Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Notices 31403 

(See Recovery Act, § 1605(b)(1), 123 

Stat. at 303.) A modern broadband 

network is generally composed of the 

following components: Broadband 

switching, routing, transport, access, 

customer premises equipment, end-user 

devices, and billing/operations systems. 

The Buy American provision would 

prohibit RUS from awarding a BIP grant, 

loan or loan/grant combination to a 

public applicant unless that applicant 

could certify that each element of each 

broadband network component 

containing iron, steel, and manufactured 

goods are produced in the United States. 

As explained more fully below, it would 

be difficult, if not impossible, for a BIP 

applicant to have certain knowledge of 

the manufacturing origins of each 

component of a broadband network, and 

the requirement to do so would be so 

overwhelmingly burdensome as to deter 

participation in the program. Requiring 

a BIP applicant to request a waiver on 

a case-by-case basis would also be such 

an administrative burden on the 

applicant as to discourage participation 

in the program and would increase RUS’ 

time and costs for processing BIP 

applications for broadband 

infrastructure projects. Thus, 

implementing BIP without a limited 

programmatic waiver encompassing 

broadband network components would 

jeopardize the success of the program 

and undermine President Obama’s 

broadband initiative. 

First, RUS recognizes that much of the 

finished products used to manage and 

operate broadband infrastructure and 

offer broadband service are 

manufactured outside of the United 

States. The manufacturing supply chain 

varies by product and changes 

constantly due to the influence of global 

supply and demand. The result is a very 

competitive and complex production 

landscape with components and end 

products being manufactured and 

assembled in a large number of 

countries. While, arguably, the Secretary 

could have relied on the ‘‘nonavailability’’ exception for granting a 

waiver, the burden placed on the 

Department in sourcing and evaluating 

the availability of each component of 

broadband equipment would be 

significant, and the task of sourcing and 

evaluating would be difficult to 

complete given the speed with which 

Congress has told RUS to allocate funds 

under the Recovery Act. In addition, 

requiring public entities to document 

the origin of broadband equipment and 

their components in order to determine 

whether they fit within the scope of the 

Buy American provision would severely 

complicate those applicants’ ability to 

apply for funds and would place an 

undue burden on State and local 

governments. Taken as a whole, these 

burdens would cause delays and would 

likely thwart the goal of Congress to 

‘‘establish and implement the [BIP] 

grant, loan and loan/grant combination 

program as expeditiously as 

practicable,’’ and the Recovery Act’s 

requirement that RUS obligate all funds 

under BIP by September 30, 2010. (See 

Recovery Act, § 6001(d)(1)–(2), 123 Stat. 

at 513.) 

Second, a limited waiver will help 

facilitate the construction of modern 

broadband networks—an essential 

component of the Recovery Act. 

Applicants to BIP must have the 

flexibility to incorporate the most 

technically-advanced components into 

their infrastructure, and a limited 

waiver gives them the ability to 

incorporate the latest technologies. 

Third, consistent with the Recovery Act, 

a limited waiver will help stimulate job 

growth for construction workers, 

technicians, equipment designers, 

engineers, and others who will operate 

the broadband infrastructure. Fourth, 

while OMB has clarified which 

countries would be exempt from the 

Buy American provision, some of the 

key countries that produce broadband 

equipment would not be exempt. 

Finally, the broadband industry is very 

dynamic and global, and equipment can 

change over the course of a build out. 

Subjecting public applicants for BIP 

funds to the Buy American provision 

ultimately would slow broadband 

deployment and undermine President 

Obama’s broadband initiatives. 

III. Waiver 

Based on the public interest finding 

discussed above and pursuant to section 

1605(c), RUS is granting a limited 

waiver of the Recovery Act’s Buy 

American requirements with respect to 

BIP funds used for the following 

essential components of a modern 

broadband infrastructure: 

• Broadband Switching Equipment— 

Equipment necessary to establish a 

broadband communications path 

between two points. 

• Broadband Routing Equipment— 

Equipment that routes data packets 

throughout a broadband network. 

• Broadband Transport Equipment— 

Equipment for providing 

interconnection within the broadband 

provider’s network. 

• Broadband Access Equipment— 

Equipment facilitating the last mile 

connection to a broadband subscriber. 

• Broadband Customer Premises 

Equipment and End-User Devices—Enduser equipment that connects to a 

broadband network. 

• Billing/Operations Systems— 

Equipment that is used to manage and 

operate a broadband network or offer a 

broadband service. 

Note that this list does not include 

fiber optic cables, cell towers, and other 

facilities that are produced in the 

United States in sufficient quantities to 

be reasonably available as end products. 

To the extent that an applicant wishes 

to use equipment that is not covered by 

the proposed waiver, it may seek a 

waiver on a case-by-case basis as part of 

its application for BIP funds, stating the 

statutory exemption upon which it is 

relying and its rationale for receiving a 

waiver. 

This supplementary information 

constitutes the ‘‘detailed written 

justification’’ required by Section 

1605(c) of the Recovery Act and Section 

176.80 of OMB’s rules for waivers of the 

Buy American provisions. 

Authority: Public Law 111–5 § 1605, 123 

Stat. 115; 2 CFR 176.10 et seq. 

Dated: June 26, 2009. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary, United States Department of 

Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. E9–15511 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal 

Advisory Committee will hold a 

meeting tentatively on July 15, 2009 at 

the Sierra Nevada College, 999 Tahoe 

Boulevard, Incline Village, NV 89451. 

This Committee, established by the 

Secretary of Agriculture on December 

15, 1998 (64 FR 2876), is chartered to 

provide advice to the Secretary on 

implementing the terms of the Federal 

Interagency Partnership on the Lake 

Tahoe Region and other matters raised 

by the Secretary. 

DATES: The meeting will be held July 15, 

2009, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 

12 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

Sierra Nevada College, 999 Tahoe 

Boulevard, Incline Village, NV 89451. 

For Further Information or to Request 

an Accommodation (one week prior to 

meeting date) Contact: Linda Lind, Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Forest 

31404 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 125 / Wednesday, July 1, 2009 / Notices 

Service, 35 College Drive, South Lake 

Tahoe, CA 96150, (530) 543–2787. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Items to 

be covered on the agenda include: (1) 

Lake Tahoe Southern Nevada Public 

Land Act (SNPLMA) Round 10 update; 

(2) Status and preparation for SNPLMA 

Round 11; and, (3) Public Comment. All 

Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory 

Committee meetings are open to the 

public. Interested citizens are 

encouraged to attend at the above 

address. Issues may be brought to the 

attention of the Committee during the 

open public comment period at the 

meeting or by filing written statements 

with the secretary for the Committee 

before or after the meeting. Please refer 

any written comments to the Lake 

Tahoe Basin Management Unit at the 

contact address stated above. 

Dated: June 23, 2009. 

Cheva Heck, 

Acting Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. E9–15393 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

ARCHITECTURAL AND 

TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS 

COMPLIANCE BOARD 

Meetings 

AGENCY: Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board (Access Board) plans to hold its 

regular committee and Board meetings 

in Arlington, VA, Wednesday through 

Friday, July 15–17, 2009, at the times 

and location noted below. 

DATES: The schedule of events is as 

follows: 

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 

9:30–Noon Planning and Evaluation 

Committee (Closed to Public). 

1:30–3 p.m. Technical Programs 

Committee. 

3–4 Budget Committee. 

Thursday, July 16, 2009 

9:30–5 p.m. Ad Hoc Committee 

Meetings (Closed to Public). 

Friday, July 17, 2009 

9:30–Noon Committee of the Whole: 

Board structure discussion. 

1:30–3 p.m. Board Meeting. 

ADDRESSES: All meetings will be held at 

the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel, 

801 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 

22203. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information regarding the 

meetings, please contact David Capozzi, 

Executive Director, (202) 272–0010 

(voice) and (202) 272–0082 (TTY). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the 

Board meeting scheduled on Friday, 

July 17, the Access Board will consider 

the following agenda items: 

• Election of Vice Chairs for Standing 

Committees 

• Approval of the draft March 2009 

Board Meeting Minutes 

• Technical Programs Committee 

Report 

• Budget Committee Report 

• Planning and Evaluation Committee 

Report 

• Accessible Design in Education 

• Acoustics 

• Airport Terminal Access 

• Emergency Transportable Housing 

• Information and Communications 

Technologies 

• Outdoor Developed Areas 

• Passenger Vessels 

• Public Rights-of-Way 

• Transportation Vehicles 

• Election Assistance Commission 

Report 

• Executive Director’s Report 

• ADA and ABA Guidelines; Federal 

Agency Updates 

All meetings are accessible to persons 

with disabilities. An assistive listening 

system, computer assisted real-time 

transcription (CART), and sign language 

interpreters will be available at the 

Board meeting. Persons attending Board 

meetings are requested to refrain from 

using perfume, cologne, and other 

fragrances for the comfort of other 

participants. 

David M. Capozzi, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–15502 Filed 6–30–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8150–01–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Sunshine Act Notice 

AGENCY: United States Commission on 

Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

DATE AND TIME: Friday, July 10, 2009; 

9:30 a.m. EDT. 

PLACE: 624 9th St., NW., Room 540, 

Washington, DC 20425. 

Meeting Agenda 

This meeting is open to the public. 

I. Approval of Agenda 

II. Approval of Minutes of June 12, 2009 

Meeting 

III. Announcements 

IV. Program Planning: 

• National Civil Rights Conference; 

• Update on Status of 2009 Statutory 

Report; 

• Discussion of 2010 Statutory Report 

Topic; 

• Approval of Briefing Report on Title 

IX. 

V. State Advisory Committee Issues: 

• Virginia SAC. 

VI. Adjourn 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lenore Ostrowsky, Acting Chief, Public 

Affairs Unit (202) 376–8591. TDD: (202) 

376–8116. 

Persons with a disability requiring 

special services, such as an interpreter 

for the hearing impaired, should contact 

Pamela Dunston at least seven days 

prior to the meeting at 202–376–8105. 

TDD: (202) 376–8116. 

Dated: June 29, 2009. 

David Blackwood, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E9–15709 Filed 6–29–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Paperwork 

Submissions Under the Coastal Zone 

Management Act Federal Consistency 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before August 31, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to David Kaiser, 603–862–2719 

or at david.kaiser@noaa.gov.