67966 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 213 / Thursday, November 4, 2010 / Notices 

State Elected Officials 

Mary Margaret Whipple, State 

Senator, Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Chris Ross, State Representative 158th 

District, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

County Judge 

Edward M. Emmett, Harris County 

Judge, Houston, Texas. 

Appointed Officials 

Dr. Hector Gonzalez, Director, Laredo, 

Texas Health Dept. 

Susan Hann, Deputy City Manager, 

Palm Bay, Florida 

(*Formerly served one term on 

LGAC). 

If you desire further information go to: 

at http://www.epa.gov/ocir/scas or 

contact the Designated Federal Officer 

(DFO), Eargle.Frances@epa.gov. 

Dated: October 29, 2010. 

Frances Eargle, 

Designated Federal Officer, Local Government 

Advisory Committee. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27877 Filed 11–3–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9220–4] 

Notice of a Project Waiver of Section 

1605 (Buy American Requirement) of 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to 

the Town of Taos, NM 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator 

of EPA Region 6 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 Town of Taos (‘‘Taos’’) for the 

purchase of 40 lb/yd American Society 

of Civil Engineers (ASCE) crane railing, 

which is part of the overhead bridge 

crane, proposed for the expansion of its 

existing Wastewater Treatment Plant 

(WWTP). The 40 lb/yd ASCE crane 

railing is manufactured by companies 

located in foreign countries and no 

United States manufacturer produces an 

alternative that meets Taos’ technical 

specifications. This is a project specific 

waiver and only applies to the use of the 

specified 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 specific project 

circumstances. The Regional 

Administrator is making this 

determination based on the review and 

recommendations of the EPA Region 6, 

Water Quality Protection Division. Taos 

has provided sufficient documentation 

to support its request. 

The Assistant Administrator of the 

EPA’s 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 40 lb/yd ASCE 

crane railing not manufactured in 

America, for the proposed project being 

implemented by Taos. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 18, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nasim Jahan, Buy American 

Coordinator, (214) 665–7522, SRF & 

Projects Section, Water Quality 

Protection Division, U.S. EPA Region 6, 

1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202– 

2733. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with ARRA Section 1605(c), 

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 Taos for the acquisition 

of 40 lb/yd ASCE crane railing that will 

be part of the overhead bridge crane for 

the WWTP. 

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. 

Taos’ waiver request is to allow the 

purchase of a 40lb/yd ASCE crane 

railing that will be part of the overhead 

bridge crane for the WWTP in Taos, 

New Mexico. Taos has provided 

information to the EPA demonstrating 

that there is no 40 lb/yd ASCE crane 

railing manufactured in the United 

States in sufficient and reasonable 

quantity and of a satisfactory quality to 

meet the required technical 

specification. The United States stopped 

producing 40lb/yd rail at the turn of 

20th Century due to increases in weight 

demand on railroads. The ASCE 

designed a load limit for railroad tracks 

that severely limited the quantity of rail 

less than 80 lb/yd being produced. Taos 

has also indicated that Steel of West 

Virginia is a steel mill that produces 

rails for the mining industry and this 

manufacturer’s product does not meet 

ASCE standards and therefore cannot be 

used in this project. 

Based on additional research 

conducted by EPA Region 6, there does 

not appear to be any domestic crane rail 

manufacturer that would meet Taos’ 

technical specifications. EPA’s national 

contractor prepared a technical 

assessment report based on the waiver 

request submittal. The report confirmed 

the waiver applicant’s claim that there 

is no American-made 40 lb/yd crane 

railing available for the overhead bridge 

crane for use in the proposed WWTP. 

EPA has determined that the City’s 

waiver request may be treated as timely 

even though the request was made after 

the construction contract was signed. 

Consistent with the direction of the 

OMB Guidance at 2 CFR 176.120, EPA 

has evaluated the City’s request to 

determine if the request constitutes a 

late request. EPA will generally regard 

waiver requests with respect to 

components that were specified in the 

bid solicitation or in a general/primary 

construction contract as ‘‘late’’ if 

submitted after the contract date. 

However, in this case EPA has 

determined that the City’s request, 

though made after the contract date, 

may be treated as timely. This request 

is submitted after the contract date 

because the crane rail, according to the 

project specifications, must be designed 

by a qualified supplier. The supplier 

provided this information through 

contractor submittals. The need for a 

waiver was not determined until after 

the supplier of the overhead bridge 

crane confirmed that there was no 

domestically made 40 lb/yd crane 

railing available to meet the project 

specifications. Accordingly, EPA will 

evaluate the request as a timely request. 

The April 28, 2009 EPA HQ 

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 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.’’ Taos has 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 213 / Thursday, November 4, 2010 / Notices 67967 

incorporated specific technical design 

requirements for installation of crane 

rail at its WWTP. Therefore, it meets the 

requirements of the ‘‘satisfactory 

quality’’ criterion for requesting a waiver 

from the Buy American provisions of 

Public Law 111–5. 

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 utilities, 

such as Taos, to revise their standards 

and specifications, institute a new 

bidding process, and potentially choose 

a more costly, less efficient project. 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 a fundamental economic purpose 

of the ARRA, which is to create or retain 

jobs. 

The Region 6 Water Quality 

Protection Division has reviewed this 

waiver request, and has determined that 

the supporting documentation provided 

by Taos is sufficient to meet the criteria 

listed under ARRA, Section 1605(b), 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations at 2 CFR 176.60– 

176.170, and in the April 28, 2009 

memorandum, ‘‘Implementation of Buy 

American provisions of Public Law 

111–5, the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009. The basis for 

this project waiver is the authorization 

provided in ARRA, 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 Taos’ technical 

specifications, a waiver from the Buy 

American requirement is justified. 

EPA headquarters’ 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, 

Taos is hereby granted a waiver from the 

Buy American requirements of ARRA, 

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

the purchase of ‘‘40 lb/yd crane railing’’ 

using ARRA funds, as specified in Taos’ 

request. This supplementary 

information constitutes the detailed 

written justification required by ARRA, 

Section 1605(c), for waivers ‘‘based on a 

finding under subsection (b).’’ 

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

Dated: October 18, 2010. 

Al Armendariz, 

Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27879 Filed 11–3–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9221–3] 

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air 

Act Citizen Suit 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed consent 

decree; request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 

113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended 

(‘‘CAA’’ or the ‘‘Act’’), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), 

notice is hereby given of a proposed 

consent decree to address a lawsuit filed 

by WildEarth Guardians in the United 

States District Court for the District of 

Colorado: WildEarth Guardians v. 

Jackson, No. 10–cv–01218–REB–BNB 

(D. CO.). On May 26, 2010, Plaintiff 

filed a complaint alleging that EPA 

failed to perform a mandatory duty 

under section 110(k)(2) of the CAA, 42 

U.S.C. 7410(k)(2) to take action on two 

State Implementation Plan (‘‘SIP’’) 

submissions from the State of Utah with 

the time frame required. The proposed 

consent decree establishes deadlines for 

EPA to take action. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

proposed consent decree must be 

received by December 6, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID number EPA– 

HQ–OGC–2010–0901, online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov (EPA’s preferred 

method); by e-mail to 

oei.docket@epa.gov; by mail to EPA 

Docket Center, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; or by 

hand delivery or courier to EPA Docket 

Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 

Monday through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. Comments on a disk or CD– 

ROM should be formatted in Word or 

ASCII file, avoiding the use of special 

characters and any form of encryption, 

and may be mailed to the mailing 

address above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

Laumann, Air and Radiation Law Office 

(2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone: (303) 312–6443; 

fax number (202) 564–5603; e-mail 

address: laumann.sara@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the 

Proposed Consent Decree 

The proposed consent decree would 

resolve a lawsuit seeking to compel 

action by the Administrator to take final 

action under section 110(k) of the CAA 

on the Utah SIP submissions. The 

proposed consent decree requires EPA 

to sign for publication in the Federal 

Register no later than December 1, 2011, 

a final action in which it either 

approves in whole, approves in part and 

disapproves in part, or disapproves in 

whole, the State of Utah’s request to redesignate Salt Lake and Utah Counties 

and Ogden City to attainment for the 

National Ambient Air Quality Standard 

(‘‘NAAQS’’) for particulate matter having 

an aerodynamic diameter of a nominal 

10 micrometers (‘‘PM–10’’), along with 

Utah’s maintenance plan for Salt Lake 

and Utah Counties and Ogden City for 

the PM–10 NAAQS, that Utah submitted 

to EPA on September 2, 2005, and 

which EPA previously proposed to 

disapprove in whole on December 1, 

2009. 

The proposed consent decree also 

requires EPA to sign for publication in 

the Federal Register no later than April 

30, 2012, a notice of proposed action in 

which it proposes either to approve in 

whole, approve in part and disapprove 

in part, or disapprove in whole, the 

State of Utah’s Regional Haze SIP 

submission that Utah submitted to EPA 

on September 9, 2008. In addition, the 

proposed consent decree requires EPA 

to sign for publication in the Federal 

Register no later than October 31, 2012, 

a final action in which it either 

approves in whole, approves in part and 

disapproves in part, or disapproves in 

whole, the State of Utah’s Regional Haze 

SIP submission that Utah submitted to 

EPA on September 9, 2008. 

For a period of thirty (30) days 

following the date of publication of this 

notice, the Agency will accept written 

comments relating to the proposed 

consent decree from persons who were 

not named as parties or intervenors to 

the litigation in question. EPA or the 

Department of Justice may withdraw or 

withhold consent to the proposed 

consent decree if the comments disclose 

facts or considerations that indicate that 

such consent is inappropriate, 

improper, inadequate, or inconsistent 

with the requirements of the Act. Unless 

EPA or the Department of Justice 


jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES