Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2024 / Notices 77227 

8 89 FR 45934. 

9For more information on the Community 

Benefits Agreement, see: https://hsr.ca.gov/ 

business-opportunities/general-info/communitybenefits-agreement/. 

10 In November 2023, 13 rail unions representing 

more than 160,000 workers signed a Memorandum 

of Understanding with California High-Speed Rail 

Authority, establishing a commitment for the use of 

highly skilled union labor required to operate and 

maintain the system. 11 89 FR 45934. 

availability of eurobalises and euroloops 

in the Brightline West Waiver and 

concluded these products are not 

produced in the United States. 

In addition, and similar to the 

Brightline West Waiver, the Project will 

also require the use of specialty highspeed rail turnouts to allow trains to 

smoothly diverge to a passing siding, 

which plays a key role in safety and 

stability of train operations. The Project 

will also require fire alarm panels and 

devices for use in stations, garages, and 

maintenance facilities. The Authority 

has researched known suppliers but did 

not identify a domestic manufacturer for 

these products, which FRA also 

previously concluded are not produced 

in the United States.8

The Authority explains in the DSWP 

that over 98 percent of the total direct 

dollar expenditures for the Project will 

be spent on domestically sourced 

products and labor, including 100 

percent of the civil infrastructure costs. 

In addition, the Project has created 

approximately 13,000 domestic jobs 

across the construction period and 

includes a community benefits 

agreement designed to assist small 

businesses and job seekers in finding or 

obtaining construction contracts.9 The 

Authority has also reached an 

agreement with rail labor, which may 

result in ongoing operations and 

maintenance work being performed by 

union labor.10 The DSWP further 

explains efforts the Authority will take 

to facilitate, where feasible, a ramp up 

in domestic production capabilities. 

At the time of this proposed waiver, 

the Authority has not selected an OEM 

for the trainsets and has not completed 

its procurement process for the Project. 

As noted above, the Authority’s 

procurement process is separate from 

FRA’s consideration of nonavailability 

under 49 U.S.C. 22905(a)(2)(B). FRA 

expects the Authority to make its 

procurement decision based on the 

needs for the Project and to select 

products that meet the Authority’s 

specifications. If, based on the final 

procurement, there are changes to the 

items described in the final waiver, the 

Authority may need to request 

additional waivers from FRA. 

V. Findings and Proposed Waiver 

FRA has preliminarily determined 

that these products are not produced in 

the United States in a sufficient and 

reasonably available amount or are not 

of a satisfactory quality, consistent with 

49 U.S.C. 22905(a)(2)(B). FRA finds that 

the Authority has conducted 

appropriate due diligence through 

market research to identify potential 

suppliers for the Project. The 

Authority’s research included 

discussions with potential suppliers and 

coordination with Brightline West. FRA 

previously considered the products 

described in the Authority’s request 

with respect to the Brightline West 

High-Speed Passenger Train Project and 

determined the products were not 

produced in the United States, which 

included consultation with NIST–MEP 

through its supplier scouting program.11

Given the short amount of time between 

FRA’s previous findings and the 

Authority’s request, FRA is relying on 

its findings in the Brightline West 

Waiver to support its determination 

with respect to the Authority’s request. 

Based on its review of the waiver 

request, the Authority’s DSWP, and 

FRA’s previous findings in the 

Brightline West Waiver, FRA proposes 

to waive its Buy America requirements 

for the products listed above in Section 

IV. 

The proposed waiver would apply 

only to products listed in Section IV for 

use in the Project. FRA is not proposing 

to waive any requirements under BABA, 

as the proposed waiver does not apply 

to any construction materials used in 

the Project. The proposed waiver would 

not apply to other FRA recipients or to 

other grants that might be made to the 

Authority for other projects (including 

any future phases related to the Project). 

This proposed waiver will expire upon 

the end of the period of performance 

and closeout of the grant agreement for 

the Project. 

VI. Request for Comment 

FRA will consider comments received 

during the comment period, consistent 

with BABA and 2 CFR 184.7. FRA may 

consider comments received after this 

period to the extent practicable. 

Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 22905(a)(4), if 

FRA determines it is necessary to waive 

its Buy America requirements, FRA will 

publish its decision in the Federal 

Register and provide an opportunity for 

public comment on such finding for a 

reasonable period of time not to exceed 

15 days. After such period, FRA’s 

decision will be effective. 

Issued in Washington DC 

Amitabha Bose, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21574 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Limitation on Claims Against Proposed 

Public Transportation Project—West 

Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor 

Project, Cities of Los Angeles, Vernon, 

Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy, South 

Gate, Downey, Paramount, Bellflower, 

Cerritos, and Artesia; County of Los 

Angeles, California 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces final 

environmental actions taken by the 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

regarding the West Santa Ana Branch 

Transit Corridor Project, Cities of Los 

Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, Bell, 

Cudahy, South Gate, Downey, 

Paramount, Bellflower, Cerritos, and 

Artesia; County of Los Angeles, 

California. The corridor is also known 

as the Southeast Gateway Line. The 

purpose of this notice is to publicly 

announce FTA’s environmental 

decisions on the subject project, and to 

activate the limitation on any claims 

that may challenge these final 

environmental actions. 

DATES: A claim seeking judicial review 

of FTA actions announced herein for the 

listed public transportation project will 

be barred unless the claim is filed on or 

before February 18, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathryn Loster, Assistant Chief Counsel, 

Office of Chief Counsel, (312) 705–1269, 

or Saadat Khan, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, Office of 

Environmental Programs, (202) 366– 

9647. FTA is located at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 

Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FTA has taken final 

agency actions subject to 23 U.S.C. 

139(l) by issuing certain approvals for 

the public transportation project listed 

below. The actions on the project, as 

well as the laws under which such 

actions were taken, are described in the 

documentation issued in connection 

with the project to comply with the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
77228 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2024 / Notices 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and in other documents in the 

FTA environmental project files for the 

project. Interested parties may contact 

either the project sponsor or the relevant 

FTA Regional Office for more 

information. Contact information for 

FTA’s Regional Offices may be found at 

https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/ 

regional-offices/regional-offices. 

This notice applies to all FTA 

decisions on the listed project as of the 

issuance date of this notice and all laws 

under which such actions were taken, 

including, but not limited to, NEPA (42 

U.S.C. 4321–4375), section 4(f) 

requirements (49 U.S.C. 303), section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108), 

Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 

1531), Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251), 

Rivers and Harbors Act (33 U.S.C. 408), 

the Uniform Relocation and Real 

Property Acquisition Policies Act (42 

U.S.C. 4601), and the Clean Air Act (42 

U.S.C. 7401–7671q). This notice does 

not, however, alter or extend the 

limitation period for challenges of 

project decisions subject to previous 

notices published in the Federal 

Register. The project modifications and 

actions that are the subject of this notice 

follow: 

Project name and location: West 

Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor 

Project (Project), Cities of Los Angeles, 

Vernon, Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy, 

South Gate, Downey, Paramount, 

Bellflower, Cerritos, and Artesia; County 

of Los Angeles, California. 

Project sponsor: Los Angeles County 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

(LACMTA), City of Los Angeles, County 

of Los Angeles, California. 

Project description: The Project would 

construct an approximately 14.5-mile 

light rail transit (LRT) line from the 

northern terminus at the City of Los 

Angeles/Florence-Firestone 

unincorporated area of Los Angeles 

County to a southern terminus in the 

City of Artesia. The Project would be 

primarily within the right-of-way (ROW) 

of the Union Pacific Railroad, Port of 

Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, or 

LACMTA. The Project would also 

include nine LRT stations along the new 

alignment, one infill station on the C 

(Green) Line, and five parking facilities. 

Final agency actions: Section 106 no 

adverse effect determination, dated 

March 12, 2024; section 4(f) de minimis 

impact determination, dated March 29, 

2024; West Santa Ana Branch Corridor 

Project Record of Decision (ROD), dated 

August 23, 2024. 

Supporting documentation: West 

Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor 

Project Final Environmental Impact 

Statement/Final Environmental Impact 

Report (Final EIS/EIR), dated March 29, 

2024. West Santa Ana Branch Transit 

Corridor Project Draft EIS/EIR, dated 

July 30, 2021. The ROD, Final EIS/EIR, 

Draft EIS/EIR and associated documents 

can be viewed and downloaded from: 

https://www.metro.net/projects/ 

southeastgateway/ 

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

Megan Blum, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Planning 

and Environment. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21582 Filed 9–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2024–0055] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Notice and Request for 

Comment; Reporting of Information 

and Documents About Potential 

Defects 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments on an extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection of information. 

SUMMARY: NHTSA invites public 

comments about our intention to request 

approval from the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for an extension 

without change of a currently approved 

information collection. Before a Federal 

agency can collect certain information 

from the public, it must receive 

approval from OMB. Under procedures 

established by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995, before seeking OMB 

approval, Federal agencies must solicit 

public comment on proposed 

collections of information, including 

extensions and reinstatement of 

previously approved collections. This 

document describes a collection of 

information for which NHTSA intends 

to seek OMB approval on the reporting 

of information and documents about 

potential safety defects. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before November 19, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by the Docket No. NHTSA– 

2024–0055 through any of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Go to the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12– 

140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 

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

Friday, except on Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number for this notice. 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 can search for 

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) or you may visit https://

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov or the street 

address listed above. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets 

via the internet. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information or access to 

background documents, contact Jeff 

Quandt, Trends Analysis Division 

(NEF–108), Room W48–312, National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave., Washington, DC 

20590. Telephone (202) 366–5207. 

Please identify the relevant collection of 

information by referring to its OMB 

Control Number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), before an agency 

submits a proposed collection of 

information to OMB for approval, it 

must first publish a document in the 

Federal Register providing a 60-day 

comment period and otherwise consult 

with members of the public and affected 

agencies concerning each proposed 

collection of information. The OMB has 

promulgated regulations describing 

what must be included in such a 

document. Under OMB’s regulation (at 

5 CFR 1320.8(d)), an agency must ask 

for public comment on the following: (a) 

whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1