46882 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Notices 

on September 29, 2017, and in other 

documents in the project records. The 

FEIS and ROD and other project records 

are available by contacting FHWA and 

UDOT at the addresses provided above. 

The FEIS and ROD can be viewed and 

downloaded from the project Web site at 

http://www.udot.utah.gov/westdavis/, or 

obtained from any contact listed above. 

This notice applies to all Federal 

agency decisions that are final as of the 

issuance date of this notice and all laws 

under which such actions were taken, 

including but not limited to: 

1. General: National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321– 

4351]; Federal-Aid Highway Act [23 

U.S.C. 109 and 23 U.S.C. 128]. 

2. Air: Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401– 

7671q]. 

3. Land: Section 4(f) of the 

Department of Transportation Act of 

1966 [49 U.S.C. 303; 23 U.S.C. 138]. 

4. Wildlife: Endangered Species Act 

[16 U.S.C. 1531–1544 and Section 

1536]; Marine Mammal Protection Act 

[16 U.S.C. 1361–1423h]; Fish and 

Wildlife Coordination Act [16 U.S.C. 

661–667d]; Migratory Bird Treaty Act 

[16 U.S.C. 703–712]. 

5. Historic and Cultural Resources: 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act of 1966, as amended 

[16 U.S.C. 470f]; Archeological 

Resources Protection Act of 1977 [16 

U.S.C. 470aa–470mm]; Archeological 

and Historic Preservation Act [16 U.S.C. 

469–469c]; Native American Grave 

Protection and Repatriation Act 

(NAGPRA) [25 U.S.C. 3001–3013]. 

6. Social and Economic: Civil Rights 

Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)– 

2000(d)(1)]; American Indian Religious 

Freedom Act [42 U.S.C. 1996]; Farmland 

Protection Policy Act (FPPA) [7 U.S.C. 

4201–4209]. 

7. Wetlands and Water Resources: 

Land and Water Conservation Fund 

(LWCF) [16 U.S.C. 4601–4604]; Safe 

Drinking Water Act (SDWA) [42 U.S.C. 

300f–300j–26)]; Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act [16 U.S.C. 1271–1287]. 

8. Hazardous Materials: 

Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (CERCLA) [42 U.S.C. 9601–9675]; 

Superfund Amendments and 

Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA); 

Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Act (RCRA) [42 U.S.C. 6901–6992(k)] 

9. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 

Protection of Wetlands; E.O. 11988 

Floodplain Management; E.O. 12898, 

Federal Actions to Address 

Environmental Justice in Minority 

Populations and Low Income 

Populations; E.O. 11593 Protection and 

Enhancement of Cultural Resources; 

E.O. 13007 Indian Sacred Sites; E.O. 

13287 Preserve America; E.O. 13175 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments; E.O. 11514 

Protection and Enhancement of 

Environmental Quality; E.O. 13112 

Invasive Species. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1). 

Issued on: October 2, 2017. 

Ivan Marrero, 

Division Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21561 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–RY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Buy America Waiver Notification 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice provides 

information regarding FHWA’s finding 

that a Buy America waiver is 

appropriate for the obligation of 

Federal-aid funds for 4 California 

projects involving the acquisition of 

vehicles under the Congestion 

Mitigation and Air Quality 

Improvement program on the condition 

that they be assembled in the U.S., on 

the basis that there are no domestic 

manufacturers that produce the vehicles 

identified in this notice in such a way 

that all their steel and iron elements are 

manufactured domestically. 

DATES: The effective date of the waiver 

is October 10, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice, please 

contact Mr. Gerald Yakowenko, FHWA 

Office of Program Administration, 202– 

366–1562, or via email at 

Gerald.Yakowenko@dot.gov. For legal 

questions, please contact Mr. Jomar 

Maldonado, FHWA Office of the Chief 

Counsel, 202–366–1373, or via email at 

Jomar.Maldonado@dot.gov. Office hours 

for the FHWA are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

An electronic copy of this document 

may be downloaded from the Federal 

Register’s home page at http://

www.archives.gov and the Government 

Publishing Office’s database. 

Background 

This notice provides information 

regarding FHWA’s finding that a Buy 

America waiver is appropriate for the 

obligation of Federal-aid funds for 4 

California projects involving the 

acquisition of vehicles under the 

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

Improvement (CMAQ) program. The 

waiver would apply to approximately 

29 vehicle acquisitions on the condition 

that they be assembled in the United 

States. These involve 17 compressed 

natural gas solid waste trucks for the 

City of Visalia (CMLNI–5044(117)), 1 

propane powered school bus for the City 

of Visalia (CMLNI–5044(119)), 6 diesel 

refuse trucks for the City of Tulare 

(CMLNI–5072(061)), and 5 compressed 

natural gas refuse trucks for the City of 

Porterville (CMLNI–5122(086)). 

Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), section 635.410 requires that 

steel or iron materials (including 

protective coatings) that will be 

permanently incorporated in a Federalaid project must be domestically 

manufactured. For FHWA, this means 

that all the processes that modified the 

chemical content, physical shape or 

size, or final finish of the material (from 

initial melting and mixing, continuing 

through the bending and coating) 

occurred in the United States. The 

statute and regulations create a process 

for granting waivers from the Buy 

America requirements when its 

application would be inconsistent with 

the public interest or when satisfactory 

quality domestic steel and iron products 

are not sufficiently available. In 1983, 

FHWA determined that it was both in 

the public interest and consistent with 

the legislative intent to waive Buy 

America for manufactured products 

other than steel manufactured products. 

However, FHWA’s national waiver for 

manufactured products does not apply 

to the requests in this notice because 

they involve predominately steel and 

iron manufactured products. The 

FHWA’s Buy America requirements do 

not have special provisions for applying 

Buy America to ‘‘rolling stock’’ such as 

vehicles or vehicle components (see 49 

U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(C), 49 CFR 661.11, and 

49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(C) for examples of 

Buy America rolling stock provisions for 

other DOT agencies). 

Based on all the information available 

to the agency, FHWA concludes that 

there are no manufacturers that produce 

the vehicles identified in this notice in 

such a way that all their steel and iron 

elements are manufactured 

domestically. The FHWA’s Buy America 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2017 / Notices 46883 

requirements were tailored to the types 

of products that are typically used in 

highway construction, which generally 

meet the requirement that steel and iron 

materials be manufactured domestically. 

In today’s global industry, vehicles are 

assembled with iron and steel 

components that are manufactured all 

over the world. The FHWA is not aware 

of any domestically produced vehicle 

on the market that meets FHWA’s Buy 

America requirement to have all its iron 

and steel be manufactured exclusively 

in the United States. For example, the 

Chevrolet Volt, which was identified by 

many commenters in a November 21, 

2011, Federal Register Notice (76 FR 

72027) as a car that is made in the 

United States, is comprised of only 45 

percent of United States and Canadian 

content according to the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 

Part 583 American Automobile Labeling 

Act Report Web page at http://

www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/

Part+583+American+Automobile

+Labeling+Act+(AALA)+Reports. 

Moreover, there is no indication of how 

much of this 45 percent content is 

domestically manufactured (from initial 

melting and mixing) iron and steel 

content. 

Consistent with the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2017 (Pub. L. 

115–31), FHWA published two notices 

seeking comments whether a waiver is 

appropriate on its Web site, https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/

contracts/cmaq170321.cfm and https://

www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/

contracts/cmaq170725.cfm. The FHWA 

received no comments in response to 

the publication. Based on FHWA’s 

conclusion that there are no domestic 

manufacturers that can produce the 

vehicles identified in this notice in such 

a way that all their steel and iron 

materials are manufactured 

domestically, FHWA finds that a waiver 

of FHWA’s Buy America requirements 

is appropriate under the non-availability 

criteria (23 U.S.C. 313(b)(2) and 23 CFR 

635.410(c)(2)(ii)). However, FHWA 

believes that it is consistent with the 

Buy America requirements to impose 

the condition that the vehicles and the 

vehicle components be assembled in the 

United States. Requiring final assembly 

to be performed in the United States is 

consistent with past guidance to FHWA 

Division Offices on manufactured 

products (see Memorandum on Buy 

America Policy Response, Dec. 22, 1997, 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ 

programadmin/contracts/122297.cfm). 

