[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5564-5565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2217]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) That Has Been Granted to the Plymouth Village Water & Sewer 
District, New Hampshire

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants 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 Plymouth Village Water 
& Sewer District, New Hampshire (``District'') for the purchase of a 
foreign manufactured rotary sludge dewatering press. 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. The District's proposed wastewater 
treatment facility improvements will include a replacement of the 
existing belt filter press for sludge generated at the plant. Based 
upon information submitted by the District and its consultants, it was 
determined that a rotary press sludge dewatering unit, manufactured by 
Fournier Industries of Quebec, Canada, will meet the District's design 
and performance specifications. The Secretary is making this 
determination based on the review and recommendations of the Rural 
Development Buy American Coordinator. The District through its design 
engineer has provided sufficient documentation to support its request. 
The Undersecretary for Rural Development concurred on this decision to 
waive Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the purchase of a 6 
channel rotary press sludge dewatering unit, manufactured by Fournier 
Industries, by the District, as specified in its October 7, 2009 waiver 
request, as part of the improvements to the wastewater treatment 
facility.

DATES: Effective Date: February 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Dallas Tonsager, Undersecretary, Rural Development, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, Room 205-W, 
Washington, DC 20250-0107, (202) 720-4581.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Shuman, Senior Environmental 
Engineer, Engineering and Environmental Staff, (202) 720-1784, Rural 
Utilities Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-1571.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c) and 
pursuant to Section 1605(b)(2), USDA hereby provides notice that it is 
granting a project specific waiver of the Buy American Requirements of 
ARRA, to the Plymouth Village Water & Sewer District (``District''), 
New Hampshire for the purchase of a rotary press sludge dewatering 
unit, manufactured by Fournier Industries of Quebec, Canada.

I. Background

    Section 1605(a) of 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 is produced in the 
United States, or unless a waiver is provided to the recipient by the 
head of the appropriate department or agency, here the Secretary of 
USDA. A waiver may be granted if the Secretary determines that (1) 
Applying these requirements would be inconsistent with public interest; 
(2) iron, steel, and 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 manufactured 
goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the 
overall project by more than 25 percent. The District has requested a 
waiver from the Buy American Requirement for the purchase of a foreign 
made rotary press sludge dewatering unit as part of its wastewater 
treatment plant improvement project.
    The purchase of the new rotary sludge press is intended to replace 
the existing belt filter press which is approaching the end of its 
useful life. The estimated cost of the overall improvements to the 
District's wastewater treatment plant is $5.2 million, of which the 
cost of the foreign made rotary sludge press unit is priced at 
$330,000. In designing the wastewater treatment plant, the District's 
design engineers evaluated the various technologies based on the 
following factors:
     Maintain the current annual average dewatered sludge cake 
solids of approximately 25% or higher.
     Improve environmental working conditions in the dewatering 
area by minimizing worker exposure to odorous and hazardous gases 
released from the sludge as well as exposure to bioaerosols and 
pathogens. Enclosed dewatering equipment will achieve this goal.
     Automatically adjust for variation in feed solids 
concentrations and sludge mix ratios to provide consistent and optimum 
cake solids.
     Allow for unattended, automatic operation freeing up 
operators for other needed tasks.
     Keep the dewatering operation as simple as possible while 
still maintaining optimum dewatering performance.
     Allow for some degree of backup capacity during periods of 
equipment failure and routine maintenance.
     Equipment must have a proven track record of low annual 
operation and maintenance costs and reliability.
    As part of the review of potentially viable sludge dewatering 
units, four technologies were considered by the District and their 
consultants based on the above listed criteria: (1) Rotary press; (2) 
screw press; (3) centrifuge; and (4) belt filter press. Of the four 
technologies, the District determined that a rotary sludge press is the 
desired technology because it ranked the highest in terms of meeting 
the key criteria highlighted above. According to data submitted by the 
District's design engineers and reviewed by USDA, the foreign made 
rotary press sludge dewatering unit meets the District's technical 
specifications for design and performance of a rotary press sludge 
dewatering unit as part of its wastewater treatment plant improvement 
project.

[[Page 5565]]

    The technical specifications for the proposed wastewater treatment 
facility states: ``[t]he Contractor shall furnish, install and field 
test a complete rotary press sludge dewatering system.'' According to 
the District, the only rotary press sludge dewatering unit that meets 
that above described technical specifications is not manufactured in 
the United States. As a result, the District requested a waiver of the 
ARRA Buy American provisions on the basis of nonavailability of a U.S. 
manufactured product that will meet the design and performance criteria 
specified for this rotary press sludge dewatering unit.

II. Nonavailability Finding

    The Secretary has determined that, based on the information 
available, and to the best of USDA's knowledge, there do not appear to 
be other rotary press sludge dewatering units manufactured in the 
United States that are available at this time to meet the District's 
design specifications and performance requirements for this project.
    The evaluation by USDA's technical review team and engineers 
supports the District's claim that a suitable rotary press sludge 
dewatering unit which meets the specifications for this project is not 
available in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities 
of a satisfactory quality that is manufactured in the United States. 
USDA's technical review team and engineers reviewed a memorandum 
submitted by the District describing the foreign equipment that fits 
the technical specifications for the rotary press sludge dewatering 
unit and the process the District followed in adopting the rotary press 
design. USDA's technical review team and engineers conducted a 
nationwide review of equipment vendors, manufacturers' representatives, 
and associated resources typically relied on by engineers who design 
wastewater treatment facilities. The purpose of USDA's review process 
was to determine whether there were any sludge dewatering rotary 
presses manufactured in the United States that meet the District's 
design specifications and performance requirements. In addition, USDA's 
technical review team and engineers interviewed the District's design 
engineer and sales engineers for a United States manufacturer that 
produced a dewatering rotary press. It was determined that the one 
domestically manufactured rotary press located by USDA engineers was 
not suitable for the District's performance requirements. As a result 
of its review, to the best of the USDA's knowledge there are no sludge 
dewatering presses manufactured in the United States that meet the 
District's design specifications and performance requirements for the 
District's wastewater treatment plant.
    The Rural Development Buy American Coordinator has reviewed this 
waiver request and has determined that the supporting documentation 
provided by the District established a proper basis that the 
manufactured good was not available from a producer in the United 
States able to meet the design specifications and performance 
requirements for the proposed project.

III. Waiver

    Having established a proper basis that this manufactured good was 
not available from a producer in the United States, the District is 
hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of Section 
1605(a) of Public Law 111-5. This waiver permits use of ARRA funds for 
the purchase of the specified Fournier Industries 6 channel rotary 
press sludge dewatering unit documented in District's waiver request 
submittal dated October 7, 2009 as part of its wastewater treatment 
plant improvements. 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.

Thomas J. Vilsack,
Secretary, United States of America.
[FR Doc. 2010-2217 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
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