Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices 63673

Based on the above-referenced information,

I have determined that the grounds for a

‘‘nonavailability’’ waiver exist. Therefore,

pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C.

§ 5323(j)(2)(B), the waiver is hereby granted

for manufacture of the BIM model number

2020 for the period of two years, or until

such time as a domestic source for this type

of component becomes available, whichever

occurs first. In order to insure that the public

is aware of this waiver, particularly potential

manufacturers, it will be published in the

Federal Register.

If you have any questions, pleased contact

Meghan G. Ludtke at (202) 366–4011.

Very truly yours,

Gregory B. McBride,

Deputy Chief Counsel.

Issued on: October 19, 2000.

Nuria I. Fernandez,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–27297 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–M

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 ticket

vending machine manufacturers to

install the banknote handling unit

(BHU) manufactured by Mars

Electronics International and count it as

domestic for purposes of Buy America

compliance. It is predicated on the nonavailability of the item domestically and

was granted on July 21, 2000, for the

period of two years, or until such time

as a domestic source for this BHU

becomes available, whichever occurs

first. 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. FTA also granted an identical

waiver to Giesecke & Devrient, a

competitor of mars and manufacturer of

a similar device. That waiver is

published elsewhere in today’s Federal

Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 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 follows:

July 21, 2000.

Mr. Cassius L. Jones, Industry Manager, Mars

Electronics International, 1301 Wilson

Drive, West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380–

5953.

Re: Application for Waiver of Buy America

for Automated Fare Collection System

Component

Dear Mr. Jones: This letter responds to your

correspondence of March 16, 2000, in which

you request a Buy America component

waiver based upon nonavailability for certain

bank note handling units (BHU)

manufactured for use in ticket vending

machines. The unique nature of the BHU’s at

issue is the ability to return inserted bills

when a transaction is not completed.

On May 13, 1992, the Federal Transit

Administration (FTA) granted Mars a waiver

for the BSN385/39 BHU for the period of two

years, this waiver was extended for another

two years on January 11, 1994. On February

21, 1996, FTA extended the waiver for the

BNA52/54, the successor to the BSN385/39

for two more years. On May 13, 1998, you

requested another extension and on August

4, 1998, FTA responded, asking for

information supporting your assertion that

there was still no equivalent product

currently manufactured in the U.S.

On March 26, 2000, you amended your

request by adding supporting information

and requesting that the waiver be extended

to include the improved version of the BHU,

the BNA57. In an effort to obtain current

market data, you stated that you employed

the services of a Mr. Howard Waxman,

Project Manager, Strategic Consulting &

Research Group of Find/SVP to conduct a

search for a U.S. manufacturer of the BHU

which features multiple bill escrow

functionality. You submit that no U.S.

manufacturers were found, and that Ardac

Inc., Coinco, Global Payment Technologies,

Rowe International, and Singer Data

Products, were all contacted. This letter

incorporates, by reference, the information

contained in the above-referenced

correspondence.

Further, at FTA’s request, Cubic

Transportation Systems, Inc., a manufacturer

of ticket vending machines and purchaser of

BHU’s for use in said machines, submitted

information on the state of the market. Cubic

contends by letter dated April 19, 2000, that

based upon an extensive survey of the

market, which is continuously updated by

technical staff, there is no known U.S.

manufacturer of BHU’s that performs the

functions listed herein.

FTA’s requirements concerning domestic

preference for federally funded transit

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

However, Section 5323(j)(2)(B) states that

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 also

provides that a waiver may be requested ‘‘for

a specific item or material that is used in the

production of a manufactured product.’’ 49

CFR § 661.7(g). The regulations allow a

bidder or supplier to request a waiver only

if it is being sought under this section. See

49 CFR 661.7(g) and 49 CFR 661.9(d). This

waiver would allow Mars to treat the BHU as

domestic.

Based on the above-referenced information,

I have determined that the grounds for a

‘‘nonavailability’’ waiver do exist. Therefore,

pursuant to the provisions of 49 U.S.C.

§ 5323(j)(2)(B), the waiver is hereby granted

for manufacture of the BNA57, BNA52/54

and the BSN383/39 BHU’s for the period of

two years, or until such time as a domestic

source for this type of BHU becomes

available, whichever occurs first. 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 on: October 19, 2000.

