58380 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices 

According to Auburn-Lewiston, the 

subcontract to furnish and install the 

ductile iron pipe and pipe fittings was 

awarded on March 11, 2010 and none of 

the subcontractors raised any concerns 

about getting the pipe fittings delivered 

on time. A purchase order for the 

ductile iron piping and fittings was 

placed on April 29, 2010 with an agreed 

upon shipping date of July 19, 2010 to 

meet the project schedule. 

On July 19, 2010, the supplier 

received notification from the domestic 

foundries manufacturing the subject 

fittings that due to production order 

backlog, delivery of standard fittings 

would be delayed at least 4 weeks and 

delivery of the special, non-standard 

fittings (long radius bends and large 

diameter tees) could be delayed at least 

8 weeks. The project procurement 

manager reported that the estimated 4 

and 8 week delays were not guaranteed 

and that the delays could be longer. The 

possibility of delays was confirmed by 

EPA’s national contractor in 

conversation with the manufacturer. 

The project schedule called for 

delivery and installation of the ductile 

iron pipe fittings between July 16, 2010 

and August 12, 2010, so the testing of 

the lines could be initiated prior to 

September 1, 2010. In addition, the 

ultraviolet disinfection treatment system 

testing completion and operator training 

milestone date is December 8, 2010, 

with an overall project completion and 

transfer of facility to the owner date of 

January 5, 2011. If the delivery of the 

pipe fittings is delayed until midSeptember of 2010, it is estimated that 

final completion date will be pushed 

back to at least several weeks. There 

also has been no guarantee given by the 

manufacturer that the fittings will be 

delivered by mid-September, the revised 

delivery date. According to AuburnLewiston, delivery times for certain 

items are being quoted as long as six 

months for existing orders. 

The project procurement manager 

solicited quotations and committed 

delivery times for non-domestic 

manufactured ductile iron fittings from 

two local suppliers. Based on the 

information that was obtained, the nondomestic manufactured ductile iron 

pipe fittings necessary for the project, 

with the exception of one 24′′ x 4′′ tee, 

could be delivered within a time frame 

to meet the project schedule. The work 

could be coordinated to accommodate 

the later delivery of the 24′′ x 4′′ tee and 

preserve the December 8, 2010 overall 

system testing and operator training 

milestone date, as well as the January 5, 

2011 overall project completion date. 

Based on the review conducted by 

EPA’s national contractor, AuburnLewiston’s claim that the specific 

ductile iron fittings are not available 

from a domestic manufacturer to meet 

project schedule milestones is 

supported by the available evidence. At 

least eight additional potential domestic 

manufacturers of ductile iron pipe 

fittings were contacted and it was 

determined that none would be able to 

meet the required project delivery 

schedule. 

Furthermore, the purpose of the 

ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery 

by funding current infrastructure 

construction, not to delay projects that 

are ‘‘shovel ready’’ by requiring potential 

SRF eligible recipients, such as the 

Auburn-Lewiston to either revise their 

design standards and specifications, or 

in this situation significantly alter its 

construction schedule. The imposition 

of ARRA Buy American requirements in 

this case would result in an 

unreasonable delay for this project. To 

delay this construction would directly 

conflict with a fundamental economic 

purpose of ARRA, which is to create or 

retain jobs. 

The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ 

Memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Pub. L. 111–5, 

the ‘American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009’ ’’ 

(‘‘Memorandum’’), defines reasonably 

available quantity as ‘‘the quantity of 

iron, steel, or 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.’’ The same Memorandum 

defines ‘‘satisfactory quality’’ as ‘‘the 

quality of steel, iron or manufactured 

good specified in the project plans and 

designs.’’ 

