28218 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 22, 2001 / Notices

U.S.C. 40117 and Part 158 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 158).

On May 14, 2001, the FAA

determined that the application to

impose and use the revenue from a PFC

submitted by the Joint Powers Board,

Yellowstone Regional Airport, Cody,

Wyoming, was substantially complete

within the requirements of section

158.25 of Part 158. The FAA will

approve or disapprove the application,

in whole or in part, no later than August

16, 2001.

The following is a brief overview of

the application.

Level of the proposed PFC: $4.50.

Proposed charge effective date:

November 1, 2001.

Proposed charge expiration date:

January 1, 2003.

Total requested for use approval:

$294,000.00.

Brief description of proposed projects:

Encasement of irrigation canal,

relocation/reconstruction of parallel

taxiway, acquisition of airfield

equipment, and general aviation apron

expansion.

Class or classes of air carriers, which

the public agency has requested not be

required to collect PFC’s: Nonscheduled on-demand air carriers filing

FAA Form 1800–31.

Any person may inspect the

application in person at the FAA office

listed above under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT and at the FAA

Regional Airports Office located at:

Federal Aviation Administration,

Northwest Mountain Region, Airports

Division, ANM–600, 1601 Lind Avenue

SW., Suite 315, Renton, WA 98055–

4056.

In addition, any person may, upon

request, inspect the application, notice

and other documents germane to the

application in person at the Yellowstone

Regional Airport.

Issued in Renton, Washington on May 14,

2001.

David A. Field,

Manager, Planning, Programming and

Capacity Branch, Northwest Mountain

Region.

[FR Doc. 01–12836 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Notice of Granted Buy America Waiver

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration

(FTA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Granted Buy America

Waiver.

SUMMARY: This waiver allows New Flyer

of America to count a foreign

manufactured articulating joint system

used in its low floor buses as a domestic

component for purposes of calculating

the aggregate domestic content of the

vehicle and was predicated on the nonavailability of the item in the domestic

market. The waiver was granted on

April 24, 2001, for the period of two

years, or until such time as a domestic

source for this articulating joint

becomes available, whichever occurs

first. This notice shall insure that the

public, particularly potential

manufacturers, is aware of this waiver.

FTA requests that the public notify it of

any relevant changes in the domestic

market.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE

CONTACT: Meghan G. Ludtke, FTA Office

of Chief Counsel, Room 9316, (202)

366–4011 (telephone) or (202) 366–3809

(fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

above-referenced waiver follows:

April 24, 2001.

Mr. Paul Smith,

Vice President, Sales and Marketing, New

Flyer of America, 711 Kerneghan

Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

R2C 3T4

Dear Mr. Smith: This letter responds to

your correspondence of March 9, 2001, in

which New Flyer of America requests a nonavailability waiver of the Buy America

requirements for the procurement of the

Hubner Manufacturing Corporation (Hubner)

articulating joint system for use in New

Flyer’s low floor buses. The system is

comprised of three sections, a mechanical

artic joint and hydraulic damping unit, an

electronic control unit, and a center hoop

and bellows.

The Federal Transit Administration’s

(FTA) requirements concerning domestic

preference for federally funded transit

projects are set forth in 49 U.S.C. 5323(j).

Section 5323(j)(2)(C) addresses the general

requirements for the procurement of rolling

stock. This section provides that all rolling

stock procured with FTA funds must have a

domestic content of at least 60 percent and

must undergo final assembly in the U.S.

A non-availability waiver would allow

New Flyer to count the joint as domestic for

the purpose of calculating the aggregate

domestic content of the vehicle. You request

a waiver under 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B), which

states the Buy America requirements shall

not apply if the item or items being procured

are not produced in the U.S. in sufficient and

reasonably available quantities or are not of

a satisfactory quality. The implementing

regulation provides that, ‘‘[i]t will be

presumed that the conditions exist to grant

this non-availability waiver if no responsive

and responsible bid is received offering an

item produced in the United States.’’ 49 CFR

661.7(c)(1). The regulation goes on to note

that, ‘‘[t]he waivers described in paragraphs

(b) and (c) of this section may be granted for

a component or subcomponent in the case of

the procurement of the items governed by [49

U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(C)] (requirements for rolling

stock). If a waiver is granted for a component

or subcomponent, that component or

subcomponent will be considered to be of

domestic origin for the purposes of section

661.11 of this part.’’ 49 CFR 661.7(f). The

regulations allow a bidder or supplier to

request a non-availability waiver for a

component or subcomponent in the

procurement of rolling stock. See 49 CFR

661.7(f) and 49 CFR 661.9(d).

New Flyer is a manufacturer of buses and

regularly contracts to supply low floor buses

to transit authorities and other U.S.

customers. You state that the Hubner

articulating joint system is necessary for the

production of articulated low floor buses and

is not available from a domestic source. In

addition to the representations in your

correspondence, you have also provided me

with information indicating that, based on

New Flyer’s research, there are no U.S.

companies with an approved design or the

tooling necessary to produce the type of

articulated joint required for New Flyer’s low

floor buses. You also included a letter from

Hubner, which indicates that its manufacture

of an American low floor articulating joint

system is feasible but the manufacturing

process would take a minimum of one year

to develop.

This matter has been reviewed by FTA’s

engineering staff who noted that some

components of the three sections included in

the articulating joint system are available

domestically but the entire joint mechanism

necessary for New Flyer’s vehicle design is

not. Additionally, switching to a different

type of joint would necessitate costly and

time-consuming engineering changes to a low

floor vehicle that has a limited share of the

market.

Based on the information you have

provided, I have determined that the grounds

for a non-availability waiver do exist.

Therefore, pursuant to the provisions of 49

U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B), the waiver is granted for

the procurement of Hubner’s articulating

joint system for the New Flyer low floor

buses for the period of two years, or until

such time as a domestic source for this joint

becomes available, whichever occurs first. In

order to insure that the public is aware of this

waiver, particularly potential manufacturers,

this waiver will be published in the Federal

Register.

If you have any questions, please contact

Meghan G. Ludtke at 202.366–4011.

Very truly yours,

Gregory B. McBride,

Acting Chief Counsel.

Issued: May 16, 2001.

Hiram J. Walker,

Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–12863 Filed 5–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P