Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 18, 2015 / Notices 8753 

0280; FMCSA–2012–0337; FMCSA– 

2012–0339’’ in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box, and 

click ‘‘Search.’’ When the new screen 

appears, click on ‘‘Comment Now!’’ 

button and type your comment into the 

text box in the following screen. Choose 

whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual or on behalf 

of a third party and then submit. If you 

submit your comments by mail or hand 

delivery, submit them in an unbound 

format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, 

suitable for copying and electronic 

filing. If you submit comments by mail 

and would like to know that they 

reached the facility, please enclose a 

stamped, self-addressed postcard or 

envelope. FMCSA will consider all 

comments and material received during 

the comment period and may change 

this notice based on your comments. 

Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, as well as any 

documents mentioned in this preamble 

as being available in the docket, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and in the 

search box insert the docket number, 

‘‘FMCSA–2006–25246; FMCSA–2006– 

26066; FMCSA–2008–0340; FMCSA– 

2010–0327; FMCSA–2010–0385; 

FMCSA–2012–0280; FMCSA–2012– 

0337; FMCSA–2012–0339’’ in the 

‘‘Keyword’’ box and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

Next, click ‘‘Open Docket Folder’’ 

button choose the document listed to 

review. If you do not have access to the 

Internet, you may view the docket 

online by visiting the Docket 

Management Facility in Room W12–140 

on the ground floor of the DOT West 

Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Issued On: February 6, 2015. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03241 Filed 2–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No. FTA–2014–0025] 

Notice of Buy America Waiver for 

Track Turnout Components 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Buy America Waiver. 

SUMMARY: In response to a request from 

the Long Island Rail Road Company 

(LIRR), a subsidiary of the New York 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority 

(MTA), for a Buy America waiver for 

track turnout components, the Federal 

Transit Administration (FTA) hereby 

waives its Buy America requirements 

for LIRR’s procurement of the following 

track turnout components: Schwihag 

roller assemblies, Schwihag plates, 

ZU1–60 steel switch point rail sections, 

and movable point frogs. This waiver is 

limited to LIRR’s procurement of these 

track turnout components for the nine 

(9) turnouts that LIRR needs for VHL03 

LIRR Stage 3 of the East Side Access 

Project and the one (1) turnout that LIRR 

needs for VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 of the 

East Side Access Project. The turnouts 

themselves, however, are subject to 

FTA’s Buy America requirements and, 

accordingly, the turnouts must be 

manufactured in the United States. 

This Buy America waiver does not 

apply to the track turnout components 

for Phase I of LIRR’s Jamaica Capacity 

Improvements Project, and FTA will 

address that waiver request separately. 

Moreover, this Buy America waiver 

does not apply to the track turnout 

components for the Northeast Corridor 

Congestion Relief Project at Harold 

Interlocking, which is being addressed 

in a separate waiver decision published 

by the Federal Railroad Administration 

(FRA), as FRA funds are being used for 

that project. 

DATES: This waiver is effective 

immediately. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard L. Wong, FTA AttorneyAdvisor, at (202) 366–4011 or 

Richard.Wong@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of this notice is to announce 

that FTA is granting a non-availability 

waiver for LIRR’s procurement of track 

turnout components—i.e., Schwihag 

roller assemblies, Schwihag plates, 

ZU1–60 steel switch point rail sections, 

and movable point frogs (MPFs)—that 

are needed for VHL03 LIRR Stage 3 and 

VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 of the East Side 

Access (ESA) Project. 

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 

must take place in the United States; 

and (2) All of the components of the 

product must be of U.S. origin. 49 CFR 

661.5(d). 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)(2). 

If, however, FTA determines that ‘‘the 

steel, iron, and goods produced in the 

United States are not produced in a 

sufficient and reasonably available 

amount or are not of a satisfactory 

quality,’’ then FTA may issue a waiver 

(non-availability waiver). 49 U.S.C. 

5323(j)(2)(B); 49 CFR 661.7(c). 

On July 31, 2014, LIRR requested a 

non-availability Buy America waiver for 

the procurement of four specific track 

turnout components—i.e., Schwihag 

roller assemblies, Schwihag plates, 

ZU1–60 steel switch point rail sections, 

and MPFs—that are needed for the ESA 

Project. MTA entered into an FTA Full 

Funding Grant Agreement in 2006 to 

build the ESA Project. As described by 

LIRR, the ESA Project will extend LIRR 

commuter rail service from Queens to 

the east side of Midtown Manhattan and 

will construct a new LIRR Terminal at 

Grand Central Terminal. 