Nuria I. Fernandez,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–27298 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on

the South Central Corridor Light Rail

Transit Project in Metropolitan

Louisville, Kentucky

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration,

USDOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit

Administration (FTA), in cooperation

with the Transit Authority of River City

(TARC), intends to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

for the Louisville South Central Corridor

Rapid Transit Project in accordance

with the National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA).

The EIS will consider alternatives for

improving rapid transit service within

an approximately 15-mile-long corridor

that begins at the Ohio River in the

Louisville Central Business District

(CBD) and proceeds through the

Medical Center; through Smoketown

and Shelby Park; through the University

of Louisville campus and the Louisville

International Airport and ends on the

west side of I–65 near the Gene Snyder

Freeway/Interstate 65 interchange.

The EIS will evaluate the following

alternatives: a No-Build Alternative, a

Transportation Systems Management

(TSM) Alternative consisting of low to

medium cost improvements to local bus

services and facilities, Light Rail Transit

(LRT) Alternatives, any additional

reasonable alternatives identified during

the EIS scoping process. The LRT

alternatives will include a supporting

bus plan.

63674 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices

The Major Investment Study (MIS) for

this project, the Transportation

Tomorrow (T2) Major Investment Study,

was completed by TARC in November

1998. A corridor refinement study was

completed in August 2000. Other

previous studies leading to the proposed

LRT include: the 1993 TARC

Transitional Study that recommended

two priority corridors, including the

South Central Corridor, for detailed

consideration of alternative transit

improvements; the 1995 KIPDA

Regional Mobility 2010 Transportation

Plan; and the Phase 1 systemwide plan

re-examination that resulted in the 1997

selection of the South Central Corridor

as the priority corridor for the MIS.

Scoping will be accomplished

through meetings and correspondence

with interested persons and businesses,

organizations, the general public,

federal and state agencies.

DATES: Comment Due Date: Written

comments on the range of alternatives

and impacts to be considered must be

postmarked no later than December 29,

2000 and should be sent to the Transit

Authority of River City. See ADDRESSES

below. Scoping Meetings: Two public

scoping meetings will be held:

(1) November 29, 2000 from 12:00

noon until 2:00 p.m., at the Jefferson

County Court House, Room 402, 527

West Jefferson Street, and

(2) November 29, 2000 from 6:00 p.m.

until 8:00 p.m. at Holy Name Church

Gymnasium, 2921 South Fourth Street.

A brief presentation of the project

purpose and alternatives will be

provided at the beginning of each

meeting. TARC and consultant staff will

be present to take agency and public

input regarding the scope of the

environmental studies, key issues, and

other suggested alternatives. Both

locations are accessible to disabled

citizens and both meeting will be signed

for the hearing impaired.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to: Bill Sexton, P.E., Project

Director, TARC, 1000 West Broadway,

Louisville, KY 40203. The addresses for

the public scoping meetings are

provided above under DATES. For

additional information about the

scoping meetings such as directions to

the meeting sites, or to be placed on the

project mailing list for future project

information, please contact Nina

Walfoort, Project Outreach Manager, at

1000 West Broadway, Louisville,

Kentucky, by phone at 502–561–5122 or

by e-mail at nwalfoort@ridetarc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Anthony Dittmeier, Federal Transit

Administration, Region IV at (404) 562–

3512.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Description of Project Area

The FTA, as joint lead agency with

TARC, plans to prepare an EIS on a

proposal to improve rapid transit

service within an approximately 15-

mile-long corridor beginning at the Ohio

River in the Louisville Central Business

District (CBD) and extending south to

just north of the Gene Snyder Freeway.

In addition to the CBD, the project

would serve the Medical Center,

Smoketown, Shelby Park, Old

Louisville, the University of Louisville

Student Center and Stadium, the

Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center,

Louisville International Airport, UPS,

Ford Motor Company, and park-andride lots near the Outer Loop and the

Gene Snyder Freeway. The

environmental impact analysis will

build upon previous evaluations of

route and mode alternatives conducted

over the past seven years as well as the

current work directed to refine the

recently completed MIS. The corridor

refinement study determined a more

specific alignment as well as the locally

preferred mode, Light Rail Transit

(LRT), for future analyses. TARC will

perform alignment refinements; identify

transit station and stop locations and

design concepts; identify alternative

storage yard locations; define right of

way requirements and costs; identify the

maximum service potential of the LRT

alternative in the context of enhanced,

integrated feeder and background bus

systems; and prepare, with FTA, a Draft

EIS.

II. Project Purpose and Need

The primary project purpose is to

improve rapid transit service in this

rapidly growing corridor by providing

increased transit capacity and faster,

convenient access between and among

the Louisville Central Business District;

the Louisville Medical Center; the

Smoketown, Shelby Park, and the Old

Louisville neighborhoods; the

University of Louisville; Louisville

International Airport; and the

developing areas south of the airport.

Associated needs include the following:

enhancing regional connectivity by

maximizing rail/bus integration;

accommodating future travel demand by

expanding modal options to provide an

alternative to the growing traffic

congestion in the I–65 corridor and on

major north-south streets; improving

regional air quality by reducing auto

emissions; improving mobility options

to employment, education, medical, and

retail centers for corridor residents, in

particular low-income, youth, elderly,

disabled, and ethnic minority

populations; and supporting local

community economic development

goals through coordinated transit and

land use planning.

III. Alternatives

The No-Build Alternative will consist

of all presently programmed projects,

that is, existing and fiscally committed

elements of the Region’s Transportation

Improvement Plan for this corridor and

nearby areas.

The TSM Alternative will include low

to medium capital cost bus system

enhancements and traffic engineering,

signalization, and other modes capital

improvements in addition to the

programmed projects included in the

No-Build Alternative. The bus service

enhancements are expected to include

new routes, more frequent service on

existing routes, new bus shelters, and

new buses.

The LRT Alternative would provide

light rail rapid transit service in the

South Central (Preston Street/I–65)

Corridor from the Louisville CBD to a

terminus in the vicinity of the I–65/

Gene Snyder Freeway interchange.

Stations or stops would be provided at

key transfer points to connect the line

with communities to the east and west.

Several of these stations would include

park-and-ride facilities. The proposed

station locations were determined as a

part of the recently completed MIS

refinement effort. A vehicle storage

facility also would be included. Final

locations for the stations/stops and

storage facility would be determined as

part of the environmental studies based

on operational requirements;

availability of land and costs;

neighborhood and site compatibility

and development potential; proximity to

major activity centers; and, traffic

circulation and access considerations.

Additional reasonable alternatives

identified during scoping, including

alignment alternatives, alternative

station locations, and alternative sites

for the rail storage and maintenance

facility, also will be evaluated.

IV. Probable Effects

Impacts proposed for analysis include

changes in the physical environment

(natural resources, air quality, noise,

water quality, geology, wetlands,

visual); changes in the social

environment (land use, business and

neighborhood disruptions,

environmental justice issues); changes

in traffic and pedestrian circulation;

impacts on parklands and historic sites;

changes in transit service and patronage;

associated changes in highway

congestion; capital, operating,

maintenance costs; and financial

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 24, 2000 / Notices 63675

implications. Impacts will be identified

both for the construction period and for

the long-term operation of the

alternatives. The primary evaluation of

the alternatives will focus on the extent

to which an alternative meets or

promotes the project purpose and need.

In addition, FTA’s national evaluation

criteria include: transportation;

environmental; social, economic, and

financial measures as required by

current federal (NEPA) and state

environmental laws and by Council on

Environmental Quality (CEO) and FTA

guidelines.

The TSM and LRT alternatives are

expected to increase ridership, and

therefore may improve air quality and

reduce automobile traffic congestion in

the South Central Corridor. Possible

adverse effects of these alternatives

include localized traffic congestion or

delay, property acquisition/

displacement, visual, noise/vibration,

wetlands, natural resources, hazardous

materials, and temporary constructionphase impacts. Mitigating measures will

be explored for identified adverse

effects.

V. Scoping

To ensure that the full range of issues

related to this proposed action are

addressed and all significant issues

identified, comments and suggestions

are invited from all interested parties.

Letters describing the proposed action

and soliciting comments were sent to

the appropriate federal, state and local

agencies, and to private organizations

and citizens who have expressed or are

known to have interest in this proposal.

