Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 55890-55892 [2011-23076]
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55890
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices
LIST OF AFFECTED PROGRAMS
CFDA No. and name
Publication date
and
FEDERAL REGISTER citation
Original deadline
for transmittal of
applications
Revised deadline
for transmittal of
applications
Original deadline
for inter-governmental review
Extended deadline for inter-governmental review
84.215N: Promise Neighborhoods Program—
Implementation.
84.215P: Promise Neighborhoods Program—
Planning.
7/6/2011 76 FR
39615.
7/06/2011 76 FR
39630.
9/06/2011
9/13/2011
11/03/2011
11/10/2011
9/06/2011
9/13/2011
11/03/2011
11/10/2011
Electronic Access to This Document
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SEIS, contact Donald Silawsky, Acting
Director, Office of Reserve Lands
Management (FE–47), U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave.,
SW., Washington, DC 20585, e-mail
donald.silawsky@hq.doe.gov, telephone
202–586–1892. For general information
on the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol
M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, telephone 202–
586–4600 or leave a message at 800–
472–2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, Pub.
L. 109–58) directed DOE to expand the
SPR from its current 727 million-barrel
capacity to 1 billion barrels. To fulfill
the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for
this expansion project, DOE prepared an
environmental impact statement for the
Site Selection for the Expansion of the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (DOE/EIS–
0385). In a Record of Decision (ROD) (72
FR 7964; February 22, 2007), DOE
announced its selection of Richton,
Mississippi, as the location of a new
SPR facility as part of the expansion
project.
After selecting the Richton site, DOE
engaged in further consultations with
the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and other
governmental entities. As a result of
those consultations, and to reduce
project impacts, DOE proposed
alternative sites from those announced
in the ROD for some of the ancillary
facilities associated with the Richton
site: the raw water intake structure, oil
terminal, and brine diffuser. DOE
determined that alternative locations for
those ancillary facilities would present
substantial changes to the proposal as
analyzed in DOE/EIS–0385 that would
be relevant to environmental concerns.
DOE published a Notice of Intent to
prepare an SEIS to analyze the impacts
of potential new locations for the
ancillary facilities associated with the
Richton site (73 FR 11895; March 5,
2008) and conducted public scoping.
Dated: September 6, 2011.
James H. Shelton, III,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and
Improvement.
[FR Doc. 2011–23121 Filed 9–8–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Cancellation of Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement for
Ancillary Facilities for the Richton Site
of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Cancellation.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) announces the
cancellation of a supplemental
environmental impact statement (SEIS)
for certain facilities associated with the
2007 selection of Richton, Mississippi,
as the location of a new storage site for
expanding the Strategic Petroleum
Reserve (SPR). In April 2011, Congress
rescinded all funding for the SPR
expansion project.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the cancellation of the
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SUMMARY:
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16:58 Sep 08, 2011
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On February 1, 2010, the President
submitted a budget request to Congress
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 that included
no new funding to continue SPR
expansion efforts and proposed
cancellation of previously appropriated
expansion funds. In April 2011,
Congress passed, and the President
signed, the Department of Defense and
Full-Year Continuing Appropriations
Act, 2011 (Pub. L. 112–10). Sections
1440 and 1464 of that Act rescinded all
unspent balances of prior year funds
that had been appropriated for SPR
expansion. The President’s FY 2012
budget includes no funds for SPR
expansion.
With prior appropriated funds
rescinded, and no new funds proposed,
the SPR expansion project is effectively
terminated. DOE is therefore cancelling
the preparation of the SEIS for the
ancillary facilities of the SPR expansion
project at the Richton Site (DOE/EIS–
0385–S1).
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 1,
2011.
David F. Johnson,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of
Petroleum Reserves.
[FR Doc. 2011–23087 Filed 9–8–11; 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.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy
American requirements of section 1605
of the Recovery Act under the authority
of Section 1605(b)(2), (iron, steel, and
the relevant manufactured goods are not
produced in the United States in
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality),
with respect to Recovery Act projects
funded by EERE for: (1) Class 125 Iron
(6’’, 8’’ and 12’’) Ball Valves (Standard:
Mss SP–72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends:
flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM
A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat
(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic
reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated
absorption chillers rated at 450 tons;
and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp
LED replacement bulbs.
DATES: Effective Date: August 2, 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 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery
Act), Public Law 111–5, section
1605(b)(2), the head of a Federal
department or agency may issue a
‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a
waiver of the Buy American provision)
if the iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is not produced or
manufactured in the United States in
sufficient and reasonably available
quantities and of a satisfactory quality
(‘‘nonavailability’’). The authority of the
Secretary of Energy to make all
inapplicability determinations was redelegated to the Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under
the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order
No. 00–002.01E, dated April 25, 2011.