On February 4, 2015, LIRR submitted 

a letter to FTA indicating that it has 

become aware of alternate turnout 

designs that may be compatible with 

LIRR’s infrastructure, with some 

modifications, for the ESA Project and 

that may be available from a domestic 

source in the future. Accordingly, in its 

February 4, 2015 letter, LIRR narrowed 

its waiver request to apply only to 

VHL03 LIRR Stage 3 and VHL04 LIRR 

Stage 4 of the ESA Project. Specifically, 

LIRR explained that it critically needs 

the Buy America waiver for nine (9) 

turnouts that are necessary for VHL03 

LIRR Stage 3 of the ESA Project in order 

for LIRR to meet its 2016 installation 

schedule and to thereby avoid delays to 

the overall ESA project schedule. 

Additionally, LIRR specified that it 

needs the track turnout components 

waiver so that it may procure one (1) 

unique turnout—No. 32.75—for VHL04 

LIRR Stage 4 of the ESA Project. 

LIRR has stated that the foreignsourced MPFs are essential components 

of track turnouts for the following 

operational reasons: (1) turnouts with 

MPFs are necessary to withstand the 

frequent and heavy use by passenger 

and freight trains traveling along LIRR’s 

right of way; (2) turnouts with MPFs 

allow trains to travel through the 

turnouts at higher speeds, ultimately 

providing more throughput during rush 

hour; (3) turnouts with MPFs reduce 

impact loading to the turnouts; and (4) 

turnouts with MPFs provide for less 

wear and tear, thereby requiring less 

overall maintenance, extending the 

useful lives of the turnouts, and 

resulting in fewer outages and negative 

impacts on LIRR’s operations. 

Based on previous solicitations, 

market research, and manufacturer 

outreach, as set forth below, LIRR 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
8754 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 32 / Wednesday, February 18, 2015 / Notices 

1The roller assemblies and plates are 

manufactured in Switzerland; the ZU1–60 steel 

switch point rail sections are manufactured in 

Austria; and the MPFs are manufactured in 

Germany. 

2FTA defers to LIRR’s spelling and punctuation 

of the manufacturers’ names as presented in LIRR’s 

July 31, 2014, letter. 

concluded that it was unable to identify 

a domestic source for track turnout 

components—i.e., Schwihag roller 

assemblies, Schwihag plates, ZU1–60 

steel switch point rail sections, and 

MPFs—that LIRR needs for VHL03 LIRR 

Stage 3 and VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 of the 

ESA Project. 

In February 2014, LIRR issued a 

competitive solicitation seeking vendors 

to provide five (5) turnouts for VHL03 

LIRR Stage 3 of the ESA Project. LIRR 

received only one response, and it was 

from VAE Nortrak North America Inc. 

(Nortrak), which certified that it was not 

compliant with the Buy America 

requirements. Based on LIRR’s prior 

experience in procuring the same or 

similar turnouts, LIRR has found that 

Nortrak and Progress Rail Services 

Corporation (Progress) are the only two 

vendors that are technically capable of 

manufacturing turnouts with the roller 

assemblies, plates, ZU1–60 steel switch 

point rail sections, and MPFs that LIRR 

requires for the ESA Project. According 

to LIRR, Nortrak and Progress 

manufacture the turnouts domestically, 

but the turnout components that are the 

subject of this waiver are presently 

manufactured only non-domestically.1

Progress did not submit a bid in 

response to the February 2014 

solicitation related to VHL03 LIRR Stage 

3 of the ESA Project. 

Furthermore, in support of its 

requests, LIRR also conducted market 

research and manufacturer outreach. In 

conducting this research, LIRR utilized 

the National Railroad Passenger 

Corporation’s (Amtrak) previous market 

research regarding potential domestic 

manufacturers of the four component 

types that are the subject of this notice. 

Amtrak conducted its market research at 

the request of FRA, and the research 

included outreach to manufacturers that 

were previously identified by the U.S. 

Department of Commerce’s National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) in a December 2012 Supplier 

Scouting Report. 

