[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 170 (Thursday, September 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54486-54487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22385]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Buy American Exception Under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of approval.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides information regarding the Bureau of 
Reclamation (Reclamation) approval of the Buy American waiver requested 
by the Sunnyside Division Board of Control (SDBOC) to purchase foreign-
produced ductile iron flanges also known as bolt rings used to connect 
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe as 
part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant 
for the Enclosed Lateral Improvement Project (ELIPS) located in 
Sunnyside, Washington.

[[Page 54487]]


DATES: The effective date of the Buy American Waiver approval was 
August 16, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wilson Orvis, Grants Management 
Analyst--Acquisition and Assistance Management Division, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Denver Federal Center, Building 56, Room 1006, P.O. Box 
25007 (84-27850), Denver, CO 80225-0007; telephone: (303) 445-2444; or 
via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The total estimated cost of the ELIPS project is $33,000,000, of 
which $21,400,000 is the Federal cost-share of the ARRA funded grant. 
The ductile iron flanges are not available in the United States and are 
necessary for the construction of the ELIPS project. The SDBOC 
engineers conducted market research for the domestic ductile iron 
flange production industry and determined there is currently no 
domestic availability for ductile iron flanges for use with HDPE and 
PVC pipe.
    Congress has enacted a Buy American provision which requires 
manufactured goods permanently incorporated into a project funded with 
ARRA funds to be produced in the United States. The application of Buy 
American is triggered by the obligation of Federal ARRA funds to a 
project. Once ARRA funds are obligated to a project, then all iron, 
steel, and manufactured goods incorporated into the project must be 
produced in the United States. The specific statutory requirement reads 
as follows:

    Section 1605 of the Recovery Act prohibits the use of recovery 
funds for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, 
or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods 
are produced in the United States.

2 CFR 176.80

    Under 2 CFR 176.80(a), the head of the Federal department or agency 
may waive the Buy American requirements for specific products on an 
ARRA funded construction project when Buy American is inconsistent with 
the public interest; such materials and products are not produced in 
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and 
of satisfactory quality; or inclusion of domestic material will 
increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 
percent.
    The waiver process is initiated by a requesting organization when 
it believes that a waiver is warranted pursuant to any of the three 
waiver provisions under 2 CFR 176.80(a). The SDBOC submitted a Buy 
American waiver request based on the waiver provision under 2 CFR 
176.80(a)(1)--Nonavailability. The project requirements specified the 
use of ductile iron flanges that were determined through industry 
research conducted by SDBOC to not be domestically available. Based on 
the confirmation that these ductile iron flanges used with HDPE pipe 
are not currently available, Reclamation approved the Buy American 
waiver request.
    Reclamation's publication of its Buy American decision is required 
pursuant to the Buy American Act, 2 CFR 176.80(b)(2). The specific 
statutory requirement reads as follows:

    The head of the Federal department or agency shall publish a 
notice in the Federal Register within two weeks after the 
determination is made, unless the item has been already determined 
to be domestically non-available. A list of items that are not 
domestically available is at 48 CFR 25.104(a). The Federal Register 
notice or information from the notice may be posted by OMB to 
Recovery.gov. The notice shall include--(i) The title ``Buy American 
Exception under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 
2009''; (ii) The dollar value and brief description of the project; 
and (iii) A detailed written justification as to why the restriction 
is being waived.

    Upon publication of this Federal Register notice, Reclamation is 
notifying the public of the decision to approve the Buy American waiver 
requested by the SDBOC to purchase foreign ductile iron flanges as part 
of the ARRA grant for the SDBOC ELIPS project located in Sunnyside, 
Washington.

    Dated: August 26, 2011.
Karl E. Wirkus,
 Pacific Northwest Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation.
[FR Doc. 2011-22385 Filed 8-31-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P