Buy America Waiver Notification, 19701-19702 [2016-07800]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2016 / Notices The meeting will be held at RTCA, Inc., 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 910, Washington, DC 20036, Tel: (202) 330–0662. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The RTCA Secretariat, 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 910, Washington, DC, 20036, or by telephone at (202) 833–9339, fax at (202) 833–9434, or Web site at https:// www.rtca.org or Karan Hofmann, Program Director, RTCA, Inc., khofmann@rtca.org, (202) 330–0680. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 463, 5 U.S.C., App.), notice is hereby given for a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 224. The agenda will include the following: ADDRESSES: Thursday, May 5, 2016 1. Welcome/Introductions/ Administrative Remarks 2. Review/Approve Previous Meeting Summary 3. Report from the TSA 4. Report on Safe Skies on Document Distribution 5. Report on TSA Security Construction Guidelines progress 6. FRAC Resolution and approval of DO–230G 7. Review of DO–230H Sections 8. Action Items for Next Meeting 9. Time and Place of Next Meeting 10. Any Other Business 11. Adjourn Attendance is open to the interested public but limited to space availability. With the approval of the chairman, members of the public may present oral statements at the meeting. Plenary information will be provided upon request. Persons who wish to present statements or obtain information should contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Members of the public may present a written statement to the committee at any time. Issued in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2016. Latasha Robinson, Management & Program Analyst, NextGen, Enterprise Support Services Division, Federal Aviation Administration. [FR Doc. 2016–07784 Filed 4–4–16; 8:45 am] asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES BILLING CODE 4910–13–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Buy America Waiver Notification Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of Transportation (DOT). AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:18 Apr 04, 2016 Jkt 238001 ACTION: Notice. This notice provides information regarding FHWA’s finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for 48 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles and equipment on the condition that they be assembled in the U.S. DATES: The effective date of the waiver is April 6, 2016. 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: SUMMARY: 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 Publishing Office’s database at https:// www.access.gpo.gov/nara. Background This notice provides information regarding FHWA’s finding that a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid funds for 48 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles (including sedans, vans, pickups, trucks, buses, and street sweepers) and equipment (such as trail grooming equipment) on the condition that they be assembled in the U.S. The waiver would apply to approximately 393 vehicles and equipment acquisitions. The requests for the third quarter of calendar year 2015, available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ construction/contracts/ cmaq160105.cfm, are incorporated by reference into this notice. These projects are being undertaken to implement air quality improvement, safety, and mobility goals under FHWA’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and the Recreational Trails Program. Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, section 635.410 requires that steel or iron materials (including protective coatings) that will be permanently incorporated in a Federal-aid project must be manufactured in the U.S. For FHWA, this means that all the processes that modified the chemical content, physical shape or size, or final finish of PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 19701 the material (from initial melting and mixing, continuing through the bending and coating) occurred in the U.S. 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 domestic manufacturers that produce the vehicles and vehicle components identified in this notice in such a way that their steel and iron elements are manufactured domestically. The FHWA’s Buy America 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 U.S. 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 U.S., is comprised of only 45 percent of U.S. and Canadian content according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Part 583 American Automobile Labeling Act Report Web page (https://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 U.S.-manufactured (from initial melting and mixing) iron and steel content. In accordance with Division K, section 122 of the ‘‘Consolidated and E:\FR\FM\05APN1.SGM 05APN1 asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 19702 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 5, 2016 / Notices Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015’’ (Pub. L. 113–235), FHWA published a notice of intent to issue a waiver on its Web site at https:// www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/ contracts/waivers.cfm?id=117 on January 5, 2016. The FHWA received five comments in response to the publication. Four commenters suggested that preference should be given to American products in support of American workers and a waiver should only be granted if there are no domestic products available. These commenters did not provide a recommendation for domestic products that fully comply with FHWA’s Buy America requirements. The fifth commenter supports granting a waiver and agreed that domestic assembly for the vehicles seems to be the only course to follow. Based on FHWA’s conclusion that there are no domestic manufacturers that can produce the vehicles and equipment identified in this notice in such a way that steel and iron materials are manufactured domestically, and after consideration of the comments received, FHWA finds that application of FHWA’s Buy America requirements to these products is inconsistent with the public interest (23 U.S.C. 313(b)(1) and 23 CFR 635.410(c)(2)(i)). However, FHWA believes that it is in the public interest and consistent with the Buy America requirements to impose the condition that the vehicles and the vehicle components be assembled in the U.S. Requiring final assembly to be performed in the U.S. is consistent with past guidance to FHWA Division Offices on manufactured products (see Memorandum on Buy America Policy Response, Dec. 22, 1997, https:// 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 Highway Trust Fund dollars are used to support and create jobs in the U.S. This approach is similar to the conditional waivers previously given for various vehicle projects. Thus, so long as the final assembly of the 48 State projects occurs in the U.S., 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 ‘‘Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, Technical Corrections Act of 2008’’ (Pub. L. 110– VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:18 Apr 04, 2016 Jkt 238001 244), FHWA is providing this notice of its finding that a public interest waiver of Buy America requirements is appropriate on the condition that the vehicles and equipment identified in the notice be assembled in the U.S. 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: March 29, 2016. Gregory G. Nadeau, Administrator, Federal Highway Administration. [FR Doc. 2016–07800 Filed 4–4–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–22–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2012–0032] Commercial Driver’s License Standards: Application for Exemption; Daimler Trucks North America (Daimler) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments. AGENCY: FMCSA announces that Daimler Trucks North America (Daimler) has requested an exemption for one commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver from the Federal requirement to hold a U.S. commercial driver’s license (CDL). Daimler requests a five-year exemption for Ms. Melanie Baumann, executive assistant to the head of the Daimler Trucks and Bus Division. Ms. Baumann holds a valid German commercial license and wants to test drive Daimler vehicles on U.S. roads to better understand product requirements in ‘‘real world’’ environments, and verify results. Daimler believes the requirements for a German commercial license ensure that operation under the exemption will likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption. DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 5, 2016. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 2012–0032 using any of the following methods: SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 • Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001. • Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12– 140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12–140 on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this notice, contact Ms. Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety Standards; Telephone: 202–366– 4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Public Participation and Request for Comments FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and related materials. Submitting Comments If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice (FMCSA–2012–0032), indicate the specific section of this document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for suggestions or recommendations. You may submit E:\FR\FM\05APN1.SGM 05APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19701-19702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07800]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 48 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles and 
equipment on the condition that they be assembled in the U.S.

DATES: The effective date of the waiver is April 6, 2016.

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 https://www.archives.gov and the 
Government Publishing Office's database at https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

Background

    This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a 
Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid 
funds for 48 State projects involving the acquisition of vehicles 
(including sedans, vans, pickups, trucks, buses, and street sweepers) 
and equipment (such as trail grooming equipment) on the condition that 
they be assembled in the U.S. The waiver would apply to approximately 
393 vehicles and equipment acquisitions. The requests for the third 
quarter of calendar year 2015, available at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/cmaq160105.cfm, are incorporated by reference 
into this notice. These projects are being undertaken to implement air 
quality improvement, safety, and mobility goals under FHWA's Congestion 
Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program and the Recreational 
Trails Program.
    Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, section 635.410 requires 
that steel or iron materials (including protective coatings) that will 
be permanently incorporated in a Federal-aid project must be 
manufactured in the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 domestic manufacturers that produce the 
vehicles and vehicle components identified in this notice in such a way 
that their steel and iron elements are manufactured domestically. The 
FHWA's Buy America 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 U.S. 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 U.S., is comprised of only 45 percent of U.S. and Canadian 
content according to the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration's Part 583 American Automobile Labeling Act Report Web 
page (https://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 U.S.-
manufactured (from initial melting and mixing) iron and steel content.
    In accordance with Division K, section 122 of the ``Consolidated 
and

[[Page 19702]]

Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015'' (Pub. L. 113-235), FHWA 
published a notice of intent to issue a waiver on its Web site at 
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/waivers.cfm?id=117 on 
January 5, 2016. The FHWA received five comments in response to the 
publication. Four commenters suggested that preference should be given 
to American products in support of American workers and a waiver should 
only be granted if there are no domestic products available. These 
commenters did not provide a recommendation for domestic products that 
fully comply with FHWA's Buy America requirements. The fifth commenter 
supports granting a waiver and agreed that domestic assembly for the 
vehicles seems to be the only course to follow.
    Based on FHWA's conclusion that there are no domestic manufacturers 
that can produce the vehicles and equipment identified in this notice 
in such a way that steel and iron materials are manufactured 
domestically, and after consideration of the comments received, FHWA 
finds that application of FHWA's Buy America requirements to these 
products is inconsistent with the public interest (23 U.S.C. 313(b)(1) 
and 23 CFR 635.410(c)(2)(i)). However, FHWA believes that it is in the 
public interest and consistent with the Buy America requirements to 
impose the condition that the vehicles and the vehicle components be 
assembled in the U.S. Requiring final assembly to be performed in the 
U.S. is consistent with past guidance to FHWA Division Offices on 
manufactured products (see Memorandum on Buy America Policy Response, 
Dec. 22, 1997, https://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 Highway Trust Fund dollars are used to support and create 
jobs in the U.S. This approach is similar to the conditional waivers 
previously given for various vehicle projects. Thus, so long as the 
final assembly of the 48 State projects occurs in the U.S., 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 ``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 public interest waiver 
of Buy America requirements is appropriate on the condition that the 
vehicles and equipment identified in the notice be assembled in the 
U.S. 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: March 29, 2016.
Gregory G. Nadeau,
Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-07800 Filed 4-4-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P
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