Additionally, LIRR conducted its own 

independent outreach and contacted 

seven potential manufacturers: Unitrac 

Railroad Materials, Inc., Arcelor Mittal, 

J. Manufacturing Inc., Steel Dynamics, 

Inc., Metal Tech, Compucision, LLC, 

and IAT International Inc.2 Three of the 

seven potential manufacturers failed to 

respond to repeated requests for 

information. Four manufacturers 

responded, but LIRR concluded that the 

four manufacturers were not potential 

domestic sources for the components 

because the manufacturers each stated 

that either it did not currently 

manufacture the components or it did 

not appear economically feasible for the 

manufacturer to manufacture the 

components in the quantities needed by 

LIRR. One of the four responsive 

manufacturers, Compucision, LLC, 

expressed interested, but it had never 

manufactured the components 

previously and had little knowledge of 

the technical requirements. Based on 

these efforts, LIRR determined that there 

are no U.S. manufacturers that are 

willing and capable of producing the 

turnout components that are presently 

required for VHL03 LIRR Stage 3 and 

VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 the ESA Project. 

On December 19, 2014, FTA 

published a Federal Register notice 

requesting comment on LIRR’s waiver 

request, pursuant to 49 CFR 661.7. 79 

FR 75857 (Dec. 19, 2014). No comments 

were received to the docket. 

Based upon LIRR’s good faith efforts 

to identify potential domestic 

manufacturers for these track turnout 

components, LIRR’s informed 

conclusion that there are presently no 

U.S. manufacturers that are willing and 

capable of producing the turnout 

components needed for VHL03 LIRR 

Stage 3 and VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 of the 

ESA Project, and the lack of responses 

to FTA’s Federal Register Notice, FTA 

is issuing a non-availability waiver, 

pursuant to 49 CFR 661.7(c), for LIRR’s 

procurement of the track turnout 

components—i.e., Schwihag roller 

assemblies, Schwihag plates, ZU1–60 

steel switch point rail sections, and 

MPFs—but in connection with only the 

nine (9) turnouts needed for VHL03 

LIRR Stage 3 and the one (1) turnout 

needed for VHL04 LIRR Stage 4 of the 

East Side Access Project, as set forth 

above. Subsequent waiver requests for 

track turnout components will be 

subject to notice-and-comment 

publication requirements. This waiver 

does not apply to the turnouts 

themselves, and, accordingly, the 

turnouts must be manufactured in the 

United States pursuant to FTA’s Buy 

America requirements. See 49 CFR part 

661. 

Furthermore, this Buy America 

waiver does not apply to the track 

turnout components for Phase I of 

LIRR’s Jamaica Capacity Improvements 

Project, which will be addressed in a 

separate waiver decision by FTA. With 

respect to LIRR’s Buy America waiver 

request from March 26, 2013 (and 

supplemented on September 19, 2014) 

for track turnout components of one (1) 

#20 tangential geometry turnout for 

LIRR’s State of Good Repair (SGR) 

Program, LIRR withdrew that waiver 

request on February 9, 2015 due to a 

potential domestically produced 

alternative turnout for its SGR program. 

Furthermore, this Buy America 

waiver does not apply to the track 

turnout components for the Northeast 

Corridor Congestion Relief Project at 

Harold Interlocking, which is being 

addressed in a separate waiver decision 

published by FRA, as FRA funds are 

being used for that project. 

Dana Nifosi, 

Acting Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2015–03242 Filed 2–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. DOT–MARAD 2015 0020] 

Request for Comments of a Previously 

Approved Information Collection 

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 Request (ICR) abstracted 

below is being forwarded to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and comments. A Federal 

Register Notice with a 60-day comment 

period soliciting comments on the 

following information collection was 

published on November 26, 2014 

(Federal Register 70610, Vol. 79, No. 

228). 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before March 20, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Gearhart, 202–366–1867, 

Office of Shipyards and Marine 

Engineering, Maritime Administration 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Shipbuilding Orderbook and 

Shipyard Employment. 

OMB Control Number: 2133–0029. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

Previously Approved Information 

Collection. 

Abstract: MARAD collects this 

information from the shipbuilding and 

ship repair industry primarily to 

determine if an adequate mobilization 

base exists for national defense and for 

use in a national emergency. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES