### 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 fittingswith 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 allinapplicability 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 fittingswith 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,


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

in those cases, EERE was able to workwith 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 fittingswith 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 fittingswith 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