Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 62 / Thursday, April 2, 2009 / Notices 15049 

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 http:// 

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 http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions please 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 should waive its 

Buy America requirements of 49 CFR 

part 661 for minivans and minivan 

chassis that are manufactured or 

assembled outside the United States. 

Such waiver would apply to the 

domestic content and final assembly 

requirements of 49 CFR 661.11. 

ElDorado National, Kansas, has asked 

FTA to waive its Buy America 

requirements, on the basis of nonavailability, for minivan chassis 

manufactured and assembled by 

Chrysler in Ontario, Canada. ElDorado 

National uses Chrysler minivan chassis 

to manufacture its Amerivan loweredfloor minivans. In its request for a 

waiver, a copy of which has been placed 

in the Docket, ElDorado National asserts 

that General Motors and Chrysler 

minivan chassis, including those used 

on the Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac 

Montana, Buick Terraza, Saturn Relay, 

Chrysler Town & Country, and Dodge 

Grand Caravan, are no longer 

manufactured in the United States. 

In addition to ElDorado National, FTA 

has received a number of inquiries from 

its grantees about the availability of 

minivans from a domestic source. 

According to these grantees, minivans 

are no longer available from a source 

that can comply with FTA’s Buy 

America requirements. 

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). One exception, 

however, is if ‘‘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.’’ 49 U.S.C. 

5323(j)(2)(B). 

FTA notes that, unlike with public 

interest waivers, it is not required to 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

before waiving its Buy America 

requirements on the basis of nonavailability. In this instance, however, 

FTA is proceeding with an abundance 

of caution. In order to understand 

completely the facts surrounding the 

ElDorado National’s request, FTA seeks 

comment from all interested parties 

regarding the availability of 

domestically manufactured minivans 

and minivan chassis. If granted, a 

waiver would apply to all minivans and 

minivan chassis, not only those 

manufactured by Chrysler. A full copy 

of ElDorado National’s petition has been 

placed in docket number FTA–2009– 

0002. 

Issued this 26th day of March, 2009. 

Scott A. Biehl, 

Acting Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. E9–7372 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

Assistance to Small Shipyards Grant 

Program 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation, Office of 

Shipyards and Marine Technology. 

ACTION: Notice of Small Shipyard Grant 

Program. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Number: 20.814. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

E. McKeever, Associate Administrator 

for Business and Workforce 

Development, Maritime Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, 

DC 20590; phone: (202) 366–5737; fax: 

(202) 366–6988; or e-mail: 

jean.mckeever@dot.gov. 

Key Dates: The period for submitting 

grant applications, as mandated by 

statute, commenced on March 11, 2009 

and will terminate on May 10, 2009. 

The applications must be received by 

the Maritime Administration by 5 p.m. 

EDT on May 10, 2009. Applications 

received later than this time will not be 

considered. The Maritime Administrator 

intends to award grants no later than 

July 9, 2009. 

Funding Opportunity: Section 3508 of 

the National Defense Authorization Act 

for Fiscal Year 2009 (Pub. L. 110–417) 

and the section entitled ‘‘Assistance to 

Small Shipyards’’ in the Omnibus 

Appropriations Act, 2009, provide that 

the Maritime Administration shall 

establish an assistance program for 

small shipyards. Under this program, 

there is currently an aggregate of 

$17,150,000 available for grants for 

capital improvements, and related 

infrastructure improvements at qualified 

shipyard facilities that will be effective 

in fostering efficiency, competitive 

operations, and quality ship 

construction, repair, and 

reconfiguration. ($350,000 of the 

$17,500,000 appropriated for the 

program is reserved for program 

administration.) Such grants may not be 

used to construct buildings or other 

physical facilities or to acquire land 

unless such use is specifically approved 

by the Administrator as being consistent 

with and supplemental to capital and 

related infrastructure improvements. 

Grant funds may also be used for 

maritime training programs to foster 

technical skills and operational 

productivity in communities whose 

economies are related to or dependent 

upon the maritime industry. However, 

grants for such training programs may 

only be awarded to ‘‘Eligible 

Applicants’’ as described below but 

training programs can be established 

through vendors to such applicants. 

Applications received for funding 

under the Assistance for Small 

Shipyards program funded by the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009, as announced in the 

Federal Register, Volume 74 Number 41 

on March 4, 2009, will also be 

considered for funding under this 

announcement without any additional 

action required by the applicant. 

Applications for funding received by the 

Maritime Administration after 5 p.m. 

EDT on April 20, 2009 and prior to 5 

p.m. EDT on May 10, 2009 will be 

considered only for funding under this 

announcement. 

Award Information: The Maritime 

Administration intends to award the full 

amount of the available funding through 

grants to the extent that there are worthy 

applications. No more than 25 percent 

of the funds available will be awarded 

to shipyard facilities that have more 

than 600 production employees. The 

Maritime Administration will seek to 

obtain the maximum benefit from the 

available funding by awarding grants for 

as many of the most worthy projects as 

possible. The Maritime Administration 

may partially fund projects by selecting 

parts of the total project. The start date 

and period of performance for each 

award will depend on the specific 

project and must be agreed to by the 

Maritime Administration. 

Eligibility Information: 1. Eligible 

Applicants—the statutes referenced in 

‘‘Funding Opportunity’’ above provide 

that shipyards can apply for grants. The 

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15050 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 62 / Thursday, April 2, 2009 / Notices 

shipyard facility for which a grant is 

sought must be in a single geographical 

location, located in or near a maritime 

community, and may not have more 

than 1,200 production employees. 2. 

Other Considerations in Making 

Awards—In providing grants, the 

Administrator shall take into account (a) 

the economic circumstances and 

conditions of the maritime community 

near to which a shipyard facility is 

located; (b) projects that would be 

effective in fostering efficiency, 

competitive operations, and quality ship 

construction, repair, and 

reconfiguration; and (c) projects that 

would be effective in fostering employee 

skills and enhancing productivity. 

Matching Requirements: (1) Except as 

provided in item (2) below, Federal 

funds for any eligible project shall not 

exceed 75 percent of the total cost of 

such project. The remaining portion of 

the cost shall be paid in funds from or 

on behalf of the awardee. The applicant 

will be required to submit detailed 

financial statements and any necessary 

supporting documentation 

demonstrating how and when such 

matching requirement is proposed to be 

funded. (2) Exceptions—If the 

Administrator determines that a 

proposed project merits support and 

cannot be undertaken without a higher 

percentage of Federal financial 

assistance, the Administrator may 

award a grant for such project with a 

lesser matching requirement than is 

described in item (1). (3) Unless waived 

for good cause, the awardee’s matching 

requirement must be paid prior to 

payment of any federal funds for the 

project. 

Application: An application should 

be filed on standard Form SF–424 

which can be found on the internet at 

Marad.dot.gov. Although the form is 

available electronically, we request that 

the application be filed in hard copy as 

indicated below due to the amount of 

information requested. A shipyard 

facility may include multiple projects in 

one application. In order to allow us to 

evaluate whether an applicant meets the 

statutory criteria, the application for a 

grant should also provide the following 

information as an addendum to Form 

SF–424: 

1. Unique identifier of entity’s parent 

company (when applicable): Data 

Universal Numbering System (DUNS + 

4 number) (when applicable). 

2. Shipyard company officer’s 

certification as to shipyard’s compliance 

with the following requirements: (a) The 

shipyard facility for which a grant is 

sought is located in a single 

geographical location in or near a 

maritime community and (b)(i) The 

shipyard facility has no more than 600 

production employees, or (ii) The 

shipyard facility has more than 600 

production employees, but less than 

1,200 production employees. 

3. A comprehensive detailed 

description of the project. 

4. A description of the need for the 

project and an explanation of how the 

project will fulfill this need. 

5. An analysis demonstrating how the 

project will be effective in fostering 

efficiency, competitive operations, and 

quality ship construction, repair, or 

reconfiguration. 

6. A detailed itemization of the cost 

of the project together with supporting 

documentation, including vendor 

quotes and installation costs. 

7. Detailed methodology and timeline 

for implementing the project. 

8. A prioritized list of project 

elements and cost of each if funding for 

entire project is not available. 

9. Most recent CPA audited, reviewed 

or compiled financial statements. 

10. Detailed pro forma financial 

statements together with any supporting 

documentation demonstrating how and 

when such matching requirement is 

proposed to be funded. 

11. Shipyard company officer’s 

certification that the applicant has the 

authority to carry out the proposed 

project. 

12. Any existing programs or 

arrangements that can be used to 

supplement or leverage the federal grant 

assistance. 

13. Information concerning the 

economic circumstances and conditions 

of the maritime community near to 

which the shipyard is located. 

14. Certification in accordance with 

the Department of Transportation’s 

regulation restricting lobbying, 49 CFR 

part 20, that the applicant has not, and 

will not, make any prohibited payments 

out of the requested grant. 

Additional information may be 

requested as deemed necessary by the 

Maritime Administration in order to 

facilitate and complete its review of the 

application. If such information is not 

provided, the Maritime Administration 

may deem the application incomplete 

and cease processing it. 

Where to File Application: Submit an 

original copy and seven additional 

copies of the application to Jean E. 

McKeever, Associate Administrator for 

Business and Workforce Development, 

Room W21–318, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., 

SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Evaluation of Applications: The 

Maritime Administration will evaluate 

the applications on the basis of the 

economic information provided and in 

terms of how well the project for which 

a grant is requested would be effective 

in fostering efficiency, competitive 

operations, and quality ship 

construction, repair, and 

reconfiguration. The Administrator will 

award grants in his sole discretion in 

such amounts and under such 

conditions for those projects he 

determines will best further the 

statutory purposes of the small shipyard 

grant program. 

Conditions Attached to Awards: The 

grant agreement will set out the records 

to be maintained by the awardee which 

must be available for review and audit 

by the Administrator, as well as any 

other conditions and requirements. 

Awardees that receive more than $5 

million in assistance under this program 

will be required to certify that it has 

filed all Federal tax returns required 

during the three years preceding the 

certification, has not been convicted of 

a criminal offense under the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986, and has not, 

more than 90 days prior to certification, 

been notified of any unpaid Federal tax 

assessment for which the liability 

remains unsatisfied, unless the 

assessment is the subject of an 

installment agreement or offer in 

compromise that has been approved by 

the Internal Revenue Service and is not 

in default, or the assessment is the 

subject of a non-frivolous administrative 

or judicial proceeding. 

(Authority: 46 U.S.C. 54101; 49 CFR 1.66) 

Dated: March 27, 2009. 

By order of the Acting Deputy Maritime 

Administrator. 

Leonard Sutter, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–7384 Filed 4–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

[REG–105606–99; REG–161424–01] 

Proposed Collection; Comment 

Request for Regulation Project 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort 

to reduce paperwork and respondent 

burden, invites the general public and 

other Federal agencies to take this 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

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