[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 147 (Monday, August 2, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45197-45198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-18807]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
Notice of Buy America Waiver Request by Northern New England
Passenger Rail Authority To Purchase 3,340 AREMA Specified Carbon Steel
Standard 1\1/8\ Nominal Diameter Nuts
AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), United States Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver request and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: FRA is issuing this notice to advise the public that the
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA) is seeking a
waiver from FRA's Buy America requirement--49 U.S.C. 24405(a). NNEPRA
was awarded $35 million in an America Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(``Recovery Act'') grant to extend Amtrak's Downeaster passenger
service from its existing route of Boston, Massachusetts to Portland,
Maine further north to Brunswick, Maine with a stop in Freeport, Maine.
The project requires the purchase and use of 3,340 AREMA specified
carbon steel standard 1\1/8\ nominal diameter nuts. NNEPRA seeks the
waiver under 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2)(B) in that it asserts that the
specific nuts it needs are not produced in the United States in a
sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a satisfactory
quality.
DATES: Written comments on NNEPRA's Buy America waiver request should
be provided to the FRA on or before August 12, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by one of the following means,
identifying your submissions by docket number FRA-2010-0122. 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 hand-delivered 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 make reference to the ``Federal
Railroad Administration'' and include docket number FRA-2010-0122. Due
to security procedures in effect since October 2001, mail received
through the U.S. Postal Service may be subject to delays. Parties
making submissions responsive 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: For questions about this notice,
please contact Ms. Linda Martin, Attorney-Advisor, FRA Office of Chief
Counsel, (202) 493-6062 or via e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Recovery Act requires FRA to apply the
Buy America provisions contained in the Passenger Rail Investment and
Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), at 49 U.S.C. 24405(a), to grants
obligated with Recovery Act funds. 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(1) authorizes the
Secretary of Transportation (``Secretary'') to obligate grant funds
only if the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the project are
produced in the United States. However, 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(2) also
permits the Secretary to waive the Buy America requirements if he finds
that: (A) Applying paragraph (1) would be inconsistent with the public
interest; (B)
[[Page 45198]]
the steel, iron, and goods manufactured in the United States are not
produced in sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of a
satisfactory quality; (C) rolling stock or power train equipment cannot
be bought or delivered to the United States within a reasonable time;
or (D) including domestic material will increase the cost of the
overall project by more than 25 percent.
If the Secretary determines that it is necessary to waive the Buy
American provisions, 49 U.S.C. 24405(a)(4) requires that the Secretary
provide public notice of such a finding and provide an opportunity for
comment. In addition, PRIIA requires a detailed written justification
for the decision be published in the Federal Register. This notice
intends to inform the public that NNEPRA has requested a Buy America
waiver for 3,340 AREMA Specified Carbon Steel Standard 1\1/8\ Nominal
Diameter Nuts and to request public comment on the potential waiver.
NNEPRA was awarded a $35,000,000 Recovery Act grant to extend
Amtrak Downeaster passenger service from its existing route of Boston,
Massachusetts to Portland, Maine further north on to Brunswick, Maine
with a stop in Freeport, Maine. The Project includes the rehabilitation
of existing rail lines owned by Pan Am Railways, construction of two
passenger platforms, the rehabilitation of 36 grade crossings, upgrades
to signals, the installation of signals on the Brunswick Branch, and
other right-of-way improvements.
NNEPRA has requested the waiver pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
24405(a)(2)(B) because it believes that for the reasons set forth in
this notice the manufactured goods, 3,340 AREMA Specified Carbon Steel
Standard 1\1/8\ Nominal Diameter Nuts, are not reasonably available in
the United States and that therefore a waiver is warranted. The project
calls for 3,340 AREMA specified carbon steel standard 1\1/8\ nominal
diameter nuts that measure 1.8125'' across the flats and are 1.125''
thick to be used with 3,340 track bolts and 3,340 spring washers. All
but 80 of the nuts and bolts will be removed when the joints are welded
at a later date. The cost of the nut is estimated to be $0.75 (Seventy
Five Cents) each. In its waiver request, NNEPRA asserts that only
$60.00 worth of non-domestic material will remain in the project upon
completion though this is largely irrelevant because FRA's Buy America
requirement includes construction materials, as well as materials left
in any finished projects. The track bolts and spring washers are
domestically produced; however, NNEPRA asserts that the nuts are not
available from a domestic source. NNEPRA asserts that it verified
independently with six of the major track material suppliers and
manufacturers that the nut is indeed not available domestically. The
companies contacted were: Atlantic Track and Turnout, L.B. Foster,
Progress Rail, Unitrac, A&K Railroad and Rockford Products.
With this information in mind and in order to completely understand
the facts surrounding NNEPRA's request, FRA seeks comment from all
interested parties regarding the availability of domestically
manufactured track nuts as described, and the potential Buy America
waiver.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 27, 2010.
Mark E. Yachmetz,
Associate Administrator for Railroad Development, Federal Railroad
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-18807 Filed 7-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-06-P