[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30145-30146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12717]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Nationwide Categorical Waivers Under Section 1605 (Buy American)
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of limited waivers.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hereby granting a
nationwide limited waiver of the Buy American requirements of section
1605 of the Recovery Act under the authority of Section 1605(b)(2),
(iron, steel, or the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States at a reasonable cost), with respect to 300 Spanish
Red Clay Tiles to be used on the Eagle Pass Library roof, a sub-grantee
of the Texas State Energy Office, recipient of EECBG grant EE0000893.
DATES: Effective April 15, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Goldstein, Energy Technology
Program Specialist, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), (202) 287-1553, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Mailstop EE-2K, Washington, DC 20585.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of Recovery Act, Public
Law 111-5, section 1605(b)(2), and its implementing requirements at 2
CFR 176.80(a)(2), the head of a Federal department or agency may issue
a ``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver of the Buy American
provision) if the cost of domestic iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured goods will increase the cost of the overall project by
more than 25 percent. On September 17, 2010, the Secretary of Energy
delegated the authority to make all inapplicability determinations to
the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EERE), for EERE projects under the Recovery Act. Pursuant to this
delegation the Assistant Secretary, EERE, has concluded that Spanish
Red Clay Tiles needed for the Eagle Pass Library Roofing project that
are domestically manufactured will increase the cost of the overall
project by more than 25 percent, and thus the 6300 Spanish Red Clay
Tiles to be used in this project qualify for the ``unreasonable cost''
waiver determination.
EERE has developed a robust process to ascertain in a systematic
and expedient manner whether or not there is domestic manufacturing
capacity for the items submitted for a waiver of the Recovery Act Buy
American provision. This process involves a close collaboration with
the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership
(MEP), in order to scour the domestic manufacturing landscape in search
of producers before making any nonavailability or unreasonable cost
determinations.
The NIST MEP has 59 regional centers with substantial knowledge of,
and connections to, the domestic manufacturing sector. MEP uses their
regional centers to `scout' for current or potential manufacturers of
the product(s) submitted in a waiver request. In the course of this
interagency collaboration, MEP has been able to find exact or partial
matches for manufactured goods that EERE grantees had been unable to
locate. As a result, in those cases, EERE was able to work with the
grantees to procure American-made products rather than granting a
waiver. Upon receipt of completed waiver requests for the product in
the current waiver, EERE reviewed the information provided and
submitted the relevant technical information to the NIST MEP. The MEP
then used their network of nationwide centers to scout for domestic
manufacturers. In addition to the MEP collaboration outlined above, the
EERE Buy American Coordinator worked with labor unions, trade
associations and other manufacturing stakeholders to scout for domestic
manufacturing capacity or an equivalent product for the Spanish Red
Clay Tiles contained in this waiver. EERE also conducted significant
amounts of independent research to supplement MEP's scouting efforts.
As a result of EERE's efforts and MEP's scouting process, quotes
were obtained from four (4) domestic manufacturers to produce this
item. Those quotes are reflected in the prices cited infra, and support
the finding that this item, if purchased domestically, will increase
the total project cost by more than 25%. This ``unreasonable cost''
waiver is for Spanish Red Clay Tiles to replace a 100-year-old Spanish
Tile roof on the Eagle Pass Library in Eagle Pass Texas (at one time
the Eagle Pass Post-Office). The original tile was produced in the city
of Piedras Negras, Mexico. The tile is made of clay, and is still made
today in the same manner as it was when the library was built 100 years
ago.
The tile roof being installed on the Eagle Pass Library building
will last 75 years, and be lighter in color than the current roof
because of the deterioration and discoloration that has occurred to the
existing roof tiles over time. Additionally, it will be installed in a
manner to allow air to flow from eave to pinnacle, reflecting heat back
into the atmosphere, rather than down into the building itself. Since
the tiles are installed individually, rather than in sheets or in
overlapping style, the natural airspace around the tiles creates
natural ventilation that provides a thermal barrier for heat transfer
to the roof deck. This can assist in the movement of the peak load
demands by several hours.
Eagle Pass Library is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark
[[Page 30146]]
(RHTL) (under the name Eagle Pass Post Office). RTHLs are at least 50
years old and judged worthy of preservation for both architectural and
historical significance. Buildings with this designation display an
official Texas historical marker.
It is regulated that RTHLs retain their basic historical integrity
and property owners are required to notify the Texas Historic
Commission (THC) at least 60 days before beginning a project that will
affect the exterior of a RTHL. Notification includes a cover letter
describing the scope of work, current overall photographs and close-up
photographs of the areas requiring repair; drawings, specifications,
and a proposal from a contractor may also be required. Staff responds
within 30 days, either allowing work to proceed if it complies with the
Standards for Rehabilitation or recommending other alternatives to
consider.
Compliance with the Texas Secretary of the Interior's Standards for
Rehabilitation (Texas Government Code, Chapter 442, Section
442.006(f)), requires that deteriorated or damaged historic building
components be replaced in-kind, that is with matching materials. In the
case of the Eagle Pass Post Office/Library, the clay tile roof is a
character-defining feature and replacement with matching clay tile is
the only material that complies with the Standards. As a result of
these Standards the tile on the roof of the Eagle Pass Library must be
replaced with like tile. This tile is available from Piedras Negras,
Mexico for $1.31 per piece, and the project requires 6300 tiles. The
prices quoted from domestic manufacturers who could produce the
equivalent red clay tiles; in part because they would have to produce
molds from scratch for the tiles, and would have to ship substantially
greater distances; were between $18 and $24 per tile. All of the prices
listed above are per tile and are the total cost including shipping and
development of the mold where applicable.
The roof replacement was bid out separately from other projects
which include Recovery Act funds, and is the only work being done on
this public building. Therefore, it fits the definition of a
``project'' and the total cost of the roof replacement is equal to the
total project cost.
2 CFR 176.110, titled ``Evaluating proposals of foreign iron,
steel, and/or manufactured goods'', states that if ``the award official
receives a request for an exception based on the cost of certain
domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods being unreasonable, in
accordance with Sec. 176.80, then the award official shall apply
evaluation factors to the proposal to use such foreign iron, steel,
and/or manufactured goods'' Per that section, the total evaluated cost
= project cost estimate + (.25 x project cost estimate).
The total cost of the project with the tiles from Piedras Negras is
$71,040. The total evaluated cost is $71,400 + (.25 x $71,400) or
$92,625.
The minimum cost for the project with US tiles is $176,187, a cost
increase of 148%. Thus, the Spanish Red Clay Tiles needed for this
project that are domestically manufactured will increase the cost of
the overall project by more than 25 percent.
Having established a proper justification based on unreasonable
cost, EERE hereby provides notice that on April 15, 2011, a project-
specific waiver of section 1605 of the Recovery Act was issued as
detailed supra. This notice constitutes the detailed written
justification required by Section 1605(c) for waivers based on a
finding under subsection (b).
This waiver determination is pursuant to the delegation of
authority by the Secretary of Energy to the Acting Assistant Secretary
for EERE with respect to expenditures within the purview of his
responsibility. Consequently, this waiver applies only to EERE projects
carried out under the Recovery Act; and only to this project
specifically, waiver requests, even for the same or similar items, will
be handled individually, because individual factors apply to each
project.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 15, 2011.
Henry Kelly,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2011-12717 Filed 5-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P