The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) 

has reviewed this waiver request and 

has determined that the supporting 

documentation provided by AuburnLewiston establishes both a proper basis 

to specify a particular manufactured 

good, and that the domestic 

manufactured good is currently not 

available to meet the construction 

schedule for the proposed project. The 

information provided is sufficient to 

meet the following criteria listed under 

Section 1605(b) of the ARRA and in the 

April 28, 2009 Memorandum: 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 March 31, 2009 Delegation of 

Authority Memorandum provided 

Regional Administrators with the 

temporary authority to issue exceptions 

to Section 1605 of the 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 City of Lewiston, Maine and the 

Auburn, Maine Water District are 

hereby granted a waiver from the Buy 

American requirements of Section 

1605(a) of Public Law 111–5. This 

waiver permits use of ARRA funds for 

the purchase of non-domestic 

manufactured pipe fittings documented 

in Auburn-Lewiston’s waiver request 

submittal dated July 28, 2010. 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: September 15, 2010. 

Ira W. Leighton, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

1—New England. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23989 Filed 9–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9206–3] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the Town of 

Bristol, RI 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 

waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605 

under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(1) [inconsistent with the public 

interest] to the Town of Bristol, Rhode 

Island (Town) for the utilization and 

installation of two influent and two 

effluent sluice gates for the facility’s two 

final clarifiers as part of a larger overall 

wastewater treatment plant upgrade 

project. 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 Town had been 

assured by the manufacturer that the 

sluice gates would be made in a facility 

in Massachusetts. However, the 

manufacturer informed the Town of 

Bristol in writing on July 8, 2010 that 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices 58381 

due to an internal miscommunication, 

the sluice gates that were delivered to 

the site for installation were actually 

manufactured in Canada, and not in 

Massachusetts. The manufacturer has 

offered to provide these sluice gates at 

no charge other than the cost for freight 

and field service. Re-ordering the sluice 

gates and having them manufactured in 

the Massachusetts facility would delay 

the upgrade work to the final clarifiers 

by at least three months. Unfortunately, 

the existing final clarifier equipment is 

failing, and given that existing 

wastewater flows at the wastewater 

treatment plant are at seasonal lows, the 

most opportune time to install the sluice 

gates would be during the July and 

August time frame. Based upon 

information submitted by the Town’s 

consulting engineer, EPA has concluded 

that requiring the installation of 

domestic manufactured sluice gates, 

which would extend the time frame by 

at least three months, would be 

inconsistent with the public interest, 

and that a waiver of the Buy American 

provisions is justified. The Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of the Municipal 

Assistance Unit. The Assistant 

Administrator of the Office of 

Administration and Resources 

Management has concurred on this 

decision to make an exception to the 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

ARRA. This action allows the 

installation of the foreign manufactured 

influent and effluent sluice gates, as 

specified in its July 8, 2010 request. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 15, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, 

(617) 918–1658, or, David Chin, 

Environmental Engineer, (617) 918– 

1764, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), 

Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP), 

U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 

100, Boston, MA 02109–3912. 

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(a) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the Town of Bristol, 

Rhode Island for the installation of two 

influent and two effluent sluice gates for 

two final clarifiers as part of a 

wastewater treatment plant upgrade 

project. Based on the information 

provided by the Town’s design 

engineer, EPA has determined that it is 

inconsistent with the public interest for 

the Town to further delay the project 

and pursue the purchase of domestically 

manufactured sluice gates. 

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 a public works project 

unless all of the iron, steel, and 

manufactured goods used in the project 

is produced in the United States, or 

unless a waiver is provided to the 

recipient by the head of the appropriate 

agency, here the EPA. A waiver may be 

provided under Section 1605(b) if EPA 

determines that (1) applying these 

requirements would be inconsistent 

with the 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. 

Consistent with the direction of 

OMB’s regulation at 2 CFR 176.120, EPA 

will generally consider a waiver request 

with respect to components that were 

specified in the bid solicitation or in a 

general/primary construction contract or 

those made after obligating ARRA funds 

for a project to be a ‘‘late’’ request. 

However, in this case EPA has 

determined that the Town’s request, 

though made after the date the contract 

was signed, can be evaluated as timely 

because the manufacturer informed the 

general contractor on July 8, 2010 that 

due to an internal miscommunication, 

the sluice gates that were delivered to 

the construction site had been 

manufactured in its Quebec, Canada 

facility. The need for a waiver was not 

determined until after the general 

contractor was informed of the 

miscommunication and delivery of the 

foreign manufactured sluice gates. The 

recipient could not reasonably have 

foreseen the need for a determination 

until informed of the error. Accordingly, 

EPA will evaluate the request as if it 

were timely. 

The Town is requesting a waiver of 

the Buy American provision for 

installation of two influent and two 

effluent sluice gates for the facility’s two 

final clarifiers as part of a larger overall 

wastewater treatment plant upgrade 

project. The planned upgrades to the 

final clarifiers include removal and 

replacement of the following 

equipment: (a) Two clarifier 

mechanisms including trusses 

supporting the sludge rakes; scum 

skimmers; drive mechanisms and a new 

walkway; (b) two influent and two 

effluent sluice gates; (c) scum removal 

equipment; and (d) effluent weirs and 

troughs. The sluice gates are necessary 

for isolating each final clarifier and are 

currently not functional as they are 

remain ‘‘stuck’’ in the open position. The 

existing clarifier mechanisms are over 

twenty years old and in need of 

immediate repair. The mechanisms are 

approximately 75 feet in diameter and 

scrape the settled sludge to the sludge 

pump for withdrawal and processing. 

Each mechanism also incorporates scum 

removal rake arms and scum troughs 

that provide scum removal from the 

surface of the tanks. 

One of the final clarifier skimmer arm 

supports began to fail in June of 2009. 

The supports became bent making the 

entire mechanism inoperable. In order 

to allow the continued removal of the 

sludge from the bottom of the tank, the 

sludge collection arms needed to be 

removed. Since the existing sluice gates 

were inoperable, the Town was required 

to hire a diver to disconnect the 

skimmer support arms. Immediately 

after the failure of the first final clarifier 

skimmer, the skimmer arm for the 

second final clarifier also failed and was 

also removed. Since the removal of the 

skimmer arms last summer and until the 

completion of these proposed upgrades, 

wastewater treatment plant personnel 

have been manually removing scum 

from these tanks. 

The Town’s general contractor 

submitted the sluice gate shop drawings 

for review in February of 2010. The 

Town’s design engineer reviewed the 

shop drawings and determined that the 

sluice gates were manufactured in 

Canada and would not meet the Buy 

American requirements. This was 

conveyed to the general contractor in 

March of 2010. The general contractor 

was informed by the manufacturer that 

it had the capability to manufacture the 

sluice gates at its Orange, Massachusetts 

facility. Based on the belief of all parties 

that this would satisfy the Buy 

American requirements, the project 

proceeded and the gates were scheduled 

for delivery and installation in July of 

2010. All of the other final clarifier 

equipment has been delivered to the site 

and is ready for installation, pending 

installation of the new sluice gates. 

Unfortunately, the manufacturer 

informed the general contractor on July 

8, 2010 that due to an internal 

miscommunication, the sluice gates that 

were delivered to the construction site 

had been manufactured in its Quebec, 

Canada facility, not in Orange, 

Massachusetts. The Town had been 

assured by the manufacturer in March of 

2010 that the sluice gates would be 

made in the Orange, Massachusetts 

manufacturing facility. The 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
58382 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices 

manufacturer is aware of the scheduling 

implications and has offered to provide 

the sluice gates at no cost, other than for 

freight and field service charges. The 

Town, which could not reasonably 

foresee the need for a waiver to the Buy 

American provision of the ARRA, 

submitted a waiver request immediately 

(July 9th, 2010) after they were informed 

by the manufacturer of the delivery 

oversight. 

Re-ordering the gates and having them 

manufactured in the Massachusetts 

facility would delay the upgrade work 

to the final clarifiers by at least three 

months. Unfortunately, the existing 

final clarifier equipment has already 

failed, and since existing wastewater 

flows at the wastewater treatment plant 

are currently at seasonal lows, the most 

opportune time to install the new sluice 

gates would be during the July and 

August time frame. 

Furthermore, the purpose of the 

ARRA is to stimulate economic recovery 

by funding current infrastructure 

construction, not to delay or require the 

substantial redesign of projects that are 

‘‘shovel ready,’’ such as this project at 

the Bristol, Rhode Island Wastewater 

Treatment Plant. The implementation of 

the ARRA Buy American requirements 

in this case would result in additional 

cost for this project and unreasonable 

delay in its completion. Such delay 

would also directly conflict with a 

fundamental economic purpose of 

ARRA, which is to create or retain jobs. 

