Limited Public Interest Waiver Under Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 30144-30145 [2011-12721]
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30144
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices
Number of Total Responses: 200; (7)
Annual Estimated Number of Burden
Hours: 200; (8) Annual Estimated
Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost
Burden: 0.
Statutory Authority: Section 1605 of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (Recovery Act; Pub. L. 111–5).
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 15,
2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011–12718 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Limited Public Interest Waiver Under
Section 1605 (Buy American) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Limited Waiver.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
limited waiver of the Buy American
requirements of section 1605 of the
Recovery Act under the authority of
Section 1605(b)(1) (public interest
waiver), with respect to section 1605 of
the Recovery Act of 2009 (the Buy
American provision) for the Golden
Triangle Regional Solid Waste
Management Authority (GTR) landfill
gas to energy project, funded in part
under a sub-award (AR060–GT11–0111–
0001) from the Mississippi State Energy
Office, recipient of EECBG Award
EE0000763.
SUMMARY:
DATES:
Effective April 15, 2011.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Benjamin Goldstein, Recovery Act Buy
American Coordinator, Weatherization
and Intergovernmental Program, Office
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (EERE), (202) 287–1553,
buyamerican@ee.doe.gov, Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC
20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
waiver applies only to this project for
the purchase of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320
gas reciprocating engine manufactured
in Austria.
Section 1605 of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
(Pub. L. 111–5), prohibits use of
recovery funds for a project for the
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 May 23, 2011
Jkt 223001
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. This
prohibition applies when any part of the
project is paid for with Recovery Act
funds.
The landfill gas to energy project is
funded, in part, by sub-award AR060–
GT11–0111–0001 in the amount of
$310,000.00 from the Mississippi State
Energy Office, recipient of EECBG
Award EE0000763. Because this grant
funds a portion of the project cost, all
manufactured goods used in the project
are subject to the Buy American
Provisions—even if separate (nonfederal) funds are used to purchase
those items.
Specifically, this public interest
determination waives the Buy American
requirements for the Austrian made GE
Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating
engine being used in the landfill gas to
energy project of the Golden Triangle
Regional Solid Waste Management
Authority (GTR). GTR had already
entered into an agreement to purchase
this item with non-federal funds before
ARRA funds became available. And
although ARRA funds will now be used
in the project as a whole (the project has
a total cost of approximately $2 million
dollars), those funds will not be used to
purchase the GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine or any other
foreign goods.
The GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine is only one
manufactured good being used in the
GTR landfill gas to energy project. This
project also includes an American
manufactured treatment skid, valued at
approximately $470,000 dollars and the
overall construction of the facility,
valued at approximately $700,000. All
manufactured goods, iron and steel that
will be used in the project, with the
exception of the GE Jenbacher JMC 320
gas reciprocating engine, will remain
subject to the Buy American Provisions
of the Recovery Act. No ARRA funds
will be used towards the purchase of the
GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating
engine.
In September of 2010, GTR entered
into a Generation Partners Agreement
(GPA) with the Tennessee Valley
Authority (TVA) for a landfill gas to
energy project. Generation Partners is a
TVA renewable energy initiative that
provides technical support and
incentives for the installation of
renewable generation facilities. This
GPA pays GTR the retail price of local
electricity plus $0.03 per kilowatt-hour
for renewable energy. This GPA was
awarded as part of GTR’s application
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
under the TVA Green Power Partners
Program. This GPA is extremely
aggressive for this region of the United
States, where renewable energy projects
are generally negotiated at avoided cost
levels. As part of the TVA Green Power
Partners Program GPA contract, GTR is
required to have the renewable energy
system operational within 12 months of
the signed GPA.
In October of 2010, pursuant to the
GPA with TVA, GTR selected and
contracted with Nixon Energy in to
purchase a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine for approximately
$870,000. The contract language signed
between GTR and Nixon Energy states
that cancellation of the contract would
require GTR to pay the entire price of
the contract to Nixon Energy.
In December of 2010, the GTR landfill
gas to energy project was targeted by the
Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality and Mississippi
Development Authority (MDA) as a
potential project to fund with ARRA
funds awarded under EERE EECBG
Award EE0000763. On January 12th,
2011 a meeting was held, and the MDA
determined that the GTR landfill gas to
energy project was an appropriate use of
award funds.
