17566 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2012 / Notices 

2000(d)(1)]; Farmland Protection Policy 

Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 4201–4209]; 

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251–1377 

[Section 404, Section 401, Section 319]; 

Safe Drinking Water Act [42 U.S.C. 300f 

et seq.]; TEA–21 Wetlands Mitigation 

[23 U.S.C. 103(b)(6)(m), 133(b)(11)]; 

Flood Disaster Protection Act [42 U.S.C. 

4001–129]. 

Executive Orders: E.O. 11990, 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988, 

Floodplain Management; E.O. 12898, 

Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low Income 

Populations; E.O. 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments; E.O. 13112, Invasive 

Species. Nothing in this notice creates a 

cause of action under these Executive 

Orders. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 

Issued on: March 19, 2012. 

James C. Christian, 

Division Administrator, Salt Lake City. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7168 Filed 3–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No. FTA–2012–0006] 

Notice of Proposed Buy America 

Waivers 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed Buy America 

waiver and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is 

to solicit comment a request from 

Allison Transmission, Inc. to renew a 

waiver for its hybrid electric propulsion 

system, Energy Storage Unit subsystem 

H 49.40 EPSystem, until December 31, 

2013 so they may complete their 

ongoing process to secure a domestic 

supplier of Lithium Ion batteries. FTA 

seeks public comment before deciding 

whether to grant Allison’s request. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 2, 2012. Late filed comments will 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit your 

comments by only one of the following 

means, identifying your submissions by 

docket number FTA–2012–0006. All 

electronic submissions must be made to 

the U.S. Government electronic site at 

www.regulations.gov. Commenters 

should follow the instructions below for 

mailed and hand delivered comments. 

(1) Web site: 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. 

(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 Transit 

Administration’’ and include docket 

number FTA–2012–0006. 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 

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 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jayme L. Blakesley at (202) 366–0304 or 

jayme.blakesley@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this notice is to seek public 

comment on whether the Federal 

Transit Administration (FTA) should 

waive its Buy America requirements of 

49 U.S.C. 5323(j), as implemented at 49 

CFR Part 661, until December 31, 2013, 

for an Energy Storage Unit (ESU) 

manufactured by Allison Transmission, 

Inc. (Allison). The purpose of the waiver 

is to allow Allison until December 2013 

to complete its ongoing process to 

secure and qualify a domestic supplier 

of Lithium Ion batteries. 

The ESU is one of five subsystems of 

Allison’s hybrid-electric propulsion 

system known as the H 40/50 EP 

System. The ESU supplies and stores 

energy for the H 40/50 EP System 

during normal motor-generator 

operation and during regenerative 

braking. The ESU is a packaged 

subsystem comprised of proprietary 

batteries, a battery management system, 

thermal management equipment and 

containment. It is manufactured to 

Allison’s specifications and is 

functionally critical and specific to the 

H 40/50 EP System. The company 

currently procures the ESU completely 

assembled from a supplier that cannot 

comply with FTA’s Buy America 

requirements. 

With few exceptions, FTA’s Buy 

America rules require that all steel, iron 

and manufactured goods used in FTAfunded projects be produced in the 

United States. One exception to Buy 

America is non-availability—that in 

some instances certain steel, iron, and 

manufactured goods are not produced in 

the United States in sufficient and 

reasonably available quantities or are 

not of a satisfactory quality. When this 

is the case, FTA may waive its Buy 

America requirements and allow the use 

of foreign-produced goods in an FTAfunded project. 

On April 3, 2009, FTA granted a 

limited non-availability waiver to 

Allison. The waiver allowed Allison to 

produce its ESU outside the United 

States. While the waiver was in effect, 

FTA instructed Allison to identify and 

qualify a domestic manufacturer capable 

of producing ESUs for Allison’s H 40/ 

50 EP System. The waiver expired and, 

despite its best efforts, Allison has not 

identified and qualified a U.S. 

manufacturer. 

Allison asked FTA to renew and 

extend the waiver until December 31, 

2013, to allow it to complete the 

qualification process. According to 

Allison, since the issuance of the 2009 

waiver, Allison has utilized competitive 

assessments, technical reviews, and 

independent market studies with U.S. 

based Lithium Ion suppliers. The 

company compared its current Nickel 

Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries with 

Lithium Ion and determined Lithium 

Ion was appropriate for transit bus 

applications. In addition, Allison is 

changing from NiMH to Lithium Ion 

because no NiMH supplier is producing 

within the U.S. to meet Allison’s 

requirements (design, reliability, 

quality, pricing, etc). Most domestic 

suppliers who expressed interest in 

starting production of the ESU 

subsystem quoted Lithium Ion 

technologies. Five companies have 

started or are starting cell production in 

the United States. Five additional 

companies are starting pack production 

in the Unites States. 

After contacting and surveying a 

number of potential suppliers, Allison 

has chosen a domestic supplier. The 

selection and approval of this supplier 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2012 / Notices 17567 

and its product is subject to the 

guidelines and requirements of Allison’s 

structured product development and 

approval process known as the Process 

of Concurrent Engineering (POCE). This 

process applies to all products 

developed, manufactured and sold by 

Allison, including components and/or 

subcomponents that are purchased by 

Allison and provided as part of 

Allison’s system or product that are 

delivered to its customers. The POCE 

process consists of four activity areas of 

focus with each having durations of 

approximately three months to one year. 

Allison is currently in the Concept 

Validation (CV) phase, evaluating/ 

validating the possibility of utilizing a 

current U.S. hybrid ESS supplier who is 

working with Allison through an ARRA 

grant awarded in fiscal year 2009 (DOE 

Gran DE–EE00002025). Beyond the CV 

phase, additional joint work has been 

planned for Design Validation, OEM 

vehicle testing, and Production 

Validation phases that are needed to 

assure an appropriate Start of 

Production launch. 

FTA proposes to grant Allison a 

waiver through December 31, 2013. 

Unlike other requests for nonavailability waivers, the granting of 

which would enable otherwise noncompliant materials to be utilized until 

a U.S. producers comes forward, this 

waiver would allow Allison to maintain 

its position in the market while 

continuing the process of securing a 

domestic manufacturer for its ESU 

subsystems. Without a waiver 

extension, Allison faces a potential loss 

of volume, market share, and revenue, 

and a potential loss of U.S. Jobs. In 

addition, Allison’s bus manufacturing 

customers would be limited in their 

ability to offer buses utilizing hybrid 

propulsion technology, without 

furthering the goals of Buy America. 

Before deciding whether to grant 

Allison’s request, FTA seeks comment 

from all interested parties. In the 

interest of transparency, FTA has 

published copies of Allison’s request to 

the docket. Interested parties may access 

these materials by visiting the docket 

comments by April 2, 2012. Late-filed 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

Issued this 16th day of March 2012. 

Dorval R. Carter, Jr., 

Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7186 Filed 3–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2012–0031, Notice 1] 

Notice of Receipt of Petition for 

Decision That Nonconforming RightHand Drive 2000–2003 Jeep Wrangler 

Multi-Purpose Passenger Vehicles Are 

Eligible for Importation 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: This document announces 

receipt by the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a 

petition for a decision that right-hand 

drive (RHD) 2000–2003 Jeep Wrangler 

multi-purpose passenger vehicles 

(MPVs) that were not originally 

manufactured to comply with all 

applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards (FMVSS) are eligible for 

importation into the United States 

because they have safety features that 

comply with, or are capable of being 

altered to comply with, all such 

standards. 

DATES: The closing date for comments 

on the petition is April 25, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to 

the docket and notice numbers above 

and be submitted by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility: 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

Instructions: Comments must be 

written in the English language, and be 

no greater than 15 pages in length, 

although there is no limit to the length 

of necessary attachments to the 

comments. If comments are submitted 

in hard copy form, please ensure that 

two copies are provided. If you wish to 

receive confirmation that your 

comments were received, please enclose 

a stamped, self-addressed postcard with 

the comments. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Please see the Privacy Act heading 

below. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78). 

How to Read Comments submitted to 

the Docket: You may read the comments 

received by Docket Management at the 

address and times given above. You may 

also view the documents from the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the online instructions for 

accessing the dockets. The docket ID 

number and title of this notice are 

shown at the heading of this document 

notice. Please note that even after the 

comment closing date, we will continue 

to file relevant information in the 

Docket as it becomes available. Further, 

some people may submit late comments. 

Accordingly, we recommend that you 

periodically search the Docket for new 

material. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

George Stevens, Office of Vehicle Safety 

Compliance, NHTSA (202–366–5308). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(B), a 

motor vehicle that was not originally 

manufactured to conform to all 

applicable FMVSS, and has no 

substantially similar U.S.-certified 

counterpart, shall be refused admission 

into the United States unless NHTSA 

has decided that the motor vehicle has 

safety features that comply with, or are 

capable of being altered to comply with, 

all applicable FMVSS based on 

destructive test data or such other 

evidence as NHTSA decides to be 

adequate. 

Petitions for eligibility decisions may 

be submitted by either manufacturers or 

importers who have registered with 

NHTSA pursuant to 49 CFR Part 592. As 

specified in 49 CFR 593.7, NHTSA 

publishes notices in the Federal 

Register of each petition that it receives, 

and affords interested persons an 

opportunity to comment on the petition. 

At the close of the comment period, 

NHTSA decides, on the basis of the 

petition and any comments that it has 

received, whether the vehicle is eligible 

for importation. The agency then 

publishes this decision in the Federal 

Register. 

US SPECS of Havre de Grace, 

Maryland (Registered Importer 03–321) 

has petitioned NHTSA to decide 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES