11644 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 33 / Tuesday, February 19, 2013 / Notices 

due to the fact that this ICR uses 

updated labor rates from the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics to calculate respondent 

burden costs. 

There is an increase in the respondent 

burden and cost associated with State 

and local agencies. This increase is due 

to an adjustment in the labor burden 

calculations. The previous ICR assumed 

that, for each burden item, person-hours 

per occurrence included technical, 

managerial, and clerical labor hours. To 

be consistent with the estimation 

methodology used in other ICRs, this 

ICR assumes that person-hours per 

occurrence includes technical labor 

only, and that managerial and clerical 

hours account for an additional 5 and 10 

percent, respectively, of technical labor 

hours. This adjustment increased the 

State and local agency burden hours and 

costs. 

There is a decrease in the Federal 

Agency burden due to adjustments in 

the labor burden calculations. The 

previous ICR included a burden item for 

Agency review of surface methane 

monitoring reports. Respondents, 

however, are not required to submit 

reports; therefore, no Agency burden 

will be incurred. For this reason we 

have adjusted the calculations to 

exclude any Agency burden associated 

with surface methane monitoring. We 

have also adjusted the total labor burden 

attributed to EPA technical, managerial, 

and clerical labor. As described in the 

previous paragraph, we adjusted the 

calculations for consistency with other 

ICRs, and so that managerial and 

clerical hours account for an additional 

5 and 10 percent, respectively, of 

technical labor hours. The net result of 

these adjustments was a decrease in 

burden. 

There is also a decrease in O&M costs 

from the most recently approved ICR. 

This decrease is not due to any program 

changes, and is attributed to the 

decrease in the number of respondents 

due to landfill closures that have 

occurred since the previous ICR was 

approved. As a result, there is a 

proportional decrease in the O&M cost. 

John Moses, 

Director, Collection Strategies Division. 

[FR Doc. 2013–03742 Filed 2–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9780–1] 

Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 

1605 (Buy American Requirement) of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to 

the Applicant of Adair, OK 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

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 Oklahoma Conservation 

Commission (‘‘the applicant’’) for the for 

2,400 square yards of fiber (coir) woven 

mats to be installed as part of a stream 

channel restoration on eleven sites 

located in Adair and Cherokee Counties, 

Oklahoma for the CWSRF wastewater 

treatment plant project. The required 

fiber (coir) woven mat is manufactured 

by foreign manufacturers and no United 

States manufacturer produces an 

alternative that meets the Applicant’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 

Applicant 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 the selected 

fiber (coir) woven mat is not 

manufactured in America, for the 

proposed project being implemented by 

the Applicant. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 17, 2013. 

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 Applicant for the 

acquisition of selected made fiber (coir) 

woven mat. The Applicant has been 

unable to find American made fiber 

(coir) woven mat to meet its specific 

wastewater requirements. 

Section 1605 of ARRA requires that 

none of the appropriated funds may be 

used 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 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 Applicant has requested a waiver 

for fiber (coir) woven mats to be 

installed as part of a stream channel 

restoration on eleven sites located in 

Adair and Cherokee Counties, 

Oklahoma. The applicant claims that 

the product required to meet project 

design and performance specification 

requirements is not manufactured in the 

United States. 

Restoration of stream banks in the 

Illinois River Watershed within Adair 

and Cherokee counties of northeastern 

Oklahoma requires installation requires 

a fiber (coir) woven mat to stabilize soil 

and overcome the high shear stress 

found in a stream environment. 

Additional key requirements of the 

project dictate a product that is 100 

percent biodegradable and has a 

functional lifespan of two to three years. 

The project specification criteria are 

listed below: 

Property Specification 

Weight (ASTM D 5263) ....... 23 oz/SY 

Tensile Strength Dry (ASTM 

D 4595): 

Machine Direction ............ 1740 lbs/ft 

Cross direction ................. 1176 lbs/ft 

Tensile Strength Wet 

(ASTM D 4595): 

Machine Direction ............ 1488 lbs/ft 

Cross direction ................. 1032 lbs/ft 

Open area ........................... 48% 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 33 / Tuesday, February 19, 2013 / Notices 11645 

Property Specification 

Thickness (ASTM D 5199) .. 0.35 inch 

Recommended slope .......... > 1:1 

Recommended flow ............. 12 fps 

Recommended shear stress 4.5 lbs/ft2

‘‘C’’ factor ............................. 0.002 

Roll Size .............................. 6.5′ x 164′ 

Functional Longevity ........... 2 to 3 Yrs. 

Based on additional research 

conducted by EPA Region 6 there do not 

appear to be any American-made fiber 

(coir) woven mat that would meet the 

Applicant’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 is no American-made fiber 

(coir) woven mat available for use in the 

proposed waste water treatment system. 

EPA has also evaluated the 

Applicant’s request to determine if its 

submission is considered late or if it 

could be considered timely, as per the 

OMB regulation at 2 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 this ‘‘shovel ready’’ 

project experienced significant delays 

during the preliminary design. 

Originally, the Oklahoma Conservation 

Commission contracted with the 

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife 

Resources (ODWR) to evaluate potential 

sites and to perform preliminary design 

and cost estimates to assess feasibility of 

including sites in this project. The 

intent was to hire a design/build team 

to perform the work. The ODWR had 

two leading experts in stream 

restoration who were assigned to this 

project. Some months into the project, 

both experts left ODWR to employment 

elsewhere. After months of trying to 

replace them, ODWR were unable to 

execute the project. 

Oklahoma Conservation Commission 

then contracted with Oklahoma State 

University to evaluate and select sites 

for the project. After months of work 

and careful coordination with 

Oklahoma Department of Environmental 

Quality and U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Oklahoma State University 

identified 12 sites that should be able to 

qualify for nationwide 404 permits and 

might reasonably be restored within the 

project budget. 

The contract was awarded in Dec 

2011 and site-specific design began in 

early 2012. Once designs were available 

and it was realized that coir fiber mats 

would be needed, Oklahoma Water 

Resources Board instructed the 

applicant to apply for a waiver request. 

EPA believes that the need for a waiver 

was not reasonably foreseeable and thus 

will treat the Applicant’s waiver request 

as if timely submitted. 

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 Applicant has 

incorporated specific technical design 

requirements for installation of fiber 

(coir) woven mat 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 Applicant, 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 Applicant 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 Applicant’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 goods required 

for this project, and that these 

manufactured goods are not available 

from a producer in the United States, 

the Applicant is hereby granted a waiver 

from the Buy American requirements of 

ARRA, Section 1605(a) of Public Law 

111–5 for the purchase of the selected 

fiber (coir) woven mat, using ARRA 

funds, as specified in the Applicant’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: Pub. L. 111–5, section 1605. 

Dated: January 17, 2013. 

Ron Curry, 

Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2013–03599 Filed 2–15–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

[Public Notice 2013–0115] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Final Collection; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Export-Import Bank of the 

United States. 

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review 

and Comments Request. 

SUMMARY: The Export-Import Bank of 

the United States (Ex-Im Bank), as a part 

of its continuing effort to reduce 

paperwork and respondent burden, 

invites the general public and other 

Federal Agencies to comment on the 

proposed information collection, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES