[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 203 (Thursday, October 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65012-65013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-26507]
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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, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in
the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and
of a satisfactory quality) with respect to: (1) Motorized automatic two
wing revolving doors that open via the motor upon a fire alarm to
accommodate smoke evacuation, retract to full open position under Fire
Alarm status and remain in the open position until the alarm is
cleared, are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and
possess both sliding and swinging door that allows entry/exit through
the sliding doors while the revolving section is being serviced; (2)
self-contained photovoltaic LED area lighting systems with a non-
corrosive, stainless steel, powder-coated anti-weathering shell, that
do not succumb to the sail effect, possess flat plate lens optics with
directional lamp lens, dark sky capability, and full cutoff conformity;
(3) ultrasonic directional sensors and DC300 facility controllers for a
parking guidance system which integrates with American designed
intelligent parking guidance system software allowing real-time updates
to a central location and via the Internet; (4) load Management Ripple
Control Receivers for an existing load management system; and (5) LED
tube lights to replace T8 fluorescents that meet the April 2010 DOE
recommended performance specifications that will be used on eligible
EERE-Recovery Act funded projects.
DATES: Effective Date: September 30, 2010.
[[Page 65013]]
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 the Recovery Act,
Public Law 111-5, section 1605(b)(2), the head of a Federal department
or agency may issue a ``determination of inapplicability'' (a waiver of
the Buy American provision) if the iron, steel, or relevant
manufactured good is not produced or manufactured in the United States
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory
quality (``nonavailability''). On November 10, 2009, 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 (1) motorized automatic two wing revolving doors that
open via the motor upon a fire alarm to accommodate smoke evacuation,
retract to full open position under Fire Alarm status and remain in the
open position until the alarm is cleared, are compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act, and possess both sliding and swinging
door that allows entry/exit through the sliding doors while the
revolving section is being serviced; (2) self-contained photovoltaic
LED area lighting systems with a non-corrosive, stainless steel,
powder-coated anti-weathering shell, that do not succumb to the sail
effect, possess flat plate lens optics with directional lamp lens, dark
sky capability, and full cutoff conformity; (3) ultrasonic directional
sensors and DC300 facility controllers for a parking guidance system
which integrates with American designed intelligent parking guidance
system software allowing real-time updates to a central location and
via the Internet; (4) Load Management Ripple Control Receivers for an
existing load management system; and (5) LED tube lights to replace T8
fluorescents that meet the April 2010 DOE recommended performance
specifications, available at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/t8_replacement-lamps.pdf that will be used on
eligible EERE-Recovery Act funded projects qualify for the
``nonavailability'' 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.
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 five products 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. The NIST MEP reported that their scouting process did
not locate any domestic manufacturers for these exact or equivalent
items.
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 each item contained in this
waiver. EERE also conducted significant amounts of independent research
to supplement MEP's scouting efforts, including utilizing the solar
experts employed by the Department of Energy's National Renewable
Energy Laboratory. EERE's research efforts confirmed the MEP findings
that the goods included in this waiver are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality.
The nonavailability determination is also informed by the inquiries
and petitions to EERE from recipients of EERE Recovery Act funds, and
from suppliers, distributors, retailers and trade associations--all
stating that their individual efforts to locate domestic manufacturers
have been unsuccessful.
Having established a proper justification based on domestic
nonavailability, EERE hereby provides notice that on September 30, 2010
five nationwide categorical waivers of section 1605 of the Recovery Act
were 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 Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with respect to expenditures
within the purview of her responsibility. Consequently, this waiver
applies to EERE projects carried out under the Recovery Act.
Authority: Pub. L. 111-5, section 1605.
Issued in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2010.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-26507 Filed 10-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P