55890 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices 

LIST OF AFFECTED PROGRAMS

CFDA No. and name 

Publication date 

and 

FEDERAL REGISTER citation 

Original deadline 

for transmittal of 

applications 

Revised deadline 

for transmittal of 

applications 

Original deadline 

for inter-governmental review 

Extended deadline for inter-governmental review 

84.215N: Promise Neighborhoods Program— 

Implementation.

7/6/2011 76 FR 

39615.

9/06/2011 9/13/2011 11/03/2011 11/10/2011 

84.215P: Promise Neighborhoods Program— 

Planning.

7/06/2011 76 FR 

39630.

9/06/2011 9/13/2011 11/03/2011 11/10/2011 

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Dated: September 6, 2011. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23121 Filed 9–8–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Cancellation of Supplemental 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Ancillary Facilities for the Richton Site 

of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 

AGENCY: Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Cancellation. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces the 

cancellation of a supplemental 

environmental impact statement (SEIS) 

for certain facilities associated with the 

2007 selection of Richton, Mississippi, 

as the location of a new storage site for 

expanding the Strategic Petroleum 

Reserve (SPR). In April 2011, Congress 

rescinded all funding for the SPR 

expansion project. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the cancellation of the 

SEIS, contact Donald Silawsky, Acting 

Director, Office of Reserve Lands 

Management (FE–47), U.S. Department 

of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., 

SW., Washington, DC 20585, e-mail 

donald.silawsky@hq.doe.gov, telephone 

202–586–1892. For general information 

on the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol 

M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585, telephone 202– 

586–4600 or leave a message at 800– 

472–2756. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT, Pub. 

L. 109–58) directed DOE to expand the 

SPR from its current 727 million-barrel 

capacity to 1 billion barrels. To fulfill 

the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for 

this expansion project, DOE prepared an 

environmental impact statement for the 

Site Selection for the Expansion of the 

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (DOE/EIS– 

0385). In a Record of Decision (ROD) (72 

FR 7964; February 22, 2007), DOE 

announced its selection of Richton, 

Mississippi, as the location of a new 

SPR facility as part of the expansion 

project. 

After selecting the Richton site, DOE 

engaged in further consultations with 

the Mississippi Department of 

Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, and other 

governmental entities. As a result of 

those consultations, and to reduce 

project impacts, DOE proposed 

alternative sites from those announced 

in the ROD for some of the ancillary 

facilities associated with the Richton 

site: the raw water intake structure, oil 

terminal, and brine diffuser. DOE 

determined that alternative locations for 

those ancillary facilities would present 

substantial changes to the proposal as 

analyzed in DOE/EIS–0385 that would 

be relevant to environmental concerns. 

DOE published a Notice of Intent to 

prepare an SEIS to analyze the impacts 

of potential new locations for the 

ancillary facilities associated with the 

Richton site (73 FR 11895; March 5, 

2008) and conducted public scoping. 

On February 1, 2010, the President 

submitted a budget request to Congress 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 that included 

no new funding to continue SPR 

expansion efforts and proposed 

cancellation of previously appropriated 

expansion funds. In April 2011, 

Congress passed, and the President 

signed, the Department of Defense and 

Full-Year Continuing Appropriations 

Act, 2011 (Pub. L. 112–10). Sections 

1440 and 1464 of that Act rescinded all 

unspent balances of prior year funds 

that had been appropriated for SPR 

expansion. The President’s FY 2012 

budget includes no funds for SPR 

expansion. 

With prior appropriated funds 

rescinded, and no new funds proposed, 

the SPR expansion project is effectively 

terminated. DOE is therefore cancelling 

the preparation of the SEIS for the 

ancillary facilities of the SPR expansion 

project at the Richton Site (DOE/EIS– 

0385–S1). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 1, 

2011. 

David F. Johnson, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of 

Petroleum Reserves. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23087 Filed 9–8–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of Limited Waivers. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a 

nationwide limited waiver of the Buy 

American requirements of section 1605 

of the Recovery Act under the authority 

of Section 1605(b)(2), (iron, steel, and 

the relevant manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States in 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices 55891 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality), 

with respect to Recovery Act projects 

funded by EERE for: (1) Class 125 Iron 

(6’’, 8’’ and 12’’) Ball Valves (Standard: 

Mss SP–72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends: 

flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM 

A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat 

(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic 

reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated 

absorption chillers rated at 450 tons; 

and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp 

LED replacement bulbs. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 2, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology 

Program Specialist, Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

(EERE), (202) 287–1553, Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC 

20585. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

authority of American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery 

Act), Public Law 111–5, section 

1605(b)(2), the head of a Federal 

department or agency may issue a 

‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver of the Buy American provision) 

if the iron, steel, or relevant 

manufactured good is not produced or 

manufactured in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality 

(‘‘nonavailability’’). The authority of the 

Secretary of Energy to make all 

inapplicability determinations was redelegated to the Assistant Secretary for 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under 

the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order 

No. 00–002.01E, dated April 25, 2011. 

Pursuant to this delegation the Acting 

Assistant Secretary, EERE, has 

concluded that: (1) Class 125 Iron (6’’, 

8’’ and 12’’) Ball Valves (Standard: Mss 

SP–72, CWP Rating: 200 psig, Ends: 

flanged, Seats: PTFE or TFE; ASTM 

A126); (2) Low Temperature Thermostat 

(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic 

reset); (3) Two-stage, steam heated 

absorption chillers rated at 450 tons; 

and (4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp 

LED replacement bulbs are not 

produced or manufactured in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably 

available quantities and of a satisfactory 

quality. The above items, when used on 

eligible EERE Recovery Act-funded 

projects, qualify for the 

‘‘nonavailability’’ waiver determination. 

EERE has developed a robust process 

to ascertain in a systematic and 

expedient manner whether or not there 

is domestic manufacturing capacity for 

the items submitted for a waiver of the 

Recovery Act Buy American provision. 

This process involves a close 

collaboration with the United States 

Department of Commerce National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership (MEP), in order to scour the 

domestic manufacturing landscape in 

search of producers before making any 

nonavailability determinations. 

The MEP has 59 regional centers with 

substantial knowledge of, and 

connections to, the domestic 

manufacturing sector. MEP uses their 

regional centers to ‘scout’ for current or 

potential manufacturers of the 

product(s) submitted in a waiver 

request. In the course of this interagency 

collaboration, MEP has been able to find 

exact or partial matches for 

manufactured goods that EERE grantees 

had been unable to locate. As a result, 

in those cases, EERE was able to work 

with the grantees to procure Americanmade products rather than granting a 

waiver. 

Upon receipt of completed waiver 

requests for the four products in the 

current waiver, EERE reviewed the 

information provided and submitted the 

relevant technical information to the 

MEP. The MEP then used their network 

of nationwide centers to scout for 

domestic manufacturers. The MEP 

reported that their scouting process did 

not locate any domestic manufacturers 

for these exact or equivalent items. 

In addition to the MEP collaboration 

outlined above, the EERE Buy American 

Coordinator worked with other 

manufacturing stakeholders to scout for 

domestic manufacturing capacity or an 

equivalent product for each item 

contained in this waiver. EERE also 

conducted significant amounts of 

independent research to supplement 

MEP’s scouting efforts, including 

utilizing the solar experts employed by 

the Department of Energy’s National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory. EERE’s 

research efforts confirmed the MEP 

findings that the goods included in this 

waiver are not produced in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably 

available quantities and of a satisfactory 

quality. 

The nonavailability determination is 

also informed by the inquiries and 

petitions to EERE from recipients of 

EERE Recovery Act funds, and from 

suppliers, distributors, retailers and 

trade associations—all stating that their 

individual efforts to locate domestic 

manufacturers for these items have been 

unsuccessful. 

Specific technical information for the 

manufactured goods included in this 

non-availability determination is 

detailed below: 

(1) Class 125 Iron (6’’, 8’’ and 12’’) 

Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP–72, CWP 

Rating: 200 psig, Ends: Flanged, Seats: 

PTFE or TFE). 

