10258 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 43 / Friday, March 5, 2010 / Notices 

evaluating the temporality of toxic 

effects as it conducts this reevaluation 

of atrazine and at the April SAP will 

also discuss proposed statistical 

approaches to determine the appropriate 

monitoring frequency for different 

durations of interest. 

The Agency will consider the advice 

and recommendations received from the 

SAP at the April 2010 meeting as it 

develops the WOE analysis integrating 

experimental toxicology and 

epidemiology studies with statistical 

analysis for determining the frequency 

of water monitoring scheduled for 

review by the SAP in September. 

C. FIFRA SAP Documents and Meeting 

Minutes 

EPA’s background paper, related 

supporting materials, charge/questions 

to FIFRA SAP, FIFRA SAP composition 

(i.e., members and ad hoc members for 

this meeting), and the meeting agenda 

will be available by mid-March. In 

addition, the Agency may provide 

additional background documents as the 

materials become available. You may 

obtain electronic copies of these 

documents, and certain other related 

documents that might be available 

electronically, at http:// 

www.regulations.gov and the FIFRA 

SAP homepage at http://www.epa.gov/ 

scipoly/sap. 

FIFRA SAP will prepare meeting 

minutes summarizing its 

recommendations to the Agency 

approximately 90–days after the 

meeting. The meeting minutes will be 

posted on the FIFRA SAP website or 

may be obtained from the OPP 

Regulatory Public Docket at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Pesticides 

and pests. 

Dated: February 17, 2010. 

Frank Sanders, 

Director, Office of Science Coordination and 

Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4540 Filed 3–4–10; 8:45 a.m.] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9118–9] 

Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 

1605: (Buy American Requirement) of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to 

the Inland Empire Utilities 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(a) 

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 Inland Empire Utilities Agency 

(IEUA), a Clean Water State Revolving 

Fund/ARRA loan recipient, for the 

purchase of Air Release Vacuum (ARV) 

Valves manufactured by A.R.I. in Israel, 

for Project# C–06–5176–110 and C–06– 

5176–130 funded by the California 

CWSRF ARRA Loan# 08–835–550–1 

and 08–850–550–1. The IEUA indicates 

that the design for the pipeline project 

at issue includes A.R.I. valves, which 

are the standard air relief structures 

used within the regional pipeline 

system, and that currently there is not 

a comparable domestic equivalent that 

meets the IEUA 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 

project-specific circumstances. The 

Assistant Administrator of the Office of 

Administration and Resources 

Management has concurred with this 

decision to make an exception under 

section 1605(b)(2) of ARRA. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 10, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Abimbola Odusoga, Environmental 

Engineer, Water Division, Infrastructure 

Office (WTR–4), (415) 972–3437, U.S. 

EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne, San 

Francisco, CA 94105 or Joshua Amaris, 

Life Scientist, Water Division, 

Infrastructure Office (WTR–4), (415) 

972–3597, U.S. EPA Region 9, 75 

Hawthorne, San Francisco, CA 94105. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with ARRA Sections 1605(c) 

and 1605(b)(2), EPA hereby provides 

notice it is granting a project waiver of 

the requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the IEUA for the 

acquisition of the ARV valves 

manufactured in Israel by A.R.I. The 

head of each federal agency is 

authorized to issue project waivers 

pursuant to Section 1605(b) of ARRA. 

Section 1605(a) of the ARRA requires 

that none of the funds appropriated or 

otherwise made available by the ARRA 

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. Pursuant to Section 

1605(b), a waiver from this requirement 

may be provided if EPA determines: (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. 

A Delegation of Authority 

Memorandum was issued by the EPA 

Administrator on March 31, 2009 which 

provided EPA Regional Administrators 

with the authority to issue waivers to 

Section 1605(a) of ARRA within the 

geographic boundaries of their 

respective regions and with respect to 

requests by individual recipients of 

ARRA financial assistance. 

The IEUA operates to provide 

drinking water and waste water 

treatment services to municipalities in 

the Chino Basin. The IEUA is installing 

the ARV valves as the air relief 

structures for the 1630 E. Recycled 

Water Pipeline and the 1299 E. Recycled 

Water Pipeline (project #5176–110), 

which consists of approximately 13,000 

linear feet of 36-inch diameter pipeline. 

The project specifications provided by 

the applicant state that acceptable 

products are A.R.I. Flow Control 

Accessories, Ltd. (Model D–060) or an 

approved equal. The functional 

justification for these specifications 

advanced by the IEUA was that the 

IEUA had, in years prior to the 

enactment of ARRA, made the ARI 

valves their standard air relief structures 

used within the regional pipeline 

system based on the IEUA’s 

determination that these valves had a 

superior design, functionality, and ease 

of maintenance. Specifically: 

• ARI combination valves (D–060’s) 

have the air release on the top of the 

valve, whereas alternative valves have 

the air release on the side. A side release 

creates an internal air pocket on the 

valve, which allows the rubber seal for 

the vacuum component to dry out and 

leak over time. 

• The 316SS float for the ARI vacuum 

component stops against a 316SS ring. 

The alternative valves have a float that 

stops against a flat rubber seal on the 

top of the valve, and constant pounding 

during closure tends to crack the seal 

and cause leaks. 

• The ARI valves are half the weight 

and size of the alternative valves, which 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 43 / Friday, March 5, 2010 / Notices 10259 

makes installation and maintenance 

easier. Also, as the valves are smaller, 

the enclosures for the valves are less 

expensive. 

The consequences of finding the 

IEUA’s specifications not justified 

would include the following: 

• Additional design costs would be 

incurred to change all ARV valves, 

including re-calculating the size of the 

valves based on the competitor’s design 

criteria, modifying valve and enclosure 

details, and modifying the pipeline 

profiles to accommodate larger valves. 

Alternative ARV valves that must be 

buried would require lowering the 

pipeline depth several feet on each side 

of the valves to accommodate a deeper 

valve vault. 

• Construction costs would be higher 

due to the increase in valve sizes, larger 

enclosures, and a deeper pipeline. The 

pricing through the change order 

process would be significantly higher 

than prices for a competitive bid. The 

cost for the material and installation of 

the valves is approximately $198,708. If 

the ARI valves are replaced with 

alternative valves, the estimated cost for 

the material and installation would be 

approximately $100,000 more. 

• IEUA staff would have to be trained 

on the different types of valves installed 

and additional spare parts would need 

to be ordered and stocked. Since the 

IEUA has moved forward with 

implementing the ARI valves as the 

standard air relief structure, all valves 

that do not meet this standard would 

need to be replaced. 

Use of alternative valves that do not 

meet the IEUA’s specifications would 

thus require a substantial redesign of, 

delay in, and higher costs for the 

project. Because of the IEUA’s current, 

extensive installations of ARI valves, the 

use of alternative, incompatible valves 

would impose continuing high costs 

into the future to change spare parts and 

staff training in operations and 

maintenance, as well as in inferior 

performance of the alternative valves. 

Procurement of alternative valves would 

be inconsistent with basic principles of 

sustainable infrastructure and effective 

asset management that EPA has 

consistently promoted. For all these 

reasons, EPA finds that the IEUA’s 

specifications for these ARV valves were 

justified. 

EPA also evaluated the project 

specifications to assess the IEUA’s claim 

there are no known American 

manufacturers who can provide ARV 

valves of satisfactory quality to meet its 

technical specifications. Five domestic 

manufacturers of ARV valves were 

identified by the applicant. EPA’s 

national contractor contacted the 

domestic manufacturers and inquired as 

to whether their products could meet 

the IEUA’s specifications. Four of the 

five manufacturers responded. All four 

manufacturers indicated that they could 

provide similar products, but could not 

meet all of the IEUA’s specifications, 

particularly with regard to 

manufacturing materials and product 

design. 

Based on these findings, EPA 

concludes the IEUA’s claim that there 

are no known American manufacturers 

of ARV valves meeting the IEUA’s 

specifications is supported by the 

available information. 

The April 28, 2009 EPA 

Memorandum for implementation of the 

ARRA Buy American provisions of P.L. 

111–5, states the quantity of iron, steel, 

or relevant manufactured good is 

‘‘reasonably available’’ if it is available at 

the time and place needed, and in the 

proper form or specification as specified 

in the project plans and design. The 

IEUA’s waiver request articulates a 

reasonable and appropriate basis for 

choosing the type of technology it chose 

for this project in environmental 

objectives and performance 

specifications. Further, it provides 

sufficient documentation to conclude 

the relevant manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States of a 

satisfactory quality to meet its technical 

specifications. The IEUA has 

incorporated specific technical design 

specifications for the proposed project 

based on their needs and provided 

information to the EPA indicating there 

are currently no ARV valves 

manufactured in the United States that 

have equivalent product specifications. 

The IEUA has also provided 

certification indicating there are no 

systems of comparable quality available 

from a domestic manufacturer to meet 

its specifications. Based on additional 

inquiry by EPA’s national contractor, 

there do not appear to be other ARV 

valves available to meet the IEUA’s 

specifications. 

Furthermore, the purpose of the 

ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery 

by funding current infrastructure 

construction, not to delay shovel ready 

projects by requiring entities, like the 

IEUA, to revise their design and 

potentially choose a more costly and 

less efficient project. The imposition of 

ARRA Buy American requirements on 

such projects eligible for CWSRF 

assistance would result in unreasonable 

delay and thus displace the ‘‘shovel 

ready’’ status for this project. Further 

delay of this project would contravene 

the most fundamental economic 

purposes of the ARRA: To create or 

preserve jobs in the United States. 

The EPA Region 9 Water Division, 

Office of Regional Counsel, EPA’s Buy 

American consultant, and EPA’s Office 

of Administration and Resource 

Management have reviewed this waiver 

request and have determined the 

supporting documentation provided by 

the IEUA is sufficient to meet the 

criteria listed under ARRA Section 

1605(b)(2) and the EPA April 28, 2009, 

memorandum for implementation of 

ARRA Buy American provisions of P.L. 

111–5. 

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, 

the IEUA is hereby granted a waiver 

from the Buy American requirements of 

Sections 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5, 

for the purchase of the A.R.I. valves, 

specified in the IEUA’s request of 

January 21, 2010. This supplementary 

information constitutes the detailed 

written justification required by Section 

1605(c) for waivers based on a finding 

under Section 1605(b)(2). 

Authority: Public Law 111–5, Section 

1605. 

Dated: February 10, 2010. 

Jared Blumenfeld, 

Regional Administrator, EPA Pacific 

Southwest Region. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4053 Filed 3–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0097; FRL–8811–8] 

Pesticide Products; Registration 

Applications 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA has received applications 

to register new uses for pesticide 

products containing previously 

registered active ingredients. Pursuant 

to the provisions of section 3(c)(4) of the 

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), EPA is hereby 

providing notice of receipt and 

opportunity to comment on these 

applications. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 5, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by the docket identification 

(ID) number specified in Unit II. of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, by one of 

the following methods: 


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