Coast Guard March 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard will enforce multiple safety zones located in federal regulations for recurring marine events taking place in July 2023. This action is necessary and intended for the safety of life and property on navigable waters during these events. During the enforcement periods, no person or vessel may enter the respective safety zone without the permission of the Captain of the Port Buffalo or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a safety zone on the navigable waters of Gallants Channel near Beaufort, NC. The safety zone is necessary to enhance the safety of mariners and participants during the swim portion of a triathlon. Entry of vessels or persons into this safety zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) North Carolina or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone in the navigable waters of Suisun Bay, off Concord, CA, in support of explosive on- loading to Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) from March 30, 2023, through April 14, 2023. This safety zone is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential explosion within the explosive arc. The safety zone is open to all persons and vessels for transitory use, but vessel operators desiring to anchor or otherwise loiter within the safety zone must obtain the permission of the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative. All persons and vessels operating within the safety zone must comply with all directions given to them by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce a security zone for all navigable waters within 400 yards of the Left Descending Bank (LDB) on the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) Mile Marker (MM) 94.4 to MM 95.1, Above Head of Passes (AHP), New Orleans, LA. This security zone is necessary to provide security and protection for visiting personnel during the events related to the French Quarter Festival. Except for Vessel Movement Reporting System Users operating in the Algiers Point VT Special Area, no person or vessel may enter this security zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port New Orleans (COTP) or a designated representative.

The National Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a series of meetings over two days in Piney Point, MD to discuss issues relating to medical certification determinations for issuance of licenses, certificates of registry, merchant mariners' documents, and merchant mariner credentials; medical standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial vessels; medical examiner education; and medical research.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone for the French Quarter Festival fireworks display from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. on April 13, 2023. The safety zone will be enforced for all navigable waters of the Lower Mississippi River, New Orleans, LA from Mile Marker (MM) 94 to MM 95. This action is needed to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waterways during this event. In the event of inclement weather, the safety zone will be enforced from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. on April 14, 2023. During the enforcement period, entry into this zone is prohibited to all vessels and persons except vessels authorized by the Captain of the Port New Orleans (COTP) or designated representative.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters of Umatilla Marina. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Umatilla, OR, during a fireworks display on June 24, 2023. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Columbia River or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

On March 1, 2023, the Coast Guard published a notice of a Port Access Route Study to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and determine whether additional vessel routing measures are necessary for port approaches to Galveston Bay and Sabine Pass, Texas, Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana, and international and domestic transit areas in the Eighth Coast Guard District area of responsibility. The Notice contained an incorrect telephone number for the agency contact listed. This document corrects that error and extends the public comment period to April 27, 2023.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters of Yaquina Bay. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Newport, OR, during a fireworks display on July 4, 2023. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Columbia River or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone for certain navigable waters of Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway near Miami Beach, Florida. The moving security zone will encompass all navigable waters within 100 yards of the M/V BISCAYNE LADY. This action is necessary to protect an official party, public, and surrounding waterways from terrorist acts, sabotage or other subversive acts, accidents, or other events of a similar nature. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Miami, or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce the safety zone in the navigable waters of Suisun Bay, off Concord, CA, in support of explosive on- loading to Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) from March 23, 2023, through March 29, 2023. This safety zone is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential explosion within the explosive arc. The safety zone is open to all persons and vessels for transitory use, but vessel operators desiring to anchor or otherwise loiter within the safety zone must obtain the permission of the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative. All persons and vessels operating within the safety zone must comply with all directions given to them by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is proposing to amend the special local regulations and annual recurring marine events requiring safety zones for fireworks displays and swim events along the Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound Captain of the Port Zone. When enforced, these special local regulations and safety zones restrict vessels from transiting regulated areas during certain annually recurring events. The proposed amendments to the special local regulations and safety zones are intended to expedite public notification and ensure the protection of the maritime public and event participants from the hazards associated with certain marine events. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone for certain waters of the Cooper River near Charleston and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. This action is necessary to provide for the security and protection of life on these navigable waters near the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River during the Cooper River Bridge Run. This rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels entering the security zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone for navigable waters within a 400-yard radius of a fireworks barge in the James River, Newport News, VA. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the launching of fireworks. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Sector Virginia. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard proposes to revise existing regulations for a Regulated Navigation Area in Tampa Bay, Florida by updating the geographic boundaries of Egmont Channel in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed change is designed to align the coordinates in the regulation with the coordinates needed to properly control traffic in the Captain of the Port St. Petersburg Zone. The current coordinates do not reflect the Regulated Navigation Area that the Coast Guard intended to put in place. The Coast Guard invites your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone for a fireworks display at The Wharf DC on April 1, 2023, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for Fireworks Displays within the Fifth Coast Guard District identifies the safety zone for this event in Washington, DC. During the enforcement period, vessels may not enter, remain in, or transit through the safety zone unless authorized to do so by the COTP or his representative, and vessels in the vicinity must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast Guard ensign.

The Coast Guard is updating electrical engineering standards that are incorporated by reference and adding acceptable alternative standards. This rule also eliminates several outdated or unnecessarily prescriptive electrical engineering regulations. This regulatory action is consistent with the standards currently used by industry and supports the Coast Guard's maritime safety mission.

The First Coast Guard District is removing notes from its special anchorage area regulations and removing language from the text of four of these regulations because those provisions are inconsistent with simply designating the location of a special anchorage area. These existing notes and regulatory text provisions, which contain obsolete and duplicative language, will be replaced with a note in a new section we are adding that will apply to all special anchorage area regulations in the First Coast Guard District. The note will advise interested persons that state and local regulations may apply and that they should contact other authorities, such as the local harbormaster, to ensure compliance with any such applicable regulations. These changes are primarily editorial in nature and are intended to clarify and update First Coast Guard District special anchorage area regulations. This rule will not create, remove, or change any previously established special anchorage areas in the First Coast Guard District.

On March 6, 2023, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to establish 13 temporary 500-meter safety zones in the South Fork Wind Farm project area. That proposed rule contained four labeling plot location errors and one error of the coordinates describing a labeling plot location. This document corrects those errors in the NPRM.

The Coast Guard will enforce special local regulations for the Blessing of the FleetSt. Augustine on April 2, 2023, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for marine events within the Seventh Coast Guard District identifies the regulated area for this event in St. Augustine, FL. During the enforcement periods, the operator of any vessel in the regulated area must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast Guard ensign.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of an update to the Consolidated Port Approaches Port Access Route Studies (CPAPARS). The Coast Guard is publishing this updated report to provide continued transparency on the consolidated recommendations and alternatives provided by the supplemental PARS, the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and ongoing dialogue with the maritime industry.

The Coast Guard will enforce special local regulation for the Riverfest boat races on the Neches River in Port Neches, TX from May 5, 2023 through May 7, 2023 to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for marine events within the Eighth Coast Guard District identifies the regulated area for this event in Port Neches, TX. During the enforcement periods, the operator of any vessel in the regulated area must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for waters of the Atlantic Ocean, adjacent to Cape Canaveral, FL. This safety zone would implement a special activities provision of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The Coast Guard is establishing this safety zone for the launch of the Terran I rocket, which is being launched by Relativity Space. The temporary safety zone will be located within the Coast Guard District Seven area of responsibility offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This rule prohibits U.S.-flagged vessels from entering the temporary safety zone unless authorized by the District Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District or a designated representative. Foreign-flagged vessels are encouraged to remain outside the safety zone. This action is necessary to protect vessels and waterway users from the potential hazards created by launch of the Terran I rocket, flying over the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a series of meetings over three days in