Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Notices 39947 

track frog guard check and face gage 

dimensions. In addition, AAR is 

requesting that FRA amend the waiver 

to include relief from 49 CFR 213.355— 

Frog guard rails and guard faces; gage 

to allow trains to operate at Class 6 

speeds over HPF designs with guardcheck gages conforming to the standards 

for Class 4 track frog guard check and 

face gage dimensions. 

A copy of the petition, as well as any 

written communications concerning the 

petition, is available for review online at 

www.regulations.gov and in person at 

the Department of Transportation’s 

Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New 

Jersey Ave. SE., W12–140, Washington, 

DC 20590. The Docket Operations 

Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in these proceedings by 

submitting written views, data, or 

comments. FRA does not anticipate 

scheduling a public hearing in 

connection with these proceedings since 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested parties desire 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Communications received by October 

6, 2017 will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered if practicable. 

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of any written communications 

and comments received into any of our 

dockets by the name of the individual 

submitting the comment (or signing the 

document, if submitted on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 

comments from the public to better 

inform its processes. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at https://

www.transportation.gov/privacy. See 

also https://www.regulations.gov/ 

privacyNotice for the privacy notice of 

regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 17, 

2017. 

John Karl Alexy, 

Director, Office of Safety Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17738 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Pilot Program for Nonprofit 

Cooperative Procurements 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; request for expressions 

of interest to participate. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) announces the 

establishment of the Pilot Program for 

Nonprofit Cooperative Procurements 

(Pilot Program) and solicits expressions 

of interest from eligible nonprofit 

entities to participate. The Pilot Program 

is aimed at increasing innovation, 

promoting efficiency, and 

demonstrating the effectiveness of 

cooperative procurement contracts for 

rolling stock and related equipment 

administered by eligible nonprofit 

entities. 

DATES: Expressions of interest to become 

one of the selected nonprofit entities in 

the Pilot Program for Nonprofit 

Cooperative Procurements must be 

received by October 23, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Expressions of interest may 

be submitted via U.S. mail, electronic 

mail, or fax. Mail submissions must be 

addressed to the Office of Acquisition 

Management, Federal Transit 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room E42–332, 

Washington, DC 20590. Email 

submissions must be sent to 

NonprofitPilotProgram@dot.gov. 

Facsimile submissions must be 

submitted to the attention of Nonprofit 

Pilot Program at 817–978–0575. If there 

is an insufficient number of eligible 

nonprofit entities that meet the 

requirements of the Pilot Program, FTA 

may solicit additional interest in the 

future. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program matters, James Harper, FTA 

Office of Acquisition Management, 

telephone (202) 366–1127 or email 

James.Harper@dot.gov. For legal 

matters, Eldridge Onco, FTA Office of 

Chief Counsel, telephone (817) 978– 

0557 or email Eldridge.Onco@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Pilot Program Description 

III. Eligibility Information 

IV. Expression of Interest Submission Process 

V. Application Review 

VI. Pilot Program Administration 

I. Background 

Section 3019 of the Fixing America’s 

Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, 

Public Law 114–94, permits FTA 

grantees to purchase rolling stock and 

related equipment from cooperative 

procurement contracts entered into by 

either a State government or an eligible 

nonprofit entity and 1 or more vendors. 

Section 3019 was designed to address 

the high purchasing costs attributable to 

the relatively small size of the 

procurements for rolling stock and 

related equipment, particularly for small 

and rural public transportation 

providers. Many States currently have 

authority to enter into cooperative 

purchasing contracts, also known as 

‘‘state schedules.’’ However, such 

authority was not previously extended 

to nonprofit entities. 

The statute creates a pilot program to 

demonstrate the effectiveness of 

cooperative procurement contracts 

administered by nonprofit entities. 

These contracts are intended to be 

separate from State cooperative 

purchasing contracts and provide 

another opportunity for public 

transportation systems of all sizes to 

enhance their purchasing options. 

II. Pilot Program Description 

Section 3019(b)(3) establishes a Pilot 

Program to demonstrate the 

effectiveness of cooperative 

procurement contracts administered by 

eligible nonprofit entities. The objective 

of this innovative procurement 

approach is to enhance the purchasing 

options for all public transportation 

systems. FTA plans to assess the 

benefits and effectiveness of the Pilot 

Program to assist grantees in developing 

more efficient and innovative 

approaches to acquiring rolling stock 

and related equipment. 

A cooperative procurement contract 

in the Pilot Program means a contract 

between an eligible nonprofit entity and 

1 or more vendors under which the 

vendors agree to provide an option to 

purchase rolling stock and related 

equipment to multiple grantee 

participants. Where permitted by State 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
39948 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Notices 

law, a grantee may participate in a 

cooperative procurement contract under 

the Pilot Program without regard to 

whether the grantee is located in the 

same State as the lead nonprofit entity. 

Participation by FTA grantees in a 

nonprofit cooperative procurement 

under the Pilot Program is voluntary. 

Nonprofit entities selected for the 

Pilot Program may enter into a 

cooperative procurement contract for an 

initial term of not more than 2 years. 

The contract may include not more than 

3 optional extensions for terms of not 

more than 1 year each. Thus, the 

contract may be in effect for a total 

period of not more than 5 years, 

including each extension. 

A lead nonprofit entity selected for 

the Pilot Program shall develop the 

terms of the contract and the contract 

must be solicited and awarded in 

accordance with all applicable FTA and 

Federal standards, requirements, and 

policies. The applicable FTA and 

Federal procurement standards, 

requirements, and policies, including 

FTA’s Buy America requirements, are 

set forth in 49 U.S.C. chapter 53, FTA’s 

implementing regulations, FTA’s Master 

Agreement, 2 CFR parts 200 and 1201, 

and FTA Circular 4220.1F. 

III. Eligibility Information 

Section 3019 specifies that FTA must 

select no fewer than 3 eligible nonprofit 

entities for the Pilot Program. Per the 

FAST Act, an eligible nonprofit entity 

for the Pilot Program may be either a 

nonprofit cooperative purchasing 

organization that is not an FTA grantee 

or subgrantee, or a consortium of 

eligible nonprofit cooperative 

purchasing organizations. A local 

government or a tribal government is 

not an eligible nonprofit entity under 

the Pilot Program. 

Successful entities are expected to 

develop and issue a solicitation for a 

cooperative procurement contract 

within 60 days of their selection into the 

Pilot Program. The solicitation of a 

contract must be conducted through a 

competitive process that will comply 

with FTA’s full and open competition 

standard and Federal and FTA 

procurement requirements and policies. 

To promote the fullest opportunity for 

grantees to participate in the Pilot 

Program, FTA anticipates that 

cooperative procurement contracts will 

be open and available to all FTA 

grantees. To address special 

circumstances, however, FTA may 

consider a cooperative procurement 

contract in the Pilot Program which may 

be limited only to recipients in one or 

more of FTA’s grant programs. 

A lead nonprofit entity in the Pilot 

Program may charge participants in the 

contract for the cost of administering, 

planning, and providing technical 

assistance for the contract in an amount 

that is not more than 1 percent of the 

total value of the participant’s order 

placed on the contract. The 1 percent 

charge may either be incorporated into 

the price of the rolling stock and related 

equipment offered under the 

cooperative procurement program or 

directly charge the grantee participants 

for the costs, but not both. If the 

nonprofit directly charges the grantee 

participants for the costs, it cannot 

charge any individual grantee more than 

1 percent of the total value of the 

grantee’s order. 

IV. Expression of Interest Submission 

Process 

Interested nonprofit entities for the 

Pilot Program must submit the required 

information by U.S. mail, email or 

facsimile by October 23, 2017, as 

specified in the DATES section of this 

notice, above. FTA reserves the right to 

request additional clarifying 

information from any and all applicants 

before making a selection to participate 

in the Pilot Program. Nonprofit entities 

wishing to participate in the Pilot 

Program must submit an expression of 

interest to FTA no longer than 10 pages 

in length including any supporting 

documentation. 

