[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49371-49372]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19732]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2014-0019]


Notice of Proposed Buy America Waiver for the Pad and Rubber Boot 
of a Concrete Block Used in New York City Transit South Ferry Station's 
Low Vibration Track System

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

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

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SUMMARY: New York City Transit (NYCT), an agency of the Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority (MTA), has requested a Buy America waiver for 
the procurement of pads and rubber boots of a concrete block used in 
its Low Vibration Track (LVT) system on the basis of non-availability. 
The procurement for the pads and rubber boots are part of the South 
Ferry Station project. This notice is to inform the public of the 
waiver request and to seek public comment to inform FTA's decision 
whether to grant the request. If granted, the waiver would be limited 
to this one procurement for the South Ferry Station project. The waiver 
would be conditioned upon the requirement that NYCT must complete the 
safety testing of U.S.-manufactured pads and rubber boots necessary to 
meets its specifications within the timeframe provided herein, and to 
substitute U.S.-manufactured pads and rubber boots for the foreign-made 
pads and rubber boots to the extent possible.

DATES: Comments must be received by August 27, 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-2014-0019:
    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-2014-0019. 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, 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 FTA should grant a non-availability 
waiver for the procurement of the pad and rubber boot of the concrete 
block used in NYCT's LVT system for the South Ferry Station 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) The manufacturing processes for the product take place 
in the United States; and (2) 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 March 21, 2014, FTA granted a waiver for the pad and the rubber 
boot to MTA Capital Construction Company, a construction management 
company for MTA expansion projects that is responsible for managing 
NYCT's Second Avenue Subway (SAS) Project. This waiver was limited to 
Phase 1 of the SAS Project and in granting the waiver FTA expressed its 
expectation that MTA would continue its good faith efforts to seek U.S. 
manufacturers of the pad and rubber boot. On April 29, 2014, FTA 
followed up with a letter and reiterated its expectations that MTA 
continue to seek U.S.-manufactured pads and rubber boots and provided 
its findings on potential U.S. manufacturers.\1\
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    \1\ FTA leveraged the resources of the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
through an interagency agreement currently in place, and had NIST 
conduct a supplier scouting resulting in a report completed by NIST 
of potential U.S.-manufacturers for the pad and rubber boot.
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    On July 14, 2014, NYCT requested another Buy America waiver for the 
pads and rubber boots to be procured for its South Ferry Station 
project. While NYCT has been conducting its own searches for U.S. 
manufacturers to find a U.S.-made pad and rubber boot, and Construction 
Polymers Technologies, Inc. (CPT)--the manufacturer for the concrete 
block for which the pad and rubber boot are components--has found U.S. 
manufacturers, NYCT asserts that safety testing of U.S.-manufactured 
pads and boots must be conducted before they can be used in NYCT's LVT 
system. NYCT represents that all of the necessary testing that it must 
undertake with respect to new and untested items such as the pad and 
the boot will take approximately three months after CPT conducts its 
own testing and produces its results. FTA has been informed that CPT 
expects to produce its test results to NYCT on or about September 15, 
2014. Accordingly, because of the timing of the contract award, which 
NYCT anticipates will occur by the end of September 2014, as well as 
the construction schedule, NYCT has requested a waiver. If the waiver 
is not granted, NYCT asserts that there would be no Buy America 
compliant items that also meet its safety specifications, which cannot 
be waived.
    The purpose of this notice is to publish the waiver 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. If the waiver is

[[Page 49372]]

granted, it would be limited to a single procurement for the South 
Ferry Station Project and conditioned upon NYCT completing the safety 
testing for the U.S.-made pad and rubber boot within approximately 
three months of receipt of CPT's test results, which is expected on or 
about September 15, 2014. In addition, once all of the testing is 
complete within the aforementioned timeframe and if the testing 
confirms that the U.S-made pad and rubber boot meet NYCT's safety 
specifications, FTA expects NYCT to substitute the U.S.-made pads and 
rubber boots for the foreign-made items to the extent possible. A full 
copy of the request has been placed in docket number FTA-2014-0019.

Dana Nifosi,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-19732 Filed 8-19-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P