Coast Guard December 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Houston/Galveston Navigation Safety Advisory Committee (HOGANSAC) and its working groups will meet in Houston, Texas to discuss waterway improvements, aids to navigation, area projects impacting safety on the Houston Ship Channel, and various other navigation safety matters in the Galveston Bay area. All meetings will be open to the public.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has approved a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Pennington Avenue Bridge, at mile 0.9, across Curtis Creek in Baltimore, MD. Under this temporary deviation, the drawbridge may remain in the closed position on specific dates and times to facilitate electrical repairs.

The Coast Guard is amending the vessel response plan salvage and marine firefighting requirements for tank vessels carrying oil. These revisions clarify the salvage and marine firefighting services that must be identified in vessel response plans and set new response time requirements for each of the required salvage and marine firefighting services. The changes ensure that the appropriate salvage and marine firefighting resources are identified and available for responding to incidents up to and including the worst case discharge scenario.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge across the Gowanus Canal, mile 1.2, at Brooklyn, New York. Under this temporary deviation the bridge shall require a four-hour advance notice for bridge openings for three months to facilitate bridge maintenance. Vessels that can pass under the draw without a bridge opening may do so at all times.

The Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC), through its Working Group on the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex, has been tasked with providing comment and recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard for optimizing domestic MARPOL port reception facilities. CTAC is a committee formed under the authority of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App. (Pub. L. 92-463). To assist and complement CTAC's efforts, the Coast Guard is hereby seeking comments from the public on MARPOL reception facilities in the U.S. The Coast Guard is specifically interested in identifying all issues that negatively impact MARPOL implementing regulations for port reception facilities; and recommendations to address those issues. CTAC Tasking: The original Task Statement that was provided to CTAC at the April 24, 2008 meeting in Washington, DC, included the following: 1. Provide comments and recommendations as necessary on: (To be completed by the Spring of 2009) Impact, if any, on MARPOL compliance caused by a variance in disposal costs; Impact, if any, on MARPOL compliance caused by vessels having to shift berths to complete transfers; Plan to document MARPOL reception facility services required and received through an advanced notice of arrival and departure report; Disposal of residues at other than those facilities receiving the cargo related to those residues. Vessels currently have limited information on availability of Annex I and Annex II facilities at subsequent ports of call; Level of consistency in disposal procedures in fulfillment of federal, state and local MARPOL waste disposal requirements as well as operational variances among facilities. For example, in fulfillment of state requirements, some facilities may request pre-identification of constituents in Annex I as well as Annex II residues. Additionally, facilities themselves have differing disposal procedures; and, Feasibility of simultaneous MARPOL and cargo transfers at every facility. According to vessel operators, some facilities prohibit simultaneous discharge of MARPOL residues and cargo transfers thereby causing delays. 2. Provide a final report in items listed above, a recommended way- ahead to implement any recommendations (e.g., proposed changes to MARPOL and/or domestic regulations) and the corresponding implementing language. (To be completed by the fall of 2009) Seeking Public Comment: Possible areas of concern for stakeholders may include: Conflicts with other regulations; Disposal cost issues at ports/terminals; Requirement for lab analysis of Annex I or II wastes; Segregation of Annex V wastes; and Additional burden, if any, of adopting standardized Advance Notice Forms (ANF) and/or Waste Delivery Receipt (WDR) forms adopted by the International Maritime Organization. Public comments that are received will assist and complement CTAC's efforts. CTAC's MARPOL Annex working group is scheduled to meet in February 2009. Comments must be received by January 31, 2009 in order to be considered.

The Coast Guard is removing its regulations for tank level or pressure monitoring (TLPM) devices because devices that satisfy compliance requirements remain unavailable.

This notice requests individuals interested in serving on an Area Maritime Security Committee in any Captain of the Port Zone, nationwide, to submit their applications for membership to their local Captain of the Port. These committees advise the Secretary of DHS, through the Coast Guard, on matters relating to maritime security in their geographic area.

The Coast Guard published a document in the Federal Register of October 14, 2008, concerning expired temporary rules. The document contained an incorrect contact telephone number, an incorrect table entry, and an omission.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone encompassing certain waters of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. This action is necessary to ensure the security of persons and property, and to prevent terrorist acts or incidents before, during, and after scheduled activities associated with the 2009 U.S. Presidential Inauguration. This rule prohibits vessels and persons from entering the security zone and requires vessels and persons in the security zone to depart the security zone during the effective time frame, and to immediately depart the security zone when requested to do so by government authorities.

The Coast Guard moves that the procedures for Operation of Drawbridges across the Wabash River be revised to reflect the needs of navigation. There were no comments or related materials received from the public for the Notice of Final Rulemaking docket number USCG-2008-0100 that preceded this Final Rule.

The Coast Guard is proposing to expand the applicability of notice of arrival and departure (NOAD) and automatic identification system (AIS) requirements to more commercial vessels. This proposed rule would expand the applicability of notice of arrival (NOA) requirements to additional vessels, establish a separate requirement for certain vessels to submit notices of departure (NOD), set forth a mandatory method for electronic submission of NOA and NOD, and modify related reporting content, timeframes, and procedures. This proposed rule would also expand the applicability of AIS requirements, beyond Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) areas, to all U.S. navigable waters and require AIS carriage for additional commercial vessels. These proposed changes would improve navigation safety, enhance the Coast Guard's ability to identify and track vessels, heighten our overall maritime domain awareness, and thus help us address threats to maritime transportation safety and security and mitigate the possible harm from such threats.

The Coast Guard proposes establishing a temporary safety zone within the Thompson Bay region of the navigable waters of the Colorado River in Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, Arizona in support of the Desert Storm Exhibition Run. This temporary safety zone is would provide for the safety of the participants, crew, spectators, participating vessels and other vessels and users of the waterway. Persons and vessels will be prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or anchoring within this safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, or his designated representative.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) and Analysis to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting an extension of its approval for the following collection of information: 1625-0048, Vessel Reporting Requirements. Before submitting this ICR to OMB, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

The Coast Guard is reopening the period for public comment on its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on regulations governing the stability of passenger vessels and the maximum number of passengers that may safely be permitted on board a vessel.

The Coast Guard has revised its proposal to amend the regulations governing the operation of the Connection Slough Drawbridge, originally published at 68 FR 183 (Sept. 22, 2003). The revised proposal reopens the comment period. The proposal is being revised at the request of the bridge owner to include drawbridge operator contact information, for waterway users to schedule drawspan openings during advance notice periods. The proposal would ensure a drawbridge operator can be contacted, is present at the drawbridge during identified increased navigation periods, and reduces the hours a drawbridge operator is required to be at the drawbridge and not gainfully employed.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that evaluated the potential environmental impacts resulting from accepting the cruise ship CORAL PRINCESS into the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP). The CORAL PRINCESS runs four regular cruising routes that include Alaska, California, the Panama Canal, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida. Under the STEP, the CORAL PRINCESS will be using and testing the Hyde Marine, INC. Guardian Ballast Water Treatment System, when the vessel operates in U.S. waters.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the tank ship S/R AMERICAN PROGRESS. The DEA describes the S/R AMERICAN PROGRESS' application for the Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) demonstration initiative. The DEA for the S/R AMERICAN PROGRESS also addresses effects on the human and natural environments from installing, testing, and using the Severn Trent De Nora BalPure\TM\ ballast water treatment system as the vessel operates in U.S. waters.