Environmental Protection Agency February 8, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Local Government Advisory Committee's Gulf Coast Restoration Workgroup will meet on Thursday, February 17, 2011, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Sheraton Hotel, 500 Canal Street. The focus of the Gulf Coast Restoration Workgroup meeting is to engage local government officials in the Gulf Coast Ecosystem restoration efforts, and provide an opportunity for input to the Committee as it develops recommendations for the EPA Administrator in her role as Chair of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. This is an open meeting and all interested persons are invited to attend. The Committee will hear comments from the public between 10:45 a.m.-11:55 a.m. on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Individuals or organizations wishing to address the Workgroup meeting will be allowed a maximum of five minutes to present their point of view. Also, written comments should be submitted electronically to cook.rebecca@epa.gov. Please contact the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) at the number listed below to schedule agenda time. Time will be allotted on a first come first served basis, and the total period for comments may be extended if the number of requests for appearances requires it.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request for approval for a new information collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

The EPA 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 Hernando County Utilities Department, (HCUD), Hernando County, Florida for the purchase of four Chinese manufactured wafer swing check valves. The wafer swing check valves will be used for the filter feed pumps as part of the Glen Water Reclamation Facility Expansion. The pumps are low-head axial flow pumps which discharge into an open channel and require this specific wafer check valve which has a low head loss and does not require a full pipe downstream to operate properly. The valves are manufactured by 3D Valve, a Chinese company with a U.S. branch operated for sales and distribution only. The County stated that there are no apparent domestic manufactured wafer swing check valves with an outside lever and weight in the 12 inch and 16 inch sizes and design as required for this project. This is a project specific waiver and only applies to the use of the specified product for the ARRA project being proposed. Any other ARRA recipient that wishes to use the same product must apply for a separate waiver based on project specific circumstances. Based on the review of the information provided, EPA has concluded that a waiver of the Buy American provisions is justified. The Regional Administrator is making this determination based on the review and recommendation of the EPA Region 4, Water Protection Division, Grants and Infrastructure Branch. The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the County to purchase wafer swing check valves manufactured by 3D Valve, for the proposed project being implemented by Hernando County Florida.

The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces two public teleconferences of the SAB Dioxin Review Panel to discuss its draft advisory report concerning EPA's Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments, External Review Draft.