[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11161-11163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4235]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Notice of Buy American Waiver Under the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009

AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NSF is hereby granting a limited exemption of section 1605 of 
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), 
Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009), with respect to the 
purchase of the propulsion shaft bulkhead seals that will be used in 
the Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV). These seals protect the 
vessel from progressive flooding in the event of an emergency.

DATES: February 24, 2012.

ADDRESSES: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, 
Virginia 22230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Leithead, Division of 
Acquisition and Cooperative Support, 703-292-4595.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 1605(c) of the 
Recovery Act and section 176.80 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hereby provides 
notice that on February 15, 2012, the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in 
accordance with a delegation order from the Director of the agency, 
granted a limited project exemption of section 1605 of the Recovery Act 
(Buy American provision) with respect to the propulsion shaft bulkhead 
seals that will be used in the ARRV. The basis for this exemption is 
section 1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that propulsion shaft 
bulkhead seals of satisfactory quality are not produced in the United 
States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities. 
The total cost of the two required propulsion shaft bulkhead seals 
(~$82,000) represents less than 0.1% of the total $148 million Recovery 
Act award provided toward construction of the ARRV.

 I. Background

    The Recovery Act appropriated $400 million to NSF for several 
projects being funded by the Foundation's Major Research Equipment and 
Facilities Construction (MREFC) account. The ARRV is one of NSF's MREFC 
projects. Section 1605(a) of the Recovery Act, the Buy American 
provision, states that none of the funds appropriated by the Act ``may 
be used for a project 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.''
    The ARRV has been developed under a cooperative agreement awarded 
to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) that began in 2007. UAF 
executed the shipyard contract in December 2009 and the project is 
currently under construction. The purpose of the Recovery Act is to 
stimulate economic recovery in part by funding current construction 
projects like the ARRV that are ``shovel ready'' without requiring 
projects to revise their standards and specifications, or to restart 
the bidding process again.
    Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the Recovery Act authorize the head 
of a Federal department or agency to waive the Buy American provision 
if the head of the agency finds that: (1) Applying the provision would 
be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the relevant

[[Page 11162]]

goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and 
reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) 
the inclusion of the goods produced in the United States will increase 
the cost of the project by more than 25 percent. If the head of the 
Federal department or agency waives the Buy American provision, then 
the head of the department or agency is required to publish a detailed 
justification in the Federal Register. Finally, section 1605(d) of the 
Recovery Act states that the Buy American provision must be applied in 
a manner consistent with the United States' obligations under 
international agreements.

 II. Finding That Relevant Goods Are Not Produced in the United States 
in Sufficient and Reasonably Available Quality

    The ARRV is specifically designed to meet a low underwater radiated 
noise standard that relates to fish hearing (Specification Section 
073.2). This standard is critical to science operations in that if the 
noise from the vessel is too high, the behavior of the species being 
studied will be changed, which negatively impacts the population data 
being collected. If the vessel does not meet this low underwater 
radiated noise standard, the science mission requirements will not be 
met. All modern research vessels are being built with low underwater 
noise in mind not only because of improved science capabilities but 
also because of the growing understanding of the negative environmental 
effects of noise in the water, particularly for marine mammals. One 
significant path for vessel noise to be transmitted into the water is 
from rotating or vibrating machinery that is in contact with elements 
of the ship's structure, such as bulkheads (walls) and decks (floors). 
The vibration then goes directly into the water from the hull. The way 
to prevent this is to eliminate direct contact with the ship's 
structure or lower it to acceptable levels using properly designed 
vibration mounts made of a flexible material, such as rubber or 
springs.
    The ship's main propulsion shafts, which connect the electric drive 
motors to the azimuthing thrusters (Z-drive), are a significant source 
of vibration. The vessel has two main thruster units for speed, ice 
breaking, and maneuverability, and it therefore has two propulsion 
shafts. Originally, both the motor and the thruster were in the same 
compartment. However, the hull had to be lengthened six feet due to 
weight, which necessitated the creation of a separate motor room. 
Because of U.S. Coast Guard requirements to prevent progress flooding 
between compartments in the event of damage to the hull, all 
penetrations (including the shaft) require a means to make the opening 
water tight. Therefore, the technical requirements that were developed 
by UAF for selecting the propulsion shaft bulkhead seals used in the 
ARRV include:
    1. Certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
    2. Withstand water pressures when flooding in the hull is over 10 
feet deep.
    3. Sized to properly fit the diameter of the propulsion shaft.
    4. Accommodate all angular and directional fluctuations of the 
shaft when rotating.
    5. Accommodate shaft speeds up to 1079 RPM.
    6. Suitable for the marine environment (temperatures, contact with 
sea water, bilge water, etc.).
    7. Be split seal/housing type to allow installation and/or removal 
after shaft installation.
    8. Be non-contact type under normal operations to prevent shaft 
vibration from transmitting to the hull.
    Failure to meet any of these technical requirements would 
jeopardize safety and operability, and would prevent the vessel from 
meeting the specified low underwater radiated noise requirements.
    The unique aspect of the MIDE Marine propulsion shaft bulkhead seal 
is its hydrogel embedded foam. This foam enables the seal to not 
contact the rotating shaft during the majority of its life. When a 
flooding event occurs, the hydrogel embedded foam uses the water from 
the flooding to swell and provide a robust and reliable seal against 
the shaft, protecting the vessel from progressive flooding. Rigorous 
testing to U.S. Navy standards has demonstrated that the seal can 
operate for up to 1,000 hours with the seal engaged after a flooding. 
By not normally contacting the shaft the seal has no wearing components 
(which means less maintenance and easier installation), and for the 
ARRV has the added benefit of not transmitting any shaft vibrations to 
the hull. In an emergency situation, meeting the low underwater 
radiated noise standards is of no concern. MIDE Marine is a U.S. 
company based in Massachusetts, but manufactures their product 
overseas.
    The shipyard conducted trade publication and web based searches for 
bulkhead and shaft seals of all types. A web search generated an 
initial list of 189 U.S. companies that might manufacture the required 
seal type. Ultimately, the list was reduced to forty (40) by 
researching those that had marine applications. A detailed review of 
the forty (40) remaining companies was conducted and only one company 
(MIDE Marine) was found to have an ARRV compliant non-contact type 
propulsion shaft bulkhead seal. Further discussion with MIDE Marine 
revealed that the seals are manufactured overseas. The shipyard decided 
to pursue the propulsion shaft bulkhead seal available from MIDE 
Marine, a U.S.-owned company, as the only supplier whose product meets 
technical requirements, but this purchase still requires an exemption 
due to foreign manufacture.
    In the absence of a domestic manufacturer that could provide 
requirements-compliant propulsion shaft bulkhead seals, UAF requested 
that NSF issue a Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to 
the purchase of foreign-supplied, requirements-compliant propulsion 
shaft bulkhead seals, so that the vessel will meet the specific design 
and technical requirements that, as explained above, are necessary for 
this vessel to be able to perform its mission successfully. 
Furthermore, the shipyard's market research indicated that propulsion 
shaft bulkhead seals compliant with the ARRV's technical specifications 
and requirements are commercially available from a U.S. company within 
their standard product line, but are manufactured overseas, which 
necessitates an exemption.
    NSF's Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support (DACS) and 
other NSF program staff reviewed the UAF exemption request submittal, 
found that it was complete, and determined that sufficient technical 
information was provided in order for NSF to evaluate the exemption 
request and to conclude that an exemption is needed and should be 
granted.

 III. Exemption

    On February 15, 2012, based on the finding that no domestically 
produced propulsion shaft bulkhead seals meet all of the ARRV's 
technical specifications and requirements and pursuant to section 
1605(b), the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in accordance with a 
delegation order from the Director of the agency signed on May 27, 
2010, granted a limited project exemption of the Recovery Act's Buy 
American requirements with respect to the procurement of propulsion 
shaft bulkhead seals.


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    Dated: February 17, 2012.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-4235 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P