[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17448-17450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06536]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Limited Exemption of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
With Respect to the Purchase of a Variable Refrigerant Flow System

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

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 a variable refrigerant flow system that will be used in the 
renovation of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of 
Minnesota. This system is required in

[[Page 17449]]

order to provide the requisite heating and cooling capability in a 
manner that is consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's 
Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking into 
account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the 
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.

DATES:  March 18, 2013.

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Mr. Jason Madigan, Division of Grants 
and Agreements, 703-292-4333.

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 March 15, 2013 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 variable refrigerant flow 
(VRF) system that will be used in the renovation of the St. Anthony 
Falls Laboratory (SAFL). The basis for this exemption is section 
1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that variable refrigerant flow 
systems of satisfactory quality that meet the specifications required 
for the renovation of this historic property are not produced by 
vendors in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available 
commercial quantities. The total cost of the VRF, estimated as 
$181,000, represents approximately 2.6 percent of the total $7.1 
million Recovery Act award provided for renovation of the SAFL.

I. Background

    The Recovery Act appropriated $200 million to NSF for projects to 
be funded by the Foundation's Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) 
program. The renovation of SAFL is one of NSF's ARI 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 St. Anthony Falls Laboratory was built in 1938 with Works 
Progress Administration funding. It is part of the St. Anthony Falls 
Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 
1971, and this project is, therefore, being undertaken pursuant to a 
Programmatic Agreement developed as part of NSF's compliance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to preserve the 
historical integrity of the laboratory building.
    The SAFL renovation is being funded under a standard grant awarded 
to the University of Minnesota (UMN) that began in 2010. The project is 
currently in the construction phase.
    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 project involves renovations and upgrades to the University of 
Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) facility, a 
contributing element to the National Register-listed St. Anthony Falls 
Historic District in Minneapolis, MN. When the project was initially 
being considered for funding, the design of the proposed improvements 
was not sufficiently advanced to allow for a full evaluation of their 
potential impacts on the SAFL facility and the Historic District. 
Therefore, a Programmatic Agreement (PA) was executed among NSF, the 
University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Historic Preservation 
Office, and the National Park Service to define a process through which 
the PA signatories and other consulting parties would review the design 
of the proposed upgrades and renovations, as it was being developed, 
and, through this review, ensure that the proposed action results in no 
significant adverse impact to the historic integrity of the SAFL 
facility and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. The Agreement 
states that, ``Insofar as possible, the proposed Project shall be 
implemented in a manner consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the 
Interior's Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking 
into account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the 
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties (`SOI Rehabilitation 
Standards').''
    Installation of a modern heating, ventilation and air conditioning 
(HVAC) system is required for the safety and welfare of personnel 
working in SAFL and for the use of some of the instrumentation within 
the renovated laboratory. The University of Minnesota and its design 
consultant engaged an engineering consultant to determine the 
capabilities of the HVAC system required and how best to accommodate 
these in a way that best preserves the historical integrity of the 
laboratory building. The use of a VRF system, rather than a type of 
HVAC system commonly manufactured in the U.S., has been determined by 
the Awardee, the University of Minnesota, to be necessary in order to 
meet the requirements of the Programmatic Agreement. This conclusion is 
based on design considerations associated with historical preservation, 
space limitations, energy efficiency, and performance. The University 
of Minnesota has stated that ``The VRF system [is] necessary to 
accommodate the extraordinary space limitations of the project, the 
need to maintain the look and feel of a 1938 WPA [Works Progress 
Administration] facility, and the need to maximize usable research 
space.''
    The University of Minnesota's architect for this project, 
Perkins+Will, conducted market research by discussing options with an 
engineering consultant, and with local vendors of HVAC systems, by 
Internet search, and by reviewing a prior determination of 
inapplicability issued by the Department of Energy. The Department of 
Energy, in a Memorandum of Decision issued by the Assistant Secretary 
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on May 24, 2010, that 
considered the applicability of Section 1605 of the Recovery Act to 
projects funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy, had found that ``Variable Refrigerant Flow Zoning HVAC 
Systems,'' including ``variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split heat 
pump (with or without heat recovery) and air conditioning systems,'' 
are ``not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient 
and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality,'' 
and had accordingly made a determination of

[[Page 17450]]

inapplicability of Section 1605 in the context of such systems. (See 
also Federal Register Volume 75, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010), 
35447-35449.)
    Perkins+Will concluded that no VRF systems of the required scale 
were manufactured in the U.S.
    In the absence of a domestic supplier that could provide a VRF 
system that meets or exceeds the design requirements of the SAFL 
renovation, the University of Minnesota requested that NSF issue a 
Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to the purchase of a 
foreign-supplied VRF that will meet the specific design and technical 
requirements that are necessary for the renovation of SAFL.
    NSF's Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA) and other NSF program 
staff reviewed the University of Minnesota exemption request submittal 
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 March 15, 2013, based on the finding that no domestically 
produced variable refrigerant flow system meets all of the technical 
specifications and requirements of the St. Anthony Fall Laboratory 
renovation project 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 the variable refrigerant flow system.

    Dated: March 18, 2013.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel, National Science Foundation.

    Submitted for the National Science Foundation on March 18, 2013,

Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2013-06536 Filed 3-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P