Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 49264 [2013-19558]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 49264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19558]



[[Page 49264]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under 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.

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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 sufficient and reasonably available quantities and 
of a satisfactory quality), with respect to Par 20, Par 30 and Par 38 
lamps (as specified infra) to be utilized in the San Antonio River Walk 
Project, being performed under a subgrant from an EERE-Recovery Act 
Funded State Energy Program (SEP) award.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Platt-Patrick, 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. 00-002.01F, 
dated October 31, 2012. Pursuant to this delegation the Acting 
Assistant Secretary, EERE, has concluded that: Par 20, Par 30 and Par 
38 replacement lamps, that are both rated for outdoor open fixtures 
exposed to water and closed fixtures with heat concern, are dimmable, 
and meet ANSI  ANSI ANSLG C78.43-2007 requirements are not 
produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and 
reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality. The 
above items, utilized in the San Antonio River Walk Project, being 
performed under a subgrant from an EERE-Recovery Act Funded State 
Energy Program (SEP) award, qualify for the ``nonavailability'' waiver 
determination at this time.
    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 request 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.
    The specific needs of this project cannot be met by current 
manufacturers of LED lamps in the United States. However, because of 
the evolving nature of LED manufacturing, the availability of products 
is anticipated to increase. As such EERE has chosen to issue a project-
specific waiver for the San Antonio River Walk project only. Future 
requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
    Having established a proper justification based on domestic 
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on February 15, 2013, 
a nationwide categorical waiver of section 1605 of the Recovery Act was 
issued for Par 20, Par 30 and Par 38 replacement lamps, that are both 
rated for outdoor open fixtures exposed to water and closed fixtures 
with heat concern, are dimmable, and meet ANSI  ANSI ANSLG 
C78.43-2007 requirements to be utilized in the San Antonio River Walk 
Project, being performed under a subgrant from an EERE-Recovery Act 
Funded State Energy Program (SEP) award. 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 February 15, 2013.
David T. Danielson,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 
Department of Energy.

    Editorial Note: This document was received at the Office of the 
Federal Register August 8, 2013.

[FR Doc. 2013-19558 Filed 8-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P