[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11163-11164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4233]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Buy American Waiver Under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009

AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NSF is hereby granting a limited exemption of section 1605 of 
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 
Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009), with respect to the 
purchase of the superior holding power balanced anchors that will be 
used in the Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV). These anchors are 
required in order to accommodate the vessel's ice breaking bow shape 
and they will save weight.

DATES: February 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 
Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Leithead, Division of 
Acquisition and Cooperative Support, 703-292-4595.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 1605(c) of the 
Recovery Act and section 176.80 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hereby provides 
notice that on February 15, 2012, the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in 
accordance with a delegation order from the Director of the agency, 
granted a limited project exemption of section 1605 of the Recovery Act 
(Buy American provision) with respect to the superior holding power 
balanced anchors that will be used in the ARRV. The basis for this 
exemption is section 1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that superior 
holding power balanced anchors of satisfactory quality are not produced 
in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial 
quantities. The total cost of the three (3) required anchors (~$42,360) 
represents less than 0.1% of the total $148 million Recovery Act award 
provided for construction of the ARRV.

I. Background

    The Recovery Act appropriated $400 million to NSF for several 
projects being funded by the Foundation's Major Research Equipment and 
Facilities Construction (MREFC) account. The ARRV is one of NSF's MREFC 
projects. Section 1605(a) of the Recovery Act, the Buy American 
provision, states that none of the funds appropriated by the Act ``may 
be used for a project 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.''
    The ARRV has been developed under a cooperative agreement awarded 
to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) that began in 2007. UAF 
executed the shipyard contract in December 2009 and the project is 
currently under construction. The purpose of the Recovery Act is to 
stimulate economic recovery in part by funding current construction 
projects like the ARRV that are ``shovel ready'' without requiring 
projects to revise their standards and specifications, or to restart 
the bidding process again.
    Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the Recovery Act authorize the head 
of a Federal department or agency to waive the Buy American provision 
if the head of the agency finds that: (1) Applying the provision would 
be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the relevant goods are 
not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably 
available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) the 
inclusion of the goods produced in the United States will increase the 
cost of the project by more than 25 percent. If the head of the Federal 
department or agency waives the Buy American provision, then the head 
of the department or agency is required to publish a detailed 
justification in the Federal Register. Finally, section 1605(d) of the 
Recovery Act states that the Buy American provision must be applied in 
a manner consistent with the United States' obligations under 
international agreements.

II. Finding That Relevant Goods Are Not Produced in the United States 
in Sufficient and Reasonably Available Quality

    The specification for the ARRV originally called for standard 
``stockless'' anchors (the stock is the cross arm below the ring on an 
old-fashioned style anchor), which are in common use on commercial and 
military vessels. The design requirements in the specification for the 
anchoring system on the ARRV include:
    1. Approved by the American Bureau of Shipping with regard to 
operability, quality and size/holding power (6,000 lbs).
    2. The anchors drop immediately upon release.
    3. The anchors do not jam in the hawse pipe (chain pipe between the 
hull and deck).
    4. The anchors do not move when stowed in heavy seas.
    5. The anchors ``self-stow'' against the hull.
    Failure to meet any of these technical requirements would have 
severe negative impacts on safety. Anchors are required not only for 
routine use in port or during operations, but in an emergency situation 
(for example, the loss of propulsion) to keep the vessel from going 
aground, damaging the hull and sinking. In this situation, the anchors 
must release from the ship quickly and efficiently. If proper anchors 
are not used, the safety of the vessel and the lives of everyone on 
board would be jeopardized. The ARRV is approved by the American Bureau 
of Shipping (ABS) to ensure safe design, construction, and vessel 
operation.
    Since proper storage of the anchors in the bow of the ship is often 
difficult to achieve, the specification also called for the shipyard to 
construct a physical mock-up of the anchoring system, which includes 
the anchors, anchor pockets (recesses in the bow that keep the anchors 
from protruding beyond the hull), hawse pipes, and anchor winches. 
Through this process, it was found that the stockless anchor would not 
store properly in the pockets that were required to accommodate the 
ARRV's specialized ice-breaking bow. To protect the anchors during ice 
operations, the pockets were originally set as high in the bow as 
possible. The only way to make the stockless anchor work would be to 
put the pockets excessively close to the water line, but that would be 
contrary to American Bureau of Shipping and international regulatory 
guidance for ice-classed vessels. Through continued testing with the 
mock-up, it was found that only a ``balanced'' anchor would work with 
the pockets in the proper location. A balanced anchor always stows with 
the flukes (the ``hooks'' that penetrate into the bottom) in the same 
position.
    The specification originally called for three (3) anchors; one on 
each side of the bow and one spare on deck. This configuration is 
typical for all commercial and military vessels. As part of the design 
effort to reduce weight, the shipyard originally proposed eliminating 
the spare anchor, which was not considered prudent by UAF. As an 
option, the use of three smaller, lighter ``superior'' holding power 
anchors was proposed during the anchoring system evaluation. This

[[Page 11164]]

approach was considered the best approach to enhance safety in the 
event one (or both) fitted anchors are lost in an emergency situation. 
Use of superior holding power anchors was subsequently approved by ABS 
as long as the anchor was sufficiently tested, proven, and held an ABS 
class certificate. ABS allows up to a 25 percent reduction in weight 
(4,500 lbs each) for a total weight savings of over a ton.
    The shipyard's market research included an ABS web based data 
search for superior holding power anchors. Approximately forty three 
(43) companies world-wide were identified that manufacture ABS approved 
anchors of superior holding anchors. Of these, only two (2) were U.S. 
manufacturers. Neither company produced an anchor of the correct size 
that will fit in the ARRV's anchor pocket. The pocket cannot be made 
larger because of the specialized hull shape of the ice-breaking bow as 
described above.
    The project's conclusion is that there are no U.S. manufacturers 
who produce suitable superior holding power balanced anchors that meet 
all of the ARRV requirements, so an exemption from the Buy American 
requirements is necessary.
    In the absence of a domestic supplier that could provide 
requirements-compliant superior holding power anchors, UAF requested 
that NSF issue a Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to 
the purchase of foreign-supplied, requirements-compliant superior 
holding power balanced anchors, so that the vessel will meet the 
specific design and technical requirements that, as explained above, 
are necessary for this vessel to be able to perform its mission 
successfully. Furthermore, the shipyard's market research indicated 
that superior holding power balanced anchors compliant with the ARRV's 
technical specifications and requirements are commercially available 
from foreign vendors within their standard product lines.
    NSF's Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support (DACS) and 
other NSF program staff reviewed the UAF exemption request submittal, 
found that it was complete, and determined that sufficient technical 
information was provided in order for NSF to evaluate the exemption 
request and to conclude that an exemption is needed and should be 
granted.

III. Exemption

    On February 15, 2012, based on the finding that no domestically 
produced superior holding power balanced anchors met all of the ARRV's 
technical specifications and requirements and pursuant to section 
1605(b), the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in accordance with a 
delegation order from the Director of the agency signed on May 27, 
2010, granted a limited project exemption of the Recovery Act's Buy 
American requirements with respect to the procurement of superior 
holding power balanced anchors.

    Dated: February 16, 2012.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-4233 Filed 2-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P