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[Federal Register: October 21, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 203)]
[Notices]               
[Page 65012-65013]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21oc10-47]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

 
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American) 
of 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.

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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: (1) Motorized automatic two 
wing revolving doors that open via the motor upon a fire alarm to 
accommodate smoke evacuation, retract to full open position under Fire 
Alarm status and remain in the open position until the alarm is 
cleared, are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and 
possess both sliding and swinging door that allows entry/exit through 
the sliding doors while the revolving section is being serviced; (2) 
self-contained photovoltaic LED area lighting systems with a non-
corrosive, stainless steel, powder-coated anti-weathering shell, that 
do not succumb to the sail effect, possess flat plate lens optics with 
directional lamp lens, dark sky capability, and full cutoff conformity; 
(3) ultrasonic directional sensors and DC300 facility controllers for a 
parking guidance system which integrates with American designed 
intelligent parking guidance system software allowing real-time updates 
to a central location and via the Internet; (4) load Management Ripple 
Control Receivers for an existing load management system; and (5) LED 
tube lights to replace T8 fluorescents that meet the April 2010 DOE 
recommended performance specifications that will be used on eligible 
EERE-Recovery Act funded projects.

DATES: Effective Date: September 30, 2010.

[[Page 65013]]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology 
Program Specialist, 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 the 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''). On November 10, 2009, the Secretary of 
Energy delegated the authority to make all inapplicability 
determinations to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy (EERE), for EERE projects under the Recovery Act. 
Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant Secretary, EERE, has 
concluded that (1) motorized automatic two wing revolving doors that 
open via the motor upon a fire alarm to accommodate smoke evacuation, 
retract to full open position under Fire Alarm status and remain in the 
open position until the alarm is cleared, are compliant with the 
Americans with Disabilities Act, and possess both sliding and swinging 
door that allows entry/exit through the sliding doors while the 
revolving section is being serviced; (2) self-contained photovoltaic 
LED area lighting systems with a non-corrosive, stainless steel, 
powder-coated anti-weathering shell, that do not succumb to the sail 
effect, possess flat plate lens optics with directional lamp lens, dark 
sky capability, and full cutoff conformity; (3) ultrasonic directional 
sensors and DC300 facility controllers for a parking guidance system 
which integrates with American designed intelligent parking guidance 
system software allowing real-time updates to a central location and 
via the Internet; (4) Load Management Ripple Control Receivers for an 
existing load management system; and (5) LED tube lights to replace T8 
fluorescents that meet the April 2010 DOE recommended performance 
specifications, available at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/t8_replacement-lamps.pdf that will be used on 
eligible EERE-Recovery Act funded projects qualify 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.
    The NIST 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, in those cases, EERE was able to work with the 
grantees to procure American-made products rather than granting a 
waiver.
    Upon receipt of completed waiver requests for the five products in 
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and 
submitted the relevant technical information to the NIST MEP. The MEP 
then used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic 
manufacturers. The NIST 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 labor unions, trade associations and 
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 goods included in this waiver are 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 
have been unsuccessful.
    Having established a proper justification based on domestic 
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on September 30, 2010 
five nationwide categorical waivers 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 her responsibility. Consequently, this waiver 
applies to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.

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

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. 
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-26507 Filed 10-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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