Interested nonprofit entities must 

provide the following information to 

FTA in narrative format or as otherwise 

instructed: 

a. A description of the procurement 

experience held by the personnel in the 

applicant’s organization, including 

sufficient information to demonstrate 

the ability to successfully carry out and 

administer a cooperative procurement 

contract or contracts; 

b. A description of the familiarity of 

the applicant’s personnel with Federal 

and FTA procurement standards, 

requirements, and policies; 

c. A description to show how the 

applicant’s program will be 

administered. This description should 

include, but not be limited to, the 

process by which vendors will be 

selected for the cooperative 

procurement contract, the process by 

which grantee participants will be 

registered in the program and the 

process for grantee participants to place 

orders on a cooperative procurement 

contract. 

d. The articles of incorporation of the 

applicant to demonstrate that the 

purpose of the nonprofit organization is 

consistent with the purpose of the Pilot 

Program; 

e. Evidence that the applicant 

possesses adequate financial capacity to 

successfully administer a cooperative 

procurement contract or contracts; 

f. Documentation that the applicant is 

a nonprofit entity in good standing in 

the State of incorporation; and, 

g. Certification that the applicant is 

not indebted to a Federal or State taxing 

authority. 

V. Application Review 

FTA will evaluate the submissions to 

determine which applicants 

demonstrate they have the capability to 

effectively enter into and administer a 

cooperative procurement contract. FTA 

will select no fewer than three 

geographically diverse applicants from 

the submitted expressions of interest to 

be part of the Pilot Program, except that 

if there are less than three applicants 

able to meet the requirements of the 

Pilot Program, FTA may solicit 

additional interest in the future. FTA 

will evaluate the experience, legal, 

technical, and financial capacity of 

interested nonprofit entities to 

implement the Pilot Program 

successfully. 

VI. Pilot Program Administration 

1. Notice 

After an announcement by the FTA 

Administrator or designee of the final 

selection(s) posted on the FTA Web site, 

FTA may publish final selections for the 

Pilot Program in the Federal Register. 

All information submitted as part of 

or in support of the Pilot Program 

application shall be publicly available 

data or data that can be made public and 

methodologies that are accepted by 

industry practice and standards, to the 

extent possible. If the submission 

includes information the applicant 

considers to be a trade secret or 

confidential commercial or financial 

information, the applicant should do the 

following: (1) Note on the front cover 

that the submission ‘‘Contains 

Confidential Business Information 

(CBI);’’ (2) mark each affected page 

‘‘CBI;’’ and (3) highlight or otherwise 

denote the CBI portions. FTA protects 

such information from disclosure to the 

extent allowed under applicable law. If 

FTA receives a Freedom of Information 

Act (FOIA) request for the information, 

FTA will follow the procedures 

described in the U.S. DOT FOIA 

regulations at 49 CFR 7.17. Only 

information that is ultimately 

determined to be confidential under that 

procedure will be exempt from 

disclosure under FOIA. Should FTA 

receive an order from a court of 

competent jurisdiction ordering the 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 161 / Tuesday, August 22, 2017 / Notices 39949 

release of the information, FTA will 

provide the applicant timely notice of 

such order to allow the applicant the 

opportunity to challenge such an order. 

FTA will not challenge a court order on 

behalf of an applicant. 

2. Pilot Program Administration and 

Reporting Requirements 

The Pilot Program is not funded with 

Federal funds; selected nonprofit 

entities may charge the grantee 

participants in the cooperative 

procurement contract for the cost of 

administering, planning, and providing 

technical assistance for the contract in 

an amount that is not more than 1 

percent of the contract price. The 

selected nonprofit entity may 

incorporate the cost into the price of the 

contract or directly charge the grantee 

participants for the cost, but not both. 

To achieve a comprehensive 

understanding of the utility and 

effectiveness of the Pilot Program, FTA, 

or its designated independent evaluator, 

will require access to project data. 

Selected nonprofit entities should be 

prepared to collect and maintain data 

related to participating vendors, 

participating grantees, and the quantity 

and price of rolling stock and related 

equipment procured by grantees 

through the cooperative procurement. 

3. Expiration of Pilot Program 

After selection of eligible nonprofit 

entities for the Pilot Program, the Pilot 

Program will expire six years from the 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or when the contract with the 

longest term, including option periods, 

awarded by a nonprofit entity in the 

Pilot Program expires, whichever date is 

earlier. 

Matthew J. Welbes, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17606 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

Limitation on Claims Against Proposed 

Public Transportation Projects 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a final 

environmental action taken by the 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 

for a project in Hudson County, New 

Jersey. The purpose of this notice is to 

announce publicly the environmental 

decision by FTA on the subject project 

and to activate the limitation on any 

claims that may challenge this final 

environmental action. 

DATES: By this notice, FTA is advising 

the public of final agency actions 

subject to Section 139(l) of Title 23, 

United States Code (U.S.C.). A claim 

seeking judicial review of FTA actions 

announced herein for the listed public 

transportation projects will be barred 

unless the claim is filed on or before 

January 19, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nancy-Ellen Zusman, Assistant Chief 

Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, (312) 

353–2577 or Alan Tabachnick, 

Environmental Protection Specialist, 

Office of Environmental Programs, (202) 

366–8541. FTA is located at 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

20590. Office hours are from 9:00 a.m. 

to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that FTA has taken final 

agency action by issuing a certain 

approval for the public transportation 

project listed below. The action on the 

project, as well as the laws under which 

such action was taken, is described in 

the documentation issued in connection 

with the project to comply with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and in other documents in the 

FTA administrative record for the 

project. Interested parties may contact 

either the project sponsor or the FTA 

Regional Office for more information. 

Contact information for FTA’s Regional 

Offices may be found at https://

www.fta.dot.gov. 

This notice applies to all FTA 

decisions on the listed project as of the 

issuance date of this notice and all laws 

under which such action was taken, 

including, but not limited to, NEPA [42 

U.S.C. 4321–4375], Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [49 U.S.C. 303], Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act [16 

U.S.C. 470f], and the Clean Air Act [42 

U.S.C. 7401–7671q]. This notice does 

not, however, alter or extend the 

limitation period for challenges of 

project decisions subject to previous 

notices published in the Federal 

Register. The project and action that are 

the subject of this notice follows: 

Project name and location: Portal Bridge 

Capacity Enhancement Project, Hudson 

County, New Jersey. Project Sponsor: New 

Jersey Transit Corporation. Project 

description: This project consists of the 

demolition of the 100-year old moveable 

swing-span two-track Portal Bridge between 

the Town of Kearny and the Town of 

Secaucus, and its replacement with two new 

bridges: a northern fixed two-track bridge 

and a southern fixed two-track bridge. The 

existing Portal Bridge experiences frequent 

mechanical and operational failures which 

pose reliability concerns, capacity 

constraints, operational inflexibility, and 

commuter delays along the Northeast 

Corridor. Additionally, the bridge’s low 

vertical clearance conflicts with maritime 

uses. By replacing the movable two-track 

bridge with two fixed two-track bridges at 

higher elevations, this project will increase 

reliability and operational flexibility, 

eliminate capacity constraints, reduce 

commuter delays, and support additional 

maritime uses along the Northeast Corridor. 

In 2008, the Federal Railroad Administration 

(FRA) completed an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for this project; FTA was a 

cooperating agency. FRA subsequently issued 

a Record of Decision (ROD) and completed 

three re-evaluations in 2010, 2011, and 2016. 

FTA has reviewed the environmental record, 

and in accordance with 40 CFR 1506.3 and 

23 U.S.C. 139, FTA is issuing a ROD which 

adopts FRA’s EIS. Final agency actions: 

Section 4(f) determination (included in the 

EIS, dated December 23, 2008), an 

amendment to the Section 106 Memorandum 

of Agreement dated July 25, 2017 which adds 

FTA as a signatory, project-level air quality 

conformity, and a ROD dated July 25, 2017. 

Supporting documentation: EIS with ROD 

dated December 23, 2008, Re-evaluation 

dated May 2010; Re-evaluation dated January 

2011; and Re-evaluation dated August 2016. 

Lucy Garliauskas, 

Associate Administrator Planning and 

Environment. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17723 Filed 8–21–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

UNITED STATES SENTENCING 

COMMISSION 

Final Priorities for Amendment Cycle 

AGENCY: United States Sentencing 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of final priorities. 

SUMMARY: In June 2017, the Commission 

published a notice of proposed policy 

priorities for the amendment cycle 

ending May 1, 2018. See 82 FR 28381 

(June 21, 2017). After reviewing public 

comment received pursuant to the 

notice of proposed priorities, the 

Commission has identified its policy 

priorities for the upcoming amendment 

cycle and hereby gives notice of these 

policy priorities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christine Leonard, Director, Office of 

Legislative and Public Affairs, (202) 

502–4500, pubaffairs@ussc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States Sentencing Commission is 

an independent agency in the judicial 

branch of the United States 

Government. The Commission 

promulgates sentencing guidelines and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES