the City of Newport, RI (``City'') for the purchase of
a non-domestically manufactured medium-pressure UV light disinfection
treatment system from Trojan Technologies, manufactured in Canada, to
meet the City's design and performance specifications and construction
schedule as part of its proposed Easton Beach Project in Newport, RI.
Trojan Technologies has a U.S. manufacturing facility in Ontario,
California, but that site is not currently equipped to conduct a
specific product test
[[Page 36070]]
procedure required for this project's 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 a public works project 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 the public interest; (2) iron, steel, and the
relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality; or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured
goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the
overall project by more than 25 percent.
The City is proposing a disinfection system to treat storm water
discharging into Easton Beach, a recreational area. The UV disinfection
system is designed to treat as much as 62 MGD of storm water that has
historically been the source of elevated concentration levels of
bacterial contamination sufficient to cause health officials to close
the Easton Beach area for recreational purposes during certain weather/
runoff events.
The project specifications are for a medium pressure UV light
disinfection system capable of treating up to 62 MGD with the following
parameters: (1) Minimum 55% UV transmittance in storm water runoff,
with a minimum of 30 mg/L total suspended solids (TSS) concentration,
(2) 40 mW-sec/cm\2\ applied UV dose, (3) The Rhode Island Department of
Health beach closure standard is that each sample shall be less than or
equal to 104 Enterococci colonies/100 mL; a 20 year lifetime process
performance guarantee will be required of the disinfection system
supplier, (4) Allowable headloss at Peak Flow 18 inches, maximum from
the controlling weir to the discharge pumps outlet, (5) Requisite UV
dose at 254 nm wavelength: 40 mW-sec/cm\2\, (6) Ultraviolet
transmittance at 253.7 nm: 55%, and (7) effluent to be able to meet 30
mg/L of Total Suspended Solids (TSS).
Trojan Technologies (``Trojan'') manufactures the applicable 3000+
UV disinfection treatment unit domestically in the Ontario, California
plant as well as outside the U.S. in Canada. However, due to the beach
closure standard by the RIDOH and the specification of a 20 year
lifetime process performance guarantee for the UV system, the product
will be subject to a device test cell procedure. Trojan's California
site is not equipped for this test procedure at this time. However, the
Canadian site is currently equipped for the test. The test is performed
at the site of manufacture in Canada, according to the City's design
engineer.
The supporting documentation and independent research and
communication with select manufacturers of medium pressure UV
disinfection systems conducted by EPA's national contractor demonstrate
that there are no U.S. manufacturers able to meet all the project
specifications and the construction schedule. The design engineer for
the City had identified one domestic manufacturer in the United States.
According to the City's design engineer, although the domestic
manufacturer could meet most of the project specifications and
performance criteria, if the City used the domestic UV disinfection
system, a redesign of the system would be required before construction
could take place. The domestic system is larger than the proposed
Trojan system and an increase in the size of the structure housing for
the UV system would be necessary. Additionally, the electrical system
of the UV system would also need to be redesigned if the domestic
system was used. Project permits that have been approved for the
proposed Trojan system would likely have to be modified and/or new
permits would need to be secured because of the increase in the size of
the structure. EPA confirmed that the footprint would increase by 50
percent for the domestic system. There has already been considerable
public concern regarding the size of the actual proposed stormwater
disinfection structure being located in a popular and busy recreational
section of Newport. There is a great deal of local and tourist traffic
in the area. In addition, there are a number of site constraints
involved with the proposed project. For example, one of the design
requirements noted by the City of Newport was that the amount of land
that may be disturbed is less than 25,000 square feet in order to
minimize impacts to existing buried utilities, the existing street or
right-of-way, as well as the nearby stream and dam. The City is
concerned that significantly increasing the size of the structure will
raise additional public concern and would indefinitely delay the
project. The redesign of the structure would take months to complete
and that along with the expected permitting process would ultimately
delay the construction of the project by at least 2-3 months. An
independent review of the submitted documentation by EPA's national
contractor confirmed this evidence.
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 potential SRF eligible
recipients, such as the City of Newport, RI, to revise their design
standards and specifications as well as their construction schedule.
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. In addition, the
timely construction of the new stormwater disinfection system would
allow further protection of Easton Beach and its users. The project
delays are of particular concern for implementation of the system
within the recreation season of 2010.
The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ Memorandum, ``Implementation of Buy
American provisions of P.L. 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 Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by the City establishes both a proper basis to specify a particular
manufactured good, and that the domestic manufactured good that is
currently available does not meet all of the design specifications and
the construction schedule 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
[[Page 36071]]
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. This waiver permits use of ARRA funds for the
purchase of a non-domestic manufactured ultraviolet light disinfection
treatment system documented in City's waiver request submittal dated
February 4, 2010. 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 June 15, 2010.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. 2010-15342 Filed 6-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
