104286 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 245 / Friday, December 20, 2024 / Notices 

1The number of passengers a vehicle is designed 

to transport is based on the number of designated 

seats in the vehicle and does not include areas 

suitable, or even designed for, standing passengers. 

See 49 CFR 383.5 and Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration guidance: https://

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercialdrivers-license/one-definition-cmv-vehicledesigned-transport-16-or-more. 

57 and a potential maximum order of 

261 vehicles. 

After reviewing available electric 

propulsion minibuses, FTA has not 

identified a vehicle that meets all the 

requesters’ specifications and FTA’s 

Buy America rolling stock standard. 

Because of the apparent growing interest 

in vehicles of this type, as evidenced by 

these requests and letters of support 

from over 150 transit agencies across the 

country, and to foster competition and 

encourage on-shoring of vehicle 

manufacturing to the United States, FTA 

is proposing a general waiver available 

to any FTA funding recipient and not 

constrained to any particular 

manufacturer’s offering. The proposed 

waiver builds on FTA’s previous efforts 

through the Clean Bus Manufacturing 

Roundtable to encourage the transition 

to zero emission vehicles by allowing 

federal participation in the purchase of 

vehicles that provide public 

transportation services in areas where 

full-sized zero emissions buses are not 

used due to lower passenger counts. 

Further, the waiver builds on FTA’s 

efforts to encourage domestic 

manufacturing on-shoring by having a 

limited duration and phase-in period to 

give manufacturers sufficient time to 

establish domestic sourcing and 

manufacturing capabilities that meet 

FTA’s Buy America rolling stock 

standard in the smaller bus (aka 

minibus) market. 

Additionally, FTA consulted the 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology’s Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership to conduct supplier 

scouting for any battery electric minibus 

supplier capable of meeting FTA’s Buy 

America requirements and the 

requesters’ specifications. Supplier 

scouting identified no such suppliers. 

Proposed Waiver 

FTA proposes issuing a general nonavailability waiver of FTA’s Buy 

America rolling stock requirements for 

any vehicle with all of the following 

characteristics. 

• The vehicle is powered by a battery 

electric propulsion system. 

• The vehicle has, or is capable of 

having, low-floor entry. 

• The vehicle is of unibody or 

monocoque construction (i.e., not bodyon-chassis). 

• The vehicle has a gross vehicle 

weight rating or gross vehicle weight of 

less than 11,794 kg (26,001 pounds) and 

is designed to transport fewer than 16 

seated passengers including the driver.1

• The vehicle is not required to report 

to the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration under the American 

Automobile Labelling Act. FTA 

previously issued a partial Buy America 

waiver for vehicles subject to AALA 

reporting (Notice of Partial Buy America 

Waiver for Vans and Minivans, 87 FR 

64534 (Oct. 25, 2022)), and does not 

intend to alter the terms of that current 

waiver by this proposed action. 

To encourage potential market 

entrants to build the requisite domestic 

supply chains and establish a final 

assembly facility in the United States, 

FTA proposes that the waiver would 

phase out over time. For a contract for 

a vehicle meeting all the above 

requirements awarded more than two 

years after the effective date of the 

waiver, this waiver would only apply 

where vehicle final assembly occurs in 

the United States. This waiver would 

expire three years after it is finalized, or 

upon FTA’s publication of a Federal 

Register notice rescinding the waiver 

after determining that a fully Buy 

America-compliant vehicle has become 

available, whichever occurs first. 

Impacts of the Waiver 

The availability of electric minibuses 

will contribute to the reduction of 

greenhouse gas emissions and 

environmental justice. 

Beginning with a 2022 Dear Colleague 

Letter on Cutaway Rebuild Useful Life, 

FTA has acknowledged and made 

efforts to address supply constraints and 

delivery delays of body-on-chassis 

vehicles experienced by FTA recipients. 

One of the requesters for this proposed 

waiver reported waiting times of 24–36 

months to receive delivery of body-onchassis vehicles. This proposed waiver 

continues FTA’s efforts to relieve delays 

experienced by transit operators due to 

limited chassis availability for transit 

vehicles by responding to recipients’ 

requests for vehicles of unibody or 

monocoque construction. The 

requesters’ specification for a unibody 

or monocoque construction and zeroemission propulsion would make a new 

vehicle type available for FTA 

recipients to provide zero-emission 

public transportation services on routes 

or in operations that are most efficiently 

served by minibuses due to lower 

passenger counts. 

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 Public Law 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 

why. Relevant information and 

comments will help FTA fully establish 

the facts surrounding the waiver 

requests and FTA’s proposal and inform 

its ultimate decision on whether to grant 

the waiver. 

Veronica Vanterpool, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30448 Filed 12–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2024–0162] 

Coastwise Endorsement Eligibility 

Determination for a Foreign-Built 

Vessel: CLAPOTIS (SAIL); Invitation 

for Public Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of 

Transportation, as represented by the 

Maritime Administration (MARAD), is 

authorized to issue coastwise 

endorsement eligibility determinations 

for foreign-built vessels which will carry 

no more than twelve passengers for hire. 

A request for such a determination has 

been received by MARAD. By this 

notice, MARAD seeks comments from 

interested parties as to any effect this 

action may have on U.S. vessel builders 

or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.- 

flag vessels. Information about the 

requestor’s vessel, including a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

January 21, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Number 

MARAD–2024–0162 by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov. Search 

MARAD–2024–0162 and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 245 / Friday, December 20, 2024 / Notices 104287 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility is in the West 

Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The 

Docket Management Facility location 

address is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, MARAD–2024–0162, 

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. 

Note: If you mail or hand-deliver your 

comments, we recommend that you include 

your name and a mailing address, an email 

address, or a telephone number in the body 

of your document so that we can contact you 

if we have questions regarding your 

submission. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

specific docket number. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to the docket at www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments, or to submit 

comments that are confidential in 

nature, see the section entitled Public 

Participation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia Hagerty, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Room W23–461, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 

(202) 366–0903. Email: 

patricia.hagerty@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

described in the application, the 

intended service of the vessel 

CLAPOTIS is: 

Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: 

Requester intends to offer passenger 

charters and cruises. 

Geographic Region Including Base of 

Operations: California. Base of 

Operations: Marina Del Rey, California. 

Vessel Length and Type: 52′ 

Catamaran. 

The complete application is available 

for review identified in the DOT docket 

as MARAD 2024–0162 at https://

www.regulations.gov. Interested parties 

may comment on the effect this action 

may have on U.S. vessel builders or 

businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.-flag 

vessels. If MARAD determines, in 

accordance with 46 U.S.C. 12121 and 

MARAD’s regulations at 46 CFR part 

388, that the employment of the vessel 

in the coastwise trade to carry no more 

than 12 passengers will have an unduly 

adverse effect on a U.S.-vessel builder or 

a business that uses U.S.-flag vessels in 

that business, MARAD will not issue an 

approval of the vessel’s coastwise 

endorsement eligibility. Comments 

should refer to the vessel name, state the 

commenter’s interest in the application, 

and address the eligibility criteria given 

in section 388.4 of MARAD’s 

regulations at 46 CFR part 388. 

Public Participation 

How do I submit comments? 

Please submit your comments, 

including the attachments, following the 

instructions provided under the above 

heading entitled ADDRESSES. Be advised 

that it may take a few hours or even 

days for your comment to be reflected 

on the docket. In addition, your 

comments must be written in English. 

We encourage you to provide concise 

comments and you may attach 

additional documents as necessary. 

There is no limit on the length of the 

attachments. 

Where do I go to read public comments, 

and find supporting information? 

Go to the docket online at https://

www.regulations.gov, keyword search 

MARAD–2024–0162 or visit the Docket 

Management Facility (see ADDRESSES for 

hours of operation). We recommend that 

you periodically check the Docket for 

new submissions and supporting 

material. 

Will my comments be made available to 

the public? 

Yes. Be aware that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, will be made 

publicly available. 

May I submit comments confidentially? 

If you wish to submit comments 

under a claim of confidentiality, you 

should submit the information you 

claim to be confidential commercial 

information by email to SmallVessels@

dot.gov. Include in the email subject 

heading ‘‘Contains Confidential 

Commercial Information’’ or ‘‘Contains 

CCI’’ and state in your submission, with 

specificity, the basis for any such 

confidential claim highlighting or 

denoting the CCI portions. If possible, 

please provide a summary of your 

submission that can be made available 

to the public. 

In the event MARAD receives a 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

request for the information, procedures 

described in the Department’s FOIA 

regulation at 49 CFR 7.29 will be 

followed. Only information that is 

ultimately determined to be confidential 

under those procedures will be exempt 

from disclosure under FOIA. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone can search 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.). For information on DOT’s 

compliance with the Privacy Act, please 

visit https://www.transportation.gov/ 

privacy. 

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 U.S.C. 55103, 

46 U.S.C. 12121) 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30440 Filed 12–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2024–0159] 

Coastwise Endorsement Eligibility 

Determination for a Foreign-Built 

Vessel: ZEKI (MOTOR); Invitation for 

Public Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of 

Transportation, as represented by the 

Maritime Administration (MARAD), is 

authorized to issue coastwise 

endorsement eligibility determinations 

for foreign-built vessels which will carry 

no more than twelve passengers for hire. 

A request for such a determination has 

been received by MARAD. By this 

notice, MARAD seeks comments from 

interested parties as to any effect this 

action may have on U.S. vessel builders 

or businesses in the U.S. that use U.S.- 

flag vessels. Information about the 

requestor’s vessel, including a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

January 21, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT Docket Number 

MARAD–2024–0159 by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov. Search 

MARAD–2024–0159 and follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket 

Management Facility is in the West 

Building, Ground Floor of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The 

Docket Management Facility location 

address is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, MARAD–2024–0159, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West 

Building, Room W12–140, Washington, 

DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1