Pursuant to this delegation the Acting
Assistant Secretary, EERE, has
concluded that: (1) Class 125 Iron (6’’,
8’’ and 12’’) Ball Valves (Standard: Mss
SP–72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends:
flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM
A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat
(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic
reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated
absorption chillers rated at 450 tons;
and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp
LED replacement bulbs are not
produced or manufactured in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality. The above items, when used on
eligible EERE Recovery Act-funded
projects, qualify for the
‘‘nonavailability’’ 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.
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16:58 Sep 08, 2011
Jkt 223001
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 determinations.
The 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
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 four products in the
current waiver, EERE reviewed the
information provided and submitted the
relevant technical information to the
MEP. The MEP then used their network
of nationwide centers to scout for
domestic manufacturers. The MEP
reported that their scouting process did
not locate any domestic manufacturers
for these exact or equivalent items.
In addition to the MEP collaboration
outlined above, the EERE Buy American
Coordinator worked with other
manufacturing stakeholders to scout for
domestic manufacturing capacity or an
equivalent product for each item
contained in this waiver. EERE also
conducted significant amounts of
independent research to supplement
MEP’s scouting efforts, including
utilizing the solar experts employed by
the Department of Energy’s National
Renewable Energy Laboratory. EERE’s
research efforts confirmed the MEP
findings that the goods included in this
waiver are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality.
The nonavailability determination is
also informed by the inquiries and
petitions to EERE from recipients of
EERE Recovery Act funds, and from
suppliers, distributors, retailers and
trade associations—all stating that their
individual efforts to locate domestic
manufacturers for these items have been
unsuccessful.
Specific technical information for the
manufactured goods included in this
non-availability determination is
detailed below:
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
55891
(1) Class 125 Iron (6’’, 8’’ and 12’’)
Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP–72, CWP
Rating: 200 psig, Ends: Flanged, Seats:
PTFE or TFE).
Neither MEP nor DOE was able to
locate US made ball valves that meet
project specifications because there are
no US manufacturers of ball valves with
the specified cast iron (ASTM A126),
specific to valve pressure parts, pipe
fittings, and flanges.
(2) Low Temperature Thermostat
(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic
reset).
This expands a waiver granted in
November 2010 to include thermostats
with a manual reset. There were no US
manufacturers located by DOE, MEP or
a number of trade groups. The electric
low temperature detection thermostats
are especially suited for sensing low
temperature conditions to avoid freezeup of hydronic heating coils, cooling
coils, liquid heating pipes and similar
applications. Typically, the switch
opens an electrical circuit to stop the
supply fan motor when the temperature
at the sensing element falls below the
setting of the instrument.
(3) Two-stage, steam heated
absorption chillers rated at 450 tons.
There are US manufacturers of
chillers, however, not that meet these
specifications. MEP, DOE and a number
of trade organizations were unable to
locate a domestic manufacturer.
(4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp LED
replacement bulbs.
The bulb is designed to fit into
existing dock lighting sockets, but
utilizes high efficiency LEDs rather than
the existing bulb technology. MEP and
DOE were unable to locate any other
manufacturer making a compatible bulb,
other than the foreign manufacturer
proposed by the applying grantee.
In light of the foregoing, and under
the authority of section 1605(b)(2) of
Public Law 111–5 and Redelegation
Order 00–002–01E, with respect to
Recovery Act projects funded by EERE,
I hereby issue a ‘‘determination of
inapplicability’’ (a waiver under the
Recovery Act Buy American provision)
for: (1) Class 125 Iron (6’’, 8’’ and 12’’)
Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP–72, CWP
Rating: 200 psig, Ends: flanged, Seats:
PTFE or TFE; ASTM A126); (2) Low
Temperature Thermostat (range of 15–
55 Fahrenheit, automatic reset); (3)
Two-stage, steam heated absorption
chillers rated at 450 tons; and (4) 4 Watt
325 lumen dock lamp LED replacement
bulbs.
