Port Access Route Study: Approaches to the Port of Cape Canaveral and Vessel Transit Offshore Jacksonville, Daytona, and Canaveral, Florida, 27435-27438 [2024-08191]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27435-27438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08191]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2023-0822]


Port Access Route Study: Approaches to the Port of Cape Canaveral 
and Vessel Transit Offshore Jacksonville, Daytona, and Canaveral, 
Florida

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of study; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS) 
to evaluate safe routes for vessel traffic transiting to and from the 
Port of Cape Canaveral and within the offshore waters of Jacksonville, 
Daytona, and Canaveral, Florida. The Cape Canaveral PARS is necessary 
to maintain and improve navigational safety by determining if shipping 
safety fairways and/or routing measures should be established, 
adjusted, or modified due to a variety of factors including continued 
growth in the aerospace industry and operations. The recommendations of 
the study may subsequently be implemented through rulemakings or in 
accordance with international agreements.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received on or before July 
16, 2024. Requests for a public meeting must be submitted on or before 
May 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2023-0822 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this 
notice or study, call or email Lieutenant Meredith Overstreet, Seventh 
Coast Guard District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (206) 815-5857, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Table of Abbreviations

ACPARS Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study
COMDTINST Commandant Instruction
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
E.O. Executive Order
FR Federal Register
PARS Port Access Route Study
TSS Traffic Separation Scheme
U.S. United States
U.S.C. United States Code

[[Page 27436]]

II. Background and Purpose

    A. Requirements for Port Access Route Studies: Under Section 70003 
of Title 46 of the United States Code, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard may designate necessary shipping safety fairways (fairways) and 
traffic separation schemes (TSSs) to provide safe access routes for 
vessels proceeding to and from U.S. ports. The designation of fairways 
and TSSs recognizes the paramount right of navigation over all other 
uses in the designated areas.
    Before establishing or adjusting fairways or TSSs, the Coast Guard 
must conduct a Port Access Route Study (PARS), a study of potential 
traffic density and the need for safe access routes for vessels. 
Through the study process, the Coast Guard must coordinate with 
Federal, State, and foreign nations (where appropriate) and consider 
the views of maritime community representatives, environmental groups, 
and other interested stakeholders. The primary purpose of this 
coordination is, to the extent practicable, to reconcile the need for 
safe access routes with other reasonable waterway uses such as 
anchorages, construction, the operation of renewable energy facilities, 
marine sanctuary operations, commercial activities, recreational 
activities, and other uses.
    In addition to aiding the Coast Guard in establishing new or 
adjusting fairways or TSSs, this PARS may recommend establishing or 
amending other vessel routing measures. Examples of other routing 
measures include two-way routes, recommended tracks, deep-water routes 
(for the benefit primarily of ships whose ability to maneuver is 
constrained by their draft), precautionary areas (where ships must 
navigate with particular caution), and areas to be avoided (for reasons 
of exceptional danger or especially sensitive ecological and 
environmental factors).
    The Cape Canaveral PARS will consider whether such measures are 
necessary to improve navigation safety due to factors such as continued 
growth in the aerospace industry and operations; current port 
capabilities and planned improvements; increased vessel traffic; 
existing and potential anchorage areas; changing vessel traffic 
patterns; weather; and/or navigational difficulty. Vessel routing 
measures are implemented to reduce the risk of marine casualties and 
may be a result of this study.
    B. Previous Port Access Route Studies within this Study Area: In 
2016, the Coast Guard published a notice of its Atlantic Coast Port 
Access Route Study (ACPARS) in the Federal Register (81 FR 13307; March 
14, 2016) and announced the study report as final in the Federal 
Register (82 FR 16510; April 5, 2017). The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic 
Coast waters seaward of existing port approaches within the U.S. 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This multiyear study began in 2011, 
included public participation, and identified the navigation routes 
customarily followed by ships engaged in commerce between international 
and domestic U.S. ports. The study is available at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/port-access-route-studies. Data and information 
from stakeholders, including Automatic Identification System data from 
vessel traffic, were used to identify and verify deep draft and 
coastwise navigation routes that are typically followed by ships 
engaged in commerce between international and domestic U.S ports.
    C. Need for a New Port Access Route Study: In 2022, the Coast Guard 
announced in the Federal Register (87 FR 76497; December 14, 2022) a 
new study of routes used by ships to access ports on the Southeast 
Atlantic Coast of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This new study is in support of the 
provisions provided in Public Law 117-169, commonly referred to as the 
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and Executive Order on the 
Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the 
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (E.O. 14082). This study will be 
separate from, but may expand upon, the proposals in the other Coast 
Guard rulemakings. The Cape Canaveral PARS will focus on the coastwise 
shipping routes and approaches to the port of Cape Canaveral and the 
impact of space operations offshore Jacksonville, Daytona, and Cape 
Canaveral. This PARS will help the Coast Guard determine what impact, 
if any, the siting, construction, and operation of new developments may 
have on existing near coastal users of the U.S. waters of the Atlantic 
Ocean adjacent to Cape Canaveral and the potential impact of shipping 
to other maritime users. To ensure safety of navigation, the Coast 
Guard will determine the impacts of aerospace operations that may 
result in rerouting traffic, funneling traffic, and placement of 
structures that may obstruct navigation. Some of the impacts may 
include port expansion in Cape Canaveral, increased implementation of 
safety and security zones, increased vessel traffic density, more 
restricted offshore vessel routing, fixed navigation obstructions, 
underwater cable hazards, and economic impacts. Analyzing the various 
impacts will require a thorough understanding of the interrelationships 
of shipping, port operations, the aerospace industry, the cruise 
industry, and other commercial and recreational uses.
    The goal of the PARS is to enhance navigational safety by examining 
existing shipping routes and waterway uses, and, to the extent 
practicable, reconciling the paramount right of navigation within 
designated port access routes with other waterway uses such as the 
expansion of aerospace operations, growth of the cruise industry, 
commercial fishing, marine sanctuaries, and port expansions.

