[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15411-15413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06419]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2016-0003]
Notice of Proposed Buy America Waiver for a Fall Arrest System
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Proposed Buy America waiver and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) received a request
from the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IPTC) for a
Buy America non-availability waiver for the procurement of a Horizontal
Lifeline Fall Protection Maintenance Tie Back System (System). IPTC is
constructing a
[[Page 15412]]
new Downtown Transit Center, and according to the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration regulations, must provide fall protection for
employees performing maintenance on the building. IPTC seeks a waiver
for the system because there are no domestic manufacturers of the
system that meet the Buy America requirements. 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2) and
49 CFR 661.7(c)(2). IPTC issued a request for proposals (RFPs) for
procurement of the system, and two firms were identified and showed an
interest in providing the system. Neither firm, however, was Buy
America-complaint. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(3)(A), FTA is
providing notice of the non-availability waiver request and seeks
public comment before deciding whether to grant the request. If
granted, the waiver would apply to a one-time procurement only for the
specific fall arrest system identified in the waiver request.
DATES: Comments must be received by March 29, 2016. Late-filed comments
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by one of the following means,
identifying your submissions by docket number FTA-2016-0003:
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, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Docket Operations, M-30, West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must make reference to the ``Federal
Transit Administration'' and include docket number FTA-2016-00XX. Due
to the security procedures in effect since October 2011, 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 April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may
visit http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Ames, FTA Attorney-Advisor, at
(202) 366-2743 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this notice is to provide
notice and seek public comment on whether the FTA should grant a Buy
America non-availability waiver for the Indianapolis Public
Transportation Corporation (IPTC) for the procurement of a Horizontal
Lifeline Fall Protection Maintenance Tie Back System (the ``System'').
On June 2, 2015, IPTC requested a Buy America waiver for the System
because it is not produced in the United States in sufficiently and
reasonably available quantities or of a satisfactory quality. 49 U.S.C.
5323(j)(2)(A); 49 CFR 661.7(c).
IPTC is constructing a new Downtown Transit Center (DTC) in
Indianapolis, Indiana that will serve as the hub for public transit. It
will include a large indoor public waiting area and bus bays while
serving pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders. Per Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, IPTC has a duty to
provide fall protection for employees performing maintenance on the new
building. IPTC entered into a contract with Weddle Bros. Building Group
(WBBG) in early September 2014 for the construction of the DTC. WBBG
certified in good faith that it would comply with Buy America. As part
of the project, IPTC issued an RFP for the complete design, supply and
installation of a fall protection maintenance tie-back system to
safeguard personnel to include all cable, intermediate brackets, end
terminations, and modifications of structural steel as required for
supplementary support of stanchions, user equipment, and attachment to
roof structure for a complete and working fall protection maintenance
tie-back system. It also included experience criteria for the
professional engineer designing the system and a firm that has
manufactured at least five (5) similar systems with specific liability
insurance policies.
The two firms that responded to the RFP were American Anchor and
Pro-Bel Group. Neither firm was able to certify a system as compliant
with the Buy America regulations. The cables and tensioning system are
not manufactured domestically for Pro-Bel. The hands-free set ups are
not manufactured domestically for American Anchor. IPTC thus requests
approval for WBBG to procure a System from Pro-Bel.
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). Under 49 CFR 661.7(c)(1), ``It
will be presumed that the conditions exist to grant this non-
availability waiver if no responsive and responsible bid is received
offering an item produced in the United States.'' In addition, ``If the
Secretary denies an application for a waiver . . . the Secretary shall
provide to the applicant a written certification that--the steel, iron,
or manufactured goods, as applicable, (referred to in this subparagraph
as the `item') is produced in the United States in a sufficient and
reasonably available amount; (i) the item produced in the United States
is of a satisfactory quality; and (ii) includes a list of known
manufacturers in the United States from which the item can be
obtained.'' 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(6).
FTA also conducted a scouting search for the fall arrest system
through its Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Department of
Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The
scouting search identified one domestic manufacturer as a potential
match for this opportunity: Starr Products in Butler, Pennsylvania. The
manufacturer identified has either produced similar products to the
fall arrest system, possesses the capabilities to produce a fall arrest
system, has produced an item similar to a fall arrest system in the
past, or have expressed a business interest in producing a fall arrest
system. Upon request from FTA, IPTC reached out to this potential
domestic supplier. However, the company does not design or install fall
arrest systems as defined in IPTC's project manual. As such, IPTC is
pursuing its non-availability waiver application.
[[Page 15413]]
The purpose of this notice is to publish IPTC's request and seek
public comment from all interested parties in accordance with 49 U.S.C.
5323(j)(3)(A). Comments will help FTA understand completely the facts
surrounding the request, including the merits of the request. A full
copy of the request has been placed in docket number FTA-2016-0003.
Issued on March 16, 2016.
Dana Nifosi,
Deputy Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016-06419 Filed 3-21-16; 8:45 am]
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