Environmental Protection Agency October 28, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Regional Administrator of EPA Region 3 is hereby granting a project waiver of the Buy American requirements of ARRA Section 1605 under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality] to the Newport Borough Water Authority (NBWA) for the purchase of membrane filtration cassettes, supplied by GE Water & Process Technologies (GE), that contains a primary component not manufactured in America, at its new Water Treatment Plant (WTP). NBWA indicates that the membrane filtration cassettes at its new WTP are necessary to replace groundwater wells that cannot meet the system demands during drought conditions and provide for the removal of Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The membrane cassettes under consideration are manufactured by a company located in Hungary and no United States manufacturer produces an alternative that meets the NBWA's technical specifications. 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 the specific project circumstances. The Regional Administrator is making this determination based on the review and recommendations of the EPA Region III, Water Protection Division, Office of Infrastructure and Assistance. The NBWA has provided sufficient documentation to support its request. The Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the purchase of membrane filtration cassettes for the proposed project being implemented by the NBWA.

EPA is amending specific provisions in the 2009 Final Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting rule to correct certain technical and editorial errors that have been identified since promulgation and to clarify and update certain provisions that have been the subject of questions from reporting entities. These final changes include additional information to better or more fully understand compliance obligations, corrections to data reporting elements so they more closely conform to the information used to perform emission calculations, and other corrections and amendments.