Safety Zones, Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, 52559-52561 [2014-20986]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52559-52561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20986]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 147

[Docket Number USCG-2013-0874]
RIN 1625-AA00


Safety Zones, Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf in the 
Gulf of Mexico

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing safety zones around four 
Chevron North America (Chevron) facilities located on the Outer 
Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The facilities are 
listed in the Supplementary Information.The purpose of these safety 
zones is to protect each facility from vessels operating outside the 
normal shipping channels and fairways. Placing a safety zone around 
each facility will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, oil 
spills, and releases of natural gas, and thereby protect the safety of 
life, property, and the environment.

DATES: This rule is effective October 6, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Documents mentioned in this preamble are part of docket 
USCG-2013-0874. To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being 
available in the docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov, type the 
docket number 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call or email Mr. Rusty Wright, U.S. Coast Guard, District Eight 
Waterways Management Branch; telephone 504-671-2138, 
rusty.h.wright@uscg.mil. If you have questions on the docket, call 
Cheryl F. Collins, 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
OCS Outer Continental Shelf
USCG United States Coast Guard

A. Regulatory History and Information

    On April 9, 2014 we published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) with a request for comments entitled, ``Safety Zones, Facilities 
on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico'' in the Federal 
Register (79 FR 19569). We received no comments on the NPRM.

B. Basis and Purpose

    Under the authority provided in 14 U.S.C. 85, 43 U.S.C. 1333, and 
Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1, Title 33, CFR 
Part 147 permits the establishment of safety zones for facilities 
located on the OCS for the purpose of protecting life, property and the 
marine environment. Chevron requested that the Coast Guard establish 
safety zones around four of its facilities located in the deepwater 
area of the Gulf of Mexico on the OCS. Placing a safety zone around 
each of these four facilities significantly reduces the threat of 
allisions, oil spills, and releases of natural gas, and thereby 
protects the safety of life, property, and the environment. The 
facilities are as follows:
    (1) The Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub Facility located in Walker Ridge 
Block 718;
    (2) The Petronius Compliant Tower Facility located in Viosca Knoll 
Block 786;
    (3) The Blind Faith Semi-Sub Facility located in Mississippi Canyon 
Block 650; and
    (4) The Tahiti SPAR Facility located in Green Canyon Block 641.
    For the purpose of safety zones established under 33 CFR part 147, 
the deepwater area is considered to be waters of 304.8 meters (1,000 
feet) or greater depth extending to the limits of the Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) contiguous to the territorial sea of the United 
States and extending to a distance up to 200 nautical miles from the 
baseline from which the breadth of the sea is measured. Navigation in 
the vicinity of each safety zone consists of large commercial shipping 
vessels, fishing vessels, cruise ships, tugs with tows and the 
occasional recreational vessel. The deepwater area also includes an 
extensive system of fairways.

C. Discussion of Comments, Changes and the Final Rule

    We received no comments in response to the proposed rule. There is 
one technical amendment to the final rule regarding the name of one of 
the facilities. In the NPRM, the first listed facility requesting a 
safety zone was listed as ``The Jack & St Malo Semi-Sub Facility.'' The 
Coast Guard was notified by Chevron that the facility name should be 
``The Jack St. Malo.'' In this final rule the Coast Guard has corrected 
the name throughout the rulemaking and regulatory text. Otherwise, this 
rule is publishing as proposed without change.

D. Regulatory Analyses

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

[[Page 52560]]

1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This 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. This rule is not a 
significant regulatory action due to the location of the safety zones 
on the OCS and the distance between each facility and both land and 
safety fairways. Vessel traffic can pass safely around each safety zone 
using alternate routes. Exceptions to this rule include vessels 
measuring less than 100 feet in length overall and not engaged in 
towing. Deviation to transit through each safety zone may be requested. 
Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be 
authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District or a 
designated representative.

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 received zero comments from the Small Business 
Administration on this rule. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 
605(b) that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    This rule will affect the following entities, some of which might 
be small entities: The owners or operators of vessels intending to 
transit or anchor in; Walker Ridge Block 718; Viosca Knoll Block 786; 
Mississippi Canyon Block 650; and Green Canyon Block 641, where these 
safety zones are now established.
    These safety zones will not have a significant economic impact or a 
substantial number of small entities for the following reasons: Vessel 
traffic can pass safely around each safety zone using alternate routes. 
Use of alternate routes may cause minimal delay in reaching a final 
destination, depending on other traffic in the area and vessel speed. 
Additionally, exceptions to this rule include vessels measuring less 
than 100 feet in length overall and not engaged in towing. Also, 
vessels may request deviation from this rule to transit through each 
safety zone. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis 
and may be authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District or 
a designated representative. Therefore, the Coast Guard expects any 
impact of this rulemaking establishing safety zones around OCS 
facilities to be minimal, with no significant economic impact on small 
entities.

3. Collection of Information

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

4. 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 rule under that Order and determined 
that this rule does not have implications for federalism.

5. 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.

6. 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 rule will not result in 
such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere 
in this preamble.

7. Taking of Private Property

    This 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.

8. Civil Justice Reform

    This 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.

9. Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks

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

10. Indian Tribal Governments

    This rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 
13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, 
because it does 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.

11. Energy Effects

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

12. Technical Standards

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

13. Environment

    We have analyzed this 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 rule involves the establishment 
of safety zones around OCS Facilities to protect life, property and the 
marine environment. This rule is categorically excluded from further 
review under paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant 
Instruction. The environmental analysis checklists supporting this 
determination and Categorical Exclusion Determinations

[[Page 52561]]

are available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 147

    Continental shelf, Marine safety, Navigation (water).

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 
33 CFR part 147 as follows:

PART 147--SAFETY ZONES

0
1. The authority citation for part 147 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 14 U.S.C. 85; 43 U.S.C. 1333; and Department of 
Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.


0
2. Add Sec.  147.851, Sec.  147.853, Sec.  147.855, and Sec.  147.857 
to read as follows:


Sec.  147.851  Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub Facility Safety Zone.

    (a) Description. The Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub facility is in the 
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Walker Ridge block 718. The 
facility is located at 26[deg]14'5.94'' N, 91[deg]15'39.99'' W and the 
area within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility 
structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
    (b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone 
except the following:
    (1) An attending vessel;
    (2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in 
towing; or
    (3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard 
District or a designated representative.


Sec.  147.853  Petronius Compliant Tower Facility Safety Zone.

    (a) Description. The Petronius Compliant Tower facility is in the 
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Viosca Knoll Block 786. The 
facility is located at 28[deg]13'44'' N/-87[deg]47'51'' W and the area 
within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility 
structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
    (b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone 
except the following:
    (1) An attending vessel;
    (2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in 
towing; or
    (3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard 
District or a designated representative.


Sec.  147.855  Blind Faith Semi-Sub Facility Safety Zone.

    (a) Description. The Blind Faith Semi-Sub facility is in the 
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Mississippi Canyon Block 650. 
The facility is located at 28[deg]20'29.5279'' N/-88[deg]15'56.4728'' W 
and the area within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the 
facility structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
    (b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone 
except the following:
    (1) An attending vessel;
    (2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in 
towing; or
    (3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard 
District or a designated representative.


Sec.  147.857  Tahiti SPAR Facility Safety Zone.

    (a) Description. The Tahiti SPAR facility is in the deepwater area 
of the Gulf of Mexico at Tahiti SPAR. The facility is located at 
27[deg]19'33.3'' N/-90[deg]42'50.9'' W and the area within 500 meters 
(1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility structure's outer edge is 
a safety zone.
    (b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone 
except the following:
    (1) An attending vessel;
    (2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in 
towing; or
    (3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard 
District or a designated representative.

    Dated: August 6, 2014.
Kevin S. Cook,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2014-20986 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
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