[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8351-8352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3735]


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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.

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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

[[Page 8352]]

manganese removal in the remaining two filter beds.
    Detailed evaluation of all of the submitted documentation by, and 
extensive discussions among EPA's technical review team, the EPA 
program office, and EPA's national contractor established that the 
Maine Drinking Water Program, in the MEDHHS, would require replacement 
of the existing underdrain and associated piping if either of the other 
two filter media that were pilot tested--one of which may be 
domestically-produced--were used in the project. This would result in 
an increase in the project cost from $40,019 to $86,405 for the two 
filter beds. Due to the existing backwash piping configuration, a lower 
backwash rate is needed which could be attained by the GreensandPlus 
filter media without replacement of the underdrain or piping.
    The Maine Drinking Water Program is the primary enforcement 
authority responsible for ensuring that all Public Water Systems (PWS) 
in the State regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act comply with 
all National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR). Implementation 
of the determination by such an authority that specific facility 
configurations or operating conditions are required for compliance with 
NPDWRs is obligatory for a PWS.
    Thus, the use of domestic filter media would require replacement of 
the underdrain and associated piping which would double the cost of the 
project. In addition, the evaluation of the supporting documentation 
also demonstrated that the foreign filter media will be able to meet 
the proposed project design and specifications with no additional cost 
to the Town.
    Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic 
recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay 
or require the substantial redesign of projects that are ``shovel 
ready,'' such as this project of the Old Town Water District. The 
imposition of ARRA Buy American requirements in this case would result 
in unreasonable additional cost for this project and substantial delay 
in its completion. Such delay would also directly conflict with a 
fundamental economic purpose of ARRA, which is to create or retain 
jobs.
    The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) has reviewed this waiver 
request and has determined that the supporting documentation provided 
by the Town established a proper basis to specify that using the 
domestic manufactured good would be inconsistent with the public 
interest of the Town. The MEDHHS concluded that using a domestic filter 
media would require replacement of the underdrain and associated piping 
and subsequently significantly increase the project cost. The 
information provided is sufficient to meet the following criteria 
listed under Section 1605(b)(1) of the ARRA and in the April 28, 2009 
Memorandum: Applying these requirements would be inconsistent with the 
public interest.
    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 both a proper basis to specify the particular 
good required for this project and that using a domestically available 
alternative manufactured good would be inconsistent with the public 
interest of the Town, the Old Town Water District 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 
GreensandPlus filter media for two 12 foot diameter filters documented 
in the Town's waiver request submittal dated November 9, 2009. This 
supplementary information constitutes the detailed written 
justification required by Section 1605(c) for waivers based on a 
finding under subsection (b).

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

    Dated: February 12, 2010.
Ira Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. 2010-3735 Filed 2-23-10; 8:45 am]
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