[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69092-69093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31048]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9097-9]
Notice of a Regional Project Waiver of Section 1605 (Buy
American) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The EPA 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 Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (``MWRA'') for
the purchase of a foreign manufactured hydroelectric generator for the
Loring Road Hydroelectric Project in Weston, Massachusetts. 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. Based upon information
submitted by the MWRA and its consulting engineer, it has been
determined that there are currently no domestic manufactured
hydroelectric generators available to meet its proposed project and
performance specifications. 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 Section 1605 of ARRA. This action permits the
purchase of a foreign manufactured hydroelectric generator by the MWRA,
as specified in its October 23, 2009 request.
DATES: Effective Date: December 16, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Chin, Environmental Engineer,
(617) 918-1764, or Katie Connors, Environmental Engineer, (617) 918-
1658, 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(b)(2) of Public Law 111-5, Buy American
requirements, to the MWRA for the purchase of a non-domestic
manufactured hydroelectric generator to meet the MWRA's design and
performance specifications as part of its proposed Loring Road
Hydroelectric Project in Weston, MA.
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 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.
The MWRA is proposing a renewable energy project consisting of a
hydraulic turbine, a hydroelectric generator, associated piping, and
controls to be located in an existing valve chamber within the MWRA's
drinking water transmission system at Loring Road in Weston, MA.
Currently, the MWRA is reducing water pressure in a section of the
water transmission system to properly serve certain areas of low
elevation within the City of Boston. Pressure is dissipated across
valves located in the chamber on a continuous process. Instead of
losing this potential energy, the MWRA plans to install a hydraulic
turbine and hydroelectric generator to recover 1,200,000 kilowatt hours
(kWh) of electricity annually, an amount that will meet MWRA's on-site
electrical needs and allow excess recovered energy to be delivered to
the regional electric grid.
The proposed project has been reviewed by the Federal Energy
[[Page 69093]]
Regulatory Commission and has been granted a Small Conduit Exemption
from Licensing. The MWRA is receiving Massachusetts State Drinking
Water Revolving funds, as well as a construction grant from the
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Design plans and specifications
have been completed and include the ARRA's Buy American terms. The
estimated total cost of the proposed construction project is $1.8M.
The MWRA is requesting a waiver for a foreign manufactured
hydroelectric generator to generate electrical power from the available
hydraulic potential energy in the MWRA's drinking water transmission
system. It is estimated that the hydroelectric generator will account
for approximately 15% of the entire project construction cost of $1.8M.
The MWRA has researched foreign and domestic manufacturers of
hydroelectric generators and has determined that domestic manufacturers
are not able to manufacture a hydroelectric turbine generator that
meets the capacity requirements as specified for the proposed project.
The waiver request has been submitted prior to the MWRA's bid
solicitation. Any bid proposals are not expected to include any
domestic manufacturers based on the research conducted and
documentation provided by the MWRA.
The project specifications and other supporting documentation state
that the hydroelectric generator must produce 200 kilowatts, 250 kVA of
3 phase electrical energy at 60 Hz from an available head at the
turbine inlet of 70 to 75 feet and an average daily flow of 20 million
gallons of water per day. The project design and specifications require
that the hydraulic turbine and hydroelectric generator be installed
within the confines of the facility's existing pressure reducing valve
station vault/chamber.
An evaluation of all of the submitted documentation by EPA's
technical review team supports and confirms the MWRA's claim that there
are currently no domestic manufacturers that can provide a suitable
hydroelectric generator to meet project specifications. The consulting
engineer for the MWRA identified four domestic manufacturers in the
United States. None of the four companies manufacture generators
smaller than 500 kilowatts in size, with the project specifications
requiring 200 kilowatts in size. The supporting information for this
proposed project also includes contacts with hydro turbine
manufacturers who work with generator manufacturers, internet research
conducted at sales websites, telephone calls, and e-mail correspondence
with generator manufacturers and visits to their websites. An
independent review of the submitted documentation by EPA's national
contractor confirmed this evidence.
The supporting documentation (i.e. results of research and
communications with manufacturers of hydroelectric turbine generators)
and independent research and communication with selected manufacturers
of hydroelectric turbine generator technology conducted by EPA's
national contractor demonstrate that U.S. manufacturers do not
currently produce hydroelectric turbine generators capable of
generating the requisite power output and having the physical
dimensions required for installation in the utility's existing pressure
reducing station valve vault/chamber located at the Loring Road
facility in Weston, MA. In addition, the evaluation of the supporting
documentation also demonstrates that foreign manufactured hydroelectric
generators are available and will be able to meet the proposed project
design and specifications.
Furthermore, the purpose of the ARRA is to stimulate economic
recovery by funding current infrastructure construction, not to delay
or curtail entirely projects that are ``shovel ready'' by requiring
potential SRF eligible recipients, such as the MWRA, to revise their
design standards and specifications. The imposition of ARRA Buy
American requirements in this case would not be workable within the
absolute constraints and dimensions of the project within the existing
facility. To curtail entirely 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 Public Law 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 the MWRA establishes both a proper basis to specify a particular
manufactured good, and that the domestic manufactured good that is
currently available does not meet the design specifications 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 MWRA 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
purchase of a non-domestic manufactured hydroelectric generator
documented in MWRA's waiver request submittal dated October 23, 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: December 16, 2009.
H. Curtis Spalding,
Regional Administrator, EPA Region 1--New England.
[FR Doc. E9-31048 Filed 12-29-09; 8:45 am]
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