[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11161-11163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4235]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Buy American Waiver Under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009
AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: NSF is hereby granting a limited exemption of section 1605 of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act),
Public Law 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, 303 (2009), with respect to the
purchase of the propulsion shaft bulkhead seals that will be used in
the Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV). These seals protect the
vessel from progressive flooding in the event of an emergency.
DATES: February 24, 2012.
ADDRESSES: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
Virginia 22230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey Leithead, Division of
Acquisition and Cooperative Support, 703-292-4595.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with section 1605(c) of the
Recovery Act and section 176.80 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, the National Science Foundation (NSF) hereby provides
notice that on February 15, 2012, the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in
accordance with a delegation order from the Director of the agency,
granted a limited project exemption of section 1605 of the Recovery Act
(Buy American provision) with respect to the propulsion shaft bulkhead
seals that will be used in the ARRV. The basis for this exemption is
section 1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that propulsion shaft
bulkhead seals of satisfactory quality are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities.
The total cost of the two required propulsion shaft bulkhead seals
(~$82,000) represents less than 0.1% of the total $148 million Recovery
Act award provided toward construction of the ARRV.
I. Background
The Recovery Act appropriated $400 million to NSF for several
projects being funded by the Foundation's Major Research Equipment and
Facilities Construction (MREFC) account. The ARRV is one of NSF's MREFC
projects. Section 1605(a) of the Recovery Act, the Buy American
provision, states that none of the funds appropriated by the Act ``may
be used for a project 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.''
The ARRV has been developed under a cooperative agreement awarded
to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) that began in 2007. UAF
executed the shipyard contract in December 2009 and the project is
currently under construction. The purpose of the Recovery Act is to
stimulate economic recovery in part by funding current construction
projects like the ARRV that are ``shovel ready'' without requiring
projects to revise their standards and specifications, or to restart
the bidding process again.
Subsections 1605(b) and (c) of the Recovery Act authorize the head
of a Federal department or agency to waive the Buy American provision
if the head of the agency finds that: (1) Applying the provision would
be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the relevant
[[Page 11162]]
goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and
reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3)
the inclusion of the goods produced in the United States will increase
the cost of the project by more than 25 percent. If the head of the
Federal department or agency waives the Buy American provision, then
the head of the department or agency is required to publish a detailed
justification in the Federal Register. Finally, section 1605(d) of the
Recovery Act states that the Buy American provision must be applied in
a manner consistent with the United States' obligations under
international agreements.
II. Finding That Relevant Goods Are Not Produced in the United States
in Sufficient and Reasonably Available Quality
The ARRV is specifically designed to meet a low underwater radiated
noise standard that relates to fish hearing (Specification Section
073.2). This standard is critical to science operations in that if the
noise from the vessel is too high, the behavior of the species being
studied will be changed, which negatively impacts the population data
being collected. If the vessel does not meet this low underwater
radiated noise standard, the science mission requirements will not be
met. All modern research vessels are being built with low underwater
noise in mind not only because of improved science capabilities but
also because of the growing understanding of the negative environmental
effects of noise in the water, particularly for marine mammals. One
significant path for vessel noise to be transmitted into the water is
from rotating or vibrating machinery that is in contact with elements
of the ship's structure, such as bulkheads (walls) and decks (floors).
The vibration then goes directly into the water from the hull. The way
to prevent this is to eliminate direct contact with the ship's
structure or lower it to acceptable levels using properly designed
vibration mounts made of a flexible material, such as rubber or
springs.
The ship's main propulsion shafts, which connect the electric drive
motors to the azimuthing thrusters (Z-drive), are a significant source
of vibration. The vessel has two main thruster units for speed, ice
breaking, and maneuverability, and it therefore has two propulsion
shafts. Originally, both the motor and the thruster were in the same
compartment. However, the hull had to be lengthened six feet due to
weight, which necessitated the creation of a separate motor room.
Because of U.S. Coast Guard requirements to prevent progress flooding
between compartments in the event of damage to the hull, all
penetrations (including the shaft) require a means to make the opening
water tight. Therefore, the technical requirements that were developed
by UAF for selecting the propulsion shaft bulkhead seals used in the
ARRV include:
1. Certified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
2. Withstand water pressures when flooding in the hull is over 10
feet deep.
3. Sized to properly fit the diameter of the propulsion shaft.
4. Accommodate all angular and directional fluctuations of the
shaft when rotating.
5. Accommodate shaft speeds up to 1079 RPM.
6. Suitable for the marine environment (temperatures, contact with
sea water, bilge water, etc.).
7. Be split seal/housing type to allow installation and/or removal
after shaft installation.
8. Be non-contact type under normal operations to prevent shaft
vibration from transmitting to the hull.
Failure to meet any of these technical requirements would
jeopardize safety and operability, and would prevent the vessel from
meeting the specified low underwater radiated noise requirements.
The unique aspect of the MIDE Marine propulsion shaft bulkhead seal
is its hydrogel embedded foam. This foam enables the seal to not
contact the rotating shaft during the majority of its life. When a
flooding event occurs, the hydrogel embedded foam uses the water from
the flooding to swell and provide a robust and reliable seal against
the shaft, protecting the vessel from progressive flooding. Rigorous
testing to U.S. Navy standards has demonstrated that the seal can
operate for up to 1,000 hours with the seal engaged after a flooding.
By not normally contacting the shaft the seal has no wearing components
(which means less maintenance and easier installation), and for the
ARRV has the added benefit of not transmitting any shaft vibrations to
the hull. In an emergency situation, meeting the low underwater
radiated noise standards is of no concern. MIDE Marine is a U.S.
company based in Massachusetts, but manufactures their product
overseas.
The shipyard conducted trade publication and web based searches for
bulkhead and shaft seals of all types. A web search generated an
initial list of 189 U.S. companies that might manufacture the required
seal type. Ultimately, the list was reduced to forty (40) by
researching those that had marine applications. A detailed review of
the forty (40) remaining companies was conducted and only one company
(MIDE Marine) was found to have an ARRV compliant non-contact type
propulsion shaft bulkhead seal. Further discussion with MIDE Marine
revealed that the seals are manufactured overseas. The shipyard decided
to pursue the propulsion shaft bulkhead seal available from MIDE
Marine, a U.S.-owned company, as the only supplier whose product meets
technical requirements, but this purchase still requires an exemption
due to foreign manufacture.
In the absence of a domestic manufacturer that could provide
requirements-compliant propulsion shaft bulkhead seals, UAF requested
that NSF issue a Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to
the purchase of foreign-supplied, requirements-compliant propulsion
shaft bulkhead seals, so that the vessel will meet the specific design
and technical requirements that, as explained above, are necessary for
this vessel to be able to perform its mission successfully.
Furthermore, the shipyard's market research indicated that propulsion
shaft bulkhead seals compliant with the ARRV's technical specifications
and requirements are commercially available from a U.S. company within
their standard product line, but are manufactured overseas, which
necessitates an exemption.
NSF's Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support (DACS) and
other NSF program staff reviewed the UAF exemption request submittal,
found that it was complete, and determined that sufficient technical
information was provided in order for NSF to evaluate the exemption
request and to conclude that an exemption is needed and should be
granted.
III. Exemption
On February 15, 2012, based on the finding that no domestically
produced propulsion shaft bulkhead seals meet all of the ARRV's
technical specifications and requirements and pursuant to section
1605(b), the NSF Chief Financial Officer, in accordance with a
delegation order from the Director of the agency signed on May 27,
2010, granted a limited project exemption of the Recovery Act's Buy
American requirements with respect to the procurement of propulsion
shaft bulkhead seals.
[[Page 11163]]
Dated: February 17, 2012.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-4235 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P