Coast Guard April 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 and the SR 529 Bridges across Steamboat Slough, mile 1.1, near Marysville, WA. This deviation is necessary to accommodate the Total Health Events Heroes Half Marathon. This deviation allows the bridges to remain in the closed position to allow safe movement of event participants.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish special local regulations during the ``Swim Across the Potomac'' swimming competition, to be held on the waters of the Potomac River on June 2, 2013. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to temporarily restrict vessel traffic in a portion of the Potomac River during the event.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone for the San Francisco Giants Fireworks Display in the Captain of the Port, San Francisco area of responsibility during the dates and times noted below. This action is necessary to protect life and property of the maritime public from the hazards associated with the fireworks display. During the enforcement period, unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or anchoring in the safety zone, unless authorized by the Patrol Commander (PATCOM).

The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to take place on May 2, 2013, in Seattle, Washington 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 Coast Guard is temporarily changing the operating schedule that governs the Pelican Island Causeway bridge across Galveston Channel mile 4.5 (GIWW mile 356.1), at Galveston, Texas. The temporary change to the regulations will allow the bridge to remain closed to navigation while major repairs are conducted to the mechanical portions of the bascule span. Failure to complete the repairs in a timely manner may render the bridge completely inoperable for the passage of vessel traffic.

The Coast Guard proposes to add, delete, and modify safety zones and special local regulations and add language to clarify time frames and notification requirements for annual marine events in the Sector Long Island Sound Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone. When these regulated areas are activated and subject to enforcement, this rule would restrict vessels from portions of water areas during these recurring events. The safety zones and special local regulations will facilitate public notification of events and provide protective measures for the maritime public and event participants from the hazards associated with these recurring events.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone within the Lake Moovalya region of the navigable waters of the Colorado River in Parker, Arizona for the Blue Water Resort and Casino Spring Classic. 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 is announcing its intent to enter into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Engility Corporation (Engility) to develop, demonstrate, evaluate, and document contributions of tactical data link (TDL) range enhancement software technologies to improve operational effectiveness and communications interoperability (e.g., situational awareness, digital command and control, etc.) among forces including Coast Guard and other Department of Homeland Security components, Department of Defense, as well as other Federal, State, local, Tribal, and coalition forces. While the Coast Guard is currently considering partnering with Engility, we are soliciting public comment on the possible nature of and participation of other parties in the proposed CRADA. In addition, the Coast Guard also invites other potential non-Federal participants, who have the interest and capability to bring similar contributions to this type of research, to consider submitting proposals for consideration in similar CRADAs.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a special local regulation on the waters of Charlotte Amalie Harbor in St Thomas, USVI during the St. Thomas Carnival Watersport Activities, a high speed boat race. The event is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 21, 2013. Approximately 40 high-speed power boats will be participating in the races and it is anticipated that 50 spectator crafts will be present during the races. The special local regulation is necessary for the safety of race participants, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public during the event. The special local regulation will establish the following four areas: (1) A high speed boat race area, where all persons and vessels, except those persons and vessels participating in the high-speed boat races, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within; (2) a jet ski race area, where all persons and vessels, except those persons and vessels participating in the jet ski races, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within; (3) a buffer zone around the race areas, where all persons and vessels, except those persons and vessels enforcing the buffer zone or authorized participants transiting to their authorized the race area, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within; and (4) a spectator area, where all vessels are prohibited from anchoring and from traveling in excess of wake speed, unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.

The Boats and Associated Equipment Subcommittee of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will meet via teleconference and online webinar to discuss safety issues related to boats and associated equipment. This teleconference meeting will be open to the public.

The Prevention Through People Subcommittee of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will meet via teleconference and online webinar to discuss issues related to improving safety of recreational boating through the development of safer boating practices. This teleconference meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish the following three permanent safety zones on the navigable waters of (1) Taiya Inlet in the vicinity of on the White Pass and Yukon Railway Dock, Skagway; (2) Portage Cove, Haines and; (3) Wrangell Harbor, Wrangell, Alaska. These proposed safety zones are necessary to protect spectators and vessels from the hazards associated with the annual Independence Day Fireworks Displays held in each location. This rule is intended to restrict all vessels from a portion of the navigable waters in the immediate vicinity of the fireworks launch platforms, before, during and immediately after the fireworks event.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit Information Collection Requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a revision to the following collections of information: 1625-0049, Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Hazardous Gas (LHG) and 1625-0063, Marine Occupational Health and Safety Standards for Benzene46 CFR part 197 Subpart C. Our ICRs describe the information we seek to collect from the public. Before submitting these ICRs to OIRA, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.