[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17448-17450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06536]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Limited Exemption of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
With Respect to the Purchase of a Variable Refrigerant Flow System
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
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 a variable refrigerant flow system that will be used in the
renovation of the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of
Minnesota. This system is required in
[[Page 17449]]
order to provide the requisite heating and cooling capability in a
manner that is consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's
Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking into
account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.
DATES: March 18, 2013.
ADDRESSES: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,
Virginia 22230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jason Madigan, Division of Grants
and Agreements, 703-292-4333.
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 March 15, 2013 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 variable refrigerant flow
(VRF) system that will be used in the renovation of the St. Anthony
Falls Laboratory (SAFL). The basis for this exemption is section
1605(b)(2) of the Recovery Act, in that variable refrigerant flow
systems of satisfactory quality that meet the specifications required
for the renovation of this historic property are not produced by
vendors in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available
commercial quantities. The total cost of the VRF, estimated as
$181,000, represents approximately 2.6 percent of the total $7.1
million Recovery Act award provided for renovation of the SAFL.
I. Background
The Recovery Act appropriated $200 million to NSF for projects to
be funded by the Foundation's Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI)
program. The renovation of SAFL is one of NSF's ARI 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 St. Anthony Falls Laboratory was built in 1938 with Works
Progress Administration funding. It is part of the St. Anthony Falls
Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in
1971, and this project is, therefore, being undertaken pursuant to a
Programmatic Agreement developed as part of NSF's compliance with
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act to preserve the
historical integrity of the laboratory building.
The SAFL renovation is being funded under a standard grant awarded
to the University of Minnesota (UMN) that began in 2010. The project is
currently in the construction phase.
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 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 project involves renovations and upgrades to the University of
Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) facility, a
contributing element to the National Register-listed St. Anthony Falls
Historic District in Minneapolis, MN. When the project was initially
being considered for funding, the design of the proposed improvements
was not sufficiently advanced to allow for a full evaluation of their
potential impacts on the SAFL facility and the Historic District.
Therefore, a Programmatic Agreement (PA) was executed among NSF, the
University of Minnesota, the Minnesota State Historic Preservation
Office, and the National Park Service to define a process through which
the PA signatories and other consulting parties would review the design
of the proposed upgrades and renovations, as it was being developed,
and, through this review, ensure that the proposed action results in no
significant adverse impact to the historic integrity of the SAFL
facility and the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. The Agreement
states that, ``Insofar as possible, the proposed Project shall be
implemented in a manner consistent with the U.S. Secretary of the
Interior's Standards for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, taking
into account the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Properties (`SOI Rehabilitation
Standards').''
Installation of a modern heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) system is required for the safety and welfare of personnel
working in SAFL and for the use of some of the instrumentation within
the renovated laboratory. The University of Minnesota and its design
consultant engaged an engineering consultant to determine the
capabilities of the HVAC system required and how best to accommodate
these in a way that best preserves the historical integrity of the
laboratory building. The use of a VRF system, rather than a type of
HVAC system commonly manufactured in the U.S., has been determined by
the Awardee, the University of Minnesota, to be necessary in order to
meet the requirements of the Programmatic Agreement. This conclusion is
based on design considerations associated with historical preservation,
space limitations, energy efficiency, and performance. The University
of Minnesota has stated that ``The VRF system [is] necessary to
accommodate the extraordinary space limitations of the project, the
need to maintain the look and feel of a 1938 WPA [Works Progress
Administration] facility, and the need to maximize usable research
space.''
The University of Minnesota's architect for this project,
Perkins+Will, conducted market research by discussing options with an
engineering consultant, and with local vendors of HVAC systems, by
Internet search, and by reviewing a prior determination of
inapplicability issued by the Department of Energy. The Department of
Energy, in a Memorandum of Decision issued by the Assistant Secretary
for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on May 24, 2010, that
considered the applicability of Section 1605 of the Recovery Act to
projects funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, had found that ``Variable Refrigerant Flow Zoning HVAC
Systems,'' including ``variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split heat
pump (with or without heat recovery) and air conditioning systems,''
are ``not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient
and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality,''
and had accordingly made a determination of
[[Page 17450]]
inapplicability of Section 1605 in the context of such systems. (See
also Federal Register Volume 75, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 22, 2010),
35447-35449.)
Perkins+Will concluded that no VRF systems of the required scale
were manufactured in the U.S.
In the absence of a domestic supplier that could provide a VRF
system that meets or exceeds the design requirements of the SAFL
renovation, the University of Minnesota requested that NSF issue a
Section 1605 exemption determination with respect to the purchase of a
foreign-supplied VRF that will meet the specific design and technical
requirements that are necessary for the renovation of SAFL.
NSF's Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA) and other NSF program
staff reviewed the University of Minnesota exemption request submittal
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 March 15, 2013, based on the finding that no domestically
produced variable refrigerant flow system meets all of the technical
specifications and requirements of the St. Anthony Fall Laboratory
renovation project 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 the variable refrigerant flow system.
Dated: March 18, 2013.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel, National Science Foundation.
Submitted for the National Science Foundation on March 18, 2013,
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2013-06536 Filed 3-20-13; 8:45 am]
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