Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to Salt Lake City, UT, 18218-18219 [2011-7786]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Notices
satisfies the Section 309(a) requirement
to make EPA’s comments on EISs
available to the public. Accordingly, on
March 31, 2010, EPA discontinued the
publication of the notice of availability
of EPA comments in the Federal
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EIS No. 20110089, Draft EIS, HUD, CA,
West Coast Recycling Group Metal
Recycling Facility Project, Proposal to
Develop and Operate a Scrap Metal
Shredding and Recycling Facility at
the Port of West Sacramento, Yolo
County, CA, Comment Period Ends:
05/16/2011, Contact: David W. Tilley
916–617–4645.
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Federal Hardrock Mineral Prospecting
Permits Project, To Conduct Mineral
Exploration Drilling and Geophysical
Activities on the Superior National
Forest, Cook, Lake, St. Louis and
Koochiching Counties, MIN,
Comment Period Ends: 05/16/2011,
Contact: Loretta Cartner 218–626–
4382.
EIS No. 20110091, Final EIS, HUD, WA,
Sunset Area Community Planned
Action, Proposal to Redevelopment of
the Sunset Terrace Public Housing
Community and Associated
Neighborhood Growth and
Revitalization, City of Renton, WA,
Review Period Ends: 05/02/2011,
Contact: Erika Conkling 425–430–
6578.
EIS No. 20110092, Draft EIS, TVA, 00,
Natural Resource Plan, To Determine
How TVA Will Manage Its Natural
Resource Over the Next 20 Years,
Implementation, AL, GA, KY, MS,
NC, TN and VA, Comment Period
Ends: 05/16/2011, Contact: Charles P.
Nicholson 864–632–3582.
EIS No. 20110093, Final EIS, NOAA, 00,
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery
Management Plan, Amendment 15,
Implementation of the Annual Catch
Limits (ACLs) and Accountability
Measures (AMs) to Prevent
Overfishing, Gulf of Maine, Georges
Bank, Review Period Ends: 05/02/
2011, Contact: Patricia A. Kurkul
978–281–9250.
EIS No. 20110094, Draft EIS, USFS, CA,
Kirkwood Meadows Power Line
Reliability Project, Proposal to
Construct and Operate 34.5 kilovolt
(kV) Power Line, Eldorado National
Forest, Amador, Eldorado, and Alpine
Counties, CA, Comment Period Ends:
05/31/2011, Contact: Susan A.
Rodman 530–621–5298.
EIS No. 20110095, Draft EIS, USACE,
MA, South Coast Rail Project, To
Establish Commuter Passenger Transit
Service between Boston and the Cities
of New Bedford and Fall River,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
20:09 Mar 31, 2011
Jkt 223001
Bristol, Plymouth, Norfolk and
Suffolk Counties, MA, Comment
Period Ends: 05/27/2011, Contact:
Alan Anacheka-Nasemann 978–318–
8214.
EIS No. 20110096, Final EIS, STB, AK,
Port MacKenzie Rail Line Extension
Construction and Operation, Alaska
Railroad Corporation, Port
MacKenzie, AK, Review Period Ends:
05/02/2011, Contact: Dave Navecky
202–245–0294.
EIS No. 20110097, Final EIS, FRA, NV,
DesertXpress High-Speed Passenger
Train Project, Proposes to Construct
and Operate High-Speed Passenger
Train between Victorville, California
and Las Vegas, Nevada, Review Period
Ends: 05/02/2011, Contact: Wendy
Messenger 202–493–6396.
Amended Notices
EIS No. 20100076, Final EIS, FRBSF,
WA, WITHDRAWN—Federal Reserve
Bank of San Francisco, Proposes to
Sell the Property at 1015 Second
Avenue that is Eligible for Listing on
the National Register of Historic
Places, located in Seattle, WA, Review
Period Ends: 04/19/2010, Contact:
Robert Kellar 415–974–2655. Revision
to FR Notice Published 03/19/2010:
Officially Withdrawn By the
Preparing Agency.
Dated: March 29, 2011.
Robert W. Hargrove,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office
of Federal Activities.