Having established a proper
justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides
notice that on August 2, 2011, four (4)
nationwide categorical waivers of
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55892
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices
section 1605 of the Recovery Act were
issued as detailed supra. This notice
constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c)
for waivers based on a finding under
subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant
to the delegation of authority by the
Secretary of Energy to the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy with respect to
expenditures within the purview of his
responsibility. Consequently, this
waiver applies to all EERE projects
carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC on August 2,
2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011–23076 Filed 9–8–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
Nationwide 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 Public Interest
Waiver.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy
American requirements of section 1605
of the Recovery Act under the authority
of section 1605(b)(1) (amended public
interest waiver), with respect to the
following solar photo-voltaic (PV)
equipment: (1) Domesticallymanufactured modules containing
foreign-manufactured cells, (2) Foreignmanufactured modules, when
completely comprised of domesticallymanufactured cells, and (3) Any
ancillary items and equipment
(including, but not limited to, charge
controllers, combiners and disconnect
boxes, breakers and fuses, racks,
trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all
otherwise incidental equipment with
the exception of inverters and batteries)
when utilized in a solar installation
involving a U.S. manufactured PV
module, or a module manufactured
abroad but comprised exclusively of
domestically-manufactured cells.
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SUMMARY:
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16:58 Sep 08, 2011
Jkt 223001
DATES:
Effective Date August 2, 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: 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 April 25, 2011, the Secretary of
Energy delegated the authority to make
all inapplicability determinations to the
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, for EERE
Recovery Act projects.
Pursuant to this delegation, the
Assistant Secretary has determined that
application of section 1605 restrictions
would be inconsistent with the public
interest for incidental and/or ancillary
solar Photovoltaic (PV) equipment,
when this equipment is utilized in solar
installations containing domestically
manufactured PV cells or modules
(panels).
This determination replaces and
supersedes the Solar Public Interest
Waiver issued August 6, 2010, amended
September 30, 2010 and extended
February 4, 2011. Although the waiver
extension issued February 4, 2011 was
slated to be a one-time extension
coinciding with the ramp-down of EERE
Recovery Act-funded projects, EERE has
determined that enough projects remain
active to justify a new Public Interest
waiver determination. This
determination is valid until such time as
the Assistant Secretary chooses to
modify or revoke the waiver. The
Assistant Secretary reserves the right to
revisit and amend this determination
based on new information or new
developments.
This determination waives the Buy
American requirements in EERE-funded
Recovery Act projects for the purchase
of the following solar PV equipment: (1)
Domestically-manufactured modules
containing foreign-manufactured cells,
(2) Foreign-manufactured modules,
when completely comprised of
domestically-manufactured cells, and
(3) Any ancillary items and equipment
(including, but not limited to, charge
controllers, combiners and disconnect
boxes, breakers and fuses, racks,
trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
otherwise incidental equipment with
the exception of inverters and batteries)
when utilized in a solar installation
involving a U.S. manufactured PV
module, or a module manufactured
abroad but comprised exclusively of
domestically-manufactured cells.
Definitions—Solar cells are the basic
building block of PV technologies. The
cells are functional semiconductors,
made by processing and treating
crystalline silicon or other photosensitive materials to create a layered
product that generates electricity by
absorbing light photons. The individual
cells are cut and/or assembled into
larger groups known as panels or
modules. These two terms are
synonymous and used interchangeably
in this memorandum. The panel is the
end product, and consists of a series of
solar cells, a backing surface, and a
covering to protect the cells from
weather and other types of damage. A
solar array is created by installing
multiple modules in the same location
to increase the electrical generating
capacity. Operational solar PV modules
and arrays use cells to capture and
transfer solar-generated electricity. The
solar modules and cells represent the
highest intellectual content and dollarvalue items associated with solar PV
energy generation.
The Buy American provisions contain
no requirement with regard to the origin
of components or subcomponents in
manufactured goods used in a project,
as long as the manufacturing occurs in
the United States [2 CFR
176.70(a)(2)(ii)]. However, determining
where final manufacturing occurs in the
context of the solar production chain is
complicated. Under a plain reading of
the Recovery Act Buy American
provisions, only the PV modules would
need to be manufactured in the United
States, but the source of the high-value
and high-intellectual content cells
would not be relevant to complying
with the Buy American requirements.
EERE and the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory have conducted
extensive research into the nature of the
domestic solar manufacturing industry
to determine the best way to apply the
Buy American requirements to solar PV
projects. EERE considered three basic
options: (1) Follow the current
interpretation of the Buy American
provisions and require that only the
modules be produced in the United
States, irrespective of the origin of the
cells contained in the modules; (2)
apply the interpretation that the
modules and cells are distinct
manufactured goods and thus both must
be produced in the United States; and
(3) choose a more inclusive approach
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 175 (Friday, September 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55890-55892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23076]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Limited Waivers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of section
1605 of the Recovery Act under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2),
(iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States in
[[Page 55891]]
sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality), with respect to Recovery Act projects funded by EERE for: (1)
Class 125 Iron (6'', 8'' and 12'') Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP-72,
CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends: flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM A126);
(2) Low Temperature Thermostat (range of 15-55 Fahrenheit, automatic
reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated absorption chillers rated at 450
tons; and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp LED replacement bulbs.