More importantly, the imposition of the 

Buy American requirement would result 

in additional risk to water quality 

protection. 

The Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU) 

has reviewed this waiver request and 

has determined that the supporting 

documentation provided by the Town’s 

design engineer established a proper 

basis to specify that using the domestic 

manufactured good would be 

inconsistent with the public interest of 

the Town of Bristol, Rhode Island. The 

information provided is sufficient to 

meet the following criteria listed under 

Section 1605(b)(1) of the ARRA and in 

the April 28, 2009 Memorandum: 

Applying these requirements would be 

inconsistent with the public interest. 

The March 31, 2009 Delegation of 

Authority Memorandum provided 

Regional Administrators with the 

temporary authority to issue exceptions 

to Section 1605 of the 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 using 

a domestically available alternative 

manufactured good would be 

inconsistent with the public interest, the 

Town of Bristol, Rhode Island is hereby 

granted a waiver from the Buy American 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

Public Law 111–5. This waiver permits 

use of ARRA funds for the installation 

and utilization of foreign manufactured 

influent and effluent sluice gates as 

documented in the Town’s waiver 

request submittal dated July 9, 2010. 

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: September 15, 2010. 

Ira W. Leighton, 

Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 

1—New England. 

[FR Doc. 2010–23968 Filed 9–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9206–3] 

Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of 

Section 1605 (Buy American) of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009 (ARRA) to the City of 

Lowell, MA 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is hereby granting a 

waiver of the Buy American 

requirements of ARRA Section 1605 

under the authority of Section 

1605(b)(1) [inconsistent with the public 

interest] to the City of Lowell, 

Massachusetts (City) for the purchase of 

a foreign manufactured 30-inch 

diameter pipe tee fitting for a finished 

water pipe at the Lowell Water 

Treatment Facility. This is a projectspecific 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 projectspecific circumstances. The proposed 

work involved repairing an existing 30- 

inch cement lined ductile iron fitting on 

a finished water line in the Lowell 

Water Treatment Facility. Based upon 

information submitted by the City’s 

consulting engineer, EPA has concluded 

that, under the given circumstances (i.e. 

emergency standby situation, the need 

to minimize disruption in water 

transmission service), requiring the 

installation of an alternative domestic 

manufactured pipe fitting would be 

inconsistent with the public interest, 

and that a waiver of the Buy American 

provisions is justified. The Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of the Municipal 

Assistance Unit. The Assistant 

Administrator of the Office of 

Administration and Resources 

Management has concurred on this 

decision to make an exception to the 

requirements of Section 1605(a) of 

ARRA. This action allows the purchase 

and installation of the foreign 

manufactured 30-inch pipe fitting 

media, as specified in its June 18, 2010 

request. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 15, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, 

(617) 918–1658, or, David Chin, 

Environmental Engineer, (617) 918– 

1764, Municipal Assistance Unit (CMU), 

Office of Ecosystem Protection (OEP), 

U.S. EPA, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 

100, Boston, MA 02109–3912. 

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(a) of 

Public Law 111–5, Buy American 

requirements, to the City of Lowell, 

Massachusetts for the purchase of a nondomestic 30-inch diameter pipe fitting 

for a finished water pipe at the Lowell 

Water Treatment Facility. EPA has 

evaluated the City’s basis for procuring 

a 30-inch diameter pipe fitting from 

China at a cost of $4,000. Based on the 

information provided by the City’s 

design engineer, EPA has determined 

that it is inconsistent with the public 

interest for the City to have pursued the 

purchase of a domestically 

manufactured 30-inch diameter pipe 

fitting under the specific circumstances 

encountered by the City. 

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 a public works project 

unless all of the iron, steel, and 

manufactured goods used in the project 

is produced in the United States, or 

unless a waiver is provided to the 

recipient by the head of the appropriate 

agency, here the EPA. A waiver may be 

provided under Section 1605(b) if EPA 

determines that (1) applying these 

requirements would be inconsistent 

with the public interest; (2) iron, steel, 

and the relevant manufactured goods 

are not produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES