Coast Guard March 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard published a notice of meeting for the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) in the Federal Register on March 18, 2013. Based on budgetary constraints, NMSAC will no longer meet as previously reported. NMSAC will now meet on April 2, 2013 via web and teleconference to discuss various issues relating to national maritime security. This meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone on the waters of Bahia de San Juan during the transit of the Spanish Navy School Ship San Sebastian El Cano, a public vessel, and during their 21 gun salute in accordance with the military tradition of vessel proving that it is unarmed upon entrance into a foreign country. The safety zone is necessary to protect the public from the hazards associated with the 21 gun salute near the Bar Channel entrance, and to protect the high ranking officials on board the Spanish Navy School Ship San Sebastian El Cano. The inbound escort is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013, and will entail an escort of the Spanish Navy School Ship San Sebastian El Cano and 21 gun salute. The outbound escort is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 10, 2013. The safety zone is necessary to ensure the safety of high ranking officials, commercial traffic, spectators, and the general public on the navigable waters of the United States during the transit and salute. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a safety zone within Milwaukee Harbor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This Zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Milwaukee Harbor due to the 2013 and 2014 Olympic and Sprint Distance National Championships. This proposed safety zone is necessary to protect the surrounding public and vessels from the hazards associated with the 2013 and 2014 Olympic and Sprint Distance National Championships.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedules that govern two of North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) bridges: The S.R. 74 Bridge, across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW), mile 283.1, at Wrightsville Beach, NC, and the Isabel S. Holmes Bridge across the Northeast Cape Fear River, mile 1.0, at Wilmington, NC. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the 6th annual PPD Beach2Battleship iron and half iron distance triathlons. This deviation allows both drawbridges to remain in the closed position during the race.

The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to take place on April 18, 2013, in Arlington, Virginia to receive comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 22, 2013, under the title ``Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)Reader Requirements.'' The Coast Guard encourages members of the public to attend this meeting and provide oral comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking on TWIC reader requirements.

The National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee (NOSAC) will meet on April 17 and 18, 2013, in New Orleans, LA, to discuss various issues related to safety of operations and other matters affecting the oil and gas offshore industry. These meetings are open to the public.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Burnside Bridge across the Willamette River, miles 12.4, at Portland, Oregon. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the annual Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to allow for the safe movement of event participants.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the SR 529 Bridges across the Snohomish River, mile 3.6 near Everett, WA. The deviation is necessary to facilitate heavy maintenance and equipment upgrades on the bridges. This deviation allows the bridges to remain in the closed position during maintenance activities.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Steel Bridge across the Willamette River, miles 12.1, at Portland, Oregon. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the Rose Parade, and Starlight Parade events. This deviation allows the bridge upper deck to remain in the closed position to allow safe movement of event participants.

In 1999, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century made $5 million per year available for the payment of Coast Guard expenses for personnel and activities directly related to coordinating and carrying out the national recreational boating safety program. In 2005, the law was amended, and the amount was increased to $5.5 million. The Coast Guard is publishing this notice to satisfy a requirement of the Act that a detailed accounting of the projects, programs, and activities funded under the national recreational boating safety program provision of the Act be published annually in the Federal Register. In this notice, we have specified the funding amounts the Coast Guard has committed, obligated, or expended during fiscal year 2012, as of September 30, 2012.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the U.S. Highway 90 swing highway bridge across the Chef Menteur Pass, mile 2.8, at Lake Catherine, Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to ensure the safety of pedestrians/bikers as they cross the bridge for the Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans event. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position continuously during the event.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the navigable waters of the San Francisco Bay near Hunters Point in San Francisco, CA in support of the San Francisco Police Department's maritime interdiction training exercises. This safety zone is established to ensure the safety of the exercise participants and mariners transiting the area. Unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zone without permission of the Captain of the Port or their designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a special local regulation on the Atlantic Ocean and the entrance of Port Everglades in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the 2013 Lauderdale Air Show. The event is scheduled to take place from Thursday April 18, 2013, until Sunday, April 21, 2013. The regulation is necessary to ensure the safety of the participants, spectators, and the general public during the event. The special local regulation will establish the following two areas: an exclusion area, where all persons and vessels, except those persons and vessels participating in the event, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within; and a limited access area, where all vessels over 500 gross tons will be prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Miami or a designated representative.

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

The Coast Guard will enforce the 2013 San Diego Crew Classic Special Local Regulation located in the regulated area encompasses that portion of Mission Bay, San Diego, California bounded by Enchanted Cove, Fiesta Island, Pacific Passage and DeAnza Point, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 6, 2013 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 7, 2013. This action is necessary to provide to provide for the safety of the participants, crew, spectators, sponsor vessels of the event, and general users of the waterway. During the enforcement period, no spectators shall anchor, block, loiter in, or impede the transit of participants or official patrol vessels in the regulated area during the effective dates and times, unless cleared for such entry by Coast Guard Patrol Commander or through an official supporting vessel.

In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the Coast Guard proposes to require owners and operators of certain vessels and facilities regulated by the Coast Guard to use electronic readers designed to work with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) as an access control measure. This NPRM also proposes additional requirements associated with electronic TWIC readers, including recordkeeping requirements for those owners and operators required to use an electronic TWIC reader, and security plan amendments to incorporate TWIC requirements. The TWIC program, including the proposed TWIC reader requirements in this rule, is an important component of the Coast Guard's multi-layered system of access control requirements and other measures designed to enhance maritime security. This rulemaking action, once final, would build upon existing Coast Guard regulations designed to ensure that only individuals who hold a TWIC are granted unescorted access to secure areas at those locations. The Coast Guard has already promulgated regulations pursuant to the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) that require mariners and other individuals to obtain a TWIC and present it for inspection by security personnel prior to gaining access to such secure areas. By requiring certain vessels and facilities to perform TWIC inspections using electronic TWIC readers, this rulemaking would further enhance security at those locations. This rulemaking would also implement the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 electronic TWIC reader requirements.

The Coast Guard will enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Chicago River, Calumet-Saganashkee Channel on all waters of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal from Mile Marker 296.1 to Mile Marker 296.7 at various times on March 27 through March 29, 2013. This action is necessary to protect the waterways, waterway users, and vessels from hazards associated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electromagnetic Fields evaluation operations. During any of the below listed enforcement periods, entry into, transiting, mooring, laying-up or anchoring within the enforced area of this safety zone by any person or vessel is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Lake Michigan, or his or her designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone within the navigable waters of Lake Havasu and the London Bridge Channel for the Lake Havasu Triathlon. This temporary safety zone is necessary to provide safety for the swimmers, crew, rescue personnel, and other users of the waterway. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or anchoring within this safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port or his designated representative.

The Coast Guard is adopting an interim drawbridge rule published in August 2012 as a final rule for the Berkley (I-264) Bridge, at mile 0.4, across the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA. This rule, allowing only four scheduled bridge openings during the day, is necessary to alleviate heavy vehicular traffic delays throughout the day and secondary congestion during the afternoon rush hour, while still providing for the reasonable needs of navigation.

The National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) will meet on April 2-3, 2013 in Washington, DC to discuss various issues relating to national maritime security. This meeting will be open to the public.

The United States Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Route 136 Bridge across the Saugatuck River, mile 1.3, at Westport, Connecticut. The deviation is necessary to facilitate emergency repairs. Under this temporary deviation, the bridge owner may require a 24 hour advance notice for bridge openings.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a safety zone on the waters of St. Thomas Harbor in St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands during the V. I. Carnival Finale, a firework display. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 27, 2013, and will entail a barge being positioned near the St. Thomas Harbor channel from which fireworks will be lit.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the navigable waters, from surface to seabed, around the Motor Vessel (M/V) XIANG YUN KOU and the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) NOBLE DISCOVERER with a planned transit through Resurrection Bay. The temporary safety zone will encompass the navigable waters within a 500 yard radius of the MODU NOBLE DISCOVERER from dock to loading in Resurrection Bay, Seward, Alaska, onto the transport ship M/V XIANG YUN KOU, and during the vessels intended route through Resurrection Bay. The purpose of the safety zone is to protect the persons and vessels from the inherent dangers of towing, loading, and transport operations of the MODU NOBLE DISCOVERER.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating regulation that governs the Tower Drawbridge across the Sacramento River, mile 59.0, at Sacramento, CA. The deviation is necessary to allow the community to participate in the First Annual ``Biggest Loser'' 5K walk and run event. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position during the event.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Broadway Bridge across the Willamette River, mile 11.7, at Portland, OR. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the Race for the Roses and the Bridge to Brews Run & Walk events. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to allow for the safe movement of event participants.