[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17855-17857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7602]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9288-7]


Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy American 
Requirement) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(ARRA) to the DeSoto Parish Waterworks District 1, Louisiana

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 DeSoto Parish 
Waterworks District 1 (``the District'') for three (3) packaged, Memcor 
XS 48 submerged membrane filtration Systems (MFSs), manufactured by 
Siemens Water Technologies Corporation, proposed for the expansion of 
its existing water treatment plant. The District requires a submerged 
membrane treatment system capable of a 4-log removal of Giardia and 
Cryptosporidium at a production rate of 1 million gallons per day 
(MGD). The packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged MFS 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 
three packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged MFSs not manufactured in the 
United States, for the proposed project being implemented by the 
District.

DATES: Effective Date: March 8, 2011.

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 three 
packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged membrane filtration systems (MFSs). 
The District has been unable to find an American made MFS to meet its 
specific water requirements.
    Section 1605 of ARRA requires that none of the appropriated funds 
may be used for the construction, alteration,

[[Page 17856]]

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 has provided information to the EPA demonstrating that 
there is no packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged MFS manufactured in the 
United States in sufficient and reasonable quantity and of a 
satisfactory quality to meet the required technical specification. The 
District initiated planning on the water treatment plant expansion in 
2008. They completed a pilot study of the submerged membrane 
filtration/treatment system and a System Improvement Plan, which were 
approved by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH).
    The District requires a submerged membrane treatment system capable 
of a 4-log removal of Giardia and Cryptosporidium at a production rate 
of 1 MGD (694 gpm). As required by the project specifications, each 
skid-mounted packaged MFS must include the backwash system, clean in 
place (CIP) system, process control panel, compressed air system, 
automatic feed strainers, block and bleed valves for isolation during 
cleaning, and feed and filtrate turbidimeters. The specifications also 
require that the frequency of chemical cleaning must not exceed once 
per month, on average, while the frequency of maintenance washing must 
not exceed once per day.
    Based on additional research conducted by EPA Region 6, there do 
not appear to be any domestic packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged MFS 
manufacturers that would meet the District's technical specifications. 
EPA's national contractor prepared a technical assessment report based 
on the waiver request submittal, which confirmed the waiver applicant's 
claim that there are no American-made submerged MFS available for use 
in the proposed water treatment system.
    EPA has also evaluated the District's request to determine if its 
submission is considered late or if it could be considered timely, 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 contract 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, the waiver request was submitted after the contract 
date because the District initiated an evaluation of substantial 
transformation for the submerged MFS; however, after having a thorough 
discussion at the Regional level, the District has made a decision that 
the issuance of the project specific waiver for the membrane equipment 
is the best way to ensure that the District is in compliance with the 
Buy American provisions of ARRA. There is no indication that the 
District failed to request a waiver in order to avoid the requirements 
of the ARRA, particularly since there are no domestically manufactured 
products available that meet the project specifications. EPA will 
consider the District's waiver request, a foreseeable late request, as 
though it had been timely made since there is no gain by the District 
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 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 membrane filtration cassettes at its 
wastewater treatment plant.
    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 three 
packaged, Memcor XS 48 submerged MFSs, 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.


[[Page 17857]]


    Issued on: March 8, 2011.
Al Armendariz,
Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2011-7602 Filed 3-30-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P