Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 161 / Friday, August 19, 2011 / Notices 51973 

Reduction Project, Implementation, 

Plumas National Forest, Mt. Hough 

District, Plumas County, CA, Review 

Period Ends: 09/19/2011, Contact: 

Katherine Carpenter 530–283–7619. 

EIS No. 20110268, Second Final EIS 

(Tiering), NCPC, DC, Tier-2 FINAL— 

Smithsonian Institution National 

Museum of African American History 

and Culture (NMAAHC), Construction 

and Operation, Between 14th and 

15th Streets NW. and Constitution 

Avenue, NW. and Madison Drive, 

NW., Washington, DC, Review Period 

Ends: 09/19/2011, Contact: Jane 

Passman 202–633–6549. 

EIS No. 20110269, Draft Supplement, 

USN, 00, Surveillance Towed Array 

Sensor System Low Frequency Active 

(SURTASS LFA) Sonar Systems, 

Updated and Additional Information 

on Employment of Four SURTASS 

LFA Sonar Systems for Routine 

Training, Testing, and Military 

Operation, Implementation, Comment 

Period Ends: 10/17/2011, Contact: 

CDR Neil T. Smith 703–465–8404. 

EIS No. 20110270, Draft EIS, NOAA, HI, 

PROGRAMMATIC—Hawaiian Monk 

Seal Recovery Actions, To Prevent the 

Extinction of the Species, HI, 

Comment Period Ends: 10/17/2011, 

Contact: Jeff Walters 808–944–2200. 

EIS No. 20110271, Final EIS, FHWA, 

CO, North 1–25 Corridor, To Identify 

and Evaluate Multi-Modal 

Transportation Improvement along 61 

miles from the Fort CollinsWellington Area, Funding and U.S. 

Army COE Section 404 Permit, 

Denver, CO, Review Period Ends: 09/ 

19/2011, Contact: Monica Pavlik 720– 

963–3012. 

Amended Notices: 

EIS No. 20110176, Draft EIS, BLM, NV, 

Clark, Lincoln, and White Pine 

Counties Groundwater Development 

Project, Construction and Operation 

of Pipeline System and Associated 

Infrastructure, Right-Of-Way 

Application, Clark, Lincoln, White 

Pine, NV, Comment Period Ends: 10/ 

11/2011, Contact: Penny Woods 775– 

861–6466 Revision to FR Notice 06/ 

10/2011: Extending comment period 

from 09/08/2011 to 10/11/2011. 

Dated: August 16, 2011. 

Cliff Rader, 

Acting Director, NEPA Compliance Division, 

Office of Federal Activities. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21223 Filed 8–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9454–4] 

Notice of Regional Waiver Pursuant to 

Section 1605 (Buy American 

Requirement) of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009, to Mason County, WA 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator 

of EPA Region 10 is hereby granting a 

waiver request from the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605 

under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(1). This waiver request is being 

granted because EPA believes it is in the 

public interest to allow Mason County, 

Washington (the County) to utilize and 

install six specific turbo aeration blower 

units as part of the County’s Belfair 

Wastewater and Water Reclamation 

Facilities project. 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 Membrane 

Bioreactor (MBR) system was selected 

and procured by the County in 2008 

using non-ARRA funding and prior to 

enactment of ARRA. However, since the 

MBR equipment is being installed by an 

ARRA funded contract, the new Buy 

American requirements of ARRA apply. 

As ARRA was enacted after the County’s 

procurement actions, the County could 

not be aware of the need to purchase 

and install a Buy American compliant 

MBR system and could not reasonably 

foresee the need for a waiver. 

Requiring the installation of 

domestically manufactured turbo 

aeration blower units will extend the 

time frame of the project significantly 

(by at least four months), due to the 

redesign, procurement, submittal 

delivery, submittal review, fabrication, 

delivery, and replacement of the 

aeration blower installation at the 

construction site. Redesign, 

reconstruction, and replacement of the 

blowers will likely cost at least an 

additional $620,000 and could also void 

the three year manufacturer warranty for 

the MBR that is valid only if system 

components identified in the 

manufacturer’s proposal are utilized. A 

significant delay in the project schedule 

could push the project past the 

anticipated September 2011 project 

completion into the fall rainy season, 

and could cause runoff over areas of 

failing septic systems and pose a risk to 

environmental and water quality 

protection. This additional cost and 

delay is inconsistent with the public 

interest, and a waiver of the Buy 

American provisions in these 

circumstances is justified. This action 

allows the installation of the six 

specified turbo aeration blower units 

that have already been delivered to the 

construction site as noted in Mason 

County’s May 27, 2011, request and 

additional follow up documentation. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 9, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bryan Fiedorczyk, CWSRF ARRA 

Program Management Analyst, Grants 

and Strategic Planning Unit, Office of 

Water & Watersheds (OWW), (206) 553– 

0506, U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW–137), 

1200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, 

WA 98101. 