Copies of the scoping package are

available from TARC upon request by

calling, emailing, or writing Nina

Walfoort as provided above in the

ADDRESSES section. During scoping,

comments should focus on identifying

specific social, economic, or

environmental impacts to be evaluated,

and suggesting alternatives that are less

costly or less environmentally damaging

that achieve similar transit objectives.

Comments should focus on the issues

and alternatives for analysis, and not on

a preference for a particular alternative.

Comments or questions concerning this

proposed action and the EIS may be

made at the public scoping meeting or

in writing directed to TARC at the

address provided above. Written

comments must be postmarked no later

than December 29, 2000.

VI. FTA Procedures

In accordance with Federal

transportation planning regulations and

environmental procedures (40 CFR Part

1500–1508 and 23 CFR Part 771), the

Draft EIS will be prepared and

circulated to solicit public and agency

comments on the proposed action.

Based on the comments received on the

Draft EIS, TARC will prepare the Final

EIS. Opportunity for public comment

will be provided throughout this project

development process.

Issued on: October 18, 2000.

Jerry Franklin,

Region IV Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–27230 Filed 10–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

[Docket NHTSA–99–5087]

Safety Performance Standards

Program Meeting

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of NHTSA Rulemaking

Status Meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice announces a

public meeting at which NHTSA will

answer questions from the public and

the automobile industry regarding the

agency’s vehicle regulatory program.

DATES: The Agency’s regular, quarterly

public meeting relating to its vehicle

regulatory program will be held on

Thursday, December 14, 2000,

beginning at 9:45 a.m. and ending at

approximately 12:00 p.m. at the Best

Western Gateway International Hotel in

Romulus, Michigan, telephone number

734–728–2800. Questions relating to the

vehicle regulatory program must be

submitted in writing with a diskette

(WordPerfect) by Tuesday, November

14, 2000, to the address shown below or

by e-mail. If sufficient time is available,

questions received after November 14,

may be answered at the meeting. The

individual, group or company

submitting a questions(s) does not have

to be present for the questions(s) to be

answered. A consolidated list of the

questions submitted by November 14,

2000 and the issues to be discussed, will

be posted on NHTSA’s web site

(www.nhtsa.dot.gov) by Monday,

December 11, 2000, and also will be

available at the meeting. The agency

will hold a second public meeting on

December 14, devoted exclusively to a

presentation of research and

development programs. This meeting

will begin at 1:30 p.m. and end at

approximately 5:00 p.m. This meeting is

described more fully in a separate

announcement.

ADDRESSES: Questions for the December

14, NHTSA Rulemaking Status Meeting,

relating to the agency’s vehicle

regulatory program, should be

submitted to Delia Lopez, NPS–01,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590, Fax Number 202–366–4329, email dlopez@nhtsa.dot.gov. The meeting

will be held at the Best Western

Gateway International Hotel, Romulus,

Michigan 48174, telephone number

734–728–2800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delia Lopez, (202) 366–1810.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA

holds a regular, quarterly meeting to

answer questions from the public and

the regulated industries regarding the

agency’s vehicle regulatory program.

Questions on aspects of the agency’s

research and development activities that

relate directly to ongoing regulatory

actions should be submitted, as in the

past, to the agency’s Safety Performance

Standards Office. The purpose of this

meeting is to focus on those phases of

NHTSA activities which are technical,

interpretative or procedural in nature.

Transcripts of these meetings will be

available for public inspection in the

DOT Docket in Washington, DC, within

four weeks after the meeting. Copies of

the transcript will then be available at

ten cents a page, (length has varied from

80 to 150 pages) upon request to DOT

Docket, Room PL–401, 400 Seventh

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The

DOT Docket is open to the public from

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The transcript

may also be accessed electronically at

http://dms.dot.gov, at docket NHTSA–

99–5087. Questions to be answered at

the quarterly meeting should be

organized by categories to help us

process the questions into an agenda

form more efficiently. Sample format:

I. Rulemaking

A. Crash avoidance

B. Crashworthiness

C. Other Rulemakings

II. Consumer Information

III. Miscellaneous

NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to

participants as necessary. Any person

desiring assistance of ‘‘auxiliary aids’’

(e.g., sign-language interpreter,

telecommunications devices for deaf

persons (TDDs), readers, taped texts,

brailled materials, or large print

materials and/or a magnifying device),

please contact Delia Lopez on (202)

366–1810, by COB Monday, December

11, 2000.