DATES: Effective Date: August 2, 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 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Public Law 111-5, section
1605(b)(2), the head of a Federal department or agency may issue a
``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver of the Buy American
provision) if the iron, steel, or relevant manufactured good is not
produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality
(``nonavailability''). The authority of the Secretary of Energy to make
all inapplicability determinations was re-delegated to the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE
projects under the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order No. 00-002.01E,
dated April 25, 2011. Pursuant to this delegation the Acting Assistant
Secretary, EERE, has concluded that: (1) Class 125 Iron (6'', 8'' and
12'') Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP-72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends:
flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat
(range of 15-55 Fahrenheit, automatic reset); (3) Two-stage, steam
heated absorption chillers rated at 450 tons; and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen
dock lamp LED replacement bulbs are not produced or manufactured in the
United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of
a satisfactory quality. The above items, when used on eligible EERE
Recovery Act-funded projects, qualify for the ``nonavailability''
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 determinations.
The 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 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 American-made products rather than granting a
waiver.
Upon receipt of completed waiver requests for the four products in
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and
submitted the relevant technical information to the MEP. The MEP then
used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic
manufacturers. The MEP reported that their scouting process did not
locate any domestic manufacturers for these exact or equivalent items.
In addition to the MEP collaboration outlined above, the EERE Buy
American Coordinator worked with other manufacturing stakeholders to
scout for domestic manufacturing capacity or an equivalent product for
each item contained in this waiver. EERE also conducted significant
amounts of independent research to supplement MEP's scouting efforts,
including utilizing the solar experts employed by the Department of
Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. EERE's research efforts
confirmed the MEP findings that the goods included in this waiver are
not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory quality.
The nonavailability determination is also informed by the inquiries
and petitions to EERE from recipients of EERE Recovery Act funds, and
from suppliers, distributors, retailers and trade associations--all
stating that their individual efforts to locate domestic manufacturers
for these items have been unsuccessful.
Specific technical information for the manufactured goods included
in this non-availability determination is detailed below:
(1) Class 125 Iron (6'', 8'' and 12'') Ball Valves (Standard: Mss
SP-72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends: Flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE).
Neither MEP nor DOE was able to locate US made ball valves that
meet project specifications because there are no US manufacturers of
ball valves with the specified cast iron (ASTM A126), specific to valve
pressure parts, pipe fittings, and flanges.
(2) Low Temperature Thermostat (range of 15-55 Fahrenheit,
automatic reset).
This expands a waiver granted in November 2010 to include
thermostats with a manual reset. There were no US manufacturers located
by DOE, MEP or a number of trade groups. The electric low temperature
detection thermostats are especially suited for sensing low temperature
conditions to avoid freeze-up of hydronic heating coils, cooling coils,
liquid heating pipes and similar applications. Typically, the switch
opens an electrical circuit to stop the supply fan motor when the
temperature at the sensing element falls below the setting of the
instrument.
(3) Two-stage, steam heated absorption chillers rated at 450 tons.
There are US manufacturers of chillers, however, not that meet
these specifications. MEP, DOE and a number of trade organizations were
unable to locate a domestic manufacturer.
(4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp LED replacement bulbs.
The bulb is designed to fit into existing dock lighting sockets,
but utilizes high efficiency LEDs rather than the existing bulb
technology. MEP and DOE were unable to locate any other manufacturer
making a compatible bulb, other than the foreign manufacturer proposed
by the applying grantee.
In light of the foregoing, and under the authority of section
1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5 and Redelegation Order 00-002-01E, with
respect to Recovery Act projects funded by EERE, I hereby issue a
``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver under the Recovery Act
Buy American provision) for: (1) Class 125 Iron (6'', 8'' and 12'')
Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP-72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends: flanged,
Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat (range
of 15-55 Fahrenheit, automatic reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated
absorption chillers rated at 450 tons; and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock
lamp LED replacement bulbs.
Having established a proper justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on August 2, 2011,
four (4) nationwide categorical waivers of
[[Page 55892]]
section 1605 of the Recovery Act were issued as detailed supra. This
notice constitutes the detailed written justification required by
Section 1605(c) for waivers based on a finding under subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant to the delegation of
authority by the Secretary of Energy to the Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with respect to expenditures
within the purview of his responsibility. Consequently, this waiver
applies to all EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC on August 2, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-23076 Filed 9-8-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P