46608 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Notices 

was maintained prior to being granted; 

or (3) continuation of the exemption 

would not be consistent with the goals 

and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 

31315. 

Issued on: September 19, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21455 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2012–0033] 

Notice of Intent To Grant a Buy 

America Waiver to the City of Raleigh 

To Use Certain Non-Domestic 

Components of a Fire Alarm System 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), United States 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to grant Buy 

America waiver. 

SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to 

advise the public it intends to grant the 

City of Raleigh (City) a waiver from 

FRA’s Buy America requirement to use 

certain non-domestic components of a 

fire alarm system Code Electric, Inc. 

provided for the Raleigh Union Station 

project, in partnership with the North 

Carolina Department of Transportation 

(NCDOT). Code Electric, Inc. is an 

electrical contractor for the Raleigh 

Union Station project. 

DATES: Written comments on FRA’s 

determination to grant a Buy America 

waiver to the City should be provided 

to the FRA on or before October 12, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit your 

comments by one of the following 

means, identifying your submissions by 

docket number FRA–2012–0033. All 

electronic submissions must be made to 

the U.S. Government electronic site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters should follow the 

instructions below for mailed and handdelivered comments: 

(1) Web site: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the U.S. Government electronic 

docket site; 

(2) Fax: (202) 493–2251; 

(3) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001; or 

(4) Hand Delivery: Room W12–140 on 

the first floor of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

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

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

reference the ‘‘Federal Railroad 

Administration’’ and include docket 

number FRA–2012–0033. Due to 

security procedures in effect since 

October 2001, mail received through the 

U.S. Postal Service may be subject to 

delays. Parties submitting responses to 

this notice should consider using an 

express mail firm to ensure the prompt 

filing of any submissions not filed 

electronically or by hand. Note that all 

submissions received, including any 

personal information therein, will be 

posted without change or alteration to 

http://www.regulations.gov. For more 

information, you may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register published on April 11, 

2000 (65 FR 19477), or visit http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John Johnson, Attorney-Advisor, FRA 

Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE., Mail Stop 10, 

Washington, DC 20590, (202) 493–0078, 

John.Johnson@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA 

provided information on its reasons for 

granting this waiver in a letter to the 

City of Raleigh, quoted below: 

Mr. Richard L. Kelly 

Engineering Services Director 

City of Raleigh 

One Exchange Plaza 

219 Fayetteville Street, Suite 801 

Raleigh, NC 27601 

Re: Request for Waiver of Buy America 

Requirement 

Dear Mr. Kelly: 

On September 23, 2016, Code Electric, Inc. 

requested a waiver from the Federal Railroad 

Administration’s (FRA) Buy America 

requirement (49 U.S.C. 24405(a)) to use 

certain components of a fire alarm system, 

which cannot be sourced in the United 

States, in the Raleigh Union Station project 

(Project). The Project is for construction of a 

passenger train station in downtown Raleigh 

that will replace the existing Amtrak station. 

The City of Raleigh (City), through its 

contractor, awarded Code Electric, Inc. the 

electrical construction sub-contract for the 

Project. The $90 million project is funded in 

part by two Transportation Infrastructure 

Generating Economic Recovery grants of 

$26.5 million from Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 and 

$11.5 million from FY 2013 to the City, and 

$15 million from a $520 million American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 grant 

to the North Carolina Department of 

Transportation. FRA is providing its decision 

on the waiver to the City as the FRA grant 

recipient for this Project. 

The Project is subject to 49 U.S.C. 

24405(a)(1). Section 24405(a)(1) requires the 

steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in 

a project to be produced in the United States. 

FRA may waive the Buy America 

requirements if FRA finds that: (1) Applying 

the requirements would be inconsistent with 

the public interest; (2) the steel, iron, and 

goods manufactured in the United States are 

not produced in sufficient and reasonably 

available amounts or are not of a satisfactory 

quality; (3) rolling stock or power train 

equipment cannot be bought or delivered to 

the United States within a reasonable time; 

or (4) including domestic material will 

increase the cost of the overall project by 

more than 25 percent. 

