5586 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 3, 2010 / Notices 

appear to be any Americanmanufactured ORC turbine generator 

available to meet the ACSD’s project 

design specifications for its North Plant 

WWTP. The ACSD’s submission clearly 

articulates entirely functional reasons 

for its technical specifications, and has 

provided sufficient documentation that 

the relevant manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantity and of a satisfactory quality to 

meet its technical specifications. 

The April 28, 2009, EPA Headquarters 

Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Public Law 

111–5, the ‘American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009’ ’’, defines: 

reasonably available quantity as ‘‘the 

quantity of iron, steel, or the relevant 

manufactured good is available or will 

be available at the time needed and 

place needed, and in the proper form or 

specification as specified in the project 

plans and design,’’ and satisfactory 

quality as ‘‘the quality of iron, steel, or 

the relevant manufactured good as 

specified in the project plans and 

designs.’’ 

Based on additional research 

conducted by the State Revolving Fund 

Program Team of the Division of 

Environmental Planning and Protection 

and to the best of the Region’s 

knowledge at the time of the review, 

there do not appear to be other ORC 

turbine generators manufactured 

domestically that would meet the 

ACSD’s technical specifications. 

The purpose of the ARRA is to 

stimulate economic recovery in part by 

funding current infrastructure 

construction, not to delay projects that 

are ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring potential 

SRF eligible recipients, such as the 

ACSD, to revise their design standards 

and specifications. The imposition of 

ARRA Buy American requirements on 

such projects otherwise eligible for State 

Revolving Fund assistance would result 

in unreasonable delay and thus displace 

the ‘‘shovel ready’’ status for this project. 

To further delay construction is in 

direct conflict with the fundamental 

purpose of the ARRA, which is to 

preserve and create jobs and promote 

economic recovery. 

The State Revolving Fund Program 

Team has reviewed this waiver request 

and has determined that the supporting 

documentation provided by the ACSD 

establishes both a proper basis to 

specify the particular good required and 

that the manufactured good was not 

available from a producer in the United 

States to meet the design specifications 

for the proposed project. The 

information provided is sufficient to 

meet the criteria listed under Section 

1605(b), OMB’s regulation at 2 CFR 

176.100, and in the EPA Headquarters 

April 28, 2009, Memorandum, 

‘‘Implementation of Buy American 

provisions of Public Law 111–5, the 

‘American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009’:’’ Iron, steel, and the 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality. 

The basis for this project waiver is the 

authorization provided in Section 

1605(b)(2). Due to the lack of production 

of this product in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality 

in order to meet the ACSD’s technical 

specifications, a waiver from the Buy 

American requirement is justified. 

The Administrator’s March 31, 2009, 

delegation of authority memorandum 

provided Regional Administrators with 

the authority to issue exceptions to 

Section 1605 of ARRA within the 

geographic boundaries of their 

respective regions and with respect to 

requests by individual grant recipients. 

Having established both a proper basis 

to specify the particular good required 

for this project, and that this 

manufactured good was not available 

from a producer in the United States, 

the ACSD is hereby granted a waiver 

from the Buy American requirements of 

Section 1605(a) of Public Law 111–5 for 

the purchase of an ORC turbine 

generator from any of the following 

foreign manufacturers: Turboden (Italy), 

Ormat Technologies, Inc. (Israel), or 

Adoratec (Germany) to meet the ACSD’s 

technical design specifications for its 

North Plant WWTP waste heat recovery 

and on-site electricity generation project 

using ARRA funds, as specified in the 

ACSD’s request of September 30, 2009, 

and as revised on October 28, 2009. This 

supplementary information constitutes 

the detailed written justification 

required by Section 1605(c) for waivers 

‘‘based on a finding under subsection 

(b).’’ 

Authority: Public Law 111–5, section 

1605. 

Dated: January 19, 2010. 

Judith A. Enck, 

Regional Administrator, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2253 Filed 2–2–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9108–8] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American 

Requirement) of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 

2009 (ARRA) to the West Milford 

Township Municipal Utilities Authority 

(WMTMUA), New Jersey 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator 

of EPA Region 2 is hereby granting a 

project waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605 

under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality] 

to the WMTMUA, New Jersey, for the 

purchase of a membrane bio-reactor 

(MBR) unit that uses flat-plate 

membrane cartridges. The WMTMUA’s 

proposed upgrade of its Awosting 

Sewage Treatment Plant to a MBR 

facility requires utilizing flat-plate 

membrane cartridges. No United States 

manufacturer produces a MBR unit with 

flat-plate membrane cartridges that meet 

the specifications for the project. The 

only MBR unit that incorporates the flatplate membrane cartridges and meets 

the WMTMUA’s specifications is 

manufactured in Japan by Kubota. This 

is a project specific waiver and only 

applies to the use of the identified 

product for the ARRA funded project 

being proposed. Any other ARRA 

project that may wish to use the same 

product must apply for a separate 

waiver based on the project specific 

circumstances. The Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of the Region 2 State 

Revolving Fund Program Team. The 

WMTMUA has provided sufficient 

documentation to support its request. 

The Assistant Administrator of the 

Office of Administration and Resources 

Management has concurred on this 

decision to make an exception to 

Section 1605 of ARRA. This action 

permits the purchase of a Kubota MBR 

unit that uses flat-plate MBR membrane 

cartridges for the ARRA-funded project 

being implemented by WMTMUA, New 

Jersey. 

DATES: Effective Date: January 19, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane 

Leu, Environmental Engineer, (212) 

637–3815, State Revolving Fund 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 3, 2010 / Notices 5587 

Program Team, Division of 

Environmental Planning and Protection, 

U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 

10007. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

In accordance with ARRA Section 

1605(c) and pursuant to Section 

1605(b)(2) of Public Law 111–5, Buy 

American requirements, the EPA hereby 

provides notice that it is granting a 

project waiver to the WMTMUA, New 

Jersey, for the acquisition of a MBR unit 

that utilizes flat-plate membrane 

cartridges manufactured in Japan by 

Kubota, to meet the WMTMUA’s 

technical design specifications for its 

sewage treatment plant upgrade project. 

Section 1605 of the ARRA requires 

that none of the appropriated funds may 

be used 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, unless a waiver is 

provided to the recipient by EPA. A 

waiver may be provided if EPA 

determines that (1) Applying these 

requirements would be inconsistent 

with public interest; (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; 

or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and the 

relevant manufactured goods produced 

in the United States will increase the 

cost of the overall project by more than 

25 percent. 

The WMTMUA has requested a 

waiver from the Buy American 

Provision for the purchase of a MBR 

unit that incorporates flat-plate 

membrane cartridges manufactured by 

Kubota of Japan, as part of WMTMUA’s 

proposed upgrade of its Awosting 

Sewage Treatment Plant to a MBR 

facility. The MBR unit is comprised of 

flat-plate membrane cartridges, 

membrane blowers, fine screens, and 

other auxiliary components integral to 

the efficient operation of the wastewater 

treatment process. The rationale behind 

WMTMUA’s design specification 

requiring flat-plate MBR membrane 

cartridges was based on a 

comprehensive engineering evaluation 

and assessment of the plate membrane 

technical data analysis. The 

specifications required that the MBR 

membranes meet design removal 

standards for conventional pollutants 

and an anticipated, stringent Total 

Phosphorus effluent limit resulting from 

a Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) 

for the receiving waters. Another 

criterion used was the demonstrated 

installation and operation of the MBR 

technology. During the WMTMUA’s 

design research process, information 

was obtained from facility operators at 

installations of similar size with several 

years of operating experience. No 

American manufacturer of MBR units 

had a large enough installed base of 

MBR membranes to demonstrate 

successful operation of flat-plate MBR 

membrane cartridges. The Kubota MBR 

unit was determined to meet the sizing 

dimensions and design of the 

WMTMUA sewage treatment plant 

upgrade project 

The information provided to EPA by 

the WMTMUA was confirmed through a 

technical review by EPA’s national 

contractor of the submitted 

documentation. To the best of EPA’s 

knowledge at this time, there does not 

appear to be any Americanmanufactured MBR unit utilizing flatplate MBR membrane cartridges 

available that meets the WMTMUA’s 

project design specifications for its 

proposed sewage treatment plant 

upgrade. The WMTMUA provided a list 

of membrane manufacturers with 

recognized experience in treating 

wastewater, with both types of 

membranes, hollow fiber and flat plates 

considered. The WMTMUA ’s technical 

analysis included an ‘‘equivalent’’ 

specification, to allow the bidder to 

utilize any one of the various types of 

membranes (geometry of tankage for 

both the membranes and the supporting 

process tanks) in meeting the design 

specifications. No single domestic 

manufacturer was able to meet the 

required geometry of the tankage and 

supporting process tanks, as each 

manufacturer requires its own particular 

geometry. The WMTMUA’s submission 

clearly articulates entirely functional 

reasons for its technical specifications, 

and has provided sufficient 

documentation that the relevant 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantity and of a 

satisfactory quality to meet its technical 

specifications. 

