[Federal Register: October 31, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 210)]
[Notices]
[Page 63836-63837]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc06-114]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
Notice of Granted Buy America Waivers
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of granted Buy America waivers.
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SUMMARY: The following waivers will permit ticket vending machine
manufacturers to install and count as domestic for purposes of the Buy
America Act, 49 U.S.C. 5323(j), as implemented by the Federal Transit
Administration at 49 CFR part 661, the Mars Electronics International
(MEI) BNA57/542 Banknote Validator, the Asahi Seiko USA, Inc. (Asahi
Seiko) Model SA-595 Compact Coin Dispensing Hopper, and the Nextek
Corporation (Nextek) BV-6000 Currency Validator Tekpak. Each waiver is
valid for a period of 2 years, or until such time as a domestic source
for the product becomes available, whichever occurs first. This notice
shall ensure that the public is aware of the waivers. FTA requests that
the public notify it if a domestic source for any of the above-listed
products becomes available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayme L. Blakesley, Attorney-Advisor,
Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Room 9316, Washington, DC 20590-0001. E-mail:
jayme.blakesley@dot.gov. Telephone: (202) 366-0304.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: See waivers below.
Waiver: MEI BNA57/542 Banknote Validator
Date Issued: October 20, 2006. Alex Litchfield, Sales Director,
Transit and Parking, Mars Electronics International (MEI), 1301 Wilson
Dr., West Chester, PA 19390.
Re: Buy America Non-Availability Waiver for the MEI BNA57/542
Banknote Validator
Dear Mr. Litchfield:
This letter responds to your April 26, 2006, request for a Buy
America non-availability waiver for the Sodeco BNA57/542 Banknote
Validator (``BNA57/542''), which is manufactured in Switzerland for use
in ticket vending machines.
The Buy America Act requires, with few exceptions, that all steel,
iron and manufactured goods used in FTA-funded projects be produced in
the United States. One such exception is that of non-availability--that
in some instances steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States
are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities or are not of a satisfactory quality. Therefore,
Congress authorized FTA to waive the above requirement and allow, based
on non-availability, the use in an FTA-funded project of steel, iron or
manufactured goods produced outside the United States.
FTA verified non-availability of the BNA57/542 by publishing the
following notice on its public Web site--http://www.fta.dot.gov_and
the Docket Management System Web site--dms.dot.gov, Docket No. FTA-
2006-25883, and allowing 30 days for public comment:
Mars Electronics International (``MEI'') has requested a
component non-availability waiver for the Sodeco BNA57/542 Banknote
Validator (``BNA57/542''), manufactured in Switzerland for use in
ticket vending machines. The BNA 57/542 has the following features:
6, 13, 30 or 90 banknote types with 4-way insertion, 2 second
transaction time between notes, new banknotes programmable through
network, 15 banknotes escrow. A datasheet describing the BNA57/542
can be accessed on MEI's Web site at http://www.meiglobal.com. MEI
asserts that the BNA57/542, or its functional equivalent, is not
available from a U.S. source. If granted, this waiver would permit
ticket vending machine manufacturers to install the BNA57/542 and
count it as domestic for purposes of Buy America compliance.
Please note ``MEI BNA57/542'' in the subject line and submit
comments by close of business October 20, 2006, to
jayme.blakesley@dot.gov. For more information on Buy America, please
see 49 CFR 661.7(d) and 661.9(d).
Thirty days have passed since publication of the above notice, and
no party has indicated that a U.S. manufacturer produces banknote
validators in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a
satisfactory quality. Therefore, FTA hereby grants MEI a non-
availability waiver for the BNA57/542 for a period of 2 years, or until
such time as a domestic source for this type of unit becomes available,
whichever occurs first. This waiver will permit ticket vending machine
manufacturers to install the SA-595 and
[[Page 63837]]
count it as domestic for purposes of Buy America compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact Jayme L. Blakesley at
(202) 366-0304 or jayme.blakesley@dot.gov.
Sincerely, David B. Horner, Chief Counsel, Federal Transit
Administration.
Waiver: Asahi Seiko Model SA-595 Compact Coin Dispensing Hopper
Date Issued: October 20, 2006. Steve Poulos, General Manager, Asahi
Seiko USA, Inc., 6644 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119.
Re: Buy America Non-Availability Waiver for Model SA-595 Compact
Coin Dispensing Hopper.
Dear Mr. Poulos:
This letter responds to your August 14, 2006, request for an
extension of a Buy America non-availability waiver for the Asahi Seiko
Model SA-595 Compact Coin Dispensing Hopper (``SA-595''), which is
manufactured in Japan for use in ticket vending machines. For the
reasons below, I have determined that a non-availability waiver is
appropriate here.
The Buy America Act requires, with few exceptions, that all steel,
iron and manufactured goods used in FTA-funded projects be produced in
the United States. One such exception is that of non-availability--that
in some instances steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States
are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities or are not of a satisfactory quality. Therefore,
Congress authorized FTA to waive the above requirement and allow, based
on non-availability, the use in an FTA-funded project of steel, iron or
manufactured goods produced outside the United States.
FTA verified non-availability of the SA-595 by publishing the
following notice on its Web site--http://www.fta.dot.gov_and the Docket Management System Web site--http://dms.dot.gov, Docket No. FTA-
2006-25860, and allowing 30 days for public comment:
Asahi Seiko USA, Inc. (``Asahi Seiko'') has requested an
extension of its component waiver for its Model SA 595 Compact Coin
Dispensing Hopper (``SA-595''), manufactured for use in ticket
vending machines. The unit is a low profile, bulk coin dispensing
hopper module, a device able to hold a quantity of coins in a hopper
and dispense them for change in a secure and accurate manner upon
electronic command. Asahi Seiko asserts that the SA-595, or its
functional equivalent, is not available from a U.S. source. If
granted, an extension of this waiver would permit ticket vending
machine manufacturers to install the SA-595 and count it as domestic
for purposes of Buy America compliance.
Please note ``Asahi'' in the subject line and submit comments by
close of business October 13, 2006, to jayme.blakesley@dot.gov. For
more information on Buy America, please see 49 CFR 661.7(d) and
661.9(d).
Thirty days have passed since publication of the above notice, and
no party has indicated that a U.S. manufacturer produces coin
dispensing hoppers in sufficient and reasonably available quantities
and of a satisfactory quality. Therefore, FTA hereby extends Asahi
Seiko's non-availability waiver for the SA-595 for a period of 2 years,
or until such time as a domestic source for this type of unit becomes
available, whichever occurs first. This waiver will permit ticket
vending machine manufacturers to install the SA-595 and count it as
domestic for purposes of Buy America compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact Jayme L. Blakesley at
(202) 366-0304 or jayme.blakesley@dot.gov.
Sincerely, David B. Horner, Chief Counsel, Federal Transit
Administration.
Waiver: Nextek BV-6000 Currency Validator Tekpak
Date Issued: October 20, 2006. Norman Diamond, President, Nextek
Corporation, 3300 Commercial Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062.
Re: Buy America Non-Availability Waiver for the BV-6000 Currency
Validator Tekpak.
Dear Mr. Diamond:
This letter responds to your June 19, 2006, request for a Buy
America non-availability waiver for the BV-6000 Currency Validator
Tekpak (``BV-6000''), which is manufactured in Japan for use in ticket
vending machines. For the reasons below, I have determined that a non-
availability waiver is appropriate here.
The Buy America Act requires, with few exceptions, that all steel,
iron and manufactured goods used in FTA-funded projects be produced in
the United States. One such exception is that of non-availability--that
in some instances steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States
are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities or are not of a satisfactory quality. Therefore,
Congress authorized FTA to waive the above requirement and allow, based
on non-availability, the use in an FTA-funded project of steel, iron or
manufactured goods produced outside the United States.
FTA verified non-availability of the BV-6000 by publishing the
following notice on its public Web site--http://www.fta.dot.gov_and the Docket Management System Web site--http://dms.dot.gov, Docket No.
FTA-2006-25861, and allowing 30 days for public comment:
Nextek Corporation (``Nextek'') has requested a component non-
availability waiver for its model BV-6000 Currency Validator Tekpak
(``BV-6000''), manufactured for use in ticket vending machines,
automatic fare collection and automatic teller machines. It has the
following features: accepts any currency, any four-way orientation
bill insertion, 15 bill escrow, 1,000 bill cashbox, optical/magnetic
bill recognition, high acceptance rate with security, less than 2
seconds for bill processing, one-way bill transport system, internal
transaction memory for auditing and testing, easy access without any
tools, and the ability to free jammed bills and clean bill guideways
easily. Nextek asserts that the BV-6000, or its functional
equivalent, is not available from a U.S. source. If granted, this
waiver would permit ticket vending machine manufacturers to install
the BV-6000 and count it as domestic for purposes of Buy America
compliance.
Please note ``Nextek'' in the subject line and submit comments
by close of business October 13, 2006, to jayme.blakesley@dot.gov.
For more information on Buy America, please see 49 CFR 661.7(d) and
661.9(d).
Thirty days have passed since publication of the above notice, and
no party has indicated that a U.S. manufacturer produces currency
validator tekpaks in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and
of a satisfactory quality. Therefore, FTA hereby grants Nextek's non-
availability waiver for the BV-6000 for a period of two years, or until
such time as a domestic source for this type of unit becomes available,
whichever occurs first. This waiver will permit ticket vending machine
manufacturers to install the BV-6000 and count it as domestic for
purposes of Buy America compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact Jayme L. Blakesley at
(202) 366-0304 or jayme.blakesley@dot.gov.
Sincerely, David B. Horner, Chief Counsel, Federal Transit
Administration.
Issued: October 20, 2006.
David B. Horner,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. E6-18260 Filed 10-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P