Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 174 / Monday, September 9, 2024 / Notices 73185 

Maintenance Facility South Record of 

Decision (ROD), dated August 7, 2024. 

Supporting documentation: 

Operations and Maintenance Facility 

South Project Final Environmental 

Impact Statement (FEIS), dated June 7, 

2024, and Operations and Maintenance 

Facility South Project Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 

dated September 22, 2023. The ROD, 

FEIS, DEIS and associated documents 

can be viewed and downloaded from: 

https://www.soundtransit.org/systemexpansion/operations-maintenancefacility-south. 

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

Megan Blum, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning 

and Environment. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20190 Filed 9–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No. FTA–2024–0009] 

Notice of Proposed Buy America 

Waiver and Request for Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) received a request 

from the Detroit Transportation 

Corporation (DTC) for a Buy America 

nonavailability waiver for the 

procurement of special trackwork 

turnout switch components needed to 

keep the DTC’s Elevated Guideway in a 

state of good repair. FTA is providing 

notice of the nonavailability waiver 

request and seeks public comment 

before deciding whether to grant the 

request. If granted, the waiver would 

apply for the switch components 

identified in the waiver request. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 24, 2024. Late-filed 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit all comments 

electronically to the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

refer to the Federal Transit 

Administration and the docket number 

of this notice. Note that all submissions 

received, including any personal 

information provided, will be posted 

without change and will be available to 

the public on https://

www.regulations.gov. You may review 

DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement 

in the Federal Register published April 

11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or at https://

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jason Luebbers, FTA Attorney-Advisor, 

at (202) 366–8864 or Jason.Luebbers@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this notice is to seek public 

comment on whether the FTA should 

grant a nonavailability waiver for the 

Detroit Transportation Corporation 

(DTC) for the procurement of 

replacement special trackwork turnout 

switch components (the ‘‘switch’’). 

Background 

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). 

FTA may waive Buy America 

requirements for a product if, among 

other reasons, a compliant version of the 

product is not produced in a sufficient 

and reasonably available amount or is 

not of a satisfactory quality. 49 U.S.C. 

5323(j)(2)(B). FTA cannot deny a request 

for a nonavailability waiver unless it 

can provide the waiver applicant with a 

written certification that: the item is 

produced in the United States in a 

sufficient and reasonably available 

amount; the item produced in the 

United States is of a satisfactory quality; 

and includes a list of known 

manufacturers in the United States from 

which the item can be obtained. 49 

U.S.C. 5323(j)(6). 

DTC is the owner and operator of the 

Detroit People Mover, which is the 

largest municipal rail system in 

Michigan. It is an automated light rail 

system that operates twelve rail cars on 

an elevated single track in a 2.9-mile 

loop with thirteen passenger stations in 

Detroit’s central business district. 

The existing switches were installed 

as original equipment in 1987 and 

designed to European standards, using 

AREMA 115RE rail throughout the 

turnout with a special EN60E1A1 

switch point section. The proper 

operation of the switch is essential for 

the continued, safe operations of DTC 

vehicles. DTC seeks a waiver for the 

switch because there are no known 

domestic manufacturers of the switch. 

DTC previously sought and received a 

Buy America waiver from FTA for two 

replacement switches from Delta 

Railroad Construction, Inc. (Delta), on 

April 19, 2016 (81 FR 23077). 

On January 19, 2023, DTC issued a 

request for proposals (RFP) (No. 1–19– 

2023, for DTC Sub-Package 7), which 

includes the special track switch 

described above, and received two 

responses. Both bidders certified that 

the switches they could provide would 

not comply with the FTA Buy America 

requirements. Following the RFP, DTC 

submitted a nonavailability waiver 

request to FTA for the noncompliant 

switch components. 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2) 

and 49 CFR 661.7(c)(2). 

The product that requires a waiver is 

one pair of EN60E1A1 switch point rails 

and all appurtenances associated with 

its installation; four transition head 

machined rails for connection to frog 

and turnout rails; and one set of switch 

point rods consisting of two drive rods 

and two detector rods. FTA estimates 

the total cost of goods subject to this 

proposed waiver is less than $300,000. 

Proposed Waiver 

FTA proposes waiving the Buy 

America requirement for the special 

trackwork switches DTC seeks to 

procure under Sub-Package 7. The 

proposed waiver would apply only to 

the switch described above that is 

procured after a notice of final waiver is 

published. The waiver would not apply 

to any other products or any other 

projects besides Sub-Package 7. The 

proposed waiver would be effective 

from the effective date of the final 

waiver through the period of 

performance and closeout of FTA’s 

financial assistance for the project, 

which is estimated to be March 30, 

2030. 

Request for Comment 

This notice satisfies FTA’s 

requirement to publish any proposed 

Buy America waiver in the Federal 

Register and provide the public with a 

reasonable period of time for notice and 

comment. 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3) and 

section 70937(b)(1) of the Build 

America, Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117– 

58). 

