Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, MD, 68002-68005 [2013-27067]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68002-68005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27067]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket Number USCG-2013-0933]
RIN 1625-AA00


Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, 
MD

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary safety zone 
encompassing certain waters of Baltimore Harbor. This action is 
necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during 
a fireworks display launched from a barge located in Baltimore's Inner 
Harbor at Baltimore, MD on December 31, 2013. This safety zone is 
intended to protect the maritime public in a portion of Baltimore 
Harbor.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before December 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number using 
any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail or Delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Deliveries 
accepted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for further instructions 
on submitting comments. To avoid duplication, please use only one of 
these three methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call or email Mr. Ronald Houck, Sector Baltimore Waterways Management 
Division, Coast Guard; telephone 410-576-2674, email 
Ronald.L.Houck@uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Barbara Hairston, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Acronyms

DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

A. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted 
without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided.

1. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online at 
https://www.regulations.gov, or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 
please use only one of these means. If you submit a comment online, it 
will be considered received by the Coast Guard when you successfully 
transmit the comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, 
it will be considered as having been received by the Coast Guard when 
it is received at the Docket Management Facility. We recommend that you 
include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a 
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact 
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number [USCG-2013-0933] in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with 
this rulemaking.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand 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 comments 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 and 
material received during the comment period and may change the rule 
based on your comments.

2. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number (USCG-2013-0933) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with 
this rulemaking. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 
Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation 
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

3. Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of 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 a Privacy Act notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

4. Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one, using one of the methods specified under ADDRESSES. 
Please explain why you believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If 
we determine that one would aid this rulemaking, we will hold one at a 
time and place announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

B. Regulatory History and Information

    This proposed rule involves a fireworks display associated with a 
New Year's Eve event that will take place in Baltimore, Maryland on 
December 31, 2013 and will attract thousands of spectators. The launch 
sites for the fireworks display are from discharge barges located in 
Baltimore Harbor. The permanent safety zones listed in the Table to 33 
CFR 165.506 also apply to this event. This rulemaking adds the location 
of an additional barge from which fireworks will be launched.

C. Basis and Purpose

    Fireworks displays are frequently held from locations on or near 
the navigable waters of the United States. The potential hazards 
associated with fireworks displays are a safety concern during such 
events. The purpose of this proposed rule is to promote public and 
maritime safety during a fireworks display, and to protect mariners 
transiting the area from the potential hazards associated with a 
fireworks

[[Page 68003]]

display, such as the accidental discharge of fireworks, dangerous 
projectiles, and falling hot embers or other debris. This rule is 
needed to ensure safety on the waterway before, during and after the 
scheduled event.

D. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The City of Baltimore will conduct a fireworks display launched 
from barges located in Baltimore Harbor at Baltimore, MD, scheduled on 
December 31, 2013 at approximately midnight. In the event of inclement 
weather, the fireworks display will be rescheduled on January 1, 2014 
at approximately 7 p.m.
    Through this regulation, the Coast Guard proposes to establish a 
temporary safety zone. The proposed zone will encompass all waters of 
Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore's Inner Harbor, within a 280 yards radius 
of a fireworks discharge barge in approximate position latitude 
39[deg]16'36.7'' N, longitude 076[deg]35'53.8'' W, located northwest of 
the Domino Sugar (ASR Group) refinery wharf at Baltimore, MD. The 
temporary safety zone will be enforced from 11 p.m. on December 31, 
2013 through 1 a.m. on January 1, 2014, and if necessary due to 
inclement weather, from 5:30 p.m. through 8 p.m. on January 1, 2014.
    The effect of this temporary safety zone will be to restrict 
navigation in the regulated area during, as well as the set up and take 
down of, the fireworks display. Vessels will be allowed to transit the 
waters of Baltimore Harbor outside the safety zone.
    This rulemaking requires that entry into or remaining in this 
safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Coast Guard Captain 
of the Port Baltimore. Vessels already at berth, mooring, or anchor in 
the safety zone at the time the safety zone is implemented do not have 
to depart the zone. All vessels underway within this safety zone at the 
time it is implemented are to depart the zone. To seek permission to 
transit the area of the safety zone, the Captain of the Port Baltimore 
can be contacted at telephone number 410-576-2693 or on Marine Band 
Radio VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz). Coast Guard vessels enforcing the 
safety zone can be contacted on Marine Band Radio VHF-FM channel 16 
(156.8 MHz). Federal, state, and local agencies may assist the Coast 
Guard in the enforcement of the safety zone. The Coast Guard will issue 
notices to the maritime community to further publicize the safety zone 
and notify the public of changes in the status of the zone. Such 
notices will continue until the event is complete.

E. Regulatory Analyses

    We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes 
and executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our 
analyses based on a number of these statutes or executive orders.

1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and does not require an assessment of potential 
costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of Executive Order 12866 or 
under section 1 of Executive Order 13563. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under those Orders.
    Although this regulation would restrict access to this area, the 
effect of this proposed rule will not be significant because: (i) the 
safety zone will only be in effect from 11 p.m. on December 31, 2013 
through 8 p.m. on January 1, 2014, (ii) the Coast Guard will give 
advance notification via maritime advisories so mariners can adjust 
their plans accordingly, and (iii) although the safety zone will apply 
to certain portions of Baltimore Harbor, vessel traffic will be able to 
transit safely around the safety zone.

2. Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as 
amended, requires federal agencies to consider the potential impact of 
regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term ``small 
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations 
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 
50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this 
proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. This proposed rule will affect 
the following entities, some of which may be small entities: the owners 
or operators of vessels intending to operate or transit through or 
within, or anchor in, the safety zone during the enforcement period. 
This proposed safety zone will not have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities for the reasons provided 
under Regulatory Planning and Review.
    If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this proposed rule 
would have a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment 
(see ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to 
what degree this rulemaking would economically affect it.

3. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule. If the rule would affect 
your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you 
have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, 
please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT, above. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small 
entities that question or complain about this proposed rule or any 
policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. Collection of Information

    This proposed rule will not call for a new collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520.).

5. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and 
determined that this rulemaking does not have implications for 
federalism.

6. Protest Activities

    The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. 
Protesters are asked to contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that 
your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or 
security of people, places or vessels.

7. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this proposed rule would not 
result in such

[[Page 68004]]

an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rulemaking elsewhere 
in this preamble.

8. Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not cause a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

9. Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

10. Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This proposed rule is not an economically significant rule and 
would not create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that 
might disproportionately affect children.

11. Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

12. Energy Effects

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under 
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.

13. Technical Standards

    This proposed rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we 
did not consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

14. Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Department of Homeland 
Security Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction 
M16475.lD, which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and 
have made a preliminary determination that this action is one of a 
category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant effect on the human environment. This proposed rule 
involves establishing a temporary safety zone for a fireworks display. 
The fireworks are launched from navigable waters of the United States 
and may have potential for negative impact on the safety or other 
interest of waterway users and near shore activities in the event area. 
The activity includes fireworks launched from barges near the shoreline 
that generally rely on the use of navigable waters as a safety buffer 
to protect the public from fireworks fallouts and premature 
detonations. This rulemaking is categorically excluded from further 
review under paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant 
Instruction. A preliminary environmental analysis checklist supporting 
this determination and a Categorical Exclusion Determination are 
available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES. We seek any 
comments or information that may lead to the discovery of a significant 
environmental impact from this proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

    Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  33 U.S.C. 1231; 46 U.S.C. Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 
50 U.S.C. 191, 195; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Pub. 
L. 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of Homeland Security 
Delegation No. 0170.1.

0
2. Add Sec.  165.T05-0933 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.T05-0933  Safety Zone for Fireworks Display, Baltimore 
Harbor; Baltimore, MD.

    (a) Location. The following area is a safety zone: all waters of 
Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore's Inner Harbor, within a 280 yards radius 
of a fireworks discharge barge in approximate position latitude 
39[deg]16'36.7'' N, longitude 076[deg]35'53.8'' W, located northwest of 
the Domino Sugar (ASR Group) refinery wharf at Baltimore, Maryland. All 
coordinates refer to datum NAD 1983.
    (b) Regulations. The general safety zone regulations found in 33 
CFR 165.23 apply to the safety zone created by this temporary section, 
Sec.  165.T05.0933.
    (1) All persons are required to comply with the general regulations 
governing safety zones found in 33 CFR 165.23.
    (2) Entry into or remaining in this zone is prohibited unless 
authorized by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Baltimore. Vessels 
already at berth, mooring, or anchor at the time the safety zone is 
implemented do not have to depart the safety zone. All vessels underway 
within this safety zone at the time it is implemented are to depart the 
zone.
    (3) Persons desiring to transit the area of the safety zone must 
first obtain authorization from the Captain of the Port Baltimore or 
his designated representative. To seek permission to transit the area, 
the Captain of the Port Baltimore and his designated representatives 
can be contacted at telephone number 410-576-2693 or on Marine Band 
Radio VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz). The Coast Guard vessels enforcing 
this section can be contacted on Marine Band Radio VHF-FM channel 16 
(156.8 MHz). Upon being hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, or other 
Federal, State, or local agency vessel, by siren, radio, flashing 
light, or other means, the operator of a vessel shall proceed as 
directed. If permission is granted, all persons and vessels must comply 
with the instructions of the Captain of the Port Baltimore or his 
designated representative and proceed at the minimum speed necessary to 
maintain a safe course while within the zone.
    (4) Enforcement. The U.S. Coast Guard may be assisted in the patrol 
and enforcement of the zone by Federal, State, and local agencies.
    (c) Definitions. As used in this section:
    Captain of the Port Baltimore means the Commander, U.S. Coast Guard 
Sector Baltimore, Maryland.
    Designated representative means any Coast Guard commissioned, 
warrant, or petty officer who has been authorized by the Captain of the 
Port Baltimore to assist in enforcing the safety zone described in 
paragraph (a) of this section.
    (d) Enforcement period. This section will be enforced from 11 p.m. 
on December 31, 2013 through 1 a.m. on January 1, 2014, and if 
necessary due to inclement weather, from 5:30 p.m. through 8 p.m. on 
January 1, 2014.


[[Page 68005]]


    Dated: October 30, 2013.
Kevin C. Kiefer,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port Baltimore.
[FR Doc. 2013-27067 Filed 11-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P