[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6614-6616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2606]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9262-4]


Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) to the City of Seattle (the City), WA

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator of EPA Region 10 is hereby granting 
a waiver of the Buy American requirements of ARRA Section 1605(a) 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 City of Seattle (the 
City) for the purchase of semi-rigid protection boards (15,600 sheets 
each measuring 39\1/2\'' x 80'') manufactured in Surrey, British 
Columbia, for a hot applied membrane waterproofing system for a 
drinking water reservoir cover. This is a project specific waiver and 
only applies to the use of the specified products for the ARRA project 
being proposed. Any other ARRA recipient that wishes to use the same 
product must apply for a

[[Page 6615]]

separate waiver based on project specific circumstances. The waiver 
applicant states that the project requires semi-rigid protection boards 
because the Maple Leaf Reservoir is being covered by a concrete roof as 
part of the City's reservoir burying program. The City's Parks 
Department will be constructing a park on the roof of the reservoir. A 
waterproofing system will provide a watertight seal on the reservoir 
roof concrete deck. Semi-rigid rubberized asphaltic fiberglass 
reinforced protection board will be incorporated as part of the roof 
waterproofing system to provide a barrier over the waterproofing 
membrane to protect the membrane against damage from the backfill 
associated with the construction of the park, and from the pedestrian 
and vehicular activity associated with the use and maintenance of the 
park.
    The Regional Administrator is making this determination based on 
the review and recommendations of the Drinking Water Unit. The City has 
provided sufficient documentation to support their request.

DATES: Effective Date: January 31, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Johnny Clark, DWSRF ARRA Program 
Management Analyst, Drinking Water Unit, Office of Water & Watersheds 
(OWW), (206) 553-0082, U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW-136), 1200 Sixth Avenue, 
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), the 
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 City for the semi-rigid protection boards (15,600 
sheets each measuring 39\1/2\'' x 80'') manufactured in Surrey, British 
Columbia, for a hot applied membrane waterproofing system for a 
drinking water reservoir cover. The applicant indicates that semi-rigid 
protection board is required on the roof of the drinking water supply 
reservoir to obtain a twenty (20) year warranty from the waterproofing 
manufacturer. Semi-rigid protection board is currently being used at 
three (3) other reservoirs operated by the City. Based upon project 
specifications, there are no known U.S. manufactures that manufacture 
comparable products. The ARRA funded project involves water system 
improvements at the Maple Leaf Reservoir. Enhanced moisture protection 
is being incorporated into the reinforced hot-applied waterproofing 
system to allow for pedestrian use and vehicular activity. As part of 
the reservoir burying program, the City's Parks Department will be 
constructing a park on the roof of the reservoir. The City currently 
has three other reservoirs which also have the semi-rigid protection 
board installed. The City's project specification calls for the 
reinforced hot applied waterproofing system. In order to provide 
equivalent waterproofing protection similar to the three other 
reservoirs within the City, the City changed the project specifications 
in order to ensure consistency of their reservoir burying program 
requirements and to ensure the semi-rigid protection board's twenty 
(20) year warranty. An inquiry by EPA's national contractor (Cadmus) 
confirmed there are no known domestic manufacturers of comparable semi-
rigid protection board that meet all aspects of the project 
specification, which is supported by the available information. 
Information received from the manufacturer on behalf of the City 
indicated that an attempt to locate a domestic manufacturer was done so 
unsuccessfully. The manufacturer added this product to their inventory 
and product line some years ago. According to the manufacturer, their 
two domestic suppliers of protection materials had indicated that they 
were unable to manufacture a similar/like product and nor did either 
supplier have knowledge of a similar/like product manufactured in the 
U.S. Based on available information, it is unlikely that other semi-
rigid protection boards would function within the requirement of the 
project specifications.
    EPA has also evaluated the City's request to determine if its 
submission is considered late or if it could be considered as if it was 
timely filed, as per the OMB Guidance at CFR 176.120. EPA will 
generally regard waiver requests with respect to components that were 
specified in the bid solicitation or in a general/primary construction 
contact as ``late'' if submitted after the contract date. However, EPA 
could also determine that a request be evaluated as timely, though made 
after the date that the contract was signed, if the need for a waiver 
was not reasonably foreseeable. If the need for a waiver is reasonably 
foreseeable, then EPA could still apply discretion in these late cases 
as per the OMB Guidance, which says ``the award official may deny the 
request.'' For those waiver requests that do not have a reasonably 
unforeseeable basis for lateness, but for which the waiver basis is 
valid and there is no apparent gain by the ARRA recipient or loss on 
behalf of the government, then EPA will still consider granting a 
waiver.
    In this case, there are no U.S. manufacturers that meet the City's 
project specifications for the semi-rigid protection boards. The waiver 
request was submitted after the contract date due to a design change. 
The original project specifications for the protection course were 
developed with a standard design, 80- to 90-mil-(2.0- to 2.3-mm) 
thickness, fiberglass reinforced asphalt or modified bituminous sheet. 
The design change and clarification of May 12, 2010 resulted in an 
upgrade to the existing protective course requirements, in order to 
provide extra reinforcement and increased puncture resistance, similar 
to the three other reservoir covers previously installed within the 
City. The design change was necessary due to the project's size and 
complexity. The design change also increases performance of the 
protection board and the potential life expectancy of the project 
resulting in a twenty year warranty program. The design change required 
the upgrade of the protection course to a semi-rigid protection board 
composed of a rubberized asphalt core, reinforced with a non-woven 
fiberglass mat and sandwiched between two protective polypropylene 
layers, with a minimum nominal thickness of 4.5 mm. The material 
supplier and contractor's assumption that the protection board would be 
acceptable under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the 
U.S. and Canada Trade Agreement signed effective February 16, 2010, was 
made so in error. Therefore, the City did not submit a waiver request 
until November 10, 2010. The City's Materials Lab consulted with EPA 
personnel and correctly identified that a waiver would be required for 
the protection board. There is no indication that the City failed to 
request a waiver in order to avoid the requirements of the ARRA, 
particularly since there are no domestically manufactured products that 
meet the project specification. EPA will consider the City's waiver 
request, a foreseeable late request, as though it had been timely made 
since there is no gain by the City and no loss by the government due to 
the late 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 ``satisfactory quality'' as the 
quality of iron, steel or the relevant manufactured good as specified 
in the project plans and design. The City has provided information to 
the EPA representing that there are currently no domestic manufacturers 
of the semi-rigid protection boards that meet the project

[[Page 6616]]

specification requirements. Based on additional research by EPA's 
consulting contractor (Cadmus) and to the best of the Region's 
knowledge at this time, there does not appear to be any other 
manufacturers capable of meeting the City's specifications.
    Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA provisions was to stimulate 
economic recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not 
to delay projects that are already shovel ready by requiring entities, 
like the City, to revise their design and potentially choose a more 
costly and less effective project. The imposition of ARRA Buy American 
requirements on such projects eligible for DWSRF 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 the most fundamental economic purposes of ARRA; to create 
or retain jobs.
    The Drinking Water Unit has reviewed this waiver request and has 
determined that the supporting documentation provided by the City is 
sufficient to meet the following criteria listed under Section 1605(b) 
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 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 the City's design 
specifications.
    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 City is hereby 
granted a waiver from the Buy American requirements of Section 1605(a) 
of Public Law 111-5 for the purchase semi-rigid protection boards for a 
hot applied membrane waterproofing system (15,600 sheets each measuring 
39\1/2\'' x 80'') for a reservoir cover, manufactured in Surrey, 
British Columbia, specified in the City's waiver request of November 
10, 2010. 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.

    Issued on: Dated: January 31, 2011.
Dennis J. Mclerran,
Regional Administrator, EPA, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2011-2606 Filed 2-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P