[FR Doc. 2011–7791 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9287–6]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section
1605 (Buy American Requirement) of
the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to
Salt Lake City, UT
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The EPA is hereby granting a
project waiver of the Buy American
requirements of ARRA Section 1605
under the authority of Section
1605(b)(2) 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 to Salt Lake City, UT
for three vertical linear motion mixers to
be installed in the City’s Water
Reclamation Facility anaerobic
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00075
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
digesters. This is a project-specific
waiver and only applies to the use of the
specified product for the ARRA-funded
project being proposed. Any other
ARRA project that may wish to use the
same product must apply for a separate
waiver based on project-specific
circumstances. Vertical linear motion
mixers are a proprietary mixing
technology developed by Enersave Fluid
Mixers, Inc. (Enersave) of Ontario,
Canada. The City’s waiver request states
that the mixer’s drive head is
manufactured by Enersave in Canada
and the mixer’s vertical drive shaft and
hydro-disk will be manufactured in the
United States (U.S.). There are no U.S.
manufacturers of vertical linear motor
mixers that meet the project
specifications. The Regional
Administrator is making this
determination based on the review and
recommendation of EPA Region 8’s
Technical & Financial Services Unit.
Salt Lake City has provided sufficient
documentation to support its request.
The Assistant Administrator of the
Office of Administration and Resources
Management has concurred on this
decision to make an exception to
Section 1605 of ARRA.
DATES: Effective Date: April 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jody
Ostendorf, Recovery Act Coordinator,
(303) 312–7814, or Brian Friel, SRF
Coordinator, (303) 312–6277, Technical
& Financial Services Unit, Water
Program, Office of Partnerships &
Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region
8, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO
80202.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In accordance with ARRA Section
1605(c) and pursuant to Section
1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111–5, Buy
American requirements, EPA hereby
provides notice that it is granting a
project waiver to Salt Lake City for the
purchase of three vertical linear motion
mixers which have a drive head that is
manufactured by Enersave in Canada.
This manufactured good will be used as
part of Salt Lake City’s Water
Reclamation Facility’s capacity
upgrades.
Section 1605 of the ARRA requires
that none of the appropriated funds may
be used for the construction, alteration,
maintenance, or repair of a public
building or public work unless all of the
iron, steel, and manufactured goods
used in the project are produced in the
United States, or unless a waiver is
provided to the recipient by the head of
the appropriate agency, in this case
EPA. A waiver may be provided if EPA
determines that (1) Applying these
requirements would be inconsistent
E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM
01APN1
mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2011 / Notices
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 April 28, 2009 EPA HQ
Memorandum (‘‘EPA April memo’’),
‘‘Implementation of Buy American
provisions of Public Law 111–5, the
‘American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009’,’’ defines reasonably
available quantity as ‘‘the quantity of
iron, steel, or relevant manufactured
good is available or will be available at
the time needed and place needed, and
in the proper form or specification as
specified in the project plans and
design.’’ It further defines satisfactory
quality as ‘‘the quality of iron, steel, or
the relevant manufactured good as
specified in the project plans and
designs.’’
The purpose of the ARRA is to
stimulate economic recovery in part by
funding current infrastructure
construction, not to delay projects that
are ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring cities
such as Salt Lake City to revise their
standards and specifications and to start
the bidding process again. The
imposition of ARRA Buy American
requirements on such projects otherwise
eligible for ARRA State Revolving Fund
assistance would result in unreasonable
delay and thus displace the ‘‘shovel
ready’’ status for this project. To further
delay project implementation is in
direct conflict with a fundamental
economic purpose of the ARRA, which
is to create or retain jobs.
EPA’s national contractor prepared a
technical assessment report dated
February 3, 2011, based on the
submitted waiver request. The report
stated that the waiver request submittal
was complete, that adequate technical
information was provided, and that
there were no significant weaknesses in
the justification provided. The
assessment confirmed the waiver
applicant’s claim that there are no
comparable domestic products that can
meet the project specifications.
The Technical & Financial Services
Unit has reviewed this waiver request
and has determined that the supporting
documentation provided by Salt Lake
City is sufficient to meet the criteria
listed under Section 1605(b) of the
ARRA and in the EPA April memo: Iron,
steel, and the manufactured goods are
not produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
20:09 Mar 31, 2011
Jkt 223001
The basis for this project waiver is the
authorization provided in Section
1605(b)(2) of the ARRA. Due to the lack
of production of this product in the
United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality in order to meet Salt
Lake City’s performance specifications
and requirements, a waiver from the
Buy American requirement is justified.
EPA has determined that the City’s
waiver request may be treated as timely
even though the request was made after
the construction contract was signed.
Consistent with the direction of the
OMB Guidance at 2 CFR 176.120, EPA
has evaluated the City’s request to
determine if the request constitutes a
late request. EPA will generally regard
waiver requests with respect to
components that were specified in the
bid solicitation or in a general/primary
construction contract as ‘‘late’’ if
submitted after the contract date.
However, in this case EPA has
determined that the City’s request,
though made after the date that the
contract was signed, can be evaluated as
timely because the need for the waiver
was not reasonably foreseeable. The
waiver request was submitted after the
contract date due to a change order that
was approved on June 14, 2010. The
original project only included installing
new covers on the digesters; however,
once the project started, it was
determined that there were major
structural deficiencies and the digester
tanks needed to be rehabilitated as well,
which included installing new mixers.
As soon as it was determined that the
mixers had non-U.S. components, Salt
Lake City started the waiver request
process. Accordingly, EPA will evaluate
the request as a timely request.
The March 31, 2009 Delegation of
Authority Memorandum provided
Regional Administrators with the
authority to issue exceptions to Section
1605 of the ARRA within the geographic
boundaries of their respective regions
and with respect to requests by
individual grant recipients. Having
established both a proper basis to
specify the particular good required for
this project, and that this manufactured
good was not available from a producer
in the United States, Salt Lake City is
hereby granted a waiver from the Buy
American requirements of Section
1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for the
purchase of three vertical linear motion
mixers using ARRA funds as specified
in the City’s request of January 25, 2011.
This supplementary information
constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c)
for waivers ‘‘based on a finding under
subsection (b).’’
PO 00000
Frm 00076
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18219
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section
1605.
Dated: March 18, 2011.
James Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2011–7786 Filed 3–31–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
Sunshine Act Notice
Federal Election Commission.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011,
at 10 a.m.
PLACE: 999 E Street, NW., Washington,
DC.
STATUS: This meeting will be closed to
the public.
ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED:
Compliance matters pursuant to 2
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Audits conducted pursuant to 2 U.S.C.
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Matters concerning participation in civil
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Internal personnel rules and procedures
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PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION:
Judith Ingram, Press Officer, Telephone:
(202) 694–1220.
AGENCY:
DATE AND TIME:
Shawn Woodhead Werth,
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[FR Doc. 2011–7868 Filed 3–30–11; 11:15 am]
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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
Notice of Agreement Filed
The Commission hereby gives notice
of the filing of the following agreement
under the Shipping Act of 1984.
Interested parties may submit comments
on the agreements to the Secretary,
Federal Maritime Commission,
Washington, DC 20573, within ten days
of the date this notice appears in the
Federal Register. Copies of the
agreements are available through the
Commission’s Web site (https://
www.fmc.gov) or by contacting the
Office of Agreements at (202) 523–5793
or tradeanalysis@fmc.gov.
Agreement No.: 012112–001.
Title: Evergreen/Maersk Slot Charter
Agreement.
Parties: Evergreen Line Joint Service
Agreement and A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S.
Filing Party: Paul M. Keane, Esq.;
Cichanowicz, Callan, Keane, Vengrow &
Textor, LLP; 61 Broadway, Suite 3000,
New York, NY 10006–2802
Synopsis: The amendment extends
the agreement through May 31, 2011.
E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM
01APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 63 (Friday, April 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18218-18219]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7786]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9287-6]
Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) to Salt Lake City, UT
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a project waiver of the Buy
American requirements of ARRA Section 1605 under the authority of
Section 1605(b)(2) 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 to Salt Lake City,
UT for three vertical linear motion mixers to be installed in the
City's Water Reclamation Facility anaerobic digesters. This is a
project-specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified
product for the ARRA-funded project being proposed. Any other ARRA
project that may wish to use the same product must apply for a separate
waiver based on project-specific circumstances. Vertical linear motion
mixers are a proprietary mixing technology developed by Enersave Fluid
Mixers, Inc. (Enersave) of Ontario, Canada. The City's waiver request
states that the mixer's drive head is manufactured by Enersave in
Canada and the mixer's vertical drive shaft and hydro-disk will be
manufactured in the United States (U.S.). There are no U.S.
manufacturers of vertical linear motor mixers that meet the project
specifications. The Regional Administrator is making this determination
based on the review and recommendation of EPA Region 8's Technical &
Financial Services Unit. Salt Lake City has provided sufficient
documentation to support its request. The Assistant Administrator of
the Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on
this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA.