A waiver of the Buy America 

requirement without any regard to 

where the vehicle is assembled would 

diminish the purpose of the Buy 

America requirement. Moreover, in 

today’s economic environment, the Buy 

America requirement is especially 

significant in that it will ensure that 

Federal-aid funds are used to support 

and create domestic jobs. This approach 

is similar to the conditional waivers 

previously given for various vehicle 

projects. Thus, so long as the final 

assembly of the 29 vehicles occurs in 

the United States, applicants to this 

waiver request may proceed to purchase 

these vehicles consistent with the Buy 

America requirement. 

In accordance with the provisions of 

section 117 of the ‘‘Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users, Technical 

Corrections Act of 2008’’ (Pub. L. 110– 

244), FHWA is providing this notice of 

its finding that a non-availability waiver 

of Buy America requirements is 

appropriate on the condition that the 

vehicles identified in the notice are 

assembled domestically. The FHWA 

invites public comment on this finding 

for an additional 15 days following the 

effective date of the finding. Comments 

may be submitted to FHWA’s Web site 

via the link provided to the waiver page 

noted above. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110–161, 

23 CFR 635.410 

Issued on: October 2, 2017. 

Brandye L. Hendrickson, 

Acting Administrator, Federal Highway 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21567 Filed 10–5–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket Number FRA–2017–0085] 

Petition for Waiver of Compliance 

In accordance with part 211 of Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 

this document provides the public 

notice that by a document dated August 

22, 2017, Siemens Mobility Division 

Rolling Stock (Siemens) has petitioned 

the Federal Railroad Administration 

(FRA) for a waiver of compliance from 

the requirements of 49 CFR 238.103 

(Fire safety). FRA assigned the petition 

docket number FRA–2017–0085. 

Section 238.103 of Title 49 of the CFR 

requires materials used in the 

construction of passenger cars to meet 

the test methods and performance 

criteria for the flammability and smoke 

emission characteristics of Appendix B 

to part 238. Appendix B requires all 

thermal and acoustic insulation material 

used in the construction of passenger 

rail vehicles to be tested in accordance 

with American Society for Testing and 

Materials (ASTM) E 162.98 with a 

radiant panel index of Is ≤ 25, and 

ASTM E 662–01 with a specific optical 

density Ds (4.0) ≤ 100. 

In constructing twenty passenger 

coaches for use in phase 1 of the 

Brightline/All Aboard Florida (AAF) 

passenger service between Miami and 

West Palm Beach, Siemens used a ‘‘KFlex Eco’’ material that has been tested 

with the results of Is = 202 and Ds (4.0) 

= 131. Siemens is requesting a waiver 

from Appendix B as applied to these 

two requirements, asserting that the 

‘‘fire risk . . . is negligible and an 

equivalent level of safety is maintained’’ 

considering the end use configuration of 

the material and the small amount of the 

material used’’ Siemens further 

indicates it intends the waiver to 

provide sufficient information to 

demonstrate an equivalent level of 

safety in order to prevent the 

replacement of the K-Flex Eco 

insulation material in the 20 coaches. 

Siemens also notes that granting the 

requested relief would have a 

considerable positive impact on the 

project schedule and associated costs. 

In support of its petition, Siemens 

attached two documents: (1) AAF Coach 

SFT Water Pipe Insulation Discussion 

V5 (A 13-page presentation showing 

pipe insulation material, its usage on 

AAF coaches, for drain and fresh water 

pipes, as well as locations of the usage); 

and (2) a 53-page document titled, ‘‘Fire 

Safety Analysis; Use of K-Flex Eco 

Insulation in All Aboard Florida 

Coaches.’’ (SII–ENA–215 Rev. B). This 

document provided the analysis 

supporting Siemens’ safety equivalency 

claim. 

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 U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

(DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue 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 and a 

public hearing, they should notify FRA, 

in writing, before the end of the 


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