[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59174-59175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-27613]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8982-3]


Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) to the Town of Greensboro, Maryland

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Acting Regional Administrator of EPA Region III 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 
Town of Greensboro for the purchase of a moving bed biological reactor 
(Geo-Reactor[supreg]) containment drum, which is a major component of 
the Geo-Reactor[supreg] wastewater treatment process, for retrofit 
installation into an existing Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC) basin 
at its Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Greensboro indicates that the 
Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process is necessary to achieve the 
wastewater treatment levels required by the National Pollutant 
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued for this WWTP. The 
Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum under consideration is 
manufactured by a company located in Canada and no United States 
manufacturer produces an alternative that meets Greensboro's justified 
technical specifications, including retrofit capacity. 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 Acting 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. Greensboro 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 
a Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum for the proposed replacement and 
retrofit project being implemented by Greensboro.

DATES: Effective Date: November 5, 2009

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Chominski, Deputy Associate 
Director, (215) 814-2162, or David McAdams, Environmental Engineer, 
(215) 814-5764, Office of Infrastructure & Assistance (OIA), Water 
Protection Division, U.S. EPA Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), EPA 
hereby provides notice that it is granting a project waiver of the 
requirements of Section 1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American 
requirements to the Town of Greensboro for the acquisition of a Geo-
Reactor[supreg] containment drum manufactured by Jebco Industries, 
located in Canada, for Parkson Corporation. Greensboro has been unable 
to find an American made moving bed biological reactor manufacturer to 
meet its specific wastewater requirements.
    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 unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by EPA. A 
waiver may be provided if EPA determines that (1) Applying these 
requirements would be inconsistent with 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.
    Greensboro's waiver request is to allow the purchase of a Geo-
Reactor[supreg] containment drum for use in improvements to its 
existing WWTP. This project will upgrade its existing WWTP by replacing 
an existing RBC treatment unit with a new Geo-Reactor[supreg]

[[Page 59175]]

treatment unit. The containment drum is an integral component of the 
Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process because it holds the plastic 
media which supports the attached biological biomass. The plastic media 
consists of irregular shaped pieces which are designed to maximize the 
surface area and prevent pieces from interlocking with each other. The 
plastic media will provide approximately 150,000 square feet of surface 
area for the attached biological biomass. The containment drum is 
specifically designed to fit within the existing RBC basin. The process 
utilizes the rotational design of the RBC process by having the 
containment drum rotate slowly. The plastic media pieces are raised out 
of the wastewater and tumble back as the drum reaches its apex. The 
movement aids the transfer of oxygen to the biomass and the sloughing 
off of excess biomass from the media. The Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment 
process combines the requisite biological media surface area within the 
confines of the existing RBC basin.
    After an engineering analysis of alternate treatment processes, 
Greensboro determined the Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process to be 
the most environmentally sound and cost effective solution, and in 
January 2008 completed the installation of a Geo-Reactor[supreg] 
treatment unit in one of Greensboro's two RBC basins. This proposal to 
procure and retrofit a second such Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment unit 
would also enable Greensboro to provide necessary treatment redundancy 
and standardize its operation, maintenance, and spare parts functions 
for this equipment. The Geo-Reactor[supreg] is a waste water treatment 
process which is designed to meet the effluent requirements of the 
waste load allocation under the NPDES permit. In addition, in 
anticipation of procuring the Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment process, 
Greensboro has already incorporated specific technical design 
requirements for installation of the Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment 
drum within the existing RBC basin at their WWTP, including specific 
geometry and configuration. To require Greensboro to redesign its 
project would cause an unacceptable delay to the initiation of 
construction.
    Greensboro has provided information to the EPA demonstrating that 
there are no moving bed biological reactors manufactured in the United 
States in sufficient and reasonable quantity and of a satisfactory 
quality to meet the required technical specification. Greensboro 
surveyed ten moving bed biological reactors manufacturers as part of 
its market research to locate domestic manufacturers of moving bed 
biological reactors for WWTPs. It was unable to locate any acceptable 
domestic manufacturers because those U.S.-based manufacturers with 
biological treatment technologies similar to the Geo-Reactor[supreg] 
system were not capable of providing the required 150,000 square feet 
of biological media surface area as a retrofit within the confines of 
the existing RBC basin.
    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'' (``EPA Memorandum''), 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.'' Greensboro has incorporated specific 
technical design requirements which are justified by legitimate, 
performance and regulatory compliance objectives, as well as the 
applicant's prior experience with and investment in this technology, 
for the retrofit installation of a Geo-Reactor[supreg] treatment 
process, which includes the containment drum, at its WWTP.
    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 communities, such as Greensboro, 
to revise their standards and specifications, institute a new bidding 
process, and potentially choose a more costly, less efficient project. 
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.
    Based on additional research conducted by EPA's Office of 
Infrastructure and Assistance (OIA) in Region III, there does not 
appear to be another moving bed biological reactor manufactured 
domestically that would meet Greensboro's technical specification. 
EPA's national contractor prepared a technical assessment report dated 
October 8, 2009 based on the waiver request submitted. The report 
determined that the waiver request submittal was complete, that 
adequate technical information was provided, and that there were no 
significant weaknesses in the justification provided. The report 
confirmed the waiver applicant's claim that there are no American-made 
moving bed biological reactors that met the media surface area 
requirement within the confines of an existing RBC basin.
    The OIA has reviewed this waiver request and to the best of our 
knowledge at the time of review has determined that the supporting 
documentation provided by Greensboro is sufficient to meet the criteria 
listed under Section 1605(b), OMB's regulations at 2 CFR 176.60-
176.170, and in the April 28, 2009 EPA 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 this project waiver is the authorization provided in Section 
1605(b)(2). 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 Greensboro's justified technical 
specifications, 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 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 this project, and that this manufactured 
good was not available from a producer in the United States, the Town 
of Greensboro is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American 
requirements of Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of 
a Geo-Reactor[supreg] containment drum using ARRA funds as specified in 
Greensboro's request of July 28, 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: November 5, 2009.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region III.
[FR Doc. E9-27613 Filed 11-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P