30144 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices 

Number of Total Responses: 200; (7) 

Annual Estimated Number of Burden 

Hours: 200; (8) Annual Estimated 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost 

Burden: 0. 

Statutory Authority: Section 1605 of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009 (Recovery Act; Pub. L. 111–5). 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 15, 

2011. 

Henry Kelly, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–12718 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

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 Waiver. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a 

limited waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of section 1605 of the 

Recovery Act under the authority of 

Section 1605(b)(1) (public interest 

waiver), with respect to section 1605 of 

the Recovery Act of 2009 (the Buy 

American provision) for the Golden 

Triangle Regional Solid Waste 

Management Authority (GTR) landfill 

gas to energy project, funded in part 

under a sub-award (AR060–GT11–0111– 

0001) from the Mississippi State Energy 

Office, recipient of EECBG Award 

EE0000763. 

DATES: Effective April 15, 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: This 

waiver applies only to this project for 

the purchase of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 

gas reciprocating engine manufactured 

in Austria. 

Section 1605 of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 

(Pub. L. 111–5), prohibits use of 

recovery funds 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. This 

prohibition applies when any part of the 

project is paid for with Recovery Act 

funds. 

The landfill gas to energy project is 

funded, in part, by sub-award AR060– 

GT11–0111–0001 in the amount of 

$310,000.00 from the Mississippi State 

Energy Office, recipient of EECBG 

Award EE0000763. Because this grant 

funds a portion of the project cost, all 

manufactured goods used in the project 

are subject to the Buy American 

Provisions—even if separate (nonfederal) funds are used to purchase 

those items. 

Specifically, this public interest 

determination waives the Buy American 

requirements for the Austrian made GE 

Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating 

engine being used in the landfill gas to 

energy project of the Golden Triangle 

Regional Solid Waste Management 

Authority (GTR). GTR had already 

entered into an agreement to purchase 

this item with non-federal funds before 

ARRA funds became available. And 

although ARRA funds will now be used 

in the project as a whole (the project has 

a total cost of approximately $2 million 

dollars), those funds will not be used to 

purchase the GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas 

reciprocating engine or any other 

foreign goods. 

The GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas 

reciprocating engine is only one 

manufactured good being used in the 

GTR landfill gas to energy project. This 

project also includes an American 

manufactured treatment skid, valued at 

approximately $470,000 dollars and the 

overall construction of the facility, 

valued at approximately $700,000. All 

manufactured goods, iron and steel that 

will be used in the project, with the 

exception of the GE Jenbacher JMC 320 

gas reciprocating engine, will remain 

subject to the Buy American Provisions 

of the Recovery Act. No ARRA funds 

will be used towards the purchase of the 

GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating 

engine. 

In September of 2010, GTR entered 

into a Generation Partners Agreement 

(GPA) with the Tennessee Valley 

Authority (TVA) for a landfill gas to 

energy project. Generation Partners is a 

TVA renewable energy initiative that 

provides technical support and 

incentives for the installation of 

renewable generation facilities. This 

GPA pays GTR the retail price of local 

electricity plus $0.03 per kilowatt-hour 

for renewable energy. This GPA was 

awarded as part of GTR’s application 

under the TVA Green Power Partners 

Program. This GPA is extremely 

aggressive for this region of the United 

States, where renewable energy projects 

are generally negotiated at avoided cost 

levels. As part of the TVA Green Power 

Partners Program GPA contract, GTR is 

required to have the renewable energy 

system operational within 12 months of 

the signed GPA. 

In October of 2010, pursuant to the 

GPA with TVA, GTR selected and 

contracted with Nixon Energy in to 

purchase a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas 

reciprocating engine for approximately 

$870,000. The contract language signed 

between GTR and Nixon Energy states 

that cancellation of the contract would 

require GTR to pay the entire price of 

the contract to Nixon Energy. 

In December of 2010, the GTR landfill 

gas to energy project was targeted by the 

Mississippi Department of 

Environmental Quality and Mississippi 

Development Authority (MDA) as a 

potential project to fund with ARRA 

funds awarded under EERE EECBG 

Award EE0000763. On January 12th, 

2011 a meeting was held, and the MDA 

determined that the GTR landfill gas to 

energy project was an appropriate use of 

award funds. 

On January 28, 2011 the award 

recipient applied for a public interest 

waiver, to allow the use of the Austrian 

manufactured GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas 

reciprocating engine. 

EERE recognizes that there are US 

manufacturers of generator sets. Had 

GTR been identified as a potential grant 

recipient earlier in the procurement 

process, EERE would have worked with 

GTR to find a US manufactured 

generator set that met their needs. In a 

case where a grantee cannot identify a 

domestically manufactured good, EERE 

utilizes its internal experts and its MOU 

with NIST–MEP to communicate with 

potential manufacturers and facilitate 

discussions between grantees and 

domestic producers. 

