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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices 8349 

DATES: Effective Date: February 11, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Chin, Environmental Engineer, 

(617) 918–1764, or Katie Connors, 

Environmental Engineer, (617) 918– 

1658, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), 

Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP), 

U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 

100, Boston, MA 02109–3912. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with ARRA Sections 1605(c) 

and 1605(b)(2), the 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 MWRA for the 

purchase of a foreign manufactured 1.5 

MW wind turbine to meet the MWRA’s 

design and performance specifications 

as part of its proposed DeLauri Pump 

Station Renewable Energy Project in 

Charlestown, MA. 

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 a public works project 

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, here the 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. 

The MWRA is proposing a renewable 

energy project consisting of a 1.5 MW 

wind turbine, secondary unit substation, 

switchgear, associated conductors and 

controls to be installed at an existing 

MWRA wastewater pump station 

(DeLauri Pump Station) in Charlestown, 

Massachusetts (MA). The DeLauri Pump 

Station has an average flow of 31 

million gallons a day (mgd) and a peak 

capacity of 93 mgd and serves 

Charlestown and portions of the 

communities of Somerville, Cambridge, 

and Medford, MA. The pump station 

functions during dry and wet weather 

and serves to overcome the hydraulic 

differential required to continue gravity 

flow through the MWRA collection 

system and eventually to the Deer Island 

Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

The site is located on an MWRA 

owned parcel of land along the north 

bank of the Mystic River and just west 

of Alford Street (Route 99) in the 

Charlestown section of Boston. The 

property area is comprised of 8.65 acres 

located in a strictly industrial area and 

does not have any immediate residential 

abutters. The DeLauri Pump Station 

building is located in the middle of the 

property. The planned location for the 

wind turbine is near the southwest edge 

of the Pump Station property adjacent to 

the Mystic River, and approximately 

275 feet west of Route 99, a heavily 

traveled 4 lane undivided highway. The 

site is adjacent to the Boston Water and 

Sewer Commission property and 

directly across the highway from the 

1600 MW U.S. Power Generating 

Company’s Mystic Power Plant. 

The MWRA is requesting a waiver for 

the purchase of a 1.5 MW wind turbine 

(comprised of all turbine components, 

including the blades, the nacelle (i.e. 

cover housing that holds the equipment 

within a wind turbine), the gear box, 

low and high speed shafts, generator, 

controller, and brake), which is 

manufactured by Sinovel in China. The 

wind turbine is expected to generate 

electrical power to provide 80% of the 

simultaneous energy needs of the 

wastewater pump station itself. 

Contingent on pump station demand 

and wind conditions, the wind turbine 

is also expected to contribute more than 

2.65 million kilowatt hours per year of 

clean renewable electricity back to the 

power grid, which is not consumed 

simultaneously with pump station 

demand. It should be noted that 

Massachusetts is one of several 

northeast states that has a climate 

change action plan which calls for 

significant CO2 emission reductions by 

2020. Integral to that plan is a wider 

adoption of non-emitting renewable 

sources of electricity. Wind power is 

currently the most practical source of 

renewable energy to meet that goal. The 

Massachusetts’ Renewable Portfolio 

Standard (RPS) requires an increasing 

amount of the electricity sold in the 

Commonwealth to come from renewable 

electricity, including wind power. RPS 

is also one of the major policy tools put 

in place to meet the CO2 reduction goals 

under the climate change plan. This 

project, while small, would contribute 

towards achieving those goals. 

The MWRA waiver request was 

submitted just after the project was 

advertised for bid. The estimated total 

cost of the proposed design, build, and 

operate project is $4.7M, with the wind 

turbine accounting for approximately 

half of the total cost. MWRA has 

specified a 1.5 MW wind turbine, with 

a height of approximately 262 feet to the 

top of the tower, and 393 feet to the tip 

of the blade. The maximum blade 

diameter will be approximately 269 feet. 

This is the largest (and most efficient) 

wind turbine that can be installed and 

still comply with height limitations 

imposed by the Federal Aviation 

Administration at this particular site. 

The MWRA has researched available 

domestic and foreign wind turbine 

manufacturers. One domestic 

manufacturer produces a larger capacity 

wind turbine, but the height of that 

turbine exceeds the Federal Aviation 

Administration height limitations for 

the site, and thus could not meet project 

specifications. Another domestic 

manufacturer that produces a wind 

turbine that meets project specifications 

was identified, but it is not willing to 

supply a wind turbine for installation at 

the DeLauri Pump Station due to site 

limitations. The domestic 

manufacturer’s internal siting 

considerations recommended that, for 

safety in the event of icing, a setback 

distance of 1.5 times the hub height and 

rotor diameter be maintained. As the 

existing site did not allow for such a 

setback distance, the domestic 

manufacturer declined to make its 

product available for this project. 

However, the domestic manufacturer’s 

internal siting considerations also 

provided for other possible mitigation 

techniques for properties that do not 

meet these setback considerations, but 

the manufacturer did not offer to make 

its product available based on the 

potential application of such techniques 

at this site. 

One foreign manufacturer, which has 

been identified to have a 1.5 MW wind 

turbine that meets the technical 

specifications required by the MWRA, 

currently does not use the same site 

consideration limitations applied by the 

domestic manufacturer. The foreign 

manufacturer has agreed to supply a 1.5 

MW wind turbine to the MWRA. There 

was also another foreign manufacturer 

that had been identified by the MWRA 

which had a 1.5 MW wind turbine that 

could meet the technical specifications, 

but that foreign manufacturer is now 

unwilling to provide single wind 

turbine installations. 

There are currently no local, State, 

Federal, or international requirements 

regulating setback distances associated 

with potential icing conditions while 

operating wind turbines. There have 

been guidelines that have been 

suggested by various wind energy 

industry groups, some of which the 

identified domestic manufacturer has 

adopted, as well as model zoning 

ordinance/bylaws like the one that the 


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8350 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 24, 2010 / Notices 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

introduced in 2009. The technical 

aspect of detecting and controlling icing 

through instrumentation and equipment 

also is evolving. 

Based on information provided to the 

EPA, MWRA has taken all of the 

necessary steps to obtain all necessary 

local, state, and federal approvals to 

move forward with the proposed 

project. The project has been reviewed 

by the following regulatory agencies: 

Federal Aviation Administration (i.e. 

received a Determination of No Hazard 

to Air Navigation); the Boston 

Conservation Commission (i.e. an Order 

of Conditions); the Boston 

Redevelopment Authority; the 

Massachusetts Department of 

Environmental Protection (i.e. Chapter 

91 Waterways License); Federal 

Communications Commission; and the 

Massachusetts Historical Commission. 

The MWRA has also completed 

significant public outreach to abutters 

(i.e. Boston Water and Sewer 

Commission, the Massachusetts Bay 

Transportation Authority, and the U.S. 

Power Generating Company), the 

Massachusetts Highway Department, 

local associations (i.e. City of Boston’s 

Office of Neighborhood Services 

Department, the Charlestown 

Neighborhood Council (CNC), the CNC 

Development Committee, and the 

Charlestown Waterfront Coalition), local 

officials and Congressional staff. 

Based on information provided by the 

MWRA, concerns associated with 

potential ice throws from the wind 

turbine were not raised during the 

permitting and public outreach process. 

It should be noted that there are a 

number of existing wind turbine 

installations in Massachusetts that do 

not conform to the site setback 

considerations used by the domestic 

manufacturer. However, because the site 

setback and associated safety 

considerations were the basis for the 

unavailability of the domestic wind 

turbine, EPA must address these 

considerations in its findings and 

determination on this waiver request. 

A July 2008 University of 

Massachusetts (UMASS) Wind Energy 

Center research paper (Wind Turbine 

Siting—An Assessment of Safety Risks 

in Massachusetts and New England) 

suggests that the risks in these cases are 

relatively low. The paper references a 

study which notes that there have been 

no reported injuries from ice throws 

from wind turbines, despite the 

installation of 6,000 MW of wind energy 

worldwide. The UMASS study further 

suggests that while icing can be severe 

in New England, the incidence of icing 

events is relatively small. Several papers 

have noted that the odds of being struck 

by ice fragments from a wind turbine are 

similar to those odds of being struck by 

lightning. 

