Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 84 / Monday, May 1, 2000 / Notices 25419

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA 2000–7290]

Petition for Waiver To Operate Special

Train

The National Railroad Passenger

Corporation (Amtrak) has filed a letter

with the Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) seeking approval

to operate a special non-revenue train

for the Arizona Department of

Transportation on May 5, 2000. A copy

of this letter is included in the docket.

The two-hour train run will use track

owned by the Union Pacific between

Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The train

proposed for use will include two

Amtrak locomotives, one at each end,

and a 12-car trainset manufactured by

Talgo. The Talgo trainset is currently

being operated by Amtrak in the Pacific

Northwest Rail Corridor between

Eugene, Oregon and Vancouver, British

Columbia. FRA is treating the request as

a temporary waiver request from the

requirements of 49 CFR 238.203.

Amtrak has previously filed a

grandfathering petition with FRA for

approval to continue using the trainset

in question and four other Talgo

trainsets; these trainsets do not meet the

static end strength standards specified

in 49 CFR 238.203. This grandfathering

petition has been docketed as Docket

No. FRA–1999–6404. Paragraph (d) of

section 238.203 allows a railroad to

continue using railroad passenger

equipment that does not conform to

FRA’s static end strength requirements

on a particular rail line or lines while

a petition for grandfathering approval is

being processed. None of the five

trainsets has been used on the Union

Pacific’s rail line between Phoenix and

Tucson.

Amtrak’s letter includes the following

discussion of the special precautions

Amtrak is taking to protect the safety of

the special train run.

The precautions that we are prepared to

take—such as: (i) ensuring that an Amtrak

locomotive will be on each end of the Talgo

trainset, followed by a Talgo power or

baggage car that carries no passengers; (ii)

operating the equipment during daylight

hours only; (iii) ensuring operating

supervision by both the Union Pacific and

Amtrak; (iv) maintaining speed restrictions

within yard limits; and (v) having the State

of Arizona provide increased grade crossing

protection—when coupled with the fact that

we will be using equipment that is currently

operating safely under similar conditions in

the Pacific Northwest, demonstrates that this

special train will in no way compromise the

safety of the passengers, railroad employees

or the general public.

Interested parties are invited to

participate in this proceeding (Docket

No. FRA–2000–7290) by submitting

written views, data, or comments. In

accordance with 49 CFR 211.25, FRA

has decided to hold a public hearing on

Amtrak’s request to use the trainset on

the special train run. A public hearing

is hereby set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday,

May 3, 2000, at the Federal Railroad

Administration, 7th floor, conference

room 2, 1120 Vermont Ave., NW,

Washington, DC 20590. Interested

parties are invited to present oral

statements at the hearing. The hearing

will be an informal one and will be

conducted in accordance with FRA’s

Rules of Practice (49 CFR 211.25) by a

representative designated by FRA. The

hearing will be a non-adversarial

proceeding; therefore, there will be no

cross-examination of persons presenting

statements. The FRA representative will

make an opening statement outlining

the scope of the hearing. After all initial

statements have been completed, those

persons wishing to make a brief rebuttal

will be given the opportunity to do so

in the same order in which initial

statements were made. Additional

procedures, if necessary for the conduct

of the hearing, will be announced at the

hearing.

Written comments should identify

Docket No. FRA–2000–7290 and must

be submitted to the Docket Clerk, DOT

Management Facility, Room PL–401

(Plaza Level), 400 7th Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590.

Communications received by May 3,

2000 will be considered by FRA before

final action is taken. Comments received

after that date will be considered as far

as practicable. All written

communications concerning this

proceeding are available for

examination during regular business

hours (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) at the above

facility. All documents in the public

docket are also available for inspection

and copying on the Internet at the

docket facility’s web site at http://

dms.dot.gov.

FRA makes clear that the hearing

scheduled for May 3, 2000 is not a

hearing on the merits of Amtrak’s

grandfathering petition, identified as

Docket No. FRA–1999–6404.

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 26,

2000.

S. Mark Lindsey,

Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal

Railroad Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–10835 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Notice of Granted Buy America Waiver

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Granted Buy America

Waiver.

SUMMARY: This waiver allows Orion Bus

Industries (Orion) to count the axle used

in the Orion II paratransit vehicle as a

domestic component for the purposes of

calculating overall domestic content and

was predicated on the non-availability

of the item domestically. A similar

waiver was granted by FTA to Orion in

1998 for the period of two years.

Because the market has not changed in

the intervening two years, Orion

requested that FTA extend this waiver.

It was extended on February 28, 2000,

for the period of two years, or until such

time as a domestic source for this heavyduty axle becomes available. This notice

shall insure that the public, particularly

potential manufacturers, is aware of this

waiver. FTA requests that the public

notify it of any relevant changes in the

domestic market of heavy-duty axles.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE

CONTACT: Meghan G. Ludtke, FTA Office

of Chief Counsel, Room 9316, (202)

366–4011 (telephone) or (202) 366–3809

(fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The above

referenced waiver is as follows:

February 28, 2000.

Mr. Paul Royal,

Executive Vice President, Orion Bus

Industries, A Division of Western Star

Trucks, Inc., 350 Hazelhurst Road,

Mississauge, Ontario.

Re: Application for Extension of Buy

America Waiver for Orion II Component

Dear Mr. Royal: This letter responds to

your correspondence of January 19, 2000, in

which you request an extension of a Buy

America waiver granted for the procurement

of the GNX axle for use in your Orion II

paratransit vehicle. The original two-year

waiver was granted on February 27, 1998, per

your request of December 22, 1997. This

letter incorporates, by reference, the

information contained in the above letters.