DATES: Effective Date: April 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jody Ostendorf, Recovery Act
Coordinator, (303) 312-7814, or Brian Friel, SRF Coordinator, (303)
312-6277, Technical & Financial Services Unit, Water Program, Office of
Partnerships & Regulatory Assistance, U.S. EPA Region 8, 1595 Wynkoop
St., Denver, CO 80202.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c) and pursuant to Section
1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American requirements, EPA hereby
provides notice that it is granting a project waiver to Salt Lake City
for the purchase of three vertical linear motion mixers which have a
drive head that is manufactured by Enersave in Canada. This
manufactured good will be used as part of Salt Lake City's Water
Reclamation Facility's capacity upgrades.
Section 1605 of the ARRA requires that none of the appropriated
funds may be used for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or
repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron,
steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the
United States, or unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by the
head of the appropriate agency, in this case EPA. A waiver may be
provided if EPA determines that (1) Applying these requirements would
be inconsistent
[[Page 18219]]
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 April 28, 2009 EPA HQ Memorandum (``EPA April memo''),
``Implementation of Buy American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the
`American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009','' defines reasonably
available quantity as ``the quantity of iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is available or will be available at the time needed
and place needed, and in the proper form or specification as specified
in the project plans and design.'' It further defines satisfactory
quality as ``the quality of iron, steel, or the relevant manufactured
good as specified in the project plans and designs.''
The purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery in part
by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay projects
that are ``shovel ready'' by requiring cities such as Salt Lake City to
revise their standards and specifications and to start the bidding
process again. The imposition of ARRA Buy American requirements on such
projects otherwise eligible for ARRA State Revolving Fund assistance
would result in unreasonable delay and thus displace the ``shovel
ready'' status for this project. To further delay project
implementation is in direct conflict with a fundamental economic
purpose of the ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs.
EPA's national contractor prepared a technical assessment report
dated February 3, 2011, based on the submitted waiver request. The
report stated that the waiver request submittal was complete, that
adequate technical information was provided, and that there were no
significant weaknesses in the justification provided. The assessment
confirmed the waiver applicant's claim that there are no comparable
domestic products that can meet the project specifications.
The Technical & Financial Services Unit has reviewed this waiver
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided
by Salt Lake City is sufficient to meet the criteria listed under
Section 1605(b) of the ARRA and in the EPA April memo: Iron, steel, and
the manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality. The basis for this project waiver is the authorization
provided in Section 1605(b)(2) of the ARRA. Due to the lack of
production of this product in the United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality in order
to meet Salt Lake City's performance specifications and requirements, a
waiver from the Buy American requirement is justified.
EPA has determined that the City's waiver request may be treated as
timely even though the request was made after the construction contract
was signed. Consistent with the direction of the OMB Guidance at 2 CFR
176.120, EPA has evaluated the City's request to determine if the
request constitutes a late request. EPA will generally regard waiver
requests with respect to components that were specified in the bid
solicitation or in a general/primary construction contract as ``late''
if submitted after the contract date. However, in this case EPA has
determined that the City's request, though made after the date that the
contract was signed, can be evaluated as timely because the need for
the waiver was not reasonably foreseeable. The waiver request was
submitted after the contract date due to a change order that was
approved on June 14, 2010. The original project only included
installing new covers on the digesters; however, once the project
started, it was determined that there were major structural
deficiencies and the digester tanks needed to be rehabilitated as well,
which included installing new mixers. As soon as it was determined that
the mixers had non-U.S. components, Salt Lake City started the waiver
request process. Accordingly, EPA will evaluate the request as a timely
request.
The March 31, 2009 Delegation of Authority Memorandum provided
Regional Administrators with the authority to issue exceptions to
Section 1605 of the ARRA within the geographic boundaries of their
respective regions and with respect to requests by individual grant
recipients. Having established both a proper basis to specify the
particular good required for this project, and that this manufactured
good was not available from a producer in the United States, Salt Lake
City is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of
Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of three vertical
linear motion mixers using ARRA funds as specified in the City's
request of January 25, 2011. 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: March 18, 2011.
James Martin,
Regional Administrator, Region 8.
[FR Doc. 2011-7786 Filed 3-31-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
