Buy America Waiver Notification, 79560-79561 [2013-31236]
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79560
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 250 / Monday, December 30, 2013 / Notices
State, SA–5, L/PD, Fifth Floor (Suite
5H03), Washington, DC 20522–0505.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Dated: December 18, 2013.
Evan M. Ryan,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, Department of State.
Buy America Waiver Notification
Federal Highway Administration
[FR Doc. 2013–31087 Filed 12–27–13; 8:45 am]
Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), DOT.
BILLING CODE 4710–05–P
ACTION:
AGENCY:
Notice.
This notice provides
information regarding the FHWA’s
finding that a partial Buy America
waiver is appropriate for the obligation
of Federal-aid funds for 112 State
requests regarding specific vehicle
projects (including sedans, vans,
pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and
equipment, such as backhoes, street
sweepers, tractors and low emission
locomotives), including projects to
retrofit vehicles with individual vehicle
components, so long as they are
assembled in the United States. The
FHWA’s Buy America requirements
provide that 100 percent of all steel and
iron comprising a predominantly steel
and iron product that is permanently
incorporated into a project must be
domestically manufactured. With
respect to vehicles, manufacturers
typically assemble these products with
many different components and
subcomponents containing steel and
iron. As a result, vehicles are typically
referred to as being made where the
final product rolls off the assembly line
for delivery into the marketplace. The
FHWA is unaware of any vehicle that is
comprised of 100 percent domestically
produced steel and iron, resulting in a
need for a partial Buy America waiver
for these projects to proceed.
SUMMARY:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 8579]
Culturally Significant Objects Imported
for Exhibition Determinations: ‘‘Khirbet
el-Maqatir: History of a Biblical Site’’
Notice is hereby given of the
following determinations: Pursuant to
the authority vested in me by the Act of
October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C.
2459), Executive Order 12047 of March
27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and
Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat.
2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et
seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of
October 1, 1999, and Delegation of
Authority No. 236–3 of August 28, 2000,
I hereby determine that the objects to be
included in the exhibition, ‘‘Khirbet elMaqatir: History of a Biblical Site,’’
imported from abroad for temporary
exhibition within the United States, are
of cultural significance. The objects are
imported pursuant to loan agreements
with the foreign owners or custodians.
I also determine that the exhibition or
display of the exhibit objects at the
Dunham Bible Museum, Houston
Baptist University, Houston, Texas,
from on or about January 21, 2014, until
on or about December 19, 2014, and at
possible additional exhibitions or
venues yet to be determined, is in the
national interest. I have ordered that
Public Notice of these Determinations
be published in the Federal Register.
SUMMARY:
For
further information, including a list of
the exhibit objects, contact Paul W.
Manning, Attorney-Adviser, Office of
the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of
State (telephone: 202–632–6469). The
mailing address is U.S. Department of
State, SA–5, L/PD, Fifth Floor (Suite
5H03), Washington, DC 20522–0505.
maindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dated: December 20, 2013.
Evan Ryan,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2013–31064 Filed 12–27–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–05–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:15 Dec 27, 2013
Jkt 232001
The effective date of the waiver
is December 31, 2013.
DATES:
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. Michael
Harkins, FHWA Office of the Chief
Counsel, (202) 366–4928, or via email at
michael.harkins@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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document
may be downloaded from the Federal
Register’s home page at: https://
www.archives.gov and the Government
Printing Office’s database at: https://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
PO 00000
Frm 00171
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Background
The FHWA’s Buy America
requirements at 23 U.S.C. 313 require a
domestic manufacturing process for any
steel or iron products (including
protective coatings) that are
permanently incorporated in a Federalaid project. The statute also provides for
a waiver of the Buy America
requirements when the application
would be inconsistent with the public
interest or when satisfactory quality
domestic steel and iron products are not
sufficiently available. This notice
provides information regarding the
FHWA’s finding that a partial Buy
America waiver is appropriate for the
obligation of Federal-aid funds for the
purchase of 112 State requests regarding
specific vehicle projects (including
sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks,
buses, and equipment, such as
backhoes, street sweepers, and tractors
and low emission locomotives).1
In accordance with Division A,
section 122 of the ‘‘Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act,
2012’’ (Pub. L. 112–284), the FHWA
published a notice of intent to issue a
waiver on its Web site for 112 State
requests regarding specific vehicle
projects (including sedans, vans,
pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and
equipment, such as backhoes, street
sweepers, and tractors) (https://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/
contracts/waivers.cfm?id=93) on
November 15th. The FHWA received 20
comments in response to the
publication. No commenter objected to
the waiver, and one commenter
expressed concern regarding FHWA’s
current process of approving a waiver
for vehicle retrofit projects under the
Congestion Mitigation Air Quality
(CMAQ) Improvement Program. This
commenter suggested that FHWA
should make all diesel retrofit devices
and components exempt from the Buy
America requirements.
The FHWA appreciates the need to
provide clear guidance concerning the
application of Buy America
requirements to vehicles and diesel
engine retrofit projects; however, the
issuance of guidance for that subject is
outside of the scope of this Notice. The
FHWA issued a Federal Register Notice
and Request for Comment on various
aspects of the Buy America
requirements on July 10, 2013. The
FHWA is currently evaluating all
comments and assessing the need for
additional guidance or clarification.
Based on all the information available
to the agency, the FHWA concludes that
1 See https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/
contracts/cmaq131115.cfm
E:\FR\FM\30DEN1.SGM
30DEN1
maindgalligan on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 250 / Monday, December 30, 2013 / Notices
there are no domestic manufacturers
that could meet a 100 percent domestic
steel and iron content for the 112 State
requests regarding specific vehicle
projects (including sedans, vans,
pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and
equipment, such as backhoes, street
sweepers, and tractors and low emission
locomotives).
The FHWA’s Buy America
requirement was initially established in
1983 when the acquisition of vehicles
was not eligible for assistance under the
Federal-aid highway program. As such,
the FHWA’s Buy America requirements
were tailored to the types of products
that are typically used in highway
construction, which generally meet a
100 percent domestic steel and iron
content requirement. Vehicles were not
the types of products that were initially
envisioned as being purchased with
Federal-aid highway funds when Buy
America was first enacted. In today’s
global industry, vehicles are assembled
with components that are made all over
the world. The FHWA is not aware of
any vehicle on the market that can claim
to incorporate 100 percent domestic
steel and iron content. For instance, the
Chevy Volt, which was identified by
many commenters in a November 21,
2011, Federal Register Notice (76 FR
72027) as being a car that is made in the
United States, comprises only 40
percent United States and Canada
content according to the window sticker
(https://www.cheersandgears.com/
uploads/1298005091/med_gallery_
51_113_449569.png). There is no
indication of how much of this 40
percent United States/Canadian content
is United States-made content.
However, there is an indication on the
window sticker concerning whether the
Volt was assembled in the United
States.
While the manufacture of steel and
iron products that are typically used in
highway construction (such as pipe,
rebar, struts, and beams) generally refers
to the various processes that go into
actually making the entire product, the
manufacture of vehicles typically refers
to where the vehicle is assembled. Thus,
given the inherent differences in the
types of products that are typically used
in highway construction and vehicles,
we feel that simply waiving the Buy
America requirement, which is based on
the domestic content of the product,
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 Highway Trust Fund (HTF)
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:15 Dec 27, 2013
Jkt 232001
dollars are used to support and create
jobs in the United States.
While the FHWA has not located a
vehicle that meets a 100 percent
domestic iron and steel content
requirement, the FHWA does not find
that a complete waiver based on nonavailability pursuant to 23 U.S.C.
313(b)(2) is appropriate. However, the
FHWA also recognizes that at least a
partial waiver is necessary in order to
permit the State DOTs to proceed with
the projects. The FHWA believes that a
partial waiver that allows the public
agencies to purchase vehicles so long as
the final assembly of the vehicle as the
end product occurs in the United States
is appropriate. This approach is similar
to the partial waivers previously given
for various vehicle projects.
In conclusion, and in light of the
above, pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 313(b)(1),
the FHWA finds that it is in the public
interest to grant a partial waiver from
the general 100 percent domestic
content requirement that applies to
Federal-aid highway projects under Buy
America. Under this partial waiver,
however, the final assembly of any
vehicles purchased with HTF funds
must occur in the United States. Thus,
so long as the final assembly of the 112
vehicle projects (including sedans, vans,
pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and
equipment, such as backhoes, street
sweepers, and tractors) occurs in the
United States, applicants to this waiver
request may proceed to purchase these
vehicles and equipment consistent with
the Buy America requirement.
In accordance with the provisions of
section 117 of the SAFETEA–LU
Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub.
L. 110–244, 122 Stat. 1572), the FHWA
is providing this notice as its finding
that a partial waiver of Buy America
requirements is appropriate. 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 the FHWA’s Web
site via the link provided to the waiver
page noted above.
Authority: (Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub.
L. 110–161, 23 CFR 635.410)
Issued on: December 23, 2013.
Victor M. Mendez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013–31236 Filed 12–27–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P
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Frm 00172
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
79561
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0002 (Notice No.
13–22)]
Information Collection Activities
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces that the Information
Collection Requests (ICR) abstracted
below will be forwarded to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and comments. The ICRs
describe the nature of the information
collections and their expected burden.
A Federal Register Notice with a 60-day
comment period soliciting comments on
these collections of information was
published in the Federal Register on
October 25, 2013 [78 FR 64049] under
Docket No. PHMSA–2013–0002 (Notice
No. 13–14).
DATE: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before January
29, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding
the burden estimate, including
suggestions for reducing the burden, to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for
PHMSA, 725 17th Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20503. Comments are
invited on: whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the Department, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; the accuracy of the
Department’s estimate of the burden of
the proposed information collection;
ways to enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
A comment to OMB is most effective if
OMB receives it within 30 days of
publication.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number or Regulation Identification
Number (RIN) for this notice. Internet
users may access comments received by
DOT at: https://www.regulations.gov.
Note that comments received will be
posted without change to: https://
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\30DEN1.SGM
30DEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 250 (Monday, December 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79560-79561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31236]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Buy America Waiver Notification
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice provides information regarding the FHWA's finding
that a partial Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of
Federal-aid funds for 112 State requests regarding specific vehicle
projects (including sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and
equipment, such as backhoes, street sweepers, tractors and low emission
locomotives), including projects to retrofit vehicles with individual
vehicle components, so long as they are assembled in the United States.
The FHWA's Buy America requirements provide that 100 percent of all
steel and iron comprising a predominantly steel and iron product that
is permanently incorporated into a project must be domestically
manufactured. With respect to vehicles, manufacturers typically
assemble these products with many different components and
subcomponents containing steel and iron. As a result, vehicles are
typically referred to as being made where the final product rolls off
the assembly line for delivery into the marketplace. The FHWA is
unaware of any vehicle that is comprised of 100 percent domestically
produced steel and iron, resulting in a need for a partial Buy America
waiver for these projects to proceed.
DATES: The effective date of the waiver is December 31, 2013.
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.
Michael Harkins, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-4928, or
via email at michael.harkins@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: https://www.archives.gov and the
Government Printing Office's database at: https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
Background
The FHWA's Buy America requirements at 23 U.S.C. 313 require a
domestic manufacturing process for any steel or iron products
(including protective coatings) that are permanently incorporated in a
Federal-aid project. The statute also provides for a waiver of the Buy
America requirements when the application would be inconsistent with
the public interest or when satisfactory quality domestic steel and
iron products are not sufficiently available. This notice provides
information regarding the FHWA's finding that a partial Buy America
waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for the
purchase of 112 State requests regarding specific vehicle projects
(including sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and equipment,
such as backhoes, street sweepers, and tractors and low emission
locomotives).\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/cmaq131115.cfm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In accordance with Division A, section 122 of the ``Consolidated
and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012'' (Pub. L. 112-284),
the FHWA published a notice of intent to issue a waiver on its Web site
for 112 State requests regarding specific vehicle projects (including
sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and equipment, such as
backhoes, street sweepers, and tractors) (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/waivers.cfm?id=93) on November 15th. The FHWA
received 20 comments in response to the publication. No commenter
objected to the waiver, and one commenter expressed concern regarding
FHWA's current process of approving a waiver for vehicle retrofit
projects under the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement
Program. This commenter suggested that FHWA should make all diesel
retrofit devices and components exempt from the Buy America
requirements.
The FHWA appreciates the need to provide clear guidance concerning
the application of Buy America requirements to vehicles and diesel
engine retrofit projects; however, the issuance of guidance for that
subject is outside of the scope of this Notice. The FHWA issued a
Federal Register Notice and Request for Comment on various aspects of
the Buy America requirements on July 10, 2013. The FHWA is currently
evaluating all comments and assessing the need for additional guidance
or clarification.
Based on all the information available to the agency, the FHWA
concludes that
[[Page 79561]]
there are no domestic manufacturers that could meet a 100 percent
domestic steel and iron content for the 112 State requests regarding
specific vehicle projects (including sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs,
trucks, buses, and equipment, such as backhoes, street sweepers, and
tractors and low emission locomotives).
The FHWA's Buy America requirement was initially established in
1983 when the acquisition of vehicles was not eligible for assistance
under the Federal-aid highway program. As such, the FHWA's Buy America
requirements were tailored to the types of products that are typically
used in highway construction, which generally meet a 100 percent
domestic steel and iron content requirement. Vehicles were not the
types of products that were initially envisioned as being purchased
with Federal-aid highway funds when Buy America was first enacted. In
today's global industry, vehicles are assembled with components that
are made all over the world. The FHWA is not aware of any vehicle on
the market that can claim to incorporate 100 percent domestic steel and
iron content. For instance, the Chevy Volt, which was identified by
many commenters in a November 21, 2011, Federal Register Notice (76 FR
72027) as being a car that is made in the United States, comprises only
40 percent United States and Canada content according to the window
sticker (https://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/1298005091/med_gallery_51_113_449569.png). There is no indication of how much of
this 40 percent United States/Canadian content is United States-made
content. However, there is an indication on the window sticker
concerning whether the Volt was assembled in the United States.
While the manufacture of steel and iron products that are typically
used in highway construction (such as pipe, rebar, struts, and beams)
generally refers to the various processes that go into actually making
the entire product, the manufacture of vehicles typically refers to
where the vehicle is assembled. Thus, given the inherent differences in
the types of products that are typically used in highway construction
and vehicles, we feel that simply waiving the Buy America requirement,
which is based on the domestic content of the product, 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 Highway Trust Fund (HTF) dollars are used to
support and create jobs in the United States.
While the FHWA has not located a vehicle that meets a 100 percent
domestic iron and steel content requirement, the FHWA does not find
that a complete waiver based on non-availability pursuant to 23 U.S.C.
313(b)(2) is appropriate. However, the FHWA also recognizes that at
least a partial waiver is necessary in order to permit the State DOTs
to proceed with the projects. The FHWA believes that a partial waiver
that allows the public agencies to purchase vehicles so long as the
final assembly of the vehicle as the end product occurs in the United
States is appropriate. This approach is similar to the partial waivers
previously given for various vehicle projects.
In conclusion, and in light of the above, pursuant to 23 U.S.C.
313(b)(1), the FHWA finds that it is in the public interest to grant a
partial waiver from the general 100 percent domestic content
requirement that applies to Federal-aid highway projects under Buy
America. Under this partial waiver, however, the final assembly of any
vehicles purchased with HTF funds must occur in the United States.
Thus, so long as the final assembly of the 112 vehicle projects
(including sedans, vans, pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, and equipment,
such as backhoes, street sweepers, and tractors) occurs in the United
States, applicants to this waiver request may proceed to purchase these
vehicles and equipment consistent with the Buy America requirement.
In accordance with the provisions of section 117 of the SAFETEA-LU
Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-244, 122 Stat. 1572),
the FHWA is providing this notice as its finding that a partial waiver
of Buy America requirements is appropriate. 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 the FHWA's
Web site via the link provided to the waiver page noted above.
Authority: (Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110-161, 23 CFR
635.410)
Issued on: December 23, 2013.
Victor M. Mendez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2013-31236 Filed 12-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P