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 Mason County, 

Washington, for the utilization and 

installation of six specific turbo aeration 

blower units as part of the County’s 

Belfair Wastewater and Water 

Reclamation Facilities project. Based on 

the information provided by the County 

and its consultant project manager, EPA 

has determined that it is inconsistent 

with the public interest for the County 

to further delay the project and incur 

significant additional costs to pursue 

the purchase and installation of 

domestic manufactured turbo aeration 

blower units. 

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 

are produced in the United States, or 

unless a waiver is provided to the 

recipient by the head of the appropriate 

agency, in this case, 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. 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
51974 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 161 / Friday, August 19, 2011 / Notices 

Consistent with the direction of 

OMB’s regulation at 2 CFR 176.120, the 

EPA will generally consider a waiver 

request with respect to components that 

were specified in the bid solicitation or 

in a general/primary construction 

contract or those made after obligating 

ARRA funds for a project to be a ‘‘late’’ 

request. However, in this case EPA has 

determined that the County’s request, 

though made after the date the contract 

was signed, can be evaluated as timely 

because of the extenuating 

circumstances surrounding this ongoing project. 

The Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) 

system works using a combination of 

filtration and biological processes and is 

a critical component of the treatment 

process to remove nutrients (nitrogen) 

and other pollutants from the 

wastewater. The MBR system is 

comprised of MBR filtration cassettes, 

aeration and membrane scouring 

blowers, and several other auxiliary 

components integral to the efficient 

operation of the system. The County 

decided the MBR process was the most 

environmentally sound and cost 

effective solution to treat the wastewater 

to the ‘‘Class A’’ reuse standards in 

order to meet the County’s water reuse 

goal and the anticipated regulatory and 

permit requirements. The MBR system 

was procured by the County for use at 

the new wastewater treatment plant 

prior to enactment of ARRA with non 

ARRA funding. The KUBOTA 

Submerged Membrane Unit® system 

and accompanying MBR components 

were selected and contracted with 

Enviroquip (now Ovivo USA) in March 

2008 during the early phases of design. 

The design for the treatment plant was 

based on this pre-selected MBR 

equipment and continued until project 

construction went to bid in late 2009. 

As a result of a value engineering study 

during the design process, a change 

order was signed in October 2009 to 

incorporate specific components 

including energy-efficient blowers and 

feed pumps as part of the MBR system. 

Though the MBR equipment was 

procured by a pre-ARRA contract before 

ARRA was enacted, the actual 

installation is being completed through 

Mason County’s ARRA Clean Water 

State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan 

(#L100026). Due to EPA’s ARRA Buy 

American implementation guidance 

dated April 28, 2009, that defines a 

project as all work ‘‘closely related in 

purpose, time and place,’’ this 

previously contracted MBR equipment 

needs to meet Buy American 

requirements as an integral component 

of the Belfair Wastewater and Water 

Reclamation Facilities project. There is 

not a mechanism authorizing previously 

contracted, purchased, or owned 

equipment as exempt from Buy 

American requirements. As context, the 

entire project cost is estimated at $28.8 

million—$9.6 million is ARRA funded, 

$3.8 million is paid by an EPA Special 

Appropriations Act Project grant (for the 

MBR equipment), and $15.4 million is 

non-federally funded. The KTurbo 

blowers, which are the subject of this 

waiver, are estimated to cost 

approximately $345,900. 

The initial procurement of the MBR 

system occurred well in advance of 

ARRA, and the fact that the MBR 

equipment was not being reimbursed by 

ARRA funds created a complex 

situation that State, EPA regional and 

EPA headquarters staff had to 

thoroughly review and research to 

determine the applicability of ARRA. 

Therefore, it is understandable that the 

County was unaware of the need to 

purchase and install a Buy American 

compliant MBR system and could not 

reasonably foresee the need for a waiver 

until recently. Also of note, KTurbo is 

currently suspended from participating 

in procurement and nonprocurement 

transactions pending the termination of 

the suspension or implementation of a 

debarment proceeding. However, this 

suspension does not invalidate 

transactions entered into prior the 

suspension date of April 19, 2011. The 

KTurbo blowers being utilized in the 

County project were clearly procured 

well in advance of April 19, 2011, thus 

the procurement transaction is not 

covered by the temporary suspension. 

Additionally, these blowers were 

identified as Korean/Canadian made 

and not claimed to be manufactured in 

the U.S., thus there is no evidence of 

false claim pertaining to the Mason 

County project. 

The MBR system contract with 

Enviroquip/Ovivo USA requires 95% 

payment to the supplier (of the $2.1 

million contract) for equipment 

delivered. Therefore the County would 

be obligated to pay for at least most of 

the KTurbo blowers cost, plus an 

estimated $540,000 extra for 

replacement domestic blowers, an 

estimated $80,000 for redesign and 

reconstruction costs, and up to $30,000 

per month for construction delay costs 

per the prime contractor’s agreement. 

Additionally, the three year warranty for 

the MBR system identified in the project 

specifications would be voided, as the 

manufacturer stipulated the warranty 

for the MBR system is valid only if 

system components identified in the 

manufacturer’s proposal are utilized. 

Furthermore, not allowing the 

installation of the six specified turbo 

aeration blower units that have been 

delivered to the site could cause a 

significant time delay to the project. The 

County would need to completely 

redesign, procure, and have domestic 

manufactured turbo aeration blower 

units delivered to the site. According to 

the County, the construction completion 

date could be delayed by four months or 

more. Of significant note, the County is 

scheduled to complete the project in 

September 2011. Increased delays in to 

the project schedule could push 

completion into the rainy season, during 

which the typical wet weather 

associated with October through January 

could cause runoff over areas of failing 

septic systems and pose a risk to 

environmental and water quality 

protection. 

Finally, 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 in 

Mason County, Washington. The 

implementation of the ARRA Buy 

American requirements in this case 

would result in an unreasonable delay 

in its completion. Such delay would 

also directly conflict with a 

fundamental economic purpose of 

ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs. 

More importantly, the imposition of the 

Buy American requirement would result 

in additional risk to water quality 

protection. 

The Grants and Strategic Planning 

Unit of EPA has reviewed this waiver 

request and has determined that the 

supporting documentation provided by 

the County established a proper basis to 

specify that using the domestic 

manufactured good would be 

inconsistent with the public interest of 

Mason County, Washington. The 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 good 

required for this project and that using 

a domestically available alternative 

manufactured good would be 

inconsistent with the public interest, 

Mason County, Washington, 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 installation 

and utilization of the six specified turbo 

aeration blower units that have already 

been delivered to the construction site 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 161 / Friday, August 19, 2011 / Notices 51975 

as noted in the County’s May 27, 2011 

request and additional follow up 

documentation. 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: August 9, 2011. 

Dennis J. McLerran, 

Regional Administrator, EPA, Region 10. 

[FR Doc. 2011–21230 Filed 8–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

Privacy Act System of Records 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC, Commission, or the 

Agency) 

ACTION: Notice; one new Privacy Act 

system of records; two deleted systems 

of records. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to subsection (e)(4) 

of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 

(‘‘Privacy Act’’), 5 U.S.C. 552a, the FCC 

proposes to add one new, consolidated 

system of records, FCC/OMD–28, ‘‘Time 

and Attendance Records.’’ FCC/OMD– 

28, ‘‘Time and Attendance Records’’ 

will incorporate the information, i.e., 

personally identifiable information (PII), 

presently covered by FCC/OMD–14, 

‘‘Pay and Leave Records,’’ and FCC/ 

OMD–21, ‘‘Garnishment and Levy of 

Wages,’’ and also add new and/or 

updated information that pertains to the 

responsibilities of the FCC’s Human 

Resources Management (the Agency) 

division of the Office of Managing 

Director (OMD). Upon approval of FCC/ 

OMD–30, the Commission will cancel 

FCC/OMD–14 and FCC/OMD–21. The 

purposes for adding this new system of 

records, FCC/OMD–28, ‘‘Time and 

Attendance Records,’’ are for the 

Agency to use the records in this system 

primarily to prepare time and 

attendance records and to certify hours 

worked/leave earned and leave taken 

and to administer the FCC’s time and 

attendance/payroll program. These 

records may also be used to validate and 

verify hours worked/leave taken/credit 

hours claimed and to ensure appropriate 

recordkeeping as well as appropriate 

expenditure of Federal funds. The new 

system of records will consolidate FCC/ 

OMD–14 and FCC/OMD–21 that the 

Agency currently uses so that all the 

personally identifiable information (PII) 

in the two information systems are now 

housed in a single Agency system of 

records. 

DATES: In accordance with subsections 

(e)(4) and (e)(11) of the Privacy Act, any 

interested person may submit written 

comments concerning the alteration of 

this system of records on or before 

September 19, 2011. The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA), Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), which has oversight 

responsibility under the Privacy Act to 

review the system of records, and 

Congress may submit comments on or 

before September 28, 2011. The 

proposed new system of records will 

become effective on September 28, 2011 

unless the FCC receives comments that 

require a contrary determination. The 

Commission will publish a document in 

the Federal Register notifying the 

public if any changes are necessary. As 

required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) of the 

Privacy Act, the FCC is submitting 

reports on this proposed new system to 

OMB and Congress. 

ADDRESSES: Address comments to Leslie 

F. Smith, Privacy Analyst, Performance 

Evaluation and Records Management 

(PERM), Room 1–C216, Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC), 

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20554, (202) 418–0217, or via the 

Internet at Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Leslie F. Smith, Performance 

Evaluation and Records Management 

(PERM), Room 1–C216, Federal 

Communications Commission, 445 12th 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, 

(202) 418–0217 or via the Internet at 

Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

required by the Privacy Act of 1974, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and 

(e)(11), this document sets forth notice 

of this proposed new system of records 

maintained by the FCC. The FCC 

previously gave complete notice of the 

two systems of records, FCC/OMD–14, 

‘‘Pay and Leave’’ and FCC/OMD–21, 

‘‘Garnishment and Levy of Wages,’’ 

which the Commission intends to 

cancel upon both the approval and 

deployment of FCC/OMD–28, ‘‘Time 

and Attendance Records,’’ as referenced 

under this Notice by publication in the 

Federal Register on April 5, 2006 (71 FR 

17234, 17257 and 17266 respectively). 

This notice is a summary of the more 

detailed information about the proposed 

new system of records, which may be 

viewed at the location given above in 

the ADDRESSES section. The purposes for 

adding this new system of records, FCC/ 

OMD–28, ‘‘Time and Attendance 

Records,’’ are for the Agency to use the 

records in this system of records 

primarily to prepare time and 

attendance records and to certify hours 

worked/leave earned and leave taken 

and to administer the FCC’s time and 

attendance/payroll program. These 

records may also be used to validate and 

verify hours worked/leave taken/credit 

hours claimed and to ensure appropriate 

recordkeeping as well as appropriate 

expenditure of Federal funds. The new 

system of records will consolidate FCC/ 

OMD–14 and FCC/OMD–21 that the 

Agency currently uses so that all the PII 

data in the two information systems are 

now housed in a single Agency system 

of records. 

This notice meets the requirement 

documenting the change to the systems 

of records that the FCC maintains, and 

provides the public, OMB, and Congress 

with an opportunity to comment. 

FCC/OMD–14 

SYSTEM NAME: 

Time and Attendance Records. 

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: 

The FCC’s Security Operations Center 

(SOC) has not assigned a security 

classification to this system of records. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: 

Human Resources Management 

(HRM), Office of Managing Director 

(OMD), Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC), 445 12th Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE

SYSTEM: 

The categories of individuals in this 

system consist of current and former 

employees of the Federal 

Communications Commission (FCC). 

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: 

The categories of records in this 

system are used: 

1. To administer the pay, leave, and 

garnishment requirements for FCC 

employees: FCC employee’s name, work 

and home addresses, Social Security 

Number (SSN), bureau/office, 

timekeeper number, salary, pay plan, 

number of hours worked, leave accrual 

rate, usage, and balances, and associated 

supporting documentation such as 

Request for Leave, Credit Hours earned, 

Compensatory and Overtime hours 

requested and earned, time off awards 

credited, leave transfer requests, leave 

donor forms, medical documentation to 

support advance of sick leave and leave 

transfer, tax, payroll allotment, and 

direct deposit forms, etc; and 

2. To administer garnishment and 

levy orders: Orders served upon the FCC 

for implementation, correspondence, 

and memorandum issued by a court of 

competent jurisdiction or by another 

government entity authorized to issue 


jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES