[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 166 (Friday, August 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44360-44361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20800]



[[Page 44360]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8951-2]


Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) to the Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, VT, the 
Kids in the Country School Water System in Dover, VT, and the Otter 
Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, VT

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: 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 Bristol Family Center Water System in 
Bristol, Vermont, the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, 
Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon, Vermont 
(the ``Systems'') for the purchase of NSF-55 Class A certified Ultra 
Violet (UV) disinfection equipment. This is a project specific waiver 
and only applies to the use of the specified product for the ARRA 
funded projects being proposed. Any other ARRA project that may wish to 
use the same product must apply for a separate waiver based on project 
specific circumstances. The UV disinfection equipment under 
consideration is manufactured outside of the United States by a company 
based in Canada and meets the water systems' technical specifications 
and requirements. The Acting Regional Administrator is making this 
determination based on the review and recommendations of the Municipal 
Assistance Unit. The Systems have provided sufficient documentation to 
support each individual request. The Assistant Administrator of the 
Office of Administration and Resources Management has concurred on this 
decision to make an exception to Section 1605 of the ARRA. This action 
permits the purchase of specific UV disinfection equipment for the 
proposed projects being implemented by the Bristol Family Center Water 
System in Bristol, Vermont, Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, 
Vermont, and Otter Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, 
Vermont.

DATES: Effective Date: August 19, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, 
(617) 918-1658, or David Chin, Environmental Engineer, (617) 918-1764, 
Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP), 
U.S. EPA, One Congress Street, CMU, Boston, MA 02114.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c) and 
pursuant to Section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American 
requirements, EPA hereby provides notice that it is granting a project 
waiver to the Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, Vermont, 
the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, Vermont, and the Otter 
Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, Vermont (the 
``Systems'') for the acquisition of NSF-55 Class A certified Ultra 
Violet (UV) disinfection equipment manufactured outside of the United 
States.
    Section 1605 of the ARRA requires that none of the appropriated 
funds may be used 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, or unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by the 
head of the appropriate agency, here EPA. A waiver may be provided if 
EPA determines that (1) applying these requirements would be 
inconsistent with the public interest; (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; or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured 
goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the 
overall project by more than 25 percent.
    The State of Vermont requires that water supply installations must 
comply with the Vermont Standards for Water System Design, Construction 
and Protection (Vermont Water Supply Rule--Chapter 21). In order to 
meet these standards the State of Vermont requires public water systems 
using UV disinfection to use National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) 
Standard 55 (Ultraviolet Microbial Water Treatment Systems) Class A 
certified UV equipment. The State of Vermont, Agency of Natural 
Resources, Water Supply Division (VTANR) has identified several lines 
of UV disinfection systems with NSF-55 Class A certification, all 
manufactured in Canada. The Water Systems are proposing to use the UV 
Pure Hallett 15xs and 30 ultraviolet disinfection water systems. The 
design engineer and the VTANR have conducted research and determined 
that there are no domestic manufacturers that have NSF-55 Class A 
certification at the time of these waiver requests.
    The design engineers for the Bristol Family Center Water System 
indicated that they intend to use two Hallett 30 (30 gpm) UV units for 
the school buildings. The estimated cost for all of the UV equipment 
for Bristol Family Center Water System in Bristol, Vermont is $4,000. 
For the Kids in the Country Water System, the engineers intend to use 
two Hallett 15xs (15 gpm) The estimated cost for all of the UV 
equipment for the Kids in the Country Water System in Dover, Vermont is 
$3,400. For the Otter Valley Union High School Water System, the design 
engineers intend to use four Hallett 30 (30 gpm) UV units for the 
school buildings. The estimated cost for all of the UV equipment for 
the Otter Valley Union High School Water System in Brandon, Vermont is 
$8,000.
    The designs for all three Systems took into account the limited 
space available for retrofitting the water supply and distribution 
systems, as well as the attributes of the specific equipment. The 
Systems' submissions clearly articulated functional reasons for their 
technical specifications and requirements, and have provided sufficient 
documentation that the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in 
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantity and 
of a satisfactory quality to meet its design specifications and 
requirements.
    The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ Memorandum, ``Implementation of Buy 
American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the `American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009,' '' defines reasonably available quantity as 
``the quantity of iron, steel, or relevant manufactured good is 
available or will be available at the time needed and place needed, and 
in the proper form or specification as specified in the project plans 
and design''. After extensive research by the design engineers and the 
VTANR, information has been provided to the EPA documenting that there 
is currently no other UV disinfection equipment from a domestic 
manufacturer available to meet the Systems' exact design specifications 
and requirements.
    EPA's national contractor has prepared a technical assessment 
report for these Systems dated June 25, 2009 based on the waiver 
requests submitted. The report determined that the waiver request 
submittal was complete, that adequate technical information was 
provided, and that there were no

[[Page 44361]]

significant weaknesses in the justification provided. The report 
confirmed the waiver applicants' claim that NSF Standard 55 Class A UV 
disinfection equipment of the size specified are not available from a 
domestic manufacturer.
    The purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery in part 
by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay projects 
that are ``shovel ready'' by requiring utilities, such as these Water 
Systems, to revise their standards and specifications and to start the 
bidding process again. The imposition of ARRA Buy American requirements 
on such projects otherwise eligible for State Revolving Fund assistance 
would result in unreasonable delay and thus displace the ``shovel 
ready'' status for this project. To further delay construction is in 
direct conflict with a fundamental economic purpose of the ARRA, which 
is to create or retain jobs. The construction must be completed prior 
to September 1, 2009 when the students return for the new school year.
    The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) has reviewed these waiver 
requests and has determined that the supporting documentation provided 
by the Bristol Family Center in Bristol, Vermont, the Kids in the 
Country School in Dover, Vermont, and the Otter Valley Union High 
School in Brandon, Vermont is sufficient to meet the criteria listed 
under Section 1605(b) of the ARRA and in the April 28, 2009, 
``Implementation of Buy American provisions of Public Law 111-5, the 
`American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009' Memorandum'': Iron, 
steel, and the manufactured goods are not produced in the United States 
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory 
quality.
    The basis for these project waivers is the authorization provided 
in Section 1605(b)(2) of the ARRA. Due to the lack of production of 
this product in the United States in sufficient and reasonably 
available quantities and of a satisfactory quality in order to meet the 
Systems' technical specifications and requirements, a waiver from the 
Buy American requirement is justified.
    The March 31, 2009 Delegation of Authority Memorandum provided 
Regional Administrators with the authority to issue exceptions to 
Section 1605 of the ARRA within the geographic boundaries of their 
respective regions and with respect to requests by individual grant 
recipients. Having established both a proper basis to specify the 
particular good required for these projects, and that this manufactured 
good was not available from a producer in the United States, the 
Bristol Family Center Water System, Kids in the Country Water System, 
and Otter Valley Union High School Water System are hereby granted 
waivers from the Buy American requirements of Section 1605(a) of Public 
Law 111-5 for the purchase of the specified UV disinfection equipment 
using ARRA funds as documented in the Systems' requests of June 18, 
2009. This supplementary information constitutes the detailed written 
justification required by Section 1605(c) for waivers ``based on a 
finding under subsection (b).''

    Authority:  Public Law 111-5, section 1605.

    Dated: August 19, 2009.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region I, New England.
[FR Doc. E9-20800 Filed 8-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P