Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices 8347 

U.S. EPA Region 10 offices, located at 

1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 

98101. A copy of the proposed 

settlement may be obtained from Carol 

Kennedy, Regional Hearing Clerk, U.S. 

EPA Region 10, Mail Stop ORC–158, 

1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, 

Washington 98101; (206) 553–0242. 

Comments should reference the 

Anderson-Calhoun Mine and Mill Site 

in Leadpoint, Washington, EPA Docket 

No. CERCLA–10–2010–0105 and should 

be addressed to Alexander Fidis, 

Assistant Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA 

Region 10, Mail Stop ORC–158, 1200 

Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, 

Washington 98101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alexander Fidis, Assistant Regional 

Counsel, U.S. EPA Region 10, Mail Stop 

ORC–158, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 

900, Seattle, Washington 98101; (206) 

553–4710. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Anderson-Calhoun Mine and Mill Site 

(Site) is located in Leadpoint, Stevens 

County, Washington. Site operations 

conducted between 1910 and the early 

1980s included the mining and milling 

of lead-zinc ore, and the milling of 

barite ore. Waste-rock and mill tailings 

produced by these operations were 

disposed of at the Site in a raised 

tailings impoundment and at areas 

around the mill building. Waste-rock 

and tailings at the Site contain 

hazardous substances including barium, 

cadmium, copper, lead, selenium and 

zinc at concentrations that exceed 

applicable cleanup levels. The Agency 

has selected a removal action to address 

potential or actual threats that these 

substances may present to public health, 

welfare, or the environment. 

The settling party is one of three 

parties that together spent 

approximately $660,000 to investigate 

and study the Site, assess cleanup 

alternatives, and to develop an 

Engineering Evaluation and Cost 

Analysis that formed the basis for the 

selection of the removal action. The 

Agency entered into a settlement 

agreement with the other two parties, 

Docket Number CERCLA–10–2009– 

0195, for $357,000, which was 

deposited in a site-specific account. 

Under the proposed agreement, the 

settling party will pay $1,362,800 to the 

site-specific account to cover the 

remaining estimated costs of the 

removal action. The settling party will 

also conduct all future post-removal site 

control as described in a finalized 

maintenance and repair plan. The 

proposed settlement will provide the 

settling party with a covenant not to sue 

or take administrative action, subject to 

a reservation of certain rights, for 

recovery past response costs and for the 

performance of the selected removal 

action. 

Dated: Feburary 16, 2010. 

Linda Anderson-Carnahan, 

Acting Director, Office of Environmental 

Cleanup. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3681 Filed 2–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL –9117–3] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA) to Mecklenburg 

County, NC, Land Use and 

Environmental Services Agency 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 

project waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605 

under the authority of Section1605(b)(2) 

[manufactured goods are not produced 

in the United States of a satisfactory 

quality] to the Mecklenburg County 

Land Use and Environmental Services 

Agency, for the purchase of coconut 

fiber (coir) woven mats. 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 

project-specific circumstances. These 

coconut fiber woven mats, which are 

supplied by HD Supply in Charlotte, 

NC, are manufactured in India and Sri 

Lanka, and meet Mecklenburg County’s 

performance specifications and 

requirements. The Acting Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of EPA Region 4. The 

County has provided sufficient 

documentation to support its request. 

The Assistant Administrator of the 

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 coconut fiber 

woven mats for the Torrence Creek 

Stream Restoration Project being 

implemented by the Mecklenburg 

County Land Use and Environmental 

Services Agency that may otherwise be 

prohibited under Section 1605(a) of the 

ARRA. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 28, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Y. Edwards, Project Officer, 

Grants and SRF Section, Water 

Protection Division (WPD), (404) 562– 

9340, USEPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth St., 

SW., Atlanta, GA 30303. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), 

the EPA hereby provides notice that it 

is granting a project waiver of the 

requirements of Sections 1605(b)(2) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to Mecklenburg County 

Land Use and Environmental Services 

Agency, Mecklenburg County, North 

Carolina, for the purchase of coconut 

fiber woven mats manufactured in India 

and Sri Lanka. 

Section 1605 of the 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 is produced in the 

United States, or unless a waiver is 

provided to the recipient by the head of 

the appropriate agency, herein EPA. A 

waiver may be provided if EPA 

determines that (1) applying these 

requirements would be inconsistent 

with the 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. 

This manufactured good will be used 

as part of the ‘‘Torrence Creek Stream 

Restoration Project,’’ a stream 

stabilization project in North Carolina. 

The County states that only coconut 

fiber woven mats meet the specific 

needs of this project, which are 

durability, mat size and 

biodegradability. They indicate that the 

key characteristics that set coconut fiber 

woven mats apart from other 

alternatives are a 3+ year in-stream life 

expectancy followed by 100% 

biodegradation, and visually 

unobtrusive properties. The County 

states that coconut fibers are more 

durable than straw and other materials 

used in alternative mat products, and 

they do not require the incorporation of 

polypropylene and/or other synthetic 

products that are not 100% 

biodegradable. 

The April 28, 2009, EPA HQ 

Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Public Law 

111–5, the ‘American Recovery and 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES
8348 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices 

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 OMB ARRA Buy American 

Guidance cites the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) as an appropriate 

reference for availability waiver 

inquiries. Specifically, the OMB 

Guidance at section 176.80(a)(1) states 

(at 77 FR 18452) that ‘‘The 

determinations of nonavailability of the 

articles listed at 48 CFR 25.104(a) and 

the procedures at 48 CFR 25.103(b)(1) 

also apply if any of those articles are 

manufactured goods needed in the 

project. The FAR’s list of nonavailable 

articles includes ‘‘Fibers of the following 

types: * * * coir,’’ thereby establishing 

a presumption of lack of U.S. 

availability. The FAR procedures at 48 

CFR 25.103(b)(1) specified as required 

in the OMB Guidance state that: (1)(i) A 

nonavailability determination has been 

made for the articles listed in 25.104. 

This determination does not necessarily 

mean that there is no domestic source 

for the listed items, but that domestic 

sources can only meet 50 percent or less 

of total U.S. government and 

nongovernment demand. (ii) Before 

acquisition of an article on the list, the 

procuring agency is responsible to 

conduct market research appropriate to 

the circumstances, including seeking of 

domestic sources. 

The applicant met the procedures 

specified for the availability inquiry as 

appropriate to the circumstances by 

conducting on-line research and 

contacting suppliers, and all sources 

indicated that coconut fiber woven mats 

are only manufactured outside of the 

U.S. Therefore, based on the 

information provided to EPA and to the 

best of our knowledge at this time, 

coconut fiber woven mats are not 

manufactured in the United States, and 

no other U.S. manufactured product can 

meet Mecklenburg County’s 

performance specifications and 

requirements for this project. 

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 agencies 

such as Mecklenburg County Land Use 

and Environmental Services Agency, to 

revise their standards and 

specifications. The imposition of ARRA 

Buy American requirements on such 

projects otherwise eligible for ARRA 

State Revolving Fund assistance would 

result in unreasonable delay and thus 

displace the ‘‘shovel ready’’ status for 

this project. To further delay project 

implementation is in direct conflict 

with a fundamental economic purpose 

of the ARRA, which is to create or retain 

jobs. 

EPA’s national contractor prepared a 

technical assessment report dated 

December 22, 2009, based on the 

submitted waiver request. The report 

determined that the waiver request 

submittal was complete, that adequate 

technical information was provided, 

and that there were no significant 

weaknesses in the justification 

provided. The report confirmed the 

waiver applicant’s claim that there are 

no comparable domestic products that 

can meet the specific durability, size 

and biodegradation needs of this 

project. 

The information and supporting 

documentation provided by 

Mecklenburg County is sufficient to 

meet the criteria listed under Section 

1605(b) of the ARRA and in the April 

28, 2009, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Public Law 

111–5, the ‘American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009’ 

Memorandum’’: Iron, steel, and the 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality. The basis for this 

project waiver is the authorization 

provided in Section 1605(b)(2) of the 

ARRA. 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 County’s 

performance specifications and 

requirements, a waiver from the Buy 

American requirement is justified. 

The March 31, 2009, Delegation of 

Authority Memorandum provided 

Regional Administrators with the 

authority to issue exceptions to Section 

1605 of the 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, Mecklenburg 

County Land Use and Environmental 

Services Agency, is hereby granted a 

waiver from the Buy American 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5 for the purchase of 

coconut fiber woven mats using ARRA 

funds as specified in the Mecklenburg 

County Land and Environmental 

Services Agency request of December 

16, 2009. This supplementary 

information constitutes the detailed 

written justification required by Section 

1605(c) for waivers ‘‘based on a finding 

under subsection (b).’’ 

Authority: Public Law 111–5, section 1605. 

Dated: January 28, 2010. 

J. Scott Gordon, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3684 Filed 2–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9117–6] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the 

Massachusetts Water Resources 

Authority (MWRA) 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 

waiver of the Buy America 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 

Massachusetts Water Resources 

Authority (‘‘MWRA’’) for the purchase of 

a 1.5 megawatt (MW) foreign 

manufactured wind turbine for the 

DeLauri Pump Station Renewable 

Energy Project in Charlestown, 

Massachusetts. This is a project specific 

waiver and only applies to the use of the 

specified product for the ARRA project 

being proposed. Any other ARRA 

recipient that wishes to use the same 

product must apply for a separate 

waiver based on project specific 

circumstances. Based upon information 

submitted by the MWRA, it has been 

determined that there is currently no 

domestically manufactured wind 

turbine available or one that can be 

supplied to meet its proposed project 

specifications. The Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of the Municipal 

Assistance Unit. The Assistant 

Administrator of the 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 a foreign 

manufactured 1.5 MW wind turbine by 

the MWRA, as specified in its November 

19, 2009 request. 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES