[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82389-82390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32927]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9245-7]


Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) to the Buffalo Island Regional Water District, Monette, AR

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator of EPA Region 6 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 Buffalo Island 
Regional Water District (``District'') for the purchase of a 15 
horsepower (HP) vertical hollow shaft electric motor, for use in a 
water supply well. The 15 HP vertical hollow shaft electric motor is 
manufactured by foreign manufacturers and no United States manufacturer 
produces an alternative that meets the District'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 6, Water 
Quality Protection Division. The District 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 15 HP vertical hollow shaft electric motor not manufactured in 
America, for the proposed project being implemented by the District.

DATES: Effective Date: December 17, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nasim Jahan, Buy American Coordinator, 
(214) 665-7522, SRF & Projects Section, Water Quality Protection 
Division, U.S. EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c) and 1605(b)(2), EPA hereby 
provides notice that it is granting a project waiver of the 
requirements of Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American 
requirements to the District for the acquisition of a 15 HP vertical 
hollow shaft electric motor. The District has been unable to find an 
American made electric motor to meet its specific requirements of cross 
correlation functionality for pinpointing leaks throughout its water 
distribution system.
    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.
    The District's water system improvement project includes the 
development of a new water supply well serviced by a new vertical 
turbine well pump. The District has conducted a pumping test after the 
development of the new well and has determined that a 15 HP vertical 
hollow shaft electric motor is sufficient to provide the required 
production flow rate of 500 gallon per minute (gpm) at 87 feet Total 
Dynamic Head (TDH).
    The District is requesting a waiver for the use of a 15 HP vertical 
hollow shaft electric motor on the basis that there are no domestic 
manufacturers of the electric motors that will meet the District's 
product specifications. The District contacted seventeen manufacturers 
and of the seventeen (17) listed manufacturers, only three (3) electric 
motor manufacturers were reported to make the 15 HP vertical hollow 
shaft electric motor, but none are manufactured in the United States.
    Based on additional research conducted by EPA Region 6, there does 
not appear to be any domestic electric motor manufacturers that would 
meet the District's technical specifications. EPA's national contractor 
prepared a technical assessment report based on the waiver request 
submittal. The report

[[Page 82390]]

confirmed the waiver applicant's claim that there is no American-made 
15 HP vertical hollow shaft electric motor available for use in a water 
supply well. Therefore, EPA Region 6 concludes that the District meets 
the ``specifications in project plans and design.''
    EPA has determined that the District's waiver request is timely 
even though the request was made after the construction contract was 
signed. Consistent with the direction of the OMB Guidance at 2 CFR 
176.120, EPA has evaluated the District's request to determine if the 
request constitutes a late request. EPA will generally regard waiver 
requests with respect to components that were specified in the bid 
solicitation or in a general/primary construction contract as ``late'' 
if submitted after the contract date. However, in this case EPA has 
determined that the District's request, though made after the contract 
date, may be treated as timely. This request is submitted after the 
contract date because the District was unable to specify the exact size 
of the motor until after the development of the new well and the 
completion of the pumping test. The need for a waiver was not 
determined until after the well contractor confirmed that there was no 
domestically made 15 HP vertical hollow shaft electric motor available 
to meet the project specifications. Accordingly, EPA will evaluate the 
request as a timely request.
    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.'' The District has incorporated specific technical design 
requirements for installation of electric motor in its water supply 
well. Therefore, it meets the requirements of the ``satisfactory 
quality'' criterion for requesting a waiver from the Buy American 
provisions of Public Law 111-5.
    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 the District, 
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.
    The Region 6 Water Quality Protection Division has reviewed this 
waiver request, and has determined that the supporting documentation 
provided by the District is sufficient to meet the criteria listed 
under ARRA, Section 1605(b), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 2 CFR 176.60-176.170, and in the April 28, 2009, 
memorandum, ``Implementation of Buy American provisions of Public Law 
111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The basis 
for this project waiver is the authorization provided in ARRA, 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 the District's technical 
specifications, a waiver from the Buy American requirement is 
justified.
    EPA headquarters' 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 
District is hereby granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements 
of ARRA, Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase of a 15 
HP vertical hollow shaft electric motor, using ARRA funds, as specified 
in the District's request. This supplementary information constitutes 
the detailed written justification required by ARRA, Section 1605(c), 
for waivers ``based on a finding under subsection (b).''

    Authority: Public Law 111-5, section 1605.

    Dated: December 17, 2010.
Al Armendariz,
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2010-32927 Filed 12-29-10; 8:45 am]
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