The April 28, 2009, EPA Headquarters 

Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Public Law 

111–5, the ‘American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009’ ’’, defines: 

reasonably available quantity as ‘‘the 

quantity of iron, steel, or the relevant 

manufactured good is available or will 

be available at the time needed and 

place needed, and in the proper form or 

specification as specified in the project 

plans and design,’’ and satisfactory 

quality as ‘‘the quality of iron, steel, or 

the relevant manufactured good as 

specified in the project plans and 

designs.’’ 

Based on additional research 

conducted by the State Revolving Fund 

Program Team of the Division of 

Environmental Planning and Protection 

and to the best of the Region’s 

knowledge at the time of the review, 

there does not appear to be any 

American-manufactured MBR unit 

utilizing flat-plate MBR membrane 

cartridges that meets the WMTMUA’s 

exact technical specifications. 

The purpose of the ARRA is to 

stimulate economic recovery in part by 

funding current infrastructure 

construction, not to delay projects that 

are ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring potential 

State Revolving Fund eligible recipients, 

such as the WMTMUA, to revise their 

design standards and specifications. The 

imposition of ARRA Buy American 

requirements on such projects otherwise 

eligible for State Revolving Fund 

assistance would result in unreasonable 

delay and thus displace the ‘‘shovel 

ready’’ status for this project. To further 

delay construction is in direct conflict 

with the fundamental purpose of the 

ARRA, which is to preserve and create 

jobs and promote economic recovery. 

The State Revolving Fund Program 

Team has reviewed this waiver request 

and has determined that the supporting 

documentation provided by the 

WMTMUA establishes both a proper 

basis to specify the particular good 

required and that the manufactured 

good was not available from a producer 

in the United States to meet the design 

specifications for the proposed project. 

The information provided is sufficient 

to meet the criteria listed under Section 

1605(b), OMB’s regulation at 2 CFR 

176.100, and in the EPA Headquarters 

April 28, 2009, Memorandum, 

‘‘Implementation of Buy American 

provisions of Public Law 111–5, the 

‘American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009’:’’ Iron, steel, and the 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality. The basis for this 

project waiver is the authorization 

provided in Section 1605(b)(2). Due to 

the lack of production of this product in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities and of a 

satisfactory quality in order to meet the 

WMTMUA’s technical specifications, a 

waiver from the Buy American 

requirement is justified. 

The Administrator’s March 31, 2009, 

delegation of authority memorandum 

provided Regional Administrators with 

the authority to issue exceptions to 

Section 1605 of ARRA within the 

geographic boundaries of their 

respective regions and with respect to 

requests by individual grant recipients. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
5588 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 3, 2010 / Notices 

Having established both a proper basis 

to specify the particular good required 

for this project, and that this 

manufactured good was not available 

from a producer in the United States, 

the WMTMUA is hereby granted a 

waiver from the Buy American 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5 for the purchase of a 

Kubota MBR unit that incorporates flatplate MBR membrane cartridges using 

ARRA funds, as specified in the 

WMTMUA ’s request of June 5, 2009. 

This supplementary information 

constitutes the detailed written 

justification required by Section 1605(c) 

for waivers ‘‘based on a finding under 

subsection (b).’’ 

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

Dated: January 19, 2010. 

Judith A. Enck, 

Regional Administrator, Region 2. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2252 Filed 2–2–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9109–3] 

Notice of a Regional Waiver of Section 

1605 (Buy American Requirement) of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to 

the City of Richland (the City), WA for 

the Purchase of Aerostrip® Fine Pore 

[Bubble] Diffusers Manufactured 

Outside of the United States Under the 

Section 1605 Waiver Authority Based 

on the Conclusion That 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 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Acting Regional 

Administrator of EPA Region 10, is 

hereby granting a waiver of the Buy 

America requirements of ARRA Section 

1605 under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(2) [manufactured goods are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality] 

to the City for the purchase of 

Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers supplied 

by Treatment Equipment Company in 

Bellevue, Washington and 

manufactured in Austria. This is a 

project specific waiver and only applies 

to the use of the specified product for 

the ARRA project being proposed. Any 

other ARRA recipient that wishes to use 

the same product must apply for a 

separate waiver based on project 

specific circumstances. The applicant 

indicates that Aerostrip® Fine Pore 

Diffusers are the only feasible 

equipment to retrofit Richland’s existing 

Waste Water Treatment Facility aeration 

basins. The Aerostrip® Fine Pore 

Diffusers are only manufactured in 

Austria. No other fine pore diffusers are 

available or capable of meeting the 

aeration process design requirements. 

