[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 162 (Friday, August 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50920-50921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20662]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2015-0011]
Notice of a Buy America Waiver for Replacement Gondola Components
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of a Buy America waiver.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a Buy
America waiver request from the Colorado Department of Transportation
on behalf of the Town of Mountain Village for replacement parts for a
gondola rehabilitation project. A non-availability waiver is needed
because Mountain Village intends to rehabilitate the gondola system
with FTA funding and the replacement parts do not comply with Buy
America requirements. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA
published a notice of the waiver request and sought public comment in
deciding whether to grant the request. Having received no comments
opposing the waiver, FTA is hereby granting a non-availability waiver
for the replacement gondola components to be procured by Mountain
Village for the gondola refurbishment projects described herein.
DATES: This waiver is effective immediately.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Wong, FTA Attorney-Advisor, at
(202) 366-0675 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to announce
that FTA is granting a non-availability waiver for Mountain Village's
procurement of replacement components for its gondolas used to provide
public transportation service.
With certain exceptions, FTA's Buy America requirements prevent FTA
from obligating an amount that may be appropriated to carry out its
program for a project unless ``the steel, iron, and manufactured goods
used in the project are produced in the United States.'' 49 U.S.C.
5323(j)(1). A manufactured product is considered produced in the United
States if: (1) All of the manufacturing processes for the product take
place in the United States; and (2) all of the components of the
product are of U.S. origin. A component is considered of U.S. origin if
it is manufactured in the United States, regardless of the origin of
its subcomponents. 49 CFR 661.5(d). If, however, FTA determines that
``the steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States are not
produced in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of
a satisfactory quality,'' then FTA may issue a waiver (non-availability
waiver). 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(B); 49 CFR 661.7(c).
The Town of Mountain Village provides free public transportation
via gondola (also known as a tramway) between Mountain Village and the
Town of Telluride. The gondola operates continuous fixed route service
17 hours per day, 7 days per week, 280 or more days per year, serving
over 2,000,000 passengers per year. According to Mountain Village, the
existing low-speed conveyor components (bearings, pulleys, tires and
other related components) and gondola grip components (coil springs,
movable jaws, fixed jaws, bearings, bolts, bushings, wheels and other
related components) are nearing the end of their useful service lives
and are showing signs of wear and fatigue. Without periodic capital
equipment replacement/rebuild, the likelihood of mechanical downtime
increases significantly, equating to prolonged service outages for
commuters. Mountain Village also needs to refurbish the 59 gondola
cabins due to wear and tear. Mountain Village intends to replace these
gondola components over several phases during the coming years.
Specifically, procurement of the low-speed conveyor components and the
grips will be procured in two phases, one in 2015 and one in 2016;
parts for the cabin refurbishment are anticipated to be procured over a
six-year period. The non-availability waiver is effective for all
phases of these projects, but expires upon completion of these
projects.
Mountain Village asserted that there are no companies that
manufacture these gondola components in the United States and that each
of the gondola components to be procured is available only from a
single source--Dopplemayer and CWA, the original equipment
manufacturers. The Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board (CPTSB), the
state agency responsible for regulating the safety of aerial tramways
within the State of Colorado, agreed and noted that because gondolas
are specialized and the market is limited, there are no aftermarket
manufacturers for these gondola components. The CPTSB concluded that,
for these parts, there are no alternatives to the original equipment
manufacturers, which do not manufacture the replacement components in
the United States. Although there is a new U.S. manufacturer for
tramways in the
[[Page 50921]]
United States, it does not produce detachable tramways like the one
used by Mountain Village. Additionally, parts for the remainder of the
tramway are of a different design and are not interchangeable with
those used on other gondola systems.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2015, and in accordance with 49 U.S.C.
5323(j)(3)(A), FTA published a notice in the Federal Register
announcing the Colorado Department of Transportation Buy America waiver
request made on behalf of Mountain Village (80 FR 43552), seeking
comment from all interested parties, including potential vendors and
suppliers. The comment period closed on August 5, 2015, and no comments
were received.
Based on the representations from the Colorado Department of
Transportation and the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board, and the
lack of any comments opposing the waiver, FTA is granting a non-
availability waiver for replacement gondola components, limited to the
parts procured by Mountain Village for the gondola refurbishment
projects described above.
Issued on August 17, 2015.
Dana C. Nifosi,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-20662 Filed 8-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-57-P