For the reasons stated in this letter, FRA 

grants a ‘‘non-availability’’ Buy America 

waiver. This waiver applies only to this 

Project. 

Code Electric seeks a waiver for the 

following components (Components) for use 

in the Project: 

Description Quantity Description Quantity 

Addressable Pull Station ............................................... 15 Addressable Module Flush Cover ............................... 22 

Duct Sensor Housing .................................................... 6 Overvoltage Suppressor .............................................. 1 

Remote Test Station ..................................................... 6 Relay IAM .................................................................... 13 

Sampling Tube 73′′, Plastic .......................................... 6 Addressable Module Flush Cover ............................... 13 

Relay IAM ..................................................................... 6 Relay Id NET 2 IAM W/T Sense ................................. 1 

Addressable Module Flush Cover ................................ 6 10 AH Battery .............................................................. 2 

Indoor/Outdoor Surface Back Box ................................ 8 Address Module Isolator .............................................. 10 

Speaker Low Profile Ceiling Mount .............................. 9 Addressable Module Flush Cover ............................... 10 

Supervised IAM ............................................................. 22 50 AH Battery .............................................................. 4 

IAM Bracket .................................................................. 22 Laptop .......................................................................... 1 

The total cost of the fire alarm system is 

less than $30,000, and the total cost of the 

non-U.S. manufactured components is less 

than $10,000. 

Code Electric asserts the following facts in 

support of the waiver request: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2017 / Notices 46609 

• Code Electric received several bids for 

the fire alarm system from suppliers 

Honeywell, Tyco Simplex Grinnell, and 

Edwards (United Technologies). Although 

these suppliers source many fire alarm 

system components from U.S. manufacturers, 

none of the suppliers offered a one hundred 

percent Buy America-compliant system. All 

fire alarm system suppliers use a mix of 

foreign and US-made components; and 

• The foreign components used by 

suppliers vary. However, due to 

programming, interoperability, and 

certification issues, the components are not 

interchangeable among systems. Therefore, 

suppliers cannot swap out components to 

meet Buy America. 

FRA independently verified these 

assertions with its Monitoring and Technical 

Assistance Contractor (MTAC), TranSystems. 

An electrical engineer from FRA’s MTAC 

explained that large international suppliers 

source or manufacture pieces of the fire 

alarm system in different countries. Further, 

many portions of the system are addressable 

(individually programmable), which means 

the software and hardware must be 

compatible and tested. In addition, fire alarm 

components and systems are UL® listed. UL®

is a third-party, independent company that 

certifies safety compliance of many systems 

and their components, including fire alarm 

systems. Attempting to swap pieces of a fire 

alarm system would jeopardize its UL®

listing and could cause product warranty and 

liability issues. 

FRA concludes a waiver is appropriate 

under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) for the 

Components because domestically-produced 

Components are not currently ‘‘produced in 

sufficient and reasonably available amounts.’’ 

49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B). FRA bases this 

determination on the following: 

• For competitively bid, commercial 

products for buildings, such as fire alarm 

systems, FRA views receiving no Buy 

America-compliant bids as presumptive 

evidence the conditions exist to grant a nonavailability waiver; 

• On October 28, 2016, FRA provided 

public notice of this waiver request and a 15- 

day opportunity for comment on its Web site. 

FRA also emailed notice to over 6,000 

recipients that requested Buy America 

notices through ‘‘GovDelivery.’’ FRA 

received one comment. However, the 

commenter did not provide any information 

about a domestic source for a fully Buy 

America-compliant fire alarm system; and 

• FRA’s MTAC concurred with Code 

Electric that due to programming, 

interoperability, and certification issues, 

components are not interchangeable among 

systems. Therefore, fire alarm system 

suppliers cannot swap out components to 

meet Buy America. 

This waiver applies only to this Project for 

these specific components. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(4), FRA will 

publish this letter granting the Buy America 

waiver to the City in the Federal Register and 

provide notice of such finding and an 

opportunity for public comment after which 

this waiver will become effective. 

Questions about this letter can be directed 

to, John Johnson, Attorney-Advisor, at 

John.Johnson@dot.gov or (202) 493–0078. 

Sincerely, 

Heath Hall 

Acting Administrator 

cc: Code Electric, Inc. 

Brett A. Jortland, 

Acting Deputy Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21441 Filed 10–4–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2017–0130; Notice No. 

2017–11] 

Hazardous Materials: Emergency 

Waiver No. 5 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of emergency waiver 

order. 

SUMMARY: The Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration is 

issuing an emergency waiver order to 

persons conducting operations under 

the direction of the Puerto Rico Public 

Service Commission within the 

Hurricane Maria emergency and disaster 

areas of Puerto Rico. This Waiver Order 

is effective September 28, 2017, and 

shall remain in effect for 7 days from the 

date of issuance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Adam Horsley, Deputy Assistant Chief 

Counsel for Hazardous Materials Safety, 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration, telephone: (202) 366– 

4400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with the provisions of 49 

U.S.C. 5103(c), the Acting Administrator 

for the Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), hereby declares that an 

emergency exists that warrants issuance 

of a Waiver of the Hazardous Materials 

Regulations (HMR, 49 CFR parts 171– 

180) to persons conducting operations 

under the direction of the Puerto Rico 

Public Service Commission (Carr. 8838 

Km. 8.3, Sector El Cinco, San Juan, PR 

00926) within the Hurricane Maria 

emergency and disaster areas of Puerto 

Rico. The Waiver is granted to support 

the government of Puerto Rico in 

facilitating the transport of essential 

fuel. 

On September 18, 2017, the President 

issued an Emergency Declaration for 

Hurricane Maria for the Commonwealth 

of Puerto Rico (EM–3391). On 

September 20, 2017, the President 

issued a Major Disaster Declaration for 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (DR– 

4340). 

This Waiver Order covers all areas 

identified in the Declarations. Pursuant 

to 49 U.S.C. 5103(c), PHMSA has 

authority delegated by the Secretary (49 

CFR 1.97(b)(3)) to waive compliance 

with any part of the HMR provided that 

the grant of the waiver is: (1) In the 

public interest; (2) not inconsistent with 

the safety of transporting hazardous 

materials; and (3) necessary to facilitate 

the safe movement of hazardous 

materials into, from, and within an area 

of a major disaster or emergency that 

has been declared under the Robert T. 

Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

Given the continuing impacts caused 

by Hurricane Maria, PHMSA’s Acting 

Administrator has determined that 

regulatory relief is in the public interest 

and necessary to ensure the safe 

transportation in commerce of 

hazardous materials while the Puerto 

Rican government executes its recovery 

and cleanup efforts. Specifically, 

PHMSA’s Acting Administrator finds 

that issuing this Waiver Order will 

allow for the safe transportation of fuel. 

By execution of this Waiver Order, the 

hazardous materials training, testing, 

and certification requirements in 49 

CFR part 172 subpart H and part 177 are 

waived except as specified below for 

persons conducting operations under 

the direction of the Puerto Rico Public 

Service Commission within the 

Hurricane Maria emergency and disaster 

areas of Puerto Rico. Such persons are 

authorized to offer and transport fuel 

provided that the following conditions 

are met: 

(1) The transport of the fuel must be 

accompanied by a law enforcement or 

military escort; 

(2) The escort vehicle must have a 

copy of the Emergency Response 

Guidebook, Response Guide 128; 

(3) Drivers must have three years of 

professional driving experience and 

otherwise be licensed to operate the 

vehicle based on its size and weight; 

and 

(4) Unloading procedures must be 

overseen by a qualified person as 

defined in 49 CFR 177. 834(i)(4) or a 

driver who has received training (testing 

and certification is not required) that 

includes, at a minimum, these items: 

(a) Bonding the cargo tank; 

(b) Preventing overfilling of tanks at 

point of delivery; 

(c) Controlling the flow of product; 

(d) Using emergency cut-off 

equipment; and 

(e) Securing unloading equipment for 

transport. 


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