The Federal Transit Administration’s

(FTA) requirements concerning domestic

preference for federally funded transit

projects are set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5323(j).

Section 5323(j)(2)(C) addresses the general

requirements for the procurement of rolling

stock. This section provides that all rolling

stock procured with FTA funds must have a

domestic content of at least 60 percent and

must undergo final assembly in the U.S.

This waiver would allow Orion to count

the axle as domestic for the purposes of

calculating overall domestic content of the

vehicle. You request a waiver under 49

25420 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 84 / Monday, May 1, 2000 / Notices

U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B), which states those

requirements shall not apply if the item or

items being procured are not produced in the

U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available

quantities and of a satisfactory quality. The

implementing regulation provides that, ‘‘[i]t

will be presumed that the conditions exist to

grant this non-availability waiver if no

responsive and responsible bid is received

offering an item produced in the United

States.’’ 49 CFR 661.7(c)(1). The regulation

goes on to note that, ‘‘[t]he waivers described

in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section may

be granted for a component or subcomponent

in the case of procurement of the items

governed by section 165(b)(3) of the Act

(requirements for rolling stock). If a waiver is

granted for a component or subcomponent,

that component or subcomponent will be

considered to be of domestic origin for the

purposes of Section 661.11 of this part.’’ 49

CFR 661.7(f). The regulations allow a bidder

or supplier to request a non-availability

waiver for a component or subcomponent in

the procurement of rolling stock. See 49 CFR

661.7(f) and 49 CFR 661.9(d).

You claim that the type of axle necessary

for the production of the Orion II is not

available from a domestic source. In addition

to the representations in your

correspondence, you have also provided me

with letters from two U.S. manufacturers of

the heavy-duty axle, Spicer Heavy Axle and

Meritor Automotive, Inc. You represent that

these are the only two such manufacturers,

and they both indicate that they have no

plans to manufacture the product in the U.S.

Based on the information you have

provided, I have determined that the grounds

for a ‘‘non-availability’’ waiver do exist.

Therefore, pursuant to the provisions of 49

U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B), the waiver is hereby

extended for the procurement of heavy-duty

axles for the Orion II for the period of two

years, or until such time as a domestic source

for this heavy-duty axle becomes available. In

order to insure that the public is aware of this

waiver, particularly potential manufacturers,

this waiver will be published in the Federal

Register.

If you have any questions, please contact

Meghan G. Ludtke at (202) 366–4011.

Very truly yours,

Gregory B. McBride,

Deputy Chief Counsel.

Issued: April 26, 2000.

Nuria I. Fernandez,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–10779 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping

Requirements; Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the information

collection abstracted below has been

forwarded to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review and

comment. Described below is the nature

of the information collection and its

expected burden. The Federal Register

notice with a 60-day comment period

soliciting comments on the following

collection was published on February

15, 2000 (65 FR 7608).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before May 31, 2000. Comments were

due April 17, 2000. No comments were

received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christopher Krusa, Office of Maritime

Labor, Training, and Safety, Maritime

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Room 7302, Washington, DC 20590,

telephone number 202–366–2648.

Copies of this collection can also be

obtained from that office.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Maritime Administration

Title of Collection: ‘‘Information to

Determine Seamen’s Reemployment

Rights—National Emergency.’’

OMB Control Number: 2133–0526.

Type of Request: Approval of an

existing information collection.

Affected Public: U.S. merchant

seamen who have completed designated

national service in time of war or

national emergency and are seeking

reemployment with a prior employer.

Form(s): None.

Abstract: MARAD is requesting

approval of this information collection

in an effort to implement provisions of

the Maritime Security Act of 1996.

These provisions amend the Merchant

Marine Act, 1936, to grant

reemployment rights and other benefits

to certain merchant seamen serving on

vessels used by the United States for a

war, armed conflict, national

emergency, or maritime mobilization

need. This rule establishes the

procedure for obtaining the necessary

MARAD certification for reemployment

rights and other benefits conferred by

statute and MARAD’s assistance in

pursuing these statutory rights and

benefits. This collection requires

merchant seamen to provide documents

indicating their period of employment

and their merchant mariner’s status. The

information provided will allow

MARAD to determine eligibility for

reemployment rights when the

employment is related to a designated

national service.

Annual Estimated Burden Hours: 50

hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs, Office of Management and

Budget, 725–17th Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20503, Attention

MARAD Desk Officer.

Comments are Invited on: Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the Department,

including whether the information will

have practical utility; the accuracy of

the Department’s estimate of the burden

of the proposed information collection;

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

A comment to OMB is best assured of

having its full effect if OMB receives it

within 30 days of publication.

Dated: April 25, 2000.

Joel C. Richard,

Secretary, Maritime Administration.

[FR Doc. 00–10722 Filed 4–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping

Requirements; Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice

announces that the information

collection abstracted below has been

forwarded to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) for review and

comment. Described below is the nature

of the information collection and its

expected burden. The Federal Register

notice with a 60-day comment period

soliciting comments on the following

collection was published on February

15, 2000 [65 FR 7607]. Public comments

were due on or before April 17, 2000.

No comments were received.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before May 31, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas W. Harrelson, Office of Cargo

Preference, Maritime Administration,

400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 8118,

Washington, DC 20590, telephone

number 202–366–4610. Copies of this

collection can also be obtained from that

office.