Neither MEP nor DOE was able to 

locate US made ball valves that meet 

project specifications because there are 

no US manufacturers of ball valves with 

the specified cast iron (ASTM A126), 

specific to valve pressure parts, pipe 

fittings, and flanges. 

(2) Low Temperature Thermostat 

(range of 15–55 Fahrenheit, automatic 

reset). 

This expands a waiver granted in 

November 2010 to include thermostats 

with a manual reset. There were no US 

manufacturers located by DOE, MEP or 

a number of trade groups. The electric 

low temperature detection thermostats 

are especially suited for sensing low 

temperature conditions to avoid freezeup of hydronic heating coils, cooling 

coils, liquid heating pipes and similar 

applications. Typically, the switch 

opens an electrical circuit to stop the 

supply fan motor when the temperature 

at the sensing element falls below the 

setting of the instrument. 

(3) Two-stage, steam heated 

absorption chillers rated at 450 tons. 

There are US manufacturers of 

chillers, however, not that meet these 

specifications. MEP, DOE and a number 

of trade organizations were unable to 

locate a domestic manufacturer. 

(4) 4 Watt 325 lumen dock lamp LED 

replacement bulbs. 

The bulb is designed to fit into 

existing dock lighting sockets, but 

utilizes high efficiency LEDs rather than 

the existing bulb technology. MEP and 

DOE were unable to locate any other 

manufacturer making a compatible bulb, 

other than the foreign manufacturer 

proposed by the applying grantee. 

In light of the foregoing, and under 

the authority of section 1605(b)(2) of 

Public Law 111–5 and Redelegation 

Order 00–002–01E, with respect to 

Recovery Act projects funded by EERE, 

I hereby issue a ‘‘determination of 

inapplicability’’ (a waiver under the 

Recovery Act Buy American provision) 

for: (1) Class 125 Iron (6’’, 8’’ and 12’’) 

Ball Valves (Standard: Mss SP–72, CWP 

Rating: 200 psig, Ends: flanged, Seats: 

PTFE or TFE; ASTM A126); (2) Low 

Temperature Thermostat (range of 15– 

55 Fahrenheit, automatic reset); (3) 

Two-stage, steam heated absorption 

chillers rated at 450 tons; and (4) 4 Watt 

325 lumen dock lamp LED replacement 

bulbs. 

Having established a proper 

justification based on domestic 

nonavailability, EERE hereby provides 

notice that on August 2, 2011, four (4) 

nationwide categorical waivers of 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

55892 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 175 / Friday, September 9, 2011 / Notices 

section 1605 of the Recovery Act were 

issued as detailed supra. This notice 

constitutes the detailed written 

justification required by Section 1605(c) 

for waivers based on a finding under 

subsection (b). 

This waiver determination is pursuant 

to the delegation of authority by the 

Secretary of Energy to the Assistant 

Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy with respect to 

expenditures within the purview of his 

responsibility. Consequently, this 

waiver applies to all EERE projects 

carried out under the Recovery Act. 

Authority: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605. 

Issued in Washington, DC on August 2, 

2011. 

Henry Kelly, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–23076 Filed 9–8–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Nationwide Limited Public Interest 

Waiver Under Section 1605 (Buy 

American) of the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009 

(Recovery Act) 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of Limited Public Interest 

Waiver. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a 

nationwide limited waiver of the Buy 

American requirements of section 1605 

of the Recovery Act under the authority 

of section 1605(b)(1) (amended public 

interest waiver), with respect to the 

following solar photo-voltaic (PV) 

equipment: (1) Domesticallymanufactured modules containing 

foreign-manufactured cells, (2) Foreignmanufactured modules, when 

completely comprised of domesticallymanufactured cells, and (3) Any 

ancillary items and equipment 

(including, but not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all 

otherwise incidental equipment with 

the exception of inverters and batteries) 

when utilized in a solar installation 

involving a U.S. manufactured PV 

module, or a module manufactured 

abroad but comprised exclusively of 

domestically-manufactured cells. 

DATES: Effective Date August 2, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Benjamin Goldstein, Recovery Act Buy 

American Coordinator, Weatherization 

and Intergovernmental Program, Office 

of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (EERE), (202) 287–1553, 

buyamerican@ee.doe.gov, Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC 

20585. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

authority of the Recovery Act, section 

1605(b)(1), the head of a Federal 

department or agency may issue a 

‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver of the Buy American provisions) 

if the application of section 1605 would 

be inconsistent with the public interest. 

On April 25, 2011, the Secretary of 

Energy delegated the authority to make 

all inapplicability determinations to the 

Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, for EERE 

Recovery Act projects. 

Pursuant to this delegation, the 

Assistant Secretary has determined that 

application of section 1605 restrictions 

would be inconsistent with the public 

interest for incidental and/or ancillary 

solar Photovoltaic (PV) equipment, 

when this equipment is utilized in solar 

installations containing domestically 

manufactured PV cells or modules 

(panels). 

This determination replaces and 

supersedes the Solar Public Interest 

Waiver issued August 6, 2010, amended 

September 30, 2010 and extended 

February 4, 2011. Although the waiver 

extension issued February 4, 2011 was 

slated to be a one-time extension 

coinciding with the ramp-down of EERE 

Recovery Act-funded projects, EERE has 

determined that enough projects remain 

active to justify a new Public Interest 

waiver determination. This 

determination is valid until such time as 

the Assistant Secretary chooses to 

modify or revoke the waiver. The 

Assistant Secretary reserves the right to 

revisit and amend this determination 

based on new information or new 

developments. 

This determination waives the Buy 

American requirements in EERE-funded 

Recovery Act projects for the purchase 

of the following solar PV equipment: (1) 

Domestically-manufactured modules 

containing foreign-manufactured cells, 

(2) Foreign-manufactured modules, 

when completely comprised of 

domestically-manufactured cells, and 

(3) Any ancillary items and equipment 

(including, but not limited to, charge 

controllers, combiners and disconnect 

boxes, breakers and fuses, racks, 

trackers, lugs, wires, cables and all 

otherwise incidental equipment with 

the exception of inverters and batteries) 

when utilized in a solar installation 

involving a U.S. manufactured PV 

module, or a module manufactured 

abroad but comprised exclusively of 

domestically-manufactured cells. 

Definitions—Solar cells are the basic 

building block of PV technologies. The 

cells are functional semiconductors, 

made by processing and treating 

crystalline silicon or other photosensitive materials to create a layered 

product that generates electricity by 

absorbing light photons. The individual 

cells are cut and/or assembled into 

larger groups known as panels or 

modules. These two terms are 

synonymous and used interchangeably 

in this memorandum. The panel is the 

end product, and consists of a series of 

solar cells, a backing surface, and a 

covering to protect the cells from 

weather and other types of damage. A 

solar array is created by installing 

multiple modules in the same location 

to increase the electrical generating 

capacity. Operational solar PV modules 

and arrays use cells to capture and 

transfer solar-generated electricity. The 

solar modules and cells represent the 

highest intellectual content and dollarvalue items associated with solar PV 

energy generation. 

The Buy American provisions contain 

no requirement with regard to the origin 

of components or subcomponents in 

manufactured goods used in a project, 

as long as the manufacturing occurs in 

the United States [2 CFR 

176.70(a)(2)(ii)]. However, determining 

where final manufacturing occurs in the 

context of the solar production chain is 

complicated. Under a plain reading of 

the Recovery Act Buy American 

provisions, only the PV modules would 

need to be manufactured in the United 

States, but the source of the high-value 

and high-intellectual content cells 

would not be relevant to complying 

with the Buy American requirements. 

EERE and the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory have conducted 

extensive research into the nature of the 

domestic solar manufacturing industry 

to determine the best way to apply the 

Buy American requirements to solar PV 

projects. EERE considered three basic 

options: (1) Follow the current 

interpretation of the Buy American 

provisions and require that only the 

modules be produced in the United 

States, irrespective of the origin of the 

cells contained in the modules; (2) 

apply the interpretation that the 

modules and cells are distinct 

manufactured goods and thus both must 

be produced in the United States; and 

(3) choose a more inclusive approach 

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