On January 28, 2011 the award
recipient applied for a public interest
waiver, to allow the use of the Austrian
manufactured GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine.
EERE recognizes that there are US
manufacturers of generator sets. Had
GTR been identified as a potential grant
recipient earlier in the procurement
process, EERE would have worked with
GTR to find a US manufactured
generator set that met their needs. In a
case where a grantee cannot identify a
domestically manufactured good, EERE
utilizes its internal experts and its MOU
with NIST–MEP to communicate with
potential manufacturers and facilitate
discussions between grantees and
domestic producers.
EERE believes the public interest is
best served by supporting projects that
create or support jobs in the domestic
manufacturing and construction
industries while supporting a renewable
energy infrastructure. The GTR landfill
gas to energy project, with a total value
of over $2 million dollars, furthers both
of these goals. Because no ARRA funds
will be used towards the purchase of the
GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating
engine, all ARRA funds in the project
($310,000) will be used in a manner
consistent with the purposes of the Buy
American provisions. In addition,
another $860,000 in non-Recovery Act
dollars will also be subject to the Buy
American provisions, creating and
E:\FR\FM\24MYN1.SGM
24MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices
supporting jobs in the domestic
manufacturing and construction
industries. It is therefore in the public
interest to issue a waiver of the
Recovery Act Buy American provisions
that allows this project to utilize
Recovery Act award funds.
Under the authority of the Recovery
Act, section 1605(b)(1), the head of a
Federal department or agency may issue
a ‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a
waiver of the Buy American provisions)
if the application of section 1605 would
be inconsistent with the public interest.
On September 17, 2010, the Secretary of
Energy re-delegated the authority to
make all inapplicability determinations
to the Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, for
EERE Recovery Act projects.
In light of the foregoing, and under
the authority of section 1605(b)(1) of
Public Law 111–5 and the Re-delegation
Order dated September 17, 2010, with
respect to Recovery Act projects funded
by EERE, on April 29, 2011 the Acting
Assistant Secretary issued a
‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a
waiver under the Recovery Act Buy
American provisions) for the purchase
of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine to be used in the
Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste
Management Authority (GTR) landfill
gas to energy project, sub award AR060–
GT11–0111–0001 from the Mississippi
State Energy Office, EECBG Award
Recipient EE0000763.
Authority: Public Law 111–5, section
1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 29,
2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011–12721 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under
Section 1605 (Buy American) of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of limited waivers.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy
American requirements of section 1605
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:47 May 23, 2011
Jkt 223001
of the Recovery Act under the authority
of Section 1605(b)(2), (iron, steel, or the
relevant manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States at a
reasonable cost), with respect to 300
Spanish Red Clay Tiles to be used on
the Eagle Pass Library roof, a subgrantee of the Texas State Energy Office,
recipient of EECBG grant EE0000893.
DATES: Effective April 15, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology
Program Specialist, Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), (202) 287–1553, Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC
20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the
authority of Recovery Act, Public Law
111–5, section 1605(b)(2), and its
implementing requirements at 2 CFR
176.80(a)(2), the head of a Federal
department or agency may issue a
‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a
waiver of the Buy American provision)
if the cost of domestic iron, steel, or
relevant manufactured goods will
increase the cost of the overall project
by more than 25 percent. On September
17, 2010, the Secretary of Energy
delegated the authority to make all
inapplicability determinations to the
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE
projects under the Recovery Act.
Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant
Secretary, EERE, has concluded that
Spanish Red Clay Tiles needed for the
Eagle Pass Library Roofing project that
are domestically manufactured will
increase the cost of the overall project
by more than 25 percent, and thus the
6300 Spanish Red Clay Tiles to be used
in this project qualify for the
‘‘unreasonable cost’’ waiver
determination.
EERE has developed a robust process
to ascertain in a systematic and
expedient manner whether or not there
is domestic manufacturing capacity for
the items submitted for a waiver of the
Recovery Act Buy American provision.
