80 FR 50920 - Notice of a Buy America Waiver for Replacement Gondola Components

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 162 (August 21, 2015)

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.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 162 (Friday, August 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50920-50921]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[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