FTA seeks public and industry 

comment from all interested parties. In 

particular, FTA seeks comment 

regarding whether the waiver should be 

approved, and, if so, whether it should 

be modified from FTA’s proposal and 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
73186 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 174 / Monday, September 9, 2024 / Notices 

1 70 FR 51286. 

why. Relevant information and 

comments will help FTA understand 

completely the facts surrounding the 

waiver requests and FTA’s proposal. 

In accordance with Section 70916(c) 

of the Build America, Buy America Act, 

FTA will also consult with the Hollings 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership 

before approving the proposed waiver. 

Veronica Vanterpool, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20257 Filed 9–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2024–0053] 

Damon Motors Inc.; Receipt of Petition 

for Temporary Exemption From a Rear 

Wheel Brake Requirement of FMVSS 

No. 123 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a petition for 

a temporary exemption; request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: Damon Motors Inc. (Damon) 

has petitioned the agency for a 

temporary exemption from a rear wheel 

brake control requirement of Federal 

Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 

No. 123, Motorcycle controls and 

displays. The petitioner seeks to install 

the rear brake control on the left 

handlebar instead of the right foot 

control required by FMVSS No. 123. 

NHTSA is publishing this document in 

accordance with statutory and 

administrative provisions and requests 

comment on the merits of Damon’s 

exemption petition. NHTSA has made 

no judgment at this time on the merits 

of the petition. 

DATES: You should submit your 

comments not later than October 9, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Natasha Reed, Office of the Chief 

Counsel, NCC–200, National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. Telephone: (202) 366–2992; Fax: 

(202) 366–3820. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on the application described 

above. You may submit comments 

identified by docket number in the 

heading of this notice by any of the 

following methods: 

• Fax: 1 (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number. 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 discussion 

below. We will consider all comments 

received before the close of business on 

the comment closing date indicated 

above. To the extent possible, we will 

also consider comments filed after the 

closing date. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov at any time or to 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. Telephone: 

(202) 366–9826. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice, DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS, accessible through 

www.dot.gov/privacy. To facilitate 

comment tracking and response, we 

encourage commenters to provide their 

name, or the name of their organization; 

however, submission of names is 

completely optional. Whether or not 

commenters identify themselves, all 

timely comments will be fully 

considered. If you wish to provide 

comments containing proprietary or 

confidential information, please contact 

the agency for alternate submission 

instructions. 

Confidential Business Information: If 

you wish to submit any information 

under a claim of confidentiality, submit 

these materials to NHTSA’s Office of the 

Chief Counsel in accordance with 49 

CFR part 512. All requests for 

confidential treatment must be 

submitted directly to the Office of the 

Chief Counsel. NHTSA is currently 

treating electronic submission as an 

acceptable method for submitting 

confidential business information to the 

agency under part 512. If you claim that 

any of the information or documents 

provided in your response constitutes 

confidential business information 

within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 

552(b)(4), or are protected from 

disclosure pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1905, 

you may submit your request via email 

to Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the 

Chief Counsel at Daniel.Rabinovitz@

dot.gov. Do not send a hardcopy of a 

request for confidential treatment to 

NHTSA’s headquarters. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Motorcycle Rear Brake Control 

Requirement in FMVSS No. 123 and Its 

Purpose 

FMVSS No. 123, Motorcycle Controls 

and Displays, specifies requirements for 

the location, operation, identification, 

and illumination of motorcycle controls 

and displays. The purpose of FMVSS 

No. 123 is to minimize crashes caused 

by operator error in responding to the 

motoring environment by standardizing 

certain motorcycle controls and 

displays. Among other requirements, 

FMVSS No. 123 S5.2.1 (table 1) requires 

the control for a motorcycle’s rear 

brakes to be located on the right side of 

the motorcycle and to be operable by the 

rider’s right foot. 

In 2005, NHTSA issued a final rule 

amending FMVSS No. 123 to require 

scooter-type motorcycles with automatic 

transmissions (i.e., scooters without a 

clutch lever) to have a left-hand rear 

brake control.1 NHTSA chose not to 

allow the option of placing the rear 

brake control on either the left 

handlebar or right foot pedal, explaining 

it had concerns that permitting 

manufacturers to choose between two 

different arrangements could result in a 

loss of standardization, as similar or 

even identical clutchless motorcycles 

could have different rear brake controls. 

Further, NHTSA stated that while some 

commenters asserted such an outcome 

would not have any safety 

consequences, without probative data, 

the agency believed the goal of 

standardization was better served via 

FMVSS No. 123 specifically requiring 

one brake control location. Thus, the 

final rule made the left-hand rear brake 

control a requirement, not an option, on 

scooter-type motorcycles with automatic 

transmissions (i.e., without a clutch 

lever). The final rule continued to 

require non-scooter motorcycles with 

combined brake systems to have their 

single-point control located at the right 

foot, the required location for the rear 

brake control. For supplemental rear 

brake controls, the final rule continued 


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