[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8131-8133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02996]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2012-0033]


Notice of Intent To Grant a Buy America Waiver to the Illinois 
Department of Transportation for the Use of Sure Close Self-Closing 
Force Adjustable Gate Hinges

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of intent to grant Buy America waiver.

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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that it 
intends to grant the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) a 
waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement for the use of 350 Sure Close 
gate hinges, which are manufactured in Italy. Self-closing, force 
adjustable gate hinges are one component of the larger construction 
project to install pedestrian swing gates in connection with the 
Chicago-St. Louis High Speed Rail (HSR) corridor project. The Chicago-
St. Louis HSR

[[Page 8132]]

project is funded by a $1.33 billion grant from FRA. The value of the 
350 hinges is approximately $110,000.

DATES: Written comments on FRA's determination to grant IDOT's Buy 
America waiver request should be provided to the FRA on or before March 
2, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by one of the following means, 
identifying your submissions by docket number FRA-2012-0033. All 
electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government electronic 
site at http://www.regulations.gov. Commenters should follow the 
instructions below for mailed and hand-delivered comments.
    (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, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, 20590-0001; 
or
    (4) Hand Delivery: Room W12-140 on the first floor of the West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must make reference to the ``Federal 
Railroad Administration'' and include docket number FRA-2012-0033. Due 
to security procedures in effect since October 2001, 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 on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or visit 
http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Johnson, Attorney-Advisor, 
FRA Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 25, 
Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493-0078, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The letter granting IDOT's request is quoted below:

Joseph E. Shacter, Director of Public and Intermodal Transportation, 
Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Public and 
Intermodal Transportation, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite 6-600, 
Chicago, IL 60601

Re: Request for Waiver of Buy America Requirement for Sure Close Gate 
Hinges

    Dear Mr. Shacter: This letter is in response to your request dated 
September 25, 2014, that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 
grant the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), a waiver from 
FRA's Buy America provision, at 49 U.S.C. Sec.  24405(a)(1), for one 
component of the pedestrian swing gates. Your waiver request is for 350 
of 600 Sure Close gate hinges by D&D Technology needed for the project. 
Because the hinges are manufactured in Italy, IDOT would need a waiver 
from FRA's Buy America requirement. The FRA is granting IDOT's request 
for these initial 350 Sure Close gate hinges.
    The request is based on the Buy America provision (49 U.S.C. 
24405(a)) applicable to FRA's High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail 
(HSIPR) Program $1.33 billion grant for the Chicago-St. Louis High 
Speed Rail (HSR) corridor. FRA's Buy America requirement for the 
manufactured goods used in rail infrastructure projects requires 
domestic manufacturing of the end product and that all of the 
components be manufactured in the United States. In this case, FRA 
determined the swing gate system to be an end product while the gate 
hinge is a component. The swing gate and all other components are 
manufactured in the United States. Section 24405(a)(2) also permits the 
Secretary (delegated to the FRA Administrator) to waive the Buy America 
requirements if the Secretary finds that: (A) Applying paragraph (1) 
would be inconsistent with the public interest; (B) the steel, iron, 
and goods manufactured in the United States are not produced in 
sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory 
quality; (C) rolling stock or power train equipment cannot be bought or 
delivered to the United States within a reasonable time; or (D) 
including domestic material will increase the cost of the overall 
project by more than 25 percent.
    On December 12, 2013, IDOT submitted an initial Buy America waiver 
request for the Sure Close hinge to install all 600 of the required 
hinges along the entire Chicago St Louis HSR corridor. IDOT has made, 
and continues to make, extensive efforts to procure a domestic gate 
hinge for the pedestrian crossings. IDOT initially located a U.S. 
manufactured hinge; however, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) 
tested the swing gate and found that the closure force was too strong, 
even when adjusted, and could cause pedestrian injury. IDOT and ICC 
then found the Sure Close hinge, which is self-closing, force 
adjustable and manufactured in Italy. It meets the ICC's safety and 
performance requirements and is the only non-domestic component of the 
swing gate. The hinges and attachment brackets cost about $315 each; 
the total cost for the required 600 hinges is approximately $190,000.
    To determine whether to grant IDOT's initial request, FRA provided 
notice and an opportunity for comment on its public Web site. FRA also 
emailed notice to over 6,000 persons who have signed up for Buy America 
notices. FRA received twelve comments to the Web site notice. Almost 
all of the commenters recommended denying the waiver; however, no 
commenter identified a supplier for the hinges. FRA also used the 
services of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) in order to scout for 
domestic sources for the hinges. NIST-MEP did not identify any exact 
matches. An ``exact match'' would mean a manufacturer already produces 
the same item immediately suitable for use in the project. NIST-MEP did 
identify twenty-seven manufacturers that may have the capabilities to 
produce the gate hinge needed for the project. However, only three of 
these twenty-seven manufacturers made a similar item that with some 
modification and testing may have been suitable for use in the project.
    IDOT worked with NIST-MEP to contact these three firms. IDOT 
identified one U.S. manufacturer that stated it had the capability to 
produce the type of adjustable hinge needed for the gate. IDOT has been 
working with that manufacturer; however, the manufacturer's efforts on 
IDOT's behalf have not yet yielded a hinge having the qualities needed 
for this project. In addition, once functional prototypes are delivered 
to IDOT, they will still need to be tested in adverse climates, 
including winter weather. Further delays in delivery could delay 
testing until winter 2015-16 and useable hinges are necessary to ensure 
that major segments of the HSR project are completed next year.
    To meet this schedule, on September 25, 2014, IDOT updated its 
initial Buy America request asking that 350 of the required 600 Sure 
Close hinges, costing approximately $110,000, be allowed for use in 
current and soon-to-be awarded

[[Page 8133]]

construction contracts. In this letter, IDOT asserts that if the 
manufacturer ``prototype is delivered in time to allow testing this 
winter, and the testing is successful, IDOT commits to using'' the 
domestically produced hinges for the remaining 250 pedestrian gate 
installations. If a functional prototype is not available for testing, 
IDOT may need to install the additional 250 hinges with the Sure Close 
hinge. IDOT continues to assert that use of a self-closing, force 
adjustable gate hinge such as the Sure Close Hinge is essential for 
maintaining safe pedestrian grade crossings and that a similar hinge 
remains unavailable from a U.S. source.
    After receiving the September 25, 2014 updated waiver request from 
IDOT, FRA again provided notice and an opportunity for comment on its 
public Web site, as well as by emailing the Buy America listserv. FRA 
received two comments. One commenter supported the waiver, while the 
other commenter did not support the waiver. Once again, no commenter 
identified a domestic supplier for the hinges.
    Based on NIST-MEP's scouting report, which did not identify a U.S. 
manufacturer that makes the same item, IDOT's inability at this time to 
locate a domestic gate hinge for pedestrian crossings meeting IDOT's 
safety and schedule needs, and the fact that the public did not 
identify a domestic source, FRA finds that gate hinges ``produced in 
the United States are not of a satisfactory quality.'' Therefore, FRA 
grants a waiver under 49 U.S.C. Sec.  24405(a)(2)(B) (goods of a 
satisfactory quality are not produced in the United States).
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Sec.  24405(a)(4), FRA is publishing notice 
of its decision to grant IDOT's waiver request in the Federal Register 
and provide notice of such finding and an opportunity for public 
comment after which this waiver will become effective. FRA expects IDOT 
to continue to use its best efforts to work with the proposed domestic 
manufacturer and procure domestically-produced hinges for the remaining 
250 gate installations.
    Question about this letter can be directed to, John Johnson, 
Attorney-Advisor, at [email protected] or (202) 493-0078.

 Sincerely,

Sarah Feinberg
Acting Administrator


    Issued in Washington, DC on February 6, 2015.
Melissa L. Porter,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-02996 Filed 2-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P