EERE believes the public interest is 

best served by supporting projects that 

create or support jobs in the domestic 

manufacturing and construction 

industries while supporting a renewable 

energy infrastructure. The GTR landfill 

gas to energy project, with a total value 

of over $2 million dollars, furthers both 

of these goals. Because no ARRA funds 

will be used towards the purchase of the 

GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas reciprocating 

engine, all ARRA funds in the project 

($310,000) will be used in a manner 

consistent with the purposes of the Buy 

American provisions. In addition, 

another $860,000 in non-Recovery Act 

dollars will also be subject to the Buy 

American provisions, creating and 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices 30145 

supporting jobs in the domestic 

manufacturing and construction 

industries. It is therefore in the public 

interest to issue a waiver of the 

Recovery Act Buy American provisions 

that allows this project to utilize 

Recovery Act award funds. 

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 September 17, 2010, the Secretary of 

Energy re-delegated the authority to 

make all inapplicability determinations 

to the Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, for 

EERE Recovery Act projects. 

In light of the foregoing, and under 

the authority of section 1605(b)(1) of 

Public Law 111–5 and the Re-delegation 

Order dated September 17, 2010, with 

respect to Recovery Act projects funded 

by EERE, on April 29, 2011 the Acting 

Assistant Secretary issued a 

‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver under the Recovery Act Buy 

American provisions) for the purchase 

of a GE Jenbacher JMC 320 gas 

reciprocating engine to be used in the 

Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste 

Management Authority (GTR) landfill 

gas to energy project, sub award AR060– 

GT11–0111–0001 from the Mississippi 

State Energy Office, EECBG Award 

Recipient EE0000763. 

Authority: Public Law 111–5, section 

1605. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 29, 

2011. 

Henry Kelly, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–12721 Filed 5–23–11; 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, or the 

relevant manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States at a 

reasonable cost), with respect to 300 

Spanish Red Clay Tiles to be used on 

the Eagle Pass Library roof, a subgrantee of the Texas State Energy Office, 

recipient of EECBG grant EE0000893. 

DATES: Effective April 15, 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 Recovery Act, Public Law 

111–5, section 1605(b)(2), and its 

implementing requirements at 2 CFR 

176.80(a)(2), the head of a Federal 

department or agency may issue a 

‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver of the Buy American provision) 

if the cost of domestic iron, steel, or 

relevant manufactured goods will 

increase the cost of the overall project 

by more than 25 percent. On September 

17, 2010, the Secretary of Energy 

delegated the authority to make all 

inapplicability determinations to the 

Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE 

projects under the Recovery Act. 

Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant 

Secretary, EERE, has concluded that 

Spanish Red Clay Tiles needed for the 

Eagle Pass Library Roofing project that 

are domestically manufactured will 

increase the cost of the overall project 

by more than 25 percent, and thus the 

6300 Spanish Red Clay Tiles to be used 

in this project qualify for the 

‘‘unreasonable cost’’ 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 or unreasonable cost 

determinations. 

The NIST 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 product in the 

current waiver, EERE reviewed the 

information provided and submitted the 

relevant technical information to the 

NIST MEP. The MEP then used their 

network of nationwide centers to scout 

for domestic manufacturers. In addition 

to the MEP collaboration outlined 

above, the EERE Buy American 

Coordinator worked with labor unions, 

trade associations and other 

manufacturing stakeholders to scout for 

domestic manufacturing capacity or an 

equivalent product for the Spanish Red 

Clay Tiles contained in this waiver. 

EERE also conducted significant 

amounts of independent research to 

supplement MEP’s scouting efforts. 

As a result of EERE’s efforts and 

MEP’s scouting process, quotes were 

obtained from four (4) domestic 

manufacturers to produce this item. 

Those quotes are reflected in the prices 

cited infra, and support the finding that 

this item, if purchased domestically, 

will increase the total project cost by 

more than 25%. This ‘‘unreasonable 

cost’’ waiver is for Spanish Red Clay 

Tiles to replace a 100-year-old Spanish 

Tile roof on the Eagle Pass Library in 

Eagle Pass Texas (at one time the Eagle 

Pass Post-Office). The original tile was 

produced in the city of Piedras Negras, 

Mexico. The tile is made of clay, and is 

still made today in the same manner as 

it was when the library was built 100 

years ago. 

The tile roof being installed on the 

Eagle Pass Library building will last 75 

years, and be lighter in color than the 

current roof because of the deterioration 

and discoloration that has occurred to 

the existing roof tiles over time. 

Additionally, it will be installed in a 

manner to allow air to flow from eave 

to pinnacle, reflecting heat back into the 

atmosphere, rather than down into the 

building itself. Since the tiles are 

installed individually, rather than in 

sheets or in overlapping style, the 

natural airspace around the tiles creates 

natural ventilation that provides a 

thermal barrier for heat transfer to the 

roof deck. This can assist in the 

movement of the peak load demands by 

several hours. 

Eagle Pass Library is designated as a 

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES