[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 39 (Monday, March 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9256-9257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4170]
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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: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has granted a limited
waiver 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 bow thruster that will be used in the
Alaska Region Research Vessel (ARRV). A bow thruster is a propulsion
device that is built into a vessel's bow to make it more maneuverable
and better able to hold a certain position or orientation at sea.
DATES: March 1, 2010.
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 January 28, 2010, the NSF Director granted a limited
project waiver of section 1605 of the Recovery Act (Buy American
provision) with respect to the bow thruster that will be used in the
ARRV. The basis for this waiver is section 1605(b)(2) of the Recovery
Act, in that 360-degree azimuthing, 686-kW (920 hp), ice certified bow
thrusters of satisfactory quality are not produced in the United States
in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities. The cost
of the bow thruster represents approximately 0.5% 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.
Shipyard selection is complete and UAF executed the construction
contract in December 2009. 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 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 vessel's operational design requirements, as set forth in the
Science Mission Requirements and documented in the UAF's proposal,
dictate two particular bow thruster specifications: (1) A certification
for use in ice to permit independent operations in the Arctic; and (2)
a requirement to hold the ship in a specific location or orientation
for science operations. Consequently, a design was prepared that
included a bow thruster and an ice wedge located on the hull. An ice
wedge is a projection at the front of a vessel below the water line
that moves ice to the sides as the bow breaks and pushes it down. This
particular hull form, together with the requirements to hold the ship
in a certain position at sea, further constrains the bow thruster
design, resulting in the following four technical requirements of any
bow thruster for this particular vessel:
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Size--The unit must fit within the space allocated in the
hull and ice wedge;
Power--Minimum 686-kW rated (920 hp);
Capability--360-degree thrust (azimuthing steering
control);
Certification for use in ice--No hull protrusion(s),
tunnel with propeller, or any feature that subjects the thruster to ice
damage along the hull form, per American Bureau of Shipping Rules for
Building and Classing Vessels, Polar Class PC-5.
Failure to meet any of these four technical requirements would have
severe negative consequences for the capabilities of the vessel. It is
not feasible to modify the shape of the hull forward to accommodate a
thruster of a different configuration, since the hull shape has been
optimized for ice breaking through extensive testing over the past four
years. Any changes at this point would significantly affect vessel
capabilities. Reduction of the minimum power, or elimination of the
360-degree thrust requirement, would also result in a vessel that could
not successfully support open water science equipment deployments in
the Arctic. Vessels working in the Arctic are subject to demanding and
often dangerous conditions due to low temperatures, high winds, and
rough seas as well as ice. Accepting a design that is susceptible to
ice damage could render the bow thruster inoperable under these severe
conditions, thereby jeopardizing the safety of the vessel and personnel
aboard. Such compromises also produce a ship that would not be allowed
to operate independently in the Arctic under emerging international
agreements which require minimum standards for equipment survivability
for vessels operating in polar waters (Arctic and Antarctic).
Independent operation is critical to cost-effective science support.
Requiring the ARRV to be escorted by another, more ice-capable vessel
could add over $6M in outside charter cost for NSF and the other
funding agencies for every 100 days in the ice. Frequent damage as a
result of using a non-compliant design would add significant annual
program cost for maintenance and repair (in excess of $100K per
incident depending on the extent of damage) once the vessel goes into
operation. This financial loss is in addition to the lost science
opportunities caused by delay in sailing.
As noted in UAF's request for this waiver, UAF performed market
research in April and early May of 2009 that initially found that bow
thrusters are generally available in manufacturers' commercial product
lines. UAF then conducted additional market research by reviewing
industry publications and the Internet, and by attending an industry
suppliers' conference, in order to assess whether there exists a
domestic capability to provide a bow thruster that meets the necessary
requirements for safe and successful operation in Arctic waters.
After identifying 15 potential domestic suppliers, UAF compared the
existing product lines for compliance with the bow thruster technical
specifications and requirements as identified above.
Beginning with an assessment of power requirements, the bow
thrusters offered by 12 domestic firms either did not meet the 686-kW
rated minimum or the companies simply served as distributors of others'
product lines. Two of the remaining three domestic suppliers did not
provide bow thrusters that meet the required ice certification
standards, because their products rely upon tunnels with propellers or
units that extended from the hull; these features make this type of bow
thruster susceptible to ice damage which, as explained above, could
render them inoperable under the severe conditions inherent in Arctic
operations. The final, most capable domestic manufacturer of bow
thrusters did comply with the stated size, power and (potentially)
capability requirements. However, this bow thruster relies upon
controllable vanes that are fitted to the thruster discharge nozzles to
achieve the 360-degree thrust capability. The controllable vanes make
the bow thrusters susceptible to ice damage which, as explained above,
could render them inoperable under the severe conditions inherent in
Arctic operations.
In the absence of a domestic supplier that could provide a
requirements-compliant bow thruster, UAF requested that NSF issue a
Section 1605 waiver determination with respect to the purchase of
foreign-supplied, requirements-compliant bow thruster, so that the
vessel will contain a bow thruster that meets the specific design and
technical requirements which, as explained above, are necessary for
this vessel to be able to perform its Arctic mission safely and
successfully. Furthermore, UAF's market research indicated that bow
thrusters compliant with the ARRV's technical specifications and
requirements are commercially available from foreign vendors within
their standard product lines.
NSF's Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support (DACS) and
other NSF program staff reviewed the UAF waiver request submittal,
found that it was complete, and determined that sufficient technical
information was provided in order for NSF to evaluate the waiver
request and to conclude that a waiver is needed and should be granted.
III. Waiver
On January 28, 2010, based on the finding that no domestically
produced bow thruster met all of the ARRV's technical specifications
and requirements and pursuant to section 1605(b), the Director of the
National Science Foundation granted a limited project waiver of the
Recovery Act's Buy American requirements with respect to the
procurement of a 360-degree azimuthing, 686-kW, ice classed bow
thruster.
Dated: February 24, 2010.
Lawrence Rudolph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-4170 Filed 2-26-10; 8:45 am]
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