III. Information Requested

    Timelines, Study Area, Focus, and Process: The Cape Canaveral PARS 
is expected to take 12 months or more to complete. The study area will 
encompass all vessel traffic patterns approaching and departing the 
Port of Cape Canaveral and offshore Jacksonville, Daytona, and Cape 
Canaveral. The Cape Canaveral PARS will focus on vessel traffic and 
navigation mitigation techniques to improve and support safe navigation 
transits.
    As part of this study, we will analyze current and historical 
vessel traffic, fishing vessel information, agency and stakeholder 
experience in vessel traffic management, navigation, ship handling, and 
effects of weather. We encourage you to participate in the study 
process by submitting comments in response to this document.
    We will publish the results of the Cape Canaveral PARS in the 
Federal Register. It is possible that the study may validate existing 
vessel routing measures and conclude that no changes are necessary. It 
is also possible that the study may recommend one or more changes to 
enhance navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel traffic. The 
recommendations may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate 
international agreements.
    Possible Scope of the Recommendations: We are attempting to 
determine the scope of any safety concerns associated with vessel 
transits in the study area. The information gathered during the study 
should help us identify concerns and mitigating solutions. 
Considerations might include: (1) Maintain the current vessel routing 
measures; (2) modify the existing traffic separation schemes; (3) 
create one or more precautionary areas; (4) create one or more inshore 
traffic zones; (5)

[[Page 27437]]

establish area(s) to be avoided; (6) create deep-draft routes; (7) 
evaluate the established Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) with specific 
vessel operating requirements for aerospace industry operations; \1\ 
(8) identify any other appropriate ships' routing measures; (9) use 
this study for future decisions on routing measures or other maritime 
traffic considerations and; (10) use this study to inform other 
agencies concerning the impacts of their future endeavors.
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    \1\ 33 CFR 165.701 and 165.775.
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    Questions: To help us conduct the Cape Canaveral PARS, we request 
information that will help answer the following questions, although 
comments on other issues addressed in this document are also welcome. 
In responding to a question, please explain your reasons for each 
answer and follow the instructions under ``Public Participation and 
Request for Comments'' below.
    (1) What navigational hazards do vessels operating in the study 
area face? Please describe.
    (2) Are there strains on the current vessel routing systems, such 
as increasing traffic density associated with future growth? Please 
describe.
    (3) Are modifications to existing vessel routing measures needed to 
address hazards and improve traffic efficiency in the study area? If 
so, please describe.
    (4) What costs and benefits are associated with the measures listed 
as potential study considerations? What measures do you think are most 
cost-effective?
    (5) What impacts, both positive and negative, would changes to 
existing routing measures or new routing measures have on the study 
area?
    (6) Where do you transit? Where are your transit routes? What 
criteria are used in determining your transit routes?
    (7) Do you currently experience competing uses for the same 
waterway areas or transit routes? If so, please describe.
    (8) Do you anticipate, or are you aware of, future competing uses 
for the same waterway areas or transit routes? These could include 
potential aerospace industry operations, commercial fishing, cruise 
ship navigation, or otherwise.
    (9) Are there other environmental, cultural, Tribal, marine mammal, 
or other impacts which should be considered during this Port Access 
Route Study?

IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this study 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.
    A. Submitting Comments: If you submit comments to the online public 
docket, please include the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-
2023-0822), indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. We accept anonymous comments.
    To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov, 
and insert ``USCG-2023-0822'' in the ``search box.'' Click ``Search.'' 
Then click ``Comment Now.'' We will consider all comments and material 
received during the comment period.
    B. Public Meetings: The Coast Guard may hold public meeting(s) if 
there is sufficient public interest. You must submit a request for one 
on or before May 17, 2024. You may submit your request for a public 
meeting online via https://www.regulations.gov. Please explain why you 
believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If we determine that a 
public meeting would aid in the study, we will hold a meeting at a time 
and place announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.
    C. Viewing Comments and Documents: To view the comments and 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
go to https://www.regulations.gov, click on the ``read comments'' box, 
which will then become highlighted in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box 
insert ``USCG-2023-0822'' and click ``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket 
Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column.
    D. Privacy Act: We accept anonymous comments. All comments received 
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will 
include any personal information you have provided. For more about 
privacy and submissions in response to this document, see DHS's 
Correspondence System of Records notice (84 FR 48645, September 26, 
2018). Documents mentioned in this notice as being available in the 
docket, and all public comments, will be in our online docket at 
https://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that 
website's instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket 
and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are 
posted, or a final rule is published.

V. Cape Canaveral PARS: Study Area

    The Seventh Coast Guard District, Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, 
and Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Canaveral will conduct the Cape 
Canaveral PARS. The study will commence upon publication of this notice 
and take 12 months or more to complete.
    The study area is bounded by a line connecting the following 
positions:
    (1) Port of Canaveral Site. From as far north as St. Augustine and 
as far south as Fort Pierce and out 210 Nautical Miles from the shore. 
All waters from surface to bottom encompassed within a line connecting 
the following points:

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Point 1.........................  29[deg]53'55'' N    081[deg]16'18'' W
Point 2.........................  29[deg]56'49'' N    077[deg]05'41'' W
Point 3.........................  27[deg]27'53'' N    076[deg]55'28'' W
Point 4.........................  27[deg]34'07'' N    080[deg]18'53'' W
Point 5.........................  28[deg]01'24'' N    080[deg]32'23'' W
Point 6.........................  28[deg]15'26'' N    080[deg]36'19'' W
Point 7.........................  28[deg]24'32'' N    080[deg]35'11'' W
Point 8.........................  28[deg]24'34'' N    080[deg]37'31'' W
Point 9.........................  28[deg]24'41'' N    080[deg]37'31'' W
Point 10........................  28[deg]24'39'' N    080[deg]35'02'' W
Point 11........................  28[deg]26'11'' N    080[deg]33'54'' W
Point 12........................  28[deg]27'08'' N    080[deg]31'21'' W
Point 13........................  28[deg]35'56'' N    080[deg]34'56'' W
Point 14........................  29[deg]02'46'' N    080[deg]54'12'' W
Point 15........................  29[deg]37'30'' N    081[deg]12'01'' W
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                        thence return to origin.
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    (2) Jacksonville Site. All waters from surface to bottom 
encompassed within a line connecting the following points:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Point 1.........................  31[deg]06'28'' N    080[deg]15'00'' W
Point 2.........................  30[deg]55'01'' N    080[deg]01'40'' W
Point 3.........................  30[deg]43'30'' N    080[deg]15'00'' W
Point 4.........................  30[deg]55'01'' N    080[deg]28'19'' W
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        thence return to origin.
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    (3) Daytona Site. All waters from surface to bottom encompassed 
within a line connecting the following points:

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Point 1.........................  29[deg]59'27'' N    080[deg]40'01'' W
Point 2.........................  29[deg]48'00'' N    080[deg]26'52'' W
Point 3.........................  29[deg]36'32'' N    080[deg]40'01'' W
Point 4.........................  29[deg]48'00'' N    080[deg]53'09'' W
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        thence return to origin.
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    (4) Cape Canaveral Site. All waters from surface to bottom 
encompassed within a line connecting the following points:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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Point 1.........................  29[deg]02'27'' N    080[deg]13'48'' W
Point 2.........................  28[deg]51'00'' N    080[deg]00'46'' W
Point 3.........................  28[deg]39'32'' N    080[deg]13'48'' W
Point 4.........................  28[deg]51'00'' N    080[deg]26'49'' W
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                        thence return to origin.
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    While the Port of Canaveral Site completely overlaps with the Cape

[[Page 27438]]

Canaveral Site and mostly overlaps with the Daytona Site, the 
coordinates for the Cape Canaveral and Daytona Sites have still been 
included for mariners' reference given historical space capsule 
recoveries in those specific coordinates. An illustration showing the 
study area is available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES.
    The Cape Canaveral PARS will analyze navigation routes to/from the 
Port of Cape Canaveral, and historic space capsule safety zone reentry 
sites offshore Jacksonville, Daytona, and Canaveral. Current 
capabilities and planned improvements to handle maritime conveyances 
will be considered. The analyses will be conducted in accordance with 
COMDTINST 16003.2B, Marine Planning to Operate and Maintain the Marine 
Transportation System and Implement National Policy. This Instruction 
is available at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/10/2002155400/-1/-1/0/CI_16003_2B.PDF.
    We will publish the results of the Cape Canaveral PARS in the 
Federal Register. It is possible that the study may validate the status 
quo (no fairways or routing measures) and conclude that no changes are 
necessary. It is also possible that the study may recommend one or more 
changes to address navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel 
traffic management. The recommendations may lead to future rulemakings 
or appropriate international agreements.
    This notice is published under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 
70003(c)(1).

    Dated: April 10, 2024.
Douglas M. Schofield,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Seventh Coast Guard 
District.
[FR Doc. 2024-08191 Filed 4-16-24; 8:45 am]
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