75858 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 244 / Friday, December 19, 2014 / Notices 

themselves, however, will be 

manufactured in the United States. 

LIRR states that these turnouts are 

essential throughout its system for the 

following operational reasons: (1) the 

turnouts withstand the frequent and 

heavy use by passenger and freight 

trains traveling along LIRR’s right of 

way; (2) the turnouts accommodate an 

increased amount of rush hour trains 

and allow them to travel at higher 

speeds, ultimately providing more 

throughput during LIRR’s busiest hours; 

(3) the foreign-made components reduce 

impact loading to the turnouts; and (4) 

the turnouts provide for less wear and 

tear, thereby requiring less maintenance, 

extending the useful lives of the 

turnouts, and requiring less outages and 

negative impacts on LIRR’s operations. 

In support of its requests, LIRR points 

to a non-availability waiver that FRA 

issued to the National Railroad 

Passenger Corporation (also referred to 

as ‘‘Amtrak’’) for the same turnout 

components on April 23, 2013. FRA’s 

waiver was based on a December 2012 

Supplier Scouting Report (Report) 

developed by the Manufacturing 

Extension Partnership of the U.S. 

Department of Commerce’s National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST). NIST’s Report identified several 

potential U.S. manufacturers of the 

turnout components, but after extensive 

outreach, FRA determined that no 

domestic manufacturers were willing 

and capable of producing the 

components. To support the waiver 

requests that are the subject of this 

notice, LIRR utilized the NIST Report 

and conducted individualized outreach 

with each of the manufacturers 

identified in it. LIRR also conducted its 

own independent outreach. Based on 

these efforts, LIRR has determined that 

there are no U.S. manufacturers that are 

willing and capable of producing the 

turnout components that are needed for 

its system. 

Since that initial waiver, FRA 

published a second notice on September 

19, 2014, requesting comments on a 

subsequent request for turnout 

components from LIRR for the Harold 

Interlocking Project that would not meet 

FRA’s Buy America requirements. See, 

http://www.fra.dot.gov/Page/P0719. 

FRA’s comment period closed on 

October 6, 2014, and interested parties 

can view FRA’s determination via the 

Buy America web link in the preceding 

sentence. 

The purpose of this Notice is to 

inform potential interested vendors of 

LIRR’s requests and to seek public 

comment from all interested parties in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A). 

Comments will help FTA understand 

completely the facts surrounding the 

request, including the effects of a 

potential waiver and the merits of the 

request. Full copies of LIRR’s requests 

will be posted in docket number FTA– 

2014–0025, along with any public 

comments. 

Dana Nifosi, 

Acting Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29730 Filed 12–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2014 0155] 

Requested Administrative Waiver of 

the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel 

BELLAROMA; Invitation for Public 

Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 

12121, the Secretary of Transportation, 

as represented by the Maritime 

Administration (MARAD), is authorized 

to grant waivers of the U.S.-build 

requirement of the coastwise laws under 

certain circumstances. A request for 

such a waiver has been received by 

MARAD. The vessel, and a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

January 20, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to 

docket number MARAD–2014–0155. 

Written comments may be submitted by 

hand or by mail to the Docket Clerk, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Docket Operations, M–30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. You may also 

send comments electronically via the 

Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. 

All comments will become part of this 

docket and will be available for 

inspection and copying at the above 

address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

E.T., Monday through Friday, except 

federal holidays. An electronic version 

of this document and all documents 

entered into this docket is available on 

the World Wide Web at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Linda Williams, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Maritime 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W23–453, 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone 202– 

366–0903, Email Linda.Williams@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

described by the applicant the intended 

service of the vessel BELLAROMA is: 

Intended Commercial Use Of Vessel: 

‘‘Passenger charter use only. Primarily 

day charters but some overnights as 

well.’’ 

Geographic Region: ‘‘Florida, South 

Carolina and Georgia’’ The complete 

application is given in DOT docket 

MARAD–2014–0155 at http://

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 issuance of the waiver will 

have an unduly adverse effect on a U.S.- 

vessel builder or a business that uses 

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

waiver will not be granted. Comments 

should refer to the docket number of 

this notice and the vessel name in order 

for MARAD to properly consider the 

comments. Comments should also state 

the commenter’s interest in the waiver 

application, and address the waiver 

criteria given in § 388.4 of MARAD’s 

regulations at 46 CFR part 388. 

Privacy Act 

Anyone is able to 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.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 

65, Number 70; Pages 19477–78). 

By Order of the Maritime Administrator. 

Dated: December 11, 2014. 

Julie P. Agarwal, 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–29718 Filed 12–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2014 0154] 

Requested Administrative Waiver of 

the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel MIS 

MOONDANCE; Invitation for Public 

Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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