[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 25984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10305]



[[Page 25984]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2014-0002]


Notice of Buy America Waiver for a Cross-Connect Cabinet

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Buy America Waiver.

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SUMMARY: In response to the City of Cincinnati (Cincinnati) request for 
a Buy America waiver for a cross-connect cabinet, the Federal Transit 
Administration (FTA) hereby waives its Buy America requirements for the 
cross-connect cabinet needed for a Cincinnati Bell utility relocation 
associated with the Cincinnati Streetcar project. This waiver is 
limited to a single procurement for the cross-connect cabinet for the 
Cincinnati Streetcar project.

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 announce 
that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has granted a non-
availability waiver for the procurement of a cross-connect cabinet that 
will be used in a utility relocation performed by Cincinnati Bell. This 
utility relocation will be performed in connection with the Cincinnati 
Streetcar project, which is an FTA-funded project.
    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 take 
place in the United States; and (2) all of the components of the 
product are 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).
    On September 30, 2013, the City of Cincinnati (Cincinnati) formally 
requested a non-availability waiver for the procurement of one cross-
connect cabinet.\1\ In its request, Cincinnati stated that the only 
known cross-connect cabinet that complies with Cincinnati Bell's 
network specifications and service protocols is the Tyco Electronics 
(TE) NGXC pad mount cross-connect cabinet. At this time, deviations 
from the use of this particular cross-connect cabinet would result in 
impacts that would cascade down from the installation, maintenance, and 
emergency repair aspects, to operational impacts due to hardware 
incompatibility.
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    \1\ This request was the result of several informal 
communications between FTA, Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Bell to work 
through all of the Buy America issues. The availability of a 
domestic cross-connect cabinet that meets Cincinnati Bell's 
specifications in order to conform to its telecommunications network 
is the only remaining issue.
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    On October 17, 2013, Cincinnati alerted FTA that Cincinnati Bell 
had installed the cross-connect cabinet in order to comply with its 
scheduling demands. Unfortunately, because almost all FTA employees 
were furloughed during this time due to a partial government shutdown, 
Cincinnati was unable to consult with FTA on how to proceed.
    On February 18, 2014, FTA published a notice to request comments on 
the Cincinnati's waiver request for the cross-connect cabinet. The 
comment period closed on March 4, 2014. FTA did not receive any 
comments to the docket, docket number FTA-2014-0002.
    Based upon Cincinnati Bell's assertions that it is unable to 
procure a U.S.-manufactured cross-connect cabinet at this time that is 
configured for Cincinnati Bell's telecommunications network and meets 
Cincinnati Bell's engineering standards, FTA hereby waives its Buy 
America requirement for manufactured products under 49 CFR 661.5(d) for 
the cross-connect cabinet. This waiver is limited to a single 
procurement for the cross-connect cabinet for the Cincinnati Streetcar 
project.

Dana C. Nifosi,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-10305 Filed 5-5-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P