However, while these analyses place 

the low risks from ice damage or injury 

in the perspective of the experience 

available, the experience with these 

risks is largely anecdotal and has not 

been systematically assessed in 

situations where precautionary setback 

distances to heavily traveled public 

highways are not met. Several reports 

recommend that if setback distances 

cannot be maintained, alternative 

mitigation methods may be effective at 

limiting safety risks. As noted above, the 

use of mitigation measures—which may 

include monitoring the approach of 

conditions likely to lead to icing, 

shutting down the turbine in the event 

of icing, careful restart procedures, and 

a range of appropriate operational 

control strategies and measures—is also 

considered appropriate under the 

domestic manufacturer’s internal siting 

considerations where setback distances 

cannot be met. This approach is 

consistent with available guidelines and 

model bylaws. 

The MWRA, in discussions with the 

EPA Regional Office, has indicated that 

it will implement a mitigation plan to 

minimize any potential ice throws to 

ensure public safety. Commercial wind 

turbines have been designed with 

vibration sensors to detect any 

imbalance which might be caused by 

icing of the blades, resulting in an 

automatic shutdown (or preventing start 

up) of the turbine when this imbalance 

is detected. In situations where 

conditions indicate a risk of icing of 

wind turbine components, mitigation 

measures can be taken automatically or 

manually. The foreign manufacturer 

supplying the wind turbine to the 

MWRA has indicated that the turbine 

comes equipped with vibration sensors 

to shut down when ice build up is 

detected. The contractor who will 

install the wind turbine has indicated 

that the control system can be 

programmed to allow for manual start 

up as well, which will allow an operator 

to visually inspect the turbine to 

confirm that there is no ice remaining 

before the turbine is re-started. The 

MWRA will implement manual wind 

turbine operational control strategies 

during periods of ice accretion which 

include, but are not limited to: 

Curtailment of operation of the turbine, 

braking the blades in a ‘‘Y’’ to facilitate 

ice shedding directly underneath the 

wind turbine, and yawing the nacelle so 

that the blades are in the safest position 

for ice shedding. It may also post 

warning signs alerting personnel of the 

potential risk in the area. Access to the 

turbine area site will be restricted 

during icing conditions, if necessary. 

Based on the evaluation of all of the 

submitted documentation by EPA’s 

technical review team, MWRA’s 

statement that no U.S. manufacturer 

will provide a 1.5 MW wind turbine 

generator that meets project 

specifications is supported by the 

available evidence. In addition, the 

evaluation of the supporting 

documentation indicates that at least 

one foreign manufacturer, Sinovel, will 

provide its wind turbine at the proposed 

site. Accordingly, EPA finds that the 

Sinovel wind turbine is available on 

terms that address the basis of the 

unavailability of the domestic-made 

wind turbine if the MWRA’s mitigation 

plan as stated above is implemented. 

EPA further finds that the MWRA’s 

acceptance and use of this waiver 

represents a commitment by the MWRA 

to implement the mitigation plan, and 

that such continuing implementation 

will constitute the MWRA’s basis for 

compliance with the requirements of 

ARRA § 1605 with respect to this wind 

turbine. 

The purpose of the ARRA is to 

stimulate economic recovery by funding 

current infrastructure construction, not 

to delay projects that are ‘‘shovel ready’’ 

by requiring potential SRF eligible 

recipients, such as the MWRA, to find 

alternative project sites when 

appropriate and more timely and 

feasible measures are available 

consistent with project design standards 

and specifications. The imposition of 

ARRA Buy American requirements in 

this case would result in unreasonable 

delay and potentially the cancellation of 

this project as sited. The delay or 

cancellation of this construction would 

directly conflict with a fundamental 

economic purpose of ARRA, which is to 

create or retain jobs. 

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’ ’’ 

(‘‘Memorandum’’), 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 same Memorandum 

defines ‘‘satisfactory quality’’ as ‘‘the 

quality of steel, iron or manufactured 

good specified in the project plans and 

designs.’’ 

The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) 

has reviewed this waiver request and 

has determined that the supporting 


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documentation provided by the MWRA 

establishes both a proper basis to 

specify a particular manufactured good, 

and that no domestic manufacturer is 

currently available or willing to supply 

that particular manufactured good 

which meets project specifications. The 

information provided is sufficient to 

meet the following criteria listed under 

Section 1605(b) of the ARRA and in the 

April 28, 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 March 31, 2009 Delegation of 

Authority Memorandum provided 

Regional Administrators with the 

temporary 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 a proper basis to 

specify the particular good required for 

this project, that the MWRA has agreed 

to implement a mitigation plan to 

minimize the likelihood of any potential 

ice throws to ensure public safety, and 

that this manufactured good was not 

available from a producer in the United 

States, the MWRA is hereby granted a 

waiver from the Buy American 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5. This waiver permits 

use of ARRA funds for the purchase of 

a foreign manufactured wind turbine 

documented in MWRA’s waiver request 

submittal dated November 19, 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: February 11, 2010. 

Ira Leighton, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

1—New England. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3703 Filed 2–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9117–4] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Old Town 

Water District in Old Town, ME 

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)(1) 

[inconsistent with the public interest] to 

the Old Town Water District (‘‘Town’’) in 

Old Town, Maine for the purchase of 

GreensandPlus pressure filter media, 

manufactured in Brazil, for two of the 

12 foot diameter filters. 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. The Town 

evaluated three different types of 

pressure filter media during a pilot test 

in April of 2008 and, well before the 

enactment of ARRA, selected 

GreensandPlus filter media. The media 

was purchased for the first two of four 

filter beds in October 2008, when the 

price of the media was determined for 

all four beds. The media was installed 

in two of the filter beds in January 2009. 

The ARRA funded project is for the 

other two filter beds in the Old Town 

Water District system. If an alternate 

domestic filter media were to be 

installed in the remaining two filter 

beds, the Maine Drinking Water 

Program would require replacement of 

the underdrain and associated piping, 

which would increase the cost of the 

project from $40,019 to $86,405. Based 

upon information submitted by the 

Town, its consulting engineer, and the 

Maine Department of Health and 

Human Services (MEDHHS), EPA has 

concluded that, under these 

circumstances, requiring the installation 

of an alternative domestic filter media 

would be inconsistent with the public 

interest, and that a waiver of the Buy 

American provisions is justified. 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 the 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

ARRA. This action permits the purchase 

of GreensandPlus pressure filter media, 

as specified in its November 7, 2009 

request. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 12, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, 

(617) 918–1658, or, David Chin, 

Environmental Engineer, (617) 918– 

1764, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), 

Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP), 

U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 

100, Boston, MA 02109–3912. 

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 Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the Old Town Water 

District (Town) in Old Town, Maine for 

the purchase of non-domestic 

GreensandPlus pressure filter media for 

two 12 foot diameter filters. EPA has 

evaluated the Town’s basis for 

procuring the GreensandPlus pressure 

filter media for these filters. Based on 

the information provided by the 

applicant and the State of Maine, EPA 

has determined that it is inconsistent 

with the public interest for the Town to 

pursue the purchase of domestically 

manufactured filter media. 

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 a public works project 

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, here the EPA. A waiver may be 

provided under Section 1605(b) 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. 

The Town is requesting a waiver of 

the Buy American provision for the 

GreensandPlus filter media for two 12 

foot diameter filters. At the Town’s 

water treatment plant, there are four 

filter beds. In April of 2008, the Town 

performed a pilot study of three 

different pressure filter media. Well 

before the enactment of ARRA, they 

selected GreensandPlus media—which 

is manufactured in Brazil—because it 

was more appropriate for the 

configuration of the Old Town Water 

District system. The GreensandPlus 

media was purchased for the first two 

filter beds in October 2008, when the 

price was locked in for all four filter 

beds. The media was installed in 

January 2009 for the first of the filter 

beds. The ARRA funded project to the 

Town is for the installation of the 

GreensandPlus media for iron and 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with NOTICES