20806 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 67 / Friday, April 6, 2012 / Notices 

application with DOE for renewal of 

that authority for an additional five-year 

term. 

In its application, PPL EnergyPlus 

states that it ‘‘does not own any physical 

electric generation or transmission 

facilities in the U.S. and does not have 

any franchised service territory in the 

U.S.’’ Therefore, the electric power 

proposed to be exported to Canada will 

be surplus to the needs of the entities 

selling the power to PPL EnergyPlus. 

The application also indicates that PPL 

EnergyPlus is a power marketer 

authorized by the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission to sell energy, 

capacity, and specified ancillary 

services at market-based rates. 

The existing international 

transmission facilities to be utilized by 

PPL EnergyPlus have previously been 

authorized by Presidential permits 

issued pursuant to Executive Order 

10485, as amended, and are appropriate 

for open access transmission by third 

parties. 

Procedural Matters: Any person 

desiring to be heard in this proceeding 

should file a comment or protest to the 

application at the address provided 

above. Protests should be filed in 

accordance with Rule 211 of the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) 

Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 

CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to 

become a party to these proceedings 

should file a motion to intervene at the 

above address in accordance with FERC 

Rule 214 (385.214). Five copies of such 

comments, protests, or motions to 

intervene should be sent to the address 

provided above on or before the date 

listed above. 

Comments on the PPL EnergyPlus 

application to export electric energy to 

Canada should be clearly marked with 

OE Docket No. 210–C. An additional 

copy is to be filed directly with Jesse A. 

Dillon, Esq., Senior Counsel, PPL 

Services Corporation, Two North Ninth 

Street, Allentown, PA 18101 AND 

Sandra E. Rizzo, Esq., Bracewell & 

Giuliani LLP, 2000 K Street NW., Suite 

500, Washington, DC 20006. A final 

decision will be made on this 

application after the environmental 

impacts have been evaluated pursuant 

to DOE’s National Environmental Policy 

Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR 

part 1021) and after a determination is 

made by DOE that the proposed action 

will not have an adverse impact on the 

reliability of the U.S. electric power 

supply system. 

Copies of this application will be 

made available, upon request, for public 

inspection and copying at the address 

provided above, by accessing the 

program Web site at http://energy.gov/ 

node/11845 or by emailing Angela Troy 

at Angela.Troy@hq.doe.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 2, 

2012. 

Brian Mills, 

Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8330 Filed 4–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery 

Act) 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of Limited Waivers. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a 

nationwide limited waiver of the Buy 

American requirements of section 1605 

of the Recovery Act under the authority 

of Section 1605(b)(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), 

with respect to Recovery Act projects 

funded by EERE for pre-insulated 

district heating pipe system consisting 

of thin wall thickness steel pipe meeting 

the EN13941 standard, bonded to 

polyurethane foam insulation, bonded 

to an HDPE jacket, such that all the 

components operate as a single pipe 

(including two 1.5 mm squared area 

copper wires embedded in the 

insulation for leak detection and 

location); pre-insulated steel fittings 

with the same characteristics as the preinsulated pipe; and pre-insulated 

maintenance free ball valves with an all 

welded valve body and a stainless steel 

valve ball in a spring loaded teflon seat, 

having the same insulation and jacket 

characteristics as the pipe. 

DATES: Effective Date: 03/27/2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christine Platt-Patrick, Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

(EERE), (202) 287–1553, Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Mailstop EE–2K, Washington, DC 

20585. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

authority of American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery 

Act), Public Law 111–5, section 

1605(b)(2), the head of a Federal 

department or agency may issue a 

‘‘determination of inapplicability’’ (a 

waiver of the Buy American provision) 

if the iron, steel, or relevant 

manufactured good is not produced or 

manufactured in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality 

(‘‘nonavailability’’). The authority of the 

Secretary of Energy to make all 

inapplicability determinations was redelegated to the Assistant Secretary for 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under 

the Recovery Act, in Redelegation Order 

No. 00–002.01E, dated April 25, 2011. 

Pursuant to this delegation the Acting 

Assistant Secretary, EERE, has 

concluded that: Pre-insulated district 

heating pipe system consisting of thin 

wall thickness steel pipe meeting the 

EN13941 standard, bonded to 

polyurethane foam insulation, bonded 

to an HDPE jacket, such that all the 

components operate as a single pipe 

(including two 1.5 mm squared area 

copper wires embedded in the 

insulation for leak detection and 

location); pre-insulated steel fittings 

with the same characteristics as the preinsulated pipe; and pre-insulated 

maintenance free ball valves with an all 

welded valve body and a stainless steel 

valve ball in a spring loaded teflon seat, 

having the same insulation and jacket 

characteristics as the pipe, is not 

produced or manufactured in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably 

available quantities and of a satisfactory 

quality. The above item, when used on 

eligible EERE Recovery Act-funded 

projects, qualifies for the 

‘‘nonavailability’’ waiver determination. 

EERE has developed a robust process 

to ascertain in a systematic and 

expedient manner whether or not there 

is domestic manufacturing capacity for 

the items submitted for a waiver of the 

Recovery Act Buy American provision. 

This process involves a close 

collaboration with the United States 

Department of Commerce National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership (MEP), in order to scour the 

domestic manufacturing landscape in 

search of producers before making any 

nonavailability determinations. 

The MEP has 59 regional centers with 

substantial knowledge of, and 

connections to, the domestic 

manufacturing sector. MEP uses their 

regional centers to ‘scout’ for current or 

potential manufacturers of the 

product(s) submitted in a waiver 

request. In the course of this interagency 

collaboration, MEP has been able to find 

exact or partial matches for 

manufactured goods that EERE grantees 

had been unable to locate. As a result, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 67 / Friday, April 6, 2012 / Notices 20807 

in those cases, EERE was able to work 

with the grantees to procure Americanmade products rather than granting a 

waiver. 

Upon receipt of completed waiver 

requests for the product in this current 

waiver, EERE reviewed the information 

provided and submitted the relevant 

technical information to the MEP. The 

MEP then used their network of 

nationwide centers to scout for domestic 

manufacturers. The MEP reported that 

their scouting process did not locate any 

domestic manufacturers for these exact 

or equivalent items. 

In addition to the MEP collaboration 

outlined above, the EERE Buy American 

Coordinator worked with other 

manufacturing stakeholders to scout for 

domestic manufacturing capacity or an 

equivalent product for each item 

contained in this waiver. EERE also 

conducted significant amounts of 

independent research to supplement 

MEP’s scouting efforts, including 

utilizing the solar experts employed by 

the Department of Energy’s National 

Renewable Energy Laboratory. EERE’s 

research efforts confirmed the MEP 

findings that the good included in this 

waiver is not produced in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonably 

available quantities and of a satisfactory 

quality. 

The nonavailability determination is 

also informed by the inquiries and 

petitions to EERE from recipients of 

EERE Recovery Act funds, and from 

suppliers, distributors, retailers and 

trade associations—all stating that their 

individual efforts to locate domestic 

manufacturers for the item have been 

unsuccessful. 

Specific technical information for the 

manufactured goods included in this 

non-availability determination is 

detailed below: 

Pre-insulated district heating pipe 

system consisting of thin wall thickness 

steel pipe meeting the EN13941 

standard, bonded to polyurethane foam 

insulation, bonded to an HDPE jacket, 

such that all the components operate as 

a single pipe (including two 1.5 mm 

squared area copper wires embedded in 

the insulation for leak detection and 

location); pre-insulated steel fittings 

with the same characteristics as the preinsulated pipe; and pre-insulated 

maintenance free ball valves with an all 

welded valve body and a stainless steel 

valve ball in a spring loaded teflon seat, 

having the same insulation and jacket 

characteristics as the pipe. 

Pre-insulated hot water district energy 

piping manufactured as a system to 

meet quality standards (EN Standards, 

ISO 9001, and ISO 14001) that test all 

aspects of the individual components 

(insulation cell structure/water 

absorption/compression resistance) plus 

ensure compliance of the finished 

system to five rigorous tests: axial and 

tangential shear strength, aged shear 

strength, creep and impact resistance. 

This degree of diligence is not imposed 

on thermal distribution piping 

manufactured as individual parts, and 

as a result products produced as a 

system to meet the above referenced 

standards better predict overall long 

term behavior of the system under 

sustained high temperature, resulting in 

lower life cycle cost and greater system 

efficiency. Because there is not a US 

manufacturer who makes a complete 

system, the components (pre-insulated 

valves, fittings, bends, etc.) of a hot 

water district energy system, have not 

been tested together to ensure that the 

entire system behaves in the same 

manner. 

In light of the foregoing, and under 

the authority of section 1605(b)(2) of 

Public Law 111–5 and Redelegation 

Order 00–002–01E, with respect to 

Recovery Act projects funded by EERE, 

I hereby issue a ‘‘determination of 

inapplicability’’ (a waiver under the 

Recovery Act Buy American provision) 

for: Pre-insulated district heating pipe 

system consisting of thin wall thickness 

steel pipe meeting the EN13941 

standard, bonded to polyurethane foam 

insulation, bonded to an HDPE jacket, 

such that all the components operate as 

a single pipe (including two 1.5 mm 

squared area copper wires embedded in 

the insulation for leak detection and 

location); pre-insulated steel fittings 

with the same characteristics as the preinsulated pipe; and pre-insulated 

maintenance free ball valves with an all 

welded valve body and a stainless steel 

valve ball in a spring loaded teflon seat, 

having the same insulation and jacket 

characteristics as the pipe. 

Having established a proper 

justification based on domestic 

nonavailability, EERE hereby provides 

notice that on March 27, 2012, one (1) 

nationwide categorical waiver of section 

1605 of the Recovery Act were issued as 

detailed supra. This notice constitutes 

the detailed written justification 

required by Section 1605(c) for waivers 

based on a finding under subsection (b). 

This waiver determination is pursuant 

to the delegation of authority by the 

Secretary of Energy to the Assistant 

Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy with respect to 

expenditures within the purview of his 

responsibility. Consequently, this 

waiver applies to all EERE projects 

carried out under the Recovery Act. 

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

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 27, 

2012. 

Henry Kelly, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8329 Filed 4–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP12–98–000] 

Northwest Pipeline GP; Notice of 

Application 

Take notice that on March 29, 2012, 

Northwest Pipeline GP (Northwest), 295 

Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, Utah 

84108, filed in the above referenced 

docket an application pursuant to 

sections 7(b) and 7(c) of the Natural Gas 

Act (NGA) for authorization to construct 

and operate its Kemmerer Mine 

Relocation Project (Project) located in 

Lincoln County, Wyoming. Northwest 

states that the proposed Project consists 

of installing approximately 2.4 miles 

each of 26-inch diameter and 30-inch 

diameter pipelines to permanently route 

Northwest’s existing 26-inch diameter 

and 30-inch diameter pipelines away 

from an adjacent surface coal mine west 

of Kemmerer, Wyoming. Northwest also 

proposes to abandon by removal 

approximately 0.9 miles of 30-inch 

diameter pipeline, abandon by place 

approximately 0.9 mile each of existing 

26-inch diameter and 30-inch diameter 

pipelines, and abandon in place 

approximately 0.1 mile of 30-inch 

diameter pipeline, all as more fully set 

forth in the application which is on file 

with the Commission and open to 

public inspection. The filing is available 

for review at the Commission in the 

Public Reference Room or may be 

viewed on the Commission’s Web site at 

http://www.ferc.gov using the 

‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket 

number excluding the last three digits in 

the docket number field to access the 

document. For assistance, contact FERC 

at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call 

toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202) 

502–8659. 

Any questions concerning this 

application may be directed to Pam 

Barnes, Manager Certificates and Tariffs, 

Northwest Pipeline GP, 295 Chipeta 

Way, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, at 

(801) 584–6857. 

There are two ways to become 

involved in the Commission’s review of 

this project. First, any person wishing to 

obtain legal status by becoming a party 

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