[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9313-9314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03448]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2013-0034]


Notice of Proposed Buy America Waiver for a Variable Refrigerant 
Flow HVAC System

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed Buy America waiver and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request 
for a waiver to permit the purchase of a Variable Refrigerant Flow 
(VRF) HVAC system that is non-compliant with Buy America requirements 
using FTA funding. The request is from the Rock Island County 
Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK) for its Rock Island 
Transfer Station. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA is 
providing notice of the waiver request and seeks public comment before 
deciding whether to grant the request. If granted, the waiver would 
apply only to the FTA-funded procurement of a VRF HVAC system by 
MetroLINK.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 4, 2014. Late-filed comments 
will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by one of the following means, 
identifying your submissions by docket number FTA-2013-0034:
    1. Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments on the U.S. Government electronic docket site.
    2. Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    3. Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must make reference to the ``Federal 
Transit Administration'' and include docket number FTA-2013-0034. Due 
to the security procedures in effect since October 2011, mail received 
through the U.S. Postal Service may be subject to delays. Parties 
making submissions responsive to this notice should consider using an 
express mail firm to ensure the prompt filing of any submissions not 
filed electronically or by hand. Note that all submissions received, 
including any personal information therein, will be posted without 
change or alteration to http://www.regulations.gov. For more 
information, you may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may 
visit http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary J. Lee, FTA Attorney-Advisor, at 
(202) 366-0985 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to provide 
notice and seek comment on whether the Federal Transit Administration 
(FTA) should a grant non-availability waiver for the Rock Island County 
Metropolitan Mass Transit District's (MetroLINK) procurement of a 
Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC system

[[Page 9314]]

for the Rock Island Transfer Station project that is funded by FTA.
    With certain exceptions, FTA's Buy America requirements prevent FTA 
from obligating an amount that may be appropriated to carry out its 
program for a project unless ``the steel, iron, and manufactured goods 
used in the project are produced in the United States.'' 49 U.S.C. 
5323(j)(1). A manufactured product is considered produced in the United 
States if: (1) All of the manufacturing processes for the product must 
take place in the United States; and (2) All of the components of the 
product must be of U.S. origin. A component is considered of U.S. 
origin if it is manufactured in the United States, regardless of the 
origin of its subcomponents. 49 CFR 661.5(d). If, however, FTA 
determines that ``the steel, iron, and goods produced in the United 
States are not produced in a sufficient and reasonably available amount 
or are not of a satisfactory quality,'' then FTA may issue a waiver 
(non-availability waiver). 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B); 49 CFR 661.7(c).
    MetroLINK is requesting a non-availability waiver for its 
procurement of a VRF HVAC system that will be installed into its 
passenger transfer facility in Rock Island, Illinois, the Rock Island 
Transfer Station. This facility is being built to U.S. Green Building 
Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 
standards and will incorporate a number of sustainable and energy 
efficient elements. One of those elements is a VRF HVAC system that, 
among other things, is space saving, has invertor technology, 
efficiency, and a non-ozone depleting refrigerant that domestic 
manufacturers of HVAC systems do not provide. According to MetroLINK, 
this VRF HVAC system is critical in obtaining the LEED points necessary 
to achieve the Silver certification (or better) that it is seeking. 
Thus, MetroLINK specified the brands Daikin AC and Mitsubishi or 
approved equal, but MetroLINK has been unable to identify a domestic 
manufacturer of the VRF HVAC system that meets its specifications and 
now requests that FTA grant a Buy America waiver.
    A similar Buy America non-availability waiver was issued on June 
22, 2010 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the same VRF HVAC 
system. 75 FR 35447. According to MetroLINK, the U.S. DOE's 
determination of inapplicability (U.S. DOE's Buy America waiver for 
non-availability) of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 
to the same VRF HVAC system indicates the continued non-availability of 
this product.
    The purpose of this notice is to publish NFRMPO request and seek 
public comment from all interested parties in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 
5323(j)(3)(A). Comments will help FTA understand completely the facts 
surrounding the request, including the effects of a potential waiver 
and the merits of the request. A full copy of the request has been 
placed in docket number FTA-2013-0034.

Dana Nifosi,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-03448 Filed 2-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P