[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 48954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19967]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

[Docket No. FTA-2015-0010]


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

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver.

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SUMMARY: In response to the City of Kansas City, Missouri's request for 
a Buy America waiver for a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) HVAC system, 
the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) hereby waives its Buy America 
requirements for the VRF HVAC system to be installed at the Vehicle 
Maintenance Facility (VMF) associated with the Kansas City Downtown 
Streetcar Project. This waiver is limited to a single procurement for 
the VRF HVAC system for the VMF, an FTA-funded project.

DATES: This waiver is effective immediately.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard L. Wong, FTA Attorney-Advisor, 
at (202) 366-4011 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to announce 
that FTA has granted a Buy America non-availability waiver for Kansas 
City's procurement of a VRF HVAC system for the VMF.
    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 non-availability waiver. 
49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B); 49 CFR 661.7(c).
    Kansas City requested a non-availability waiver for a VRF HVAC 
system that will be installed into the VMF. The VMF is being built to 
the U.S. Green Building Council's 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 
Kansas City, its contractor was directed to evaluate the substitution 
of a Buy America-compliant Variable Air Volume (VAV) system, but the 
contractor advised it that the VAV system would endanger the project's 
LEED Gold certification because of the difference in efficiency between 
the VAV and VRF HVAC systems. In addition, the substitution of a VAV 
system would require significant changes to the project, such as the 
alteration of already-erected structural elements that were designed to 
accommodate a VRF system and additional design changes and plan reviews 
by the City of Kansas City.
    Kansas City points to two recent non-availability waivers FTA 
issued to San Bernardino Associated Governments (79 FR 61129, October 
9, 2014) and Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (79 
FR 34653, June 17, 2014), as well as to a blanket non-availability 
waiver issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2010 for VRF 
HVAC systems procured with American Reinvestment and Recovery Act 
funding (75 FR 35447, June 22, 2010). According to Kansas City, the 
U.S. DOE's determination of non-availability and FTA's recent SANBAG 
and Rock Island waivers, as well as Kansas City's contractor's 
research, indicate that this product is not manufactured domestically. 
Finally, FTA, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 
conducted a nationwide search to determine if any company currently 
manufactures a compatible VRF system that complies with Buy-America. 
The search revealed that no company currently can provide a Buy-America 
compliant VRF system that meets Kansas City's specifications.
    On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, and in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 
5323(j)(3)(A), FTA published a notice in the Federal Register 
requesting public comment on, among other topics, the merits of Kansas 
City's waiver request and potential effects of granting the waiver. The 
public comment period closed on August 5, 2015. No comments were 
received.
    Based on Kansas City's assertions that it is unable to procure a 
U.S.-manufactured VRF HVAC system, which is critical to obtaining LEED 
Gold certification, and the fact that no public comments were received, 
FTA hereby waives its Buy America requirement for manufactured products 
under 49 CFR 661.5(d) for the VRF HVAC system. This waiver is limited 
to a single procurement for the VRF HVAC system for Kansas City's VMF 
project.

Dana Nifosi,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-19967 Filed 8-13-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-57-P