### 30146 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices

(RHTL) (under the name Eagle Pass Post Office). RTHLs are at least 50 years old and judged worthy of preservation for
both architectural and historical significance. Buildings with this designation display an official Texas
historical marker.

It is regulated that RTHLs retain their basic historical integrity and property owners are required to notify the Texas Historic Commission (THC) at least 60 days before beginning a project that will
affect the exterior of a RTHL.
Notification includes a cover letter describing the scope of work, current overall photographs and close-up photographs of the areas requiring repair; drawings, specifications, and a proposal from a contractor may also be required. Staff responds within 30 days, either allowing work to proceed if it complies with the Standards for Rehabilitation or recommending other
alternatives to consider.

Compliance with the Texas Secretary
of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (Texas Government Code, Chapter 442, Section 442.006(f)), requires that deteriorated or damaged historic building components be replaced in-kind, that is with matching materials. In the case of the Eagle Pass Post Office/Library, the clay tile roof is a character-defining feature and replacement with matching clay tile is the only material that complies with the
Standards. As a result of these
Standards the tile on the roof of the Eagle Pass Library must be replaced
with like tile. This tile is available from Piedras Negras, Mexico for $1.31 per piece, and the project requires 6300 tiles. The prices quoted from domestic manufacturers who could produce the equivalent red clay tiles; in part because they would have to produce molds from scratch for the tiles, and would have to ship substantially greater distances; were between $18 and $24 per tile. All of the prices listed above are per tile and are the total cost including shipping and development of the mold where applicable.

The roof replacement was bid out separately from other projects which include Recovery Act funds, and is the only work being done on this public building. Therefore, it fits the definition
of a ‘‘ project’’ and the total cost of the roof replacement is equal to the total project cost.

2 CFR 176.110, titled ‘‘Evaluating proposals of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods ’’ , states that if ‘‘the award official receives a request for an exception based on the cost of certain domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods being unreasonable, in accordance with § 176.80, then the award official shall apply evaluation factors to the proposal to use such foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods ’’ Per that section, the total evaluated cost = project cost estimate + (.25 × project cost estimate).

The total cost of the project with the tiles from Piedras Negras is $71,040. The total evaluated cost is $71,400 + (.25 × $71,400) or $92,625.

The minimum cost for the project with US tiles is $176,187, a cost increase of 148%. Thus, the Spanish Red Clay Tiles needed for this project that are domestically manufactured will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent.

Having established a proper justification based on unreasonable cost, EERE hereby provides notice that on April 15, 2011, a project-specific waiver of section 1605 of the Recovery Act was
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 Acting Assistant Secretary for EERE with respect to expenditures within the purview of his responsibility. Consequently, this waiver applies only to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act; and only to this project specifically, waiver requests, even for the same or similar items, will be handled individually, because individual factors apply to each project.

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

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 15,

2011. Henry Kelly, Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

[FR Doc. 2011–12717 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6450–01–P**

**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.

**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) 400 to 750 watt micro hydro-turbines meeting the specifications detailed below; (2) Oil fired direct vent space heaters for use in buildings that do not have ducts or piping for boiler heating systems; (3) ENERGY STAR rated electric heat pump
water heaters and ENERGY STAR rated through-the-wall air conditioners; (4) Grid tied solar inverters of 800W or less, for applications where the panels generate 139VDC or less (not including micro-inverters); (5) 50 hp TEFC inverter duty motors for use in an existing Marley cooling tower; (6) Geothermal heat pumps for
demonstration scale waste heat geothermal systems that allow the direct
use of untreated wastewater to heat and cool commercial buildings; (7) Point to point/point to multi-point electronic broadband microwave radio systems with alignment tone and IE browser interface; (8) LED luminaires for roadway illumination with customized filter application to meet specific lighting requirements of Mauna Kea observatory; (9) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compressors, able to provide 3600 psi (248 bar) temperature compensated CNG supply to fast fill storage and fueling dispensers, efficient and adaptable to a small fleet (approximately 5 vehicles), as well as
the wireless remote shut down controls (transmitters and receivers) for those CNG systems; (10) 8000W solar
inverters for use with U.S. manufactured 315W panels; (11) Electronically commutated motor (ECM) type inline pumps; and (12) Inverters that permit optimal output of four (4) or more types of modules per array
connected to inverter that will be used on eligible EERE-Recovery Act funded projects.

**DATES :**  Effective April 15, 2011.

**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


### 30147 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 24, 2011 / Notices

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 September 17, 2010, 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. Pursuant to this delegation the Assistant Secretary, EERE, has concluded that: (1) 400 to 750 watt micro hydro-turbines meeting the specifications detailed below; (2) Oil fired direct vent space heaters for use in buildings that do not have ducts or piping for boiler heating systems; (3) ENERGY STAR rated electric heat pump
water heaters and ENERGY STAR rated through-the-wall air conditioners; (4) Grid tied solar inverters of 800W or less, for applications where the panels generate 139VDC or less (not including micro-inverters); (5) 50 hp TEFC inverter duty motors for use in an existing Marley cooling tower; (6) Geothermal heat pumps for
demonstration scale waste heat geothermal systems that allow the direct
use of untreated wastewater to heat and cool commercial buildings; (7) Point to point/point to multi-point electronic broadband microwave radio systems with alignment tone and IE browser interface; (8) LED luminaires for roadway illumination with customized filter application to meet specific lighting requirements of Mauna Kea observatory; (9) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) compressors, able to provide 3600 psi (248 bar) temperature compensated CNG supply to fast fill storage and fueling dispensers, efficient and adaptable to a small fleet (approximately 5 vehicles), as well as
the wireless remote shut down controls (transmitters and receivers) for those CNG systems; (10) 8000W solar
inverters for use with U.S. manufactured 315W panels; (11) Electronically commutated motor (ECM) type inline pumps; and (12) Inverters that permit optimal output of four (4) or more types of modules per array
connected to inverter that will be used on eligible EERE-Recovery Act funded projects qualify for the ‘‘ nonavailability’’
waiver determination.

EERE has developed a rigorous 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 determination.

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, 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 twelve 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 MEP reported that their scouting process did not locate any domestic manufacturers
for the exact items needed to meet the product specifications required by the EERE grant recipient.

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 technology experts employed by the Department of Energy or 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 numerous inquiries 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 March 21, 2011, twelve 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 all EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.

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

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 15,

2011. Henry Kelly, Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

[FR Doc. 2011–12719 Filed 5–23–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6450–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Western Area Power Administration**

**Application of the Energy Planning and Management Program Power**  **Marketing Initiative to the Boulder Canyon Project** 

**AGENCY :**  Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy.

**ACTION :**  Notice of Extension of Decision
Effective Date and Comment Period.

**SUMMARY :**  The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a Federal power marketing agency of the Department of Energy (DOE), is extending the effective date of decisions it announced and the comment period on proposals made in a notice published
in the Federal Register on April 27,

2011.

**DATES :**  The effective date of the decisions announced in Western’s April

27, 2011, Federal Register notice (FRN) has been extended from May 27, 2011, to December 31, 2011. The deadline for
the submission of comments on the proposals described in Western’s April 27, 2011 FRN has been extended from June 16, 2011, to September 1, 2011.

Western will hold a public information forum and a public comment forum regarding the proposals described in its April 27, 2011 FRN. The public information forum will be held on July 13, 2011, 10 a.m., MST, in Phoenix, Arizona. The public comment forum will be held on August 17, 2011, 10 a.m., MST, in Phoenix, Arizona.