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 Lowell, MA, 58382-58383 [2010-23988]
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58382
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices
manufacturer is aware of the scheduling
implications and has offered to provide
the sluice gates at no cost, other than for
freight and field service charges. The
Town, which could not reasonably
foresee the need for a waiver to the Buy
American provision of the ARRA,
submitted a waiver request immediately
(July 9th, 2010) after they were informed
by the manufacturer of the delivery
oversight.
Re-ordering the gates and having them
manufactured in the Massachusetts
facility would delay the upgrade work
to the final clarifiers by at least three
months. Unfortunately, the existing
final clarifier equipment has already
failed, and since existing wastewater
flows at the wastewater treatment plant
are currently at seasonal lows, the most
opportune time to install the new sluice
gates would be during the July and
August time frame.
Furthermore, the purpose of the
ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery
by funding current infrastructure
construction, not to delay or require the
substantial redesign of projects that are
‘‘shovel ready,’’ such as this project at
the Bristol, Rhode Island Wastewater
Treatment Plant. The implementation of
the ARRA Buy American requirements
in this case would result in additional
cost for this project and unreasonable
delay in its completion. Such delay
would also directly conflict with a
fundamental economic purpose of
ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs.
More importantly, the imposition of the
Buy American requirement would result
in additional risk to water quality
protection.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU)
has reviewed this waiver request and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the Town’s
design engineer established a proper
basis to specify that using the domestic
manufactured good would be
inconsistent with the public interest of
the Town of Bristol, Rhode Island. The
information provided is sufficient to
meet the following criteria listed under
Section 1605(b)(1) of the ARRA and in
the April 28, 2009 Memorandum:
Applying these requirements would be
inconsistent with the public interest.
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 using
a domestically available alternative
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:12 Sep 23, 2010
Jkt 220001
manufactured good would be
inconsistent with the public interest, the
Town of Bristol, Rhode Island 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 installation
and utilization of foreign manufactured
influent and effluent sluice gates as
documented in the Town’s waiver
request submittal dated July 9, 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: September 15, 2010.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. 2010–23968 Filed 9–23–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9206–3]
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
Lowell, MA
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The EPA is hereby granting a
waiver of the Buy American
requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section
1605(b)(1) [inconsistent with the public
interest] to the City of Lowell,
Massachusetts (City) for the purchase of
a foreign manufactured 30-inch
diameter pipe tee fitting for a finished
water pipe at the Lowell Water
Treatment Facility. This is a projectspecific 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 projectspecific circumstances. The proposed
work involved repairing an existing 30inch cement lined ductile iron fitting on
a finished water line in the Lowell
Water Treatment Facility. Based upon
information submitted by the City’s
consulting engineer, EPA has concluded
that, under the given circumstances (i.e.
emergency standby situation, the need
to minimize disruption in water
transmission service), requiring the
installation of an alternative domestic
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
manufactured pipe fitting would be
inconsistent with the public interest,
and that a waiver of the Buy American
provisions is justified. 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 the
requirements of Section 1605(a) of
ARRA. This action allows the purchase
and installation of the foreign
manufactured 30-inch pipe fitting
media, as specified in its June 18, 2010
request.
DATES: Effective Date: September 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(a) of
Public Law 111–5, Buy American
requirements, to the City of Lowell,
Massachusetts for the purchase of a nondomestic 30-inch diameter pipe fitting
for a finished water pipe at the Lowell
Water Treatment Facility. EPA has
evaluated the City’s basis for procuring
a 30-inch diameter pipe fitting from
China at a cost of $4,000. Based on the
information provided by the City’s
design engineer, EPA has determined
that it is inconsistent with the public
interest for the City to have pursued the
purchase of a domestically
manufactured 30-inch diameter pipe
fitting under the specific circumstances
encountered by the City.
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 under Section 1605(b) 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
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
24SEN1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices
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.
When a recipient or sub-recipient has
used foreign iron, steel, and/or
manufactured goods for an ARRA
project without authorization, as is the
case here, OMB’s regulation at 2 CFR
176.130 directs EPA to take appropriate
action, which may include processing a
determination concerning the
inapplicability of Section 1605 of ARRA
in accordance with 2 CFR 176.120.
Consistent with the direction of 2 CFR
176.120, EPA will generally consider a
waiver request made after obligating
ARRA funds for a project to be a ‘‘late’’
request. However, in this case EPA has
determined that the City’s request,
though made after the date the contract
was signed and after use of the foreign
pipe fitting, can be evaluated as timely
because the City could not reasonably
have foreseen the need for such a
determination until after initiating the
work. Accordingly, EPA will evaluate
the request as if it were timely.
The City is requesting a waiver of the
Buy American provision for a 30-inch
diameter pipe fitting that was
manufactured in China which replaced
an existing 30-inch diameter cement
lined ductile iron fitting on a finished
water line at the Lowell Water
Treatment facility. According to the
City’s design engineer, the existing 30inch diameter pipe fitting had been
leaking for some time at the threaded
connection with a 2-inch air release
valve. The original intent of the City
was to remove the air release valve,
clean the threads, perform the necessary
repairs, and re-install the existing 30inch fitting. However, in the event of a
possible break in the pipe delivery
system or if the existing fitting failed
during the repair work, a new 30-inch
diameter pipe fitting had to be on-site
on an emergency standby basis. As a
result, the City explored having a 30inch diameter pipe fitting on-site before
they could start any additional repair
work.
During the week of May 3rd, 2010, the
City was informed by three suppliers/
vendors that a 30-inch diameter
domestic pipe fitting would not be
available on an emergency standby basis
unless the City purchased it outright.
Based on information provided by the
City’s consulting engineer, due to the
large size of the fitting, vendors would
only make their imported 30-inch tee
pipe fittings available on standby status,
but not their domestic pipe fittings. As
a result, no domestic-made fittings of
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:12 Sep 23, 2010
Jkt 220001
that size were available for stand-by in
an emergency situation that would meet
technical specifications. The City could
not find a supplier/vendor that would
promise right of first refusal on a
domestic manufactured pipe fitting
without purchasing it in full. None of
the available vendors would allow the
City the opportunity to return a 30-inch
diameter domestic pipe fitting, if the
City had decided on not installing it.
The City decided to order a 30-inch
diameter foreign manufactured pipe
fitting (made in China at a cost to the
City of Lowell of $4,000) to have it
available on an emergency standby basis
to minimize plant shutdown and any
disruption of water service delivery, in
the event total replacement became
necessary or if the pipe delivery system
failed. The City had planned to repair
and re-install the existing pipe fitting,
but once the repair work had begun, it
was determined that complete
replacement was the proper approach to
take. During the week of June 14th, the
new foreign manufactured 30-inch
diameter pipe fitting was installed.
Fortunately, and more importantly, no
disruption of water transmission service
took place due to proper planning. The
City then made the request to the EPA
for a waiver on June 18, 2010,
immediately after the emergency
replacement work took place and it
could not reasonably foresee the need
for such a determination until after
initiating the repair work and
determining that a complete
replacement of the pipe fitting was the
proper course of action.
Furthermore, the purpose of the
ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery
by funding current infrastructure
construction, not to delay or require the
substantial redesign of projects that are
‘‘shovel ready,’’ such as this project at
the Lowell Water Treatment Plant. The
imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements in this case would have
likely resulted in unreasonable
additional cost for this project and delay
in its completion. Such delay would
also directly conflict with a
fundamental economic purpose of
ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs.
More importantly, the imposition could
have resulted in a risk to public health
had water service been interrupted for
any extended period of time.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU)
has reviewed this waiver request and
has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by the City’s
design engineer established a proper
basis to specify that using the domestic
manufactured good would be
inconsistent with the public interest of
the City of Lowell. The information
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
58383
provided is sufficient to meet the
following criteria listed under Section
1605(b)(1) of the ARRA and in the April
28, 2009 Memorandum: Applying these
requirements would be inconsistent
with the public interest.
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 using
a domestically available alternative
manufactured good would be
inconsistent with the public interest, the
City of Lowell, Massachusetts 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 foreign manufactured 30-inch
diameter pipe fitting documented in the
City’s waiver request submittal dated
June 18, 2010. This supplementary
information constitutes the detailed
written justification required by Section
1605(c) for waivers based on a finding
under subsection (b).
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section
1605.
Dated: September 15, 2010.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region
1—New England.
[FR Doc. 2010–23988 Filed 9–23–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9205–5]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office
Request for Nominations of Experts for
the Review of Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative Action Plan
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The EPA Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office is requesting
public nominations for technical experts
to form an SAB panel to review the
interagency Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan which
describes restoration priorities, goals,
objectives, measurable ecological
targets, and specific actions.
DATES: Nominations should be
submitted by October 15, 2010 per
instructions below.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\24SEN1.SGM
24SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58382-58383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23988]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9206-3]
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 Lowell, 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)(1) [inconsistent with the public interest] to the City of
Lowell, Massachusetts (City) for the purchase of a foreign manufactured
30-inch diameter pipe tee fitting for a finished water pipe at the
Lowell Water Treatment Facility. 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 proposed work involved repairing an existing 30-inch
cement lined ductile iron fitting on a finished water line in the
Lowell Water Treatment Facility. Based upon information submitted by
the City's consulting engineer, EPA has concluded that, under the given
circumstances (i.e. emergency standby situation, the need to minimize
disruption in water transmission service), requiring the installation
of an alternative domestic manufactured pipe fitting would be
inconsistent with the public interest, and that a waiver of the Buy
American provisions is justified. 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 the requirements of Section 1605(a) of ARRA.
This action allows the purchase and installation of the foreign
manufactured 30-inch pipe fitting media, as specified in its June 18,
2010 request.
