Limited Exemption of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act With Respect to the Purchase of a Variable Refrigerant Flow System, 17448-17450 [2013-06536]
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17448
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Notices
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
demonstrates a lack of knowledge about
the hazards or how to avoid the hazards,
a modification occurs to an existing
shearing or struck-by hazard, or a new
shearing or struck-by hazard develops at
the worksite; and
(iii) Attach a readily visible warning
to each personnel platform and
boatswain’s chair notifying workers in a
language they understand of potential
shearing hazards they may encounter
during hoisting operations, and that
uses the following (or equivalent)
wording:
(A) For personnel platforms:
‘‘Warning—To avoid serious injury,
keep your hands, arms, feet, legs, and
other parts of your body inside this
platform while it is in motion’’; and
(B) For boatswain’s chairs:
‘‘Warning—To avoid serious injury, do
not extend your hands, arms, feet, legs,
or other parts your body from the side
or to the front of this chair while it is
in motion.’’
17. Exclusion Zone
The employer must:
(a) Establish a clearly designated
exclusion zone around the bottom
landing of the hoist system designed to
restrict the zone to authorized persons
only;
(b) The periphery of the exclusion
zone must be:
(i) Designed to keep unauthorized
persons out of the zone;
(ii) Well defined by visible boundary
demarcation;
(iii) Established with entry and exit
points; and
(iv) Posted with readily visible
warning signs limiting access.
(c) During personnel hoisting,
prohibit any worker from entering the
exclusion zone except authorized
persons involved in accessing a
personnel cage, and then only when the
device is at the bottom landing and not
in operation (i.e., when the drive
components of the hoist machine are
disengaged and the braking mechanism
is properly applied); and
(d) When hoisting material with the
personnel hoist system, prohibit any
worker from entering the exclusion zone
except to access a material-transport
device, and then only when the device
is near the bottom landing for the
purpose of loading, attaching, landing or
tagging the load.
18. Inspections, Tests, and Accident
Prevention
(a) The employer must initiate and
maintain a program of frequent and
regular inspections of the hoist system
and associated work areas as required
by 29 CFR 1926.20(b)(2) by:
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(i) Ensuring that a competent person
conducts daily visual checks and
weekly inspections of the hoist system,
and an inspection before reuse of the
system following periods of idleness
exceeding one week;
(ii) Ensuring that the competent
person conducts tests and inspections of
the hoist system in accordance with 29
CFR 1926.552(c)(15);
(iii) Ensuring that a competent person
conducts weekly inspections of the
work areas associated with the use of
the hoist system.
(b) If the competent person
determines that the equipment
constitutes a safety hazard, the
employer must remove the equipment
from service and not return the
equipment to service until the employer
corrects the hazardous condition and
has the correction approved by a
qualified person.
(c) The employer must maintain at the
jobsite, for the duration of the job,
records of all tests and inspections of
the hoist system, as well as associated
corrective actions and repairs.
soon as possible after the employer
knows when the operation will
commence. This information must
include the location and date of the
operation;
(b) The employer can notify OTPCA at
OSHA’s national headquarters of
pending chimney-related construction
operations by:
(i) Telephone at 202 639–2110;
(ii) Facsimile at 202 693–1644; or
(iii) Email at
VarianceProgram@dol.gov.
(c) To assist OSHA in administering
the conditions of this variance, the
employer must exercise due diligence
by informing OTPCA at OSHA’s
national headquarters as soon as
possible after it has knowledge that it
will:
(i) Cease to do business;
(ii) Change the location and address of
the main office for managing the
activities covered by this variance; or
(iii) Transfer the activities covered by
this variance to a successor company.
(d) OSHA must approve the transfer
of this variance to a successor company.
19. Welding
(a) The employer must ensure that
only welders qualified in accordance
with the requirements of the American
Welding Society weld components of
the hoisting system. Accordingly, these
welders must meet the qualification
requirements of American Welding
Society (AWS) D1.1 Structural Welding
Code—Steel, or AWS D1.2 Structural
Welding Code—Aluminum, as
applicable.
(b) The employer must ensure that
these welders:
(i) Are familiar with the weld grades,
types, and materials specified in the
design of the system; and
(ii) Perform the welding tasks in
accordance with 29 CFR part 1926,
subpart J (‘‘Welding and Cutting’’).
V. Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Ave. NW., Washington, DC, authorized
the preparation of this notice. OSHA is
issuing this notice under the authority
specified by 29 U.S.C. 655, Secretary of
Labor’s Order No. 1–2012 (76 FR 3912),
and 29 CFR part 1905.
20. OSHA Notification
(a) To assist OSHA in administering
the conditions of this variance, the
employer must exercise due diligence in
notifying the Office of Technical
Programs and Coordination Activities
(OTPCA) at OSHA’s national
headquarters, or the appropriate StatePlan Office, of:
(i) Any chimney-related construction
operation using the conditions specified
herein, including the location of the
operation and the date the operation
will commence, at least 15 calendar
days prior to commencing the operation;
(ii) Any emergency operation or shortnotice project using the conditions
specified herein, and when 15 days are
not available before start of work, as
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 18,
2013.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013–06509 Filed 3–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Limited Exemption of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act With
Respect to the Purchase of a Variable
Refrigerant Flow System
National Science Foundation.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: NSF is hereby granting a
limited exemption of section 1605 of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Public Law
111–5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009), with
respect to the purchase of a variable
refrigerant flow system that will be used
in the renovation of the St. Anthony
Falls Laboratory at the University of
Minnesota. This system is required in
E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM
21MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Notices
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
order to provide the requisite heating
and cooling capability in a manner that
is consistent with the U.S. Secretary of
the Interior’s Standards for Archaeology
and Historic Preservation, taking into
account the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.
DATES: March 18, 2013.
ADDRESSES: National Science
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd.,
Arlington, Virginia 22230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Jason Madigan, Division of Grants and
Agreements, 703–292–4333.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with section 1605(c) of the
Recovery Act and section 176.80 of Title
2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the
National Science Foundation (NSF)
hereby provides notice that on March
15, 2013 the NSF Chief Financial
Officer, in accordance with a delegation
order from the Director of the agency,
granted a limited project exemption of
section 1605 of the Recovery Act (Buy
American provision) with respect to the
variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system
that will be used in the renovation of
the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
(SAFL). The basis for this exemption is
section 1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act,
in that variable refrigerant flow systems
of satisfactory quality that meet the
specifications required for the
renovation of this historic property are
not produced by vendors in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available commercial quantities. The
total cost of the VRF, estimated as
$181,000, represents approximately 2.6
percent of the total $7.1 million
Recovery Act award provided for
renovation of the SAFL.
I. Background
The Recovery Act appropriated $200
million to NSF for projects to be funded
by the Foundation’s Academic Research
Infrastructure (ARI) program. The
renovation of SAFL is one of NSF’s ARI
projects. Section 1605(a) of the Recovery
Act, the Buy American provision, states
that none of the funds appropriated by
the Act ‘‘may be used 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.’’
The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory was
built in 1938 with Works Progress
Administration funding. It is part of the
St. Anthony Falls Historic District,
added to the National Register of
Historic Places in 1971, and this project
is, therefore, being undertaken pursuant
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15:09 Mar 20, 2013
Jkt 229001
to a Programmatic Agreement developed
as part of NSF’s compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act to preserve the
historical integrity of the laboratory
building.
The SAFL renovation is being funded
under a standard grant awarded to the
University of Minnesota (UMN) that
began in 2010. The project is currently
in the construction phase.
Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the
Recovery Act authorize the head of a
Federal department or agency to waive
the Buy American provision if the head
of the agency finds that: (1) Applying
the provision would be inconsistent
with the public interest; (2) the relevant
goods are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality; or (3) the inclusion of the goods
produced in the United States will
increase the cost of the project by more
than 25 percent. If the head of the
Federal department or agency waives
the Buy American provision, then the
head of the department or agency is
required to publish a detailed
justification in the Federal Register.
Finally, section 1605(d) of the Recovery
Act states that the Buy American
provision must be applied in a manner
consistent with the United States’
obligations under international
agreements.
II. Finding That Relevant Goods Are
Not Produced in the United States in
Sufficient and Reasonably Available
Quality
The project involves renovations and
upgrades to the University of
Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls
Laboratory (SAFL) facility, a
contributing element to the National
Register-listed St. Anthony Falls
Historic District in Minneapolis, MN.
When the project was initially being
considered for funding, the design of the
proposed improvements was not
sufficiently advanced to allow for a full
evaluation of their potential impacts on
the SAFL facility and the Historic
District. Therefore, a Programmatic
Agreement (PA) was executed among
NSF, the University of Minnesota, the
Minnesota State Historic Preservation
Office, and the National Park Service to
define a process through which the PA
signatories and other consulting parties
would review the design of the
proposed upgrades and renovations, as
it was being developed, and, through
this review, ensure that the proposed
action results in no significant adverse
impact to the historic integrity of the
SAFL facility and the St. Anthony Falls
Historic District. The Agreement states
PO 00000
Frm 00101
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
17449
that, ‘‘Insofar as possible, the proposed
Project shall be implemented in a
manner consistent with the U.S.
Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for
Archaeology and Historic Preservation,
taking into account the U.S. Secretary of
the Interior’s Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties
(‘SOI Rehabilitation Standards’).’’
Installation of a modern heating,
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
system is required for the safety and
welfare of personnel working in SAFL
and for the use of some of the
instrumentation within the renovated
laboratory. The University of Minnesota
and its design consultant engaged an
engineering consultant to determine the
capabilities of the HVAC system
required and how best to accommodate
these in a way that best preserves the
historical integrity of the laboratory
building. The use of a VRF system,
rather than a type of HVAC system
commonly manufactured in the U.S.,
has been determined by the Awardee,
the University of Minnesota, to be
necessary in order to meet the
requirements of the Programmatic
Agreement. This conclusion is based on
design considerations associated with
historical preservation, space
limitations, energy efficiency, and
performance. The University of
Minnesota has stated that ‘‘The VRF
system [is] necessary to accommodate
the extraordinary space limitations of
the project, the need to maintain the
look and feel of a 1938 WPA [Works
Progress Administration] facility, and
the need to maximize usable research
space.’’
The University of Minnesota’s
architect for this project, Perkins+Will,
conducted market research by
discussing options with an engineering
consultant, and with local vendors of
HVAC systems, by Internet search, and
by reviewing a prior determination of
inapplicability issued by the
Department of Energy. The Department
of Energy, in a Memorandum of
Decision issued by the Assistant
Secretary for Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy on May 24, 2010, that
considered the applicability of Section
1605 of the Recovery Act to projects
funded by the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, had
found that ‘‘Variable Refrigerant Flow
Zoning HVAC Systems,’’ including
‘‘variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multisplit heat pump (with or without heat
recovery) and air conditioning systems,’’
are ‘‘not produced or manufactured in
the United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality,’’ and had
accordingly made a determination of
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21MRN1
17450
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Notices
inapplicability of Section 1605 in the
context of such systems. (See also
Federal Register Volume 75, Number
119 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010), 35447–
35449.)
Perkins+Will concluded that no VRF
systems of the required scale were
manufactured in the U.S.
In the absence of a domestic supplier
that could provide a VRF system that
meets or exceeds the design
requirements of the SAFL renovation,
the University of Minnesota requested
that NSF issue a Section 1605
exemption determination with respect
to the purchase of a foreign-supplied
VRF that will meet the specific design
and technical requirements that are
necessary for the renovation of SAFL.
NSF’s Division of Grants and
Agreements (DGA) and other NSF
program staff reviewed the University of
Minnesota exemption request submittal
and determined that sufficient technical
information was provided in order for
NSF to evaluate the exemption request
and to conclude that an exemption is
needed and should be granted.
III. Exemption
On March 15, 2013, based on the
finding that no domestically produced
variable refrigerant flow system meets
all of the technical specifications and
requirements of the St. Anthony Fall
Laboratory renovation project and
pursuant to section 1605(b), the NSF
Chief Financial Officer, in accordance
with a delegation order from the
Director of the agency signed on May
27, 2010, granted a limited project
exemption of the Recovery Act’s Buy
American requirements with respect to
the procurement of the variable
refrigerant flow system.
Dated: March 18, 2013.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel, National Science
Foundation.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science
Foundation.
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
BILLING CODE 7555–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 04008502; NRC–2009–0036]
[NRC–2013–0012]
[Docket Nos. 50–458, 50–155, 72–043, 50–
003, 50–247, 50–286, 50–333, 50–255, 50–
293, 50–271, 50–313, 50–368, 50–416, and
50–382]
Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc.;
Entergy Operations, Inc.; Biweekly
Notice; Notice of Issuance of
Amendment to Facility Operating
License; Correction
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
AGENCY:
Notice of issuance of
amendment; correction.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The original ‘‘Notice of
Consideration of Issuance of
Amendments to Facility Operating
Licenses, Proposed No Significant
Hazards Consideration Determination,
and Opportunity for a Hearing’’ was
published in the Federal Register on
March 20, 2012 (77 FR 16274) and
included Big Rock Plant. This notice
corrects a notice appearing in the
Federal Register on January 22, 2013
(78 FR 4475–4476), to include a missing
facility operating license number and a
missing amendment number. This
action is necessary to include the
license and amendment number for
which the license amendment was
issued.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nageswaran Kalyanam, Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001; telephone
(301) 415–1480, email:
kaly.kalyanam@nrc.gov.
On page
4476, in the first column, line two, is
corrected from ‘‘and Waterford—240.’’
to ‘‘Waterford—240; and Big Rock—
128.’’; also, on page 4476, first column,
first full paragraph, line four is
corrected from ‘‘DPR–20, and DPR–28:
The amendments’’ to ‘‘DPR–20, DPR–28,
and DPR–06: The amendments’’.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitted for the National Science
Foundation on March 18, 2013,
[FR Doc. 2013–06536 Filed 3–20–13; 8:45 am]
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
Dated in Rockville, Maryland, this 14th
day of March 2013.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Nageswaran Kalyanam,
Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch IV,
Division of Operating Reactor Licensing,
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2013–06510 Filed 3–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
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15:09 Mar 20, 2013
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PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
Notice of Issuance of Materials License
Renewal, Operating License SUA–
1341, Uranium One USA, Inc., Willow
Creek Uranium In Situ Recovery
Project
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of issuance.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is providing notice
of issuance of a license renewal for
Materials License No. SUA–1341 to
Uranium One USA, Inc. (Uranium One)
for its Willow Creek Uranium In Situ
Recovery (ISR) Project in Johnson and
Campbell Counties, Wyoming.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2009–0036 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may access information related to
this document, which the NRC
possesses and are publicly-available,
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2009–0036. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Carol
Gallagher; telephone: 301–492–3668;
email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may access publiclyavailable documents online in the NRC
Library at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/adams.html. To begin the search,
select ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and
then select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
please contact the NRC’s Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
ADAMS accession number for each
document referenced in this notice (if
that document is available in ADAMS)
is provided the first time that a
document is referenced. In addition, for
the convenience of the reader, the
ADAMS accession numbers are
provided in a table in Section II of this
notice entitled, Availability of
Documents.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron
C. Linton, Project Manager, Office of
Federal and State Materials and
Environmental Management Programs,
E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM
21MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17448-17450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06536]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Limited Exemption of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
With Respect to the Purchase of a Variable Refrigerant Flow System
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NSF is hereby granting a limited exemption of section 1605 of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act),
Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009), with respect to the
purchase of a variable refrigerant flow system that will be used in the
renovation of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of
Minnesota. This system is required in
[[Page 17449]]
order to provide the requisite heating and cooling capability in a
manner that is consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's
Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking into
account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.
DATES: March 18, 2013.
ADDRESSES: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
Virginia 22230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jason Madigan, Division of Grants
and Agreements, 703-292-4333.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 1605(c) of the
Recovery Act and section 176.80 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hereby provides
notice that on March 15, 2013 the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in
accordance with a delegation order from the Director of the agency,
granted a limited project exemption of section 1605 of the Recovery Act
(Buy American provision) with respect to the variable refrigerant flow
(VRF) system that will be used in the renovation of the St. Anthony
Falls Laboratory (SAFL). The basis for this exemption is section
1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that variable refrigerant flow
systems of satisfactory quality that meet the specifications required
for the renovation of this historic property are not produced by
vendors in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
commercial quantities. The total cost of the VRF, estimated as
$181,000, represents approximately 2.6 percent of the total $7.1
million Recovery Act award provided for renovation of the SAFL.
I. Background
The Recovery Act appropriated $200 million to NSF for projects to
be funded by the Foundation's Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI)
program. The renovation of SAFL is one of NSF's ARI projects. Section
1605(a) of the Recovery Act, the Buy American provision, states that
none of the funds appropriated by the Act ``may be used 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.''
The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory was built in 1938 with Works
Progress Administration funding. It is part of the St. Anthony Falls
Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in
1971, and this project is, therefore, being undertaken pursuant to a
Programmatic Agreement developed as part of NSF's compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to preserve the
historical integrity of the laboratory building.
The SAFL renovation is being funded under a standard grant awarded
to the University of Minnesota (UMN) that began in 2010. The project is
currently in the construction phase.
Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the Recovery Act authorize the head
of a Federal department or agency to waive the Buy American provision
if the head of the agency finds that: (1) Applying the provision would
be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the relevant goods are
not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) the
inclusion of the goods produced in the United States will increase the
cost of the project by more than 25 percent. If the head of the Federal
department or agency waives the Buy American provision, then the head
of the department or agency is required to publish a detailed
justification in the Federal Register. Finally, section 1605(d) of the
Recovery Act states that the Buy American provision must be applied in
a manner consistent with the United States' obligations under
international agreements.
II. Finding That Relevant Goods Are Not Produced in the United States
in Sufficient and Reasonably Available Quality
The project involves renovations and upgrades to the University of
Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) facility, a
contributing element to the National Register-listed St. Anthony Falls
Historic District in Minneapolis, MN. When the project was initially
being considered for funding, the design of the proposed improvements
was not sufficiently advanced to allow for a full evaluation of their
potential impacts on the SAFL facility and the Historic District.
Therefore, a Programmatic Agreement (PA) was executed among NSF, the
University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Historic Preservation
Office, and the National Park Service to define a process through which
the PA signatories and other consulting parties would review the design
of the proposed upgrades and renovations, as it was being developed,
and, through this review, ensure that the proposed action results in no
significant adverse impact to the historic integrity of the SAFL
facility and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. The Agreement
states that, ``Insofar as possible, the proposed Project shall be
implemented in a manner consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior's Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking
into account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties (`SOI Rehabilitation
Standards').''
Installation of a modern heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) system is required for the safety and welfare of personnel
working in SAFL and for the use of some of the instrumentation within
the renovated laboratory. The University of Minnesota and its design
consultant engaged an engineering consultant to determine the
capabilities of the HVAC system required and how best to accommodate
these in a way that best preserves the historical integrity of the
laboratory building. The use of a VRF system, rather than a type of
HVAC system commonly manufactured in the U.S., has been determined by
the Awardee, the University of Minnesota, to be necessary in order to
meet the requirements of the Programmatic Agreement. This conclusion is
based on design considerations associated with historical preservation,
space limitations, energy efficiency, and performance. The University
of Minnesota has stated that ``The VRF system [is] necessary to
accommodate the extraordinary space limitations of the project, the
need to maintain the look and feel of a 1938 WPA [Works Progress
Administration] facility, and the need to maximize usable research
space.''
The University of Minnesota's architect for this project,
Perkins+Will, conducted market research by discussing options with an
engineering consultant, and with local vendors of HVAC systems, by
Internet search, and by reviewing a prior determination of
inapplicability issued by the Department of Energy. The Department of
Energy, in a Memorandum of Decision issued by the Assistant Secretary
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on May 24, 2010, that
considered the applicability of Section 1605 of the Recovery Act to
projects funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, had found that ``Variable Refrigerant Flow Zoning HVAC
Systems,'' including ``variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split heat
pump (with or without heat recovery) and air conditioning systems,''
are ``not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient
and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality,''
and had accordingly made a determination of
[[Page 17450]]
inapplicability of Section 1605 in the context of such systems. (See
also Federal Register Volume 75, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010),
35447-35449.)
Perkins+Will concluded that no VRF systems of the required scale
were manufactured in the U.S.
In the absence of a domestic supplier that could provide a VRF
system that meets or exceeds the design requirements of the SAFL
renovation, the University of Minnesota requested that NSF issue a
Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to the purchase of a
foreign-supplied VRF that will meet the specific design and technical
requirements that are necessary for the renovation of SAFL.
NSF's Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA) and other NSF program
staff reviewed the University of Minnesota exemption request submittal
and determined that sufficient technical information was provided in
order for NSF to evaluate the exemption request and to conclude that an
exemption is needed and should be granted.
III. Exemption
On March 15, 2013, based on the finding that no domestically
produced variable refrigerant flow system meets all of the technical
specifications and requirements of the St. Anthony Fall Laboratory
renovation project and pursuant to section 1605(b), the NSF Chief
Financial Officer, in accordance with a delegation order from the
Director of the agency signed on May 27, 2010, granted a limited
project exemption of the Recovery Act's Buy American requirements with
respect to the procurement of the variable refrigerant flow system.
Dated: March 18, 2013.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel, National Science Foundation.
Submitted for the National Science Foundation on March 18, 2013,
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2013-06536 Filed 3-20-13; 8:45 am]
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