The Acting Regional Administrator is 

making this determination based on the 

review and recommendations of the 

Grants & Strategic Planning Unit. The 

City has provided sufficient 

documentation to support their request. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 16, 

2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bryan Fiedorczyk, CWSRF ARRA 

Program Analyst, Grants & Strategic 

Planning Unit, Office of Water & 

Watersheds (OWW), (206) 553–0506, 

U.S. EPA Region 10 (OWW–137), 1200 

Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Seattle, WA 

98101. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

In accordance with ARRA Section 

1605(c), the EPA hereby provides notice 

that it is granting a project waiver of the 

requirements of Section 1605(b)(2) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the City for the 

acquisition of Aerostrip® Fine Pore 

Diffusers supplied by Treatment 

Equipment Company in Bellevue, 

Washington and manufactured in 

Austria. The applicant indicates that 

Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers are the 

only feasible equipment to retrofit 

Richland’s existing Waste Water 

Treatment Facility aeration basins. The 

Aerostrip® Fine Pore Diffusers are only 

manufactured in Austria. No other fine 

pore diffusers are available or capable of 

meeting the aeration process design 

requirements. Section 1605 of the ARRA 

requires that none of the appropriated 

funds may be used 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 is produced in 

the United States unless a waiver is 

provided to the recipient by EPA. A 

waiver may be provided if EPA 

determines that (1) Applying these 

requirements would be inconsistent 

with public interest; (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; 

or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and the 

relevant manufactured goods produced 

in the United States will increase the 

cost of the overall project by more than 

25 percent. 

This ARRA-funded project involves 

upgrading the aeration system in one of 

the Waste Water Treatment Facility’s 

existing aeration basins, AB2 

(replacement of an existing mechanical 

aeration system with a fine bubble strip 

membrane diffuser aeration system) and 

installation of additional fine bubble 

strip membrane aeration diffusers in the 

facility’s other existing aeration basin, 

AB1. This project will thus complete the 

facility’s aeration system upgrade 

originally designed (using proprietary 

strip membrane diffusers) to replace the 

mechanical aeration systems in the 

facility’s two aeration basins. Important 

objectives of the project’s improvements 

are to reduce energy consumption by 

more than 70% and reduce the 

discharge of suspended solids, 

biochemical oxygen demand and 

nitrogen into the Columbia River. 

Further requirements of the project 

dictated by the constraints of the 

existing facility include (1) Retrofit 

installation in the existing sloped wall 

basins, (2) compatibility with the 

aeration diffusers installed in a previous 

system upgrade, and (3) limiting the size 

of the associated aeration system blower 

upgrade to the available capacity of the 

facility’s existing electrical system 

infrastructure. The objectives described 

above reflect appropriate and desirable 

performance upgrades central to the 

function of the facility, and are a 

justifiable basis for specifications to 

achieve those objectives. Similarly, the 

requirements for compatibility with 

various features of the existing facility 

are justified as appropriate and 

necessary specifications for a retrofit 

project. 

The applicant states that the engineer 

for the original project design evaluated 

fine bubble diffusers available from four 

manufacturers, and concluded that the 

Aerostrip® diffusers were the best 

selection for the project because: 

b The project would require smaller 

aeration blowers since the Aerostrip® 

diffusers: 

Æ Generate smaller bubbles 

(creating a higher oxygen transfer 

surface area and efficiency). 

Æ Operate at lower air flow per 

surface area to provide the required 

dissolved oxygen concentration to the 

wastewater under aeration. 

Æ Use lower minimum air flow to 

open the pores of the diffuser. 

b The smaller aeration blower 

requirement resulting from the use of 

the Aerostrip® diffusers allows the 

blower equipment to be implemented 

without requiring an upgrade to the 

facility’s electrical power system. 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES