Nontank Vessel Oil Response Plans, 36649-36650 [05-12541]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 121 / Friday, June 24, 2005 / Notices
Dated: June 17, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety,
Security and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 05–12539 Filed 6–23–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
[USCG–2005–21610]
Nontank Vessel Oil Response Plans
Coast Guard, DHS.
Notice and Request for
Comments.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: This notice informs the public
of issues related to recent legislation
requiring owners and operators of
nontank vessels to prepare plans for
responding to discharges of oil from
their vessels. These issues include
questions on the size of the population
of vessels affected and enforcement of
the legislation by the Coast Guard. The
notice also discusses Coast Guard’s
efforts to engage the regulated
community at the earliest stages and to
encourage early public participation in
the process of responding to this new
legislation.
DATES: Comments and related material
must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before September 22,
2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Coast Guard docket
number USCG–2005–21610 to the
Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid
duplication, please use only one of the
following methods:
(1) Web site: https://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590–0001.
(3) Fax: 202–493–2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL–401 on the
Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
The telephone number is 202–366–
9329.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If
you have questions on this notice,
please contact Lieutenant Eric A. Bauer,
Project Manager, Office of Response (G–
MOR–2), U.S. Coast Guard
Headquarters, telephone 202–267–6714.
If you have questions on viewing or
submitting material to the docket, call
Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program
VerDate jul<14>2003
19:06 Jun 23, 2005
Jkt 205001
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone
202–366–0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
The Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Act of 2004 (Pub. L.
108–293) (2004 Act), in section 701,
requires owners and operators of
nontank vessels to prepare and submit
to the Coast Guard plans for responding
to a worst case discharge, and to a
substantial threat of such a discharge, of
oil from their vessels. The 2004 Act also
mandates that the Coast Guard issue
regulations requiring the submission of
the plans. This legislation raises the
following questions.
1. What is the size of the affected
vessel population? One issue raised by
the 2004 Act significantly affects the
size of the population of vessels subject
to the Act. The Act defines a ‘‘nontank
vessel’’ as a self-propelled vessel of 400
gross tons as measured under 46 U.S.C.
14302 (the Convention measurement
system) or greater, other than a tank
vessel, that carries oil of any kind as
fuel for main propulsion and that is a
vessel of the United States or that
operates on the navigable waters of the
United States. Accordingly, the Act
applies to vessels that are 400 gross tons
as measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302 and
to vessels that would be 400 gross tons
if measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302. The
Act does not specify how it applies to
vessels which do not have a current
measurement under the Convention
measurement system (i.e., those vessels
measured only under the regulatory
measurement system under 46 U.S.C.
14502). It is unclear whether any
relationship was intended between a
vessel’s tonnage and the quantity of oil
it is capable of carrying. These are
issues that must be addressed during the
rulemaking process and on which we
particularly welcome your advice.
2. When will the 2004 Act be enforced
by the Coast Guard? The 2004 Act
requires that the response plans be
prepared and submitted by August 9,
2005 (i.e., one year after the enactment
of the 2004 Act). In addition, the Act
requires the President (Coast Guard) to
issue regulations requiring the
submission of plans. Because of the
length of time needed to provide the
necessary opportunity for, and
consideration of, public comments, final
regulations may not be in effect on that
date. This raises the question of whether
the Coast Guard intends to enforce the
Act—specifically the nontank vessel
response plan submission
requirement—if it does not have
regulations in place on August 9, 2005.
The Coast Guard will not enforce the
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36649
Act until regulations are issued and in
effect.
3. What is the Coast Guard doing in
the interim? On February 4, 2005, we
published Navigation and Vessel
Information Circular 01–05 (NVIC 01–
05) entitled ‘‘Interim Guidance for the
Development and Review of Response
Plans for Nontank Vessels.’’ The NVIC
is available at https://www.uscg.mil/hg/gm/nvic or in the docket for this notice
(See ‘‘Viewing comments and
documents’’ below.). It provides
guidance to owners and operators of
nontank vessels for preparing and
submitting plans to the Coast Guard and
is not itself enforceable by the Coast
Guard.
NVIC 01–05 describes a voluntary
process for submitting response plans
and for obtaining interim authorization
letters from the Coast Guard. As the
issue of vessel population is yet to be
resolved, the NVIC explains that the Act
does not exempt vessels that have not
been measured under the Convention
measurement system. These vessels are
referred to in the NVIC as those that
have not been issued an International
Tonnage Certificate (ITC). However, an
ITC is not always issued when a vessel
is measured under the Convention
measurement system; a U.S. Tonnage
Certificate may be used instead to reflect
tonnage measurement under the
Convention measurement system. The
Coast Guard considers owners of vessels
not measured under the Convention
measurement system subject to the Act
if there is no question that the vessel
would be 400 gross tons if measured
under 46 U.S.C. 14302. To be prudent,
we would advise owners of vessels not
measured under the Convention
measurement system that a vessel’s
tonnage measured under the regulatory
measurement system is generally less
than that vessel’s tonnage measured
under the Convention system.
Therefore, it is likely that vessels of or
near 400 gross register tons when
measured under the regulatory
measurement system will be subject to
the response plan requirements of the
Act. Disparities between the two
measurement systems and the
applicability of the Act to vessels
measured under the regulatory
measurement system would need to be
addressed during the rulemaking
process. Although we will not know
precisely which vessels must comply
with the response plan requirements
until rulemaking is complete, vessels
not measured under the Convention
measurement system, whether they are
400 gross register tons under the
regulatory measurement system or not,
may ultimately be covered under the
E:\FR\FM\24JNN1.SGM
24JNN1
36650
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 121 / Friday, June 24, 2005 / Notices
regulations. Therefore, vessel owners
and operators who want to secure
interim authorization letters because
they believe their vessels may be
covered by the response plan
regulations are highly encouraged to use
the voluntary interim authorization
process under NVIC 01–05.
Dated: June 20, 2005.
T.H. Gilmour,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant
Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and
Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 05–12541 Filed 6–23–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–15–P
Request for Comments
This notice, as well as the NVIC, is
part of the Coast Guard’s effort to engage
the public at the outset of our efforts to
carry out the response plan provisions
of the 2004 Act. Therefore, we
encourage you to submit comments on
this notice and on the subject in general
that it addresses. All comments received
will be posted, without change, to http:/
/dms.dot.gov and will include any
personal information you have
provided. We have an agreement with
the Department of Transportation (DOT)
to use the Docket Management Facility.
Please see DOT’s ‘‘Privacy Act’’
paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a
comment, please include your name and
address, identify the docket number for
this notice (USCG–2005–21610) and
give the reason for each comment. You
may submit your comments by
electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery
to the Docket Management Facility at
the address under ADDRESSES; but
please submit your comments by only
one means. If you submit them by mail
or delivery, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches,
suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit them by mail and
would like to know that they reached
the Facility, please enclose a stamped,
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We
will consider all comments received
during the comment period.
Viewing comments and documents:
To view comments, go to https://
dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a
‘‘Simple Search’’ using the docket
number. You may also visit the Docket
Management Facility in room PL–401
on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review the Department of
Transportation’s Privacy Act Statement
in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you
may visit https://dms.dot.gov.
VerDate jul<14>2003
19:06 Jun 23, 2005
Jkt 205001
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Final Comprehensive Conservation
Plan and Environmental Assessment
for the Detroit River International
Wildlife Refuge (IWR), Wayne and
Monroe Counties, MI
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–4980–N–25]
Federal Property Suitable as Facilities
to Assist the Homeless
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY: This Notice identifies
unutilized, underutilized, excess, and
surplus Federal property reviewed by
HUD for suitablity for possible use to
assist the homeless.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
June 24, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Ezzell, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, Room 7262,
451 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC
20410; telephone (202) 708–1234; TTY
number for the hearing- and speechimpaired (202) 708–2565, (these
telephone numbers are not toll-free), or
call the toll-free Title V information line
at 1–800–927–7588.
In
accordance with the December 12, 1988
court order in National Coalition for the
Homeless v. Veterans Administration,
No. 88–2503–OG (D.D.C.), HUD
publishes a Notice, on a weekly basis,
identifying unutilized, underutilized,
excess and surplus Federal buildings
and real property that HUD has
reviewed for suitability for use to assist
the homeless. Today’s Notice is for the
purpose of announcing that no
additional properties have been
determined suitable or unsuitable this
week.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: June 16, 2005.
Mark R. Johnston,
Director, Office of Special Needs Assistance
Programs.
[FR Doc. 05–12241 Filed 6–23–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–29–M
PO 00000
Frm 00094
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service announces that the Final
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(CCP) and Environmental Assessment
(EA) is available for Detroit River IWR,
Michigan. The CCP was prepared
pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge
System Administration Act of 1966, as
amended by the National Wildlife
Refuge System Improvement Act of
1997, and the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969. Goals and objectives
in the CCP describe how the agency
intends to manage the Refuge over the
next 15 years.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final CCP are
available on compact disk or hard copy.
You may access and download a copy
via the planning Web site (https://
www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/
detroitriver/) or you may
obtain a copy by writing to the
following address: U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Division of
Conservation Planning, Bishop Henry
Whipple Federal Building, 1 Federal
Drive, Fort Snelling, Minnesota 55111.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
Hartig at (734) 692–7608.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
approved boundary of the Detroit River
IWR is located along 42 miles of the
lower Detroit River and Michigan’s Lake
Erie shoreline to the Ohio state border.
The Refuge was established by
legislation in December 2001 and
expanded in May 2003. Refuge
ownership is currently small and
limited to several islands in the Detroit
River and two coastal parcels in Monroe
County.
The National Wildlife Refuge System
Administration Act of 1966, as amended
by the National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C.
668dd-668ee et seq) requires a CCP. The
purpose in developing CCPs is to
provide refuge managers with a 15-year
strategy for achieving Refuge purposes
and contributing toward the mission of
the National Wildlife Refuge System,
consistent with sound principles of fish
and wildlife management, conservation,
legal mandates, and Service policies. In
addition to outlining broad management
E:\FR\FM\24JNN1.SGM
24JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36649-36650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12541]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[USCG-2005-21610]
Nontank Vessel Oil Response Plans
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice and Request for Comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice informs the public of issues related to recent
legislation requiring owners and operators of nontank vessels to
prepare plans for responding to discharges of oil from their vessels.
These issues include questions on the size of the population of vessels
affected and enforcement of the legislation by the Coast Guard. The
notice also discusses Coast Guard's efforts to engage the regulated
community at the earliest stages and to encourage early public
participation in the process of responding to this new legislation.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before September 22, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket
number USCG-2005-21610 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
(1) Web site: https://dms.dot.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
please contact Lieutenant Eric A. Bauer, Project Manager, Office of
Response (G-MOR-2), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 202-267-
6714. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the
docket, call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations,
telephone 202-366-0271.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 (Pub. L.
108-293) (2004 Act), in section 701, requires owners and operators of
nontank vessels to prepare and submit to the Coast Guard plans for
responding to a worst case discharge, and to a substantial threat of
such a discharge, of oil from their vessels. The 2004 Act also mandates
that the Coast Guard issue regulations requiring the submission of the
plans. This legislation raises the following questions.
1. What is the size of the affected vessel population? One issue
raised by the 2004 Act significantly affects the size of the population
of vessels subject to the Act. The Act defines a ``nontank vessel'' as
a self-propelled vessel of 400 gross tons as measured under 46 U.S.C.
14302 (the Convention measurement system) or greater, other than a tank
vessel, that carries oil of any kind as fuel for main propulsion and
that is a vessel of the United States or that operates on the navigable
waters of the United States. Accordingly, the Act applies to vessels
that are 400 gross tons as measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302 and to
vessels that would be 400 gross tons if measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302.
The Act does not specify how it applies to vessels which do not have a
current measurement under the Convention measurement system (i.e.,
those vessels measured only under the regulatory measurement system
under 46 U.S.C. 14502). It is unclear whether any relationship was
intended between a vessel's tonnage and the quantity of oil it is
capable of carrying. These are issues that must be addressed during the
rulemaking process and on which we particularly welcome your advice.
2. When will the 2004 Act be enforced by the Coast Guard? The 2004
Act requires that the response plans be prepared and submitted by
August 9, 2005 (i.e., one year after the enactment of the 2004 Act). In
addition, the Act requires the President (Coast Guard) to issue
regulations requiring the submission of plans. Because of the length of
time needed to provide the necessary opportunity for, and consideration
of, public comments, final regulations may not be in effect on that
date. This raises the question of whether the Coast Guard intends to
enforce the Act--specifically the nontank vessel response plan
submission requirement--if it does not have regulations in place on
August 9, 2005. The Coast Guard will not enforce the Act until
regulations are issued and in effect.
3. What is the Coast Guard doing in the interim? On February 4,
2005, we published Navigation and Vessel Information Circular 01-05
(NVIC 01-05) entitled ``Interim Guidance for the Development and Review
of Response Plans for Nontank Vessels.'' The NVIC is available at
https://www.uscg.mil/hg/g-m/nvic or in the docket for this notice (See
``Viewing comments and documents'' below.). It provides guidance to
owners and operators of nontank vessels for preparing and submitting
plans to the Coast Guard and is not itself enforceable by the Coast
Guard.
NVIC 01-05 describes a voluntary process for submitting response
plans and for obtaining interim authorization letters from the Coast
Guard. As the issue of vessel population is yet to be resolved, the
NVIC explains that the Act does not exempt vessels that have not been
measured under the Convention measurement system. These vessels are
referred to in the NVIC as those that have not been issued an
International Tonnage Certificate (ITC). However, an ITC is not always
issued when a vessel is measured under the Convention measurement
system; a U.S. Tonnage Certificate may be used instead to reflect
tonnage measurement under the Convention measurement system. The Coast
Guard considers owners of vessels not measured under the Convention
measurement system subject to the Act if there is no question that the
vessel would be 400 gross tons if measured under 46 U.S.C. 14302. To be
prudent, we would advise owners of vessels not measured under the
Convention measurement system that a vessel's tonnage measured under
the regulatory measurement system is generally less than that vessel's
tonnage measured under the Convention system. Therefore, it is likely
that vessels of or near 400 gross register tons when measured under the
regulatory measurement system will be subject to the response plan
requirements of the Act. Disparities between the two measurement
systems and the applicability of the Act to vessels measured under the
regulatory measurement system would need to be addressed during the
rulemaking process. Although we will not know precisely which vessels
must comply with the response plan requirements until rulemaking is
complete, vessels not measured under the Convention measurement system,
whether they are 400 gross register tons under the regulatory
measurement system or not, may ultimately be covered under the
[[Page 36650]]
regulations. Therefore, vessel owners and operators who want to secure
interim authorization letters because they believe their vessels may be
covered by the response plan regulations are highly encouraged to use
the voluntary interim authorization process under NVIC 01-05.
Request for Comments
This notice, as well as the NVIC, is part of the Coast Guard's
effort to engage the public at the outset of our efforts to carry out
the response plan provisions of the 2004 Act. Therefore, we encourage
you to submit comments on this notice and on the subject in general
that it addresses. All comments received will be posted, without
change, to https://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information
you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of
Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please see
DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your
name and address, identify the docket number for this notice (USCG-
2005-21610) and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your
comments by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit
your comments by only one means. If you submit them by mail or
delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11
inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them
by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will
consider all comments received during the comment period.
Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, go to https://
dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a ``Simple Search'' using the
docket number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in
room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
Department of Transportation's Privacy Act Statement in the Federal
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit
https://dms.dot.gov.
Dated: June 20, 2005.
T.H. Gilmour,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety,
Security and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 05-12541 Filed 6-23-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P