This process involves a close
collaboration with the United States
Department of Commerce National
Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP), in order to scour the
domestic manufacturing landscape in
search of producers before making any
nonavailability or unreasonable cost
determinations.
The NIST MEP has 59 regional centers
with substantial knowledge of, and
connections to, the domestic
manufacturing sector. MEP uses their
regional centers to ‘scout’ for current or
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
30145
potential manufacturers of the
product(s) submitted in a waiver
request. In the course of this interagency
collaboration, MEP has been able to find
exact or partial matches for
manufactured goods that EERE grantees
had been unable to locate. As a result,
in those cases, EERE was able to work
with the grantees to procure Americanmade products rather than granting a
waiver. Upon receipt of completed
waiver requests for the product in the
current waiver, EERE reviewed the
information provided and submitted the
relevant technical information to the
NIST MEP. The MEP then used their
network of nationwide centers to scout
for domestic manufacturers. In addition
to the MEP collaboration outlined
above, the EERE Buy American
Coordinator worked with labor unions,
trade associations and other
manufacturing stakeholders to scout for
domestic manufacturing capacity or an
equivalent product for the Spanish Red
Clay Tiles contained in this waiver.
EERE also conducted significant
amounts of independent research to
supplement MEP’s scouting efforts.
As a result of EERE’s efforts and
MEP’s scouting process, quotes were
obtained from four (4) domestic
manufacturers to produce this item.
Those quotes are reflected in the prices
cited infra, and support the finding that
this item, if purchased domestically,
will increase the total project cost by
more than 25%. This ‘‘unreasonable
cost’’ waiver is for Spanish Red Clay
Tiles to replace a 100-year-old Spanish
Tile roof on the Eagle Pass Library in
Eagle Pass Texas (at one time the Eagle
Pass Post-Office). The original tile was
produced in the city of Piedras Negras,
Mexico. The tile is made of clay, and is
still made today in the same manner as
it was when the library was built 100
years ago.
The tile roof being installed on the
Eagle Pass Library building will last 75
years, and be lighter in color than the
current roof because of the deterioration
and discoloration that has occurred to
the existing roof tiles over time.
Additionally, it will be installed in a
manner to allow air to flow from eave
to pinnacle, reflecting heat back into the
atmosphere, rather than down into the
building itself. Since the tiles are
installed individually, rather than in
sheets or in overlapping style, the
natural airspace around the tiles creates
natural ventilation that provides a
thermal barrier for heat transfer to the
roof deck. This can assist in the
movement of the peak load demands by
several hours.
Eagle Pass Library is designated as a
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
E:\FR\FM\24MYN1.SGM
24MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30144-30145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12721]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Limited Public Interest Waiver Under Section 1605 (Buy American)
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Limited Waiver.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of section 1605 of the
Recovery Act under the authority of Section 1605(b)(1) (public interest
waiver), with respect to section 1605 of the Recovery Act of 2009 (the
Buy American provision) for the Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste
Management Authority (GTR) landfill gas to energy project, funded in
part under a sub-award (AR060-GT11-0111-0001) from the Mississippi
State Energy Office, recipient of EECBG Award EE0000763.
DATES: Effective April 15, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Goldstein, Recovery Act Buy
American Coordinator, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program,
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), (202) 287-
1553, buyamerican@ee.doe.gov, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue SW., Mailstop EE-2K, Washington, DC 20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This waiver applies only to this project for
the purchase of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating engine
manufactured in Austria.
Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
(Pub. L. 111-5), prohibits use of recovery funds for a project 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. This prohibition
applies when any part of the project is paid for with Recovery Act
funds.
The landfill gas to energy project is funded, in part, by sub-award
AR060-GT11-0111-0001 in the amount of $310,000.00 from the Mississippi
State Energy Office, recipient of EECBG Award EE0000763. Because this
grant funds a portion of the project cost, all manufactured goods used
in the project are subject to the Buy American Provisions--even if
separate (non-federal) funds are used to purchase those items.
Specifically, this public interest determination waives the Buy
American requirements for the Austrian made GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine being used in the landfill gas to energy project
of the Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (GTR).
GTR had already entered into an agreement to purchase this item with
non-federal funds before ARRA funds became available. And although ARRA
funds will now be used in the project as a whole (the project has a
total cost of approximately $2 million dollars), those funds will not
be used to purchase the GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating engine
or any other foreign goods.
The GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating engine is only one
manufactured good being used in the GTR landfill gas to energy project.
This project also includes an American manufactured treatment skid,
valued at approximately $470,000 dollars and the overall construction
of the facility, valued at approximately $700,000. All manufactured
goods, iron and steel that will be used in the project, with the
exception of the GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating engine, will
remain subject to the Buy American Provisions of the Recovery Act. No
ARRA funds will be used towards the purchase of the GE Jenbacher JMC
320 gas reciprocating engine.
In September of 2010, GTR entered into a Generation Partners
Agreement (GPA) with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for a
landfill gas to energy project. Generation Partners is a TVA renewable
energy initiative that provides technical support and incentives for
the installation of renewable generation facilities. This GPA pays GTR
the retail price of local electricity plus $0.03 per kilowatt-hour for
renewable energy. This GPA was awarded as part of GTR's application
under the TVA Green Power Partners Program. This GPA is extremely
aggressive for this region of the United States, where renewable energy
projects are generally negotiated at avoided cost levels. As part of
the TVA Green Power Partners Program GPA contract, GTR is required to
have the renewable energy system operational within 12 months of the
signed GPA.
In October of 2010, pursuant to the GPA with TVA, GTR selected and
contracted with Nixon Energy in to purchase a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine for approximately $870,000. The contract language
signed between GTR and Nixon Energy states that cancellation of the
contract would require GTR to pay the entire price of the contract to
Nixon Energy.
In December of 2010, the GTR landfill gas to energy project was
targeted by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and
Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) as a potential project to fund
with ARRA funds awarded under EERE EECBG Award EE0000763. On January
12th, 2011 a meeting was held, and the MDA determined that the GTR
landfill gas to energy project was an appropriate use of award funds.
On January 28, 2011 the award recipient applied for a public
interest waiver, to allow the use of the Austrian manufactured GE
Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating engine.
EERE recognizes that there are US manufacturers of generator sets.
Had GTR been identified as a potential grant recipient earlier in the
procurement process, EERE would have worked with GTR to find a US
manufactured generator set that met their needs. In a case where a
grantee cannot identify a domestically manufactured good, EERE utilizes
its internal experts and its MOU with NIST-MEP to communicate with
potential manufacturers and facilitate discussions between grantees and
domestic producers.
EERE believes the public interest is best served by supporting
projects that create or support jobs in the domestic manufacturing and
construction industries while supporting a renewable energy
infrastructure. The GTR landfill gas to energy project, with a total
value of over $2 million dollars, furthers both of these goals. Because
no ARRA funds will be used towards the purchase of the GE Jenbacher JMC
320 gas reciprocating engine, all ARRA funds in the project ($310,000)
will be used in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Buy
American provisions. In addition, another $860,000 in non-Recovery Act
dollars will also be subject to the Buy American provisions, creating
and
[[Page 30145]]
supporting jobs in the domestic manufacturing and construction
industries. It is therefore in the public interest to issue a waiver of
the Recovery Act Buy American provisions that allows this project to
utilize Recovery Act award funds.
Under the authority of the Recovery Act, section 1605(b)(1), the
head of a Federal department or agency may issue a ``determination of
inapplicability'' (a waiver of the Buy American provisions) if the
application of section 1605 would be inconsistent with the public
interest. On September 17, 2010, the Secretary of Energy re-delegated
the authority to make all inapplicability determinations to the
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, for
EERE Recovery Act projects.
In light of the foregoing, and under the authority of section
1605(b)(1) of Public Law 111-5 and the Re-delegation Order dated
September 17, 2010, with respect to Recovery Act projects funded by
EERE, on April 29, 2011 the Acting Assistant Secretary issued a
``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver under the Recovery Act
Buy American provisions) for the purchase of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas
reciprocating engine to be used in the Golden Triangle Regional Solid
Waste Management Authority (GTR) landfill gas to energy project, sub
award AR060-GT11-0111-0001 from the Mississippi State Energy Office,
EECBG Award Recipient EE0000763.
Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-12721 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