DATES: Effective Date: September 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(a) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, to the City of Lowell, Massachusetts for the purchase of
a non-domestic 30-inch diameter pipe fitting for a finished water pipe
at the Lowell Water Treatment Facility. EPA has evaluated the City's
basis for procuring a 30-inch diameter pipe fitting from China at a
cost of $4,000. Based on the information provided by the City's design
engineer, EPA has determined that it is inconsistent with the public
interest for the City to have pursued the purchase of a domestically
manufactured 30-inch diameter pipe fitting under the specific
circumstances encountered by the City.
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 under Section 1605(b) 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
[[Page 58383]]
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.
When a recipient or sub-recipient has used foreign iron, steel,
and/or manufactured goods for an ARRA project without authorization, as
is the case here, OMB's regulation at 2 CFR 176.130 directs EPA to take
appropriate action, which may include processing a determination
concerning the inapplicability of Section 1605 of ARRA in accordance
with 2 CFR 176.120. Consistent with the direction of 2 CFR 176.120, EPA
will generally consider a waiver request made after obligating ARRA
funds for a project to be a ``late'' request. However, in this case EPA
has determined that the City's request, though made after the date the
contract was signed and after use of the foreign pipe fitting, can be
evaluated as timely because the City could not reasonably have foreseen
the need for such a determination until after initiating the work.
Accordingly, EPA will evaluate the request as if it were timely.
The City is requesting a waiver of the Buy American provision for a
30-inch diameter pipe fitting that was manufactured in China which
replaced an existing 30-inch diameter cement lined ductile iron fitting
on a finished water line at the Lowell Water Treatment facility.
According to the City's design engineer, the existing 30-inch diameter
pipe fitting had been leaking for some time at the threaded connection
with a 2-inch air release valve. The original intent of the City was to
remove the air release valve, clean the threads, perform the necessary
repairs, and re-install the existing 30-inch fitting. However, in the
event of a possible break in the pipe delivery system or if the
existing fitting failed during the repair work, a new 30-inch diameter
pipe fitting had to be on-site on an emergency standby basis. As a
result, the City explored having a 30-inch diameter pipe fitting on-
site before they could start any additional repair work.
During the week of May 3rd, 2010, the City was informed by three
suppliers/vendors that a 30-inch diameter domestic pipe fitting would
not be available on an emergency standby basis unless the City
purchased it outright. Based on information provided by the City's
consulting engineer, due to the large size of the fitting, vendors
would only make their imported 30-inch tee pipe fittings available on
standby status, but not their domestic pipe fittings. As a result, no
domestic-made fittings of that size were available for stand-by in an
emergency situation that would meet technical specifications. The City
could not find a supplier/vendor that would promise right of first
refusal on a domestic manufactured pipe fitting without purchasing it
in full. None of the available vendors would allow the City the
opportunity to return a 30-inch diameter domestic pipe fitting, if the
City had decided on not installing it.
The City decided to order a 30-inch diameter foreign manufactured
pipe fitting (made in China at a cost to the City of Lowell of $4,000)
to have it available on an emergency standby basis to minimize plant
shutdown and any disruption of water service delivery, in the event
total replacement became necessary or if the pipe delivery system
failed. The City had planned to repair and re-install the existing pipe
fitting, but once the repair work had begun, it was determined that
complete replacement was the proper approach to take. During the week
of June 14th, the new foreign manufactured 30-inch diameter pipe
fitting was installed. Fortunately, and more importantly, no disruption
of water transmission service took place due to proper planning. The
City then made the request to the EPA for a waiver on June 18, 2010,
immediately after the emergency replacement work took place and it
could not reasonably foresee the need for such a determination until
after initiating the repair work and determining that a complete
replacement of the pipe fitting was the proper course of action.
Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic
recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay
or require the substantial redesign of projects that are ``shovel
ready,'' such as this project at the Lowell Water Treatment Plant. The
imposition of ARRA Buy American requirements in this case would have
likely resulted in unreasonable additional cost for this project and
delay in its completion. Such delay would also directly conflict with a
fundamental economic purpose of ARRA, which is to create or retain
jobs. More importantly, the imposition could have resulted in a risk to
public health had water service been interrupted for any extended
period of time.
The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by the City's design engineer established a proper basis to specify
that using the domestic manufactured good would be inconsistent with
the public interest of the City of Lowell. The information provided is
sufficient to meet the following criteria listed under Section
1605(b)(1) of the ARRA and in the April 28, 2009 Memorandum: Applying
these requirements would be inconsistent with the public interest.
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 using a domestically available
alternative manufactured good would be inconsistent with the public
interest, the City of Lowell, Massachusetts 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
foreign manufactured 30-inch diameter pipe fitting documented in the
City's waiver request submittal dated June 18, 2010. This supplementary
information constitutes the detailed written justification required by
Section 1605(c) for waivers based on a finding under subsection (b).
Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.
Dated: September 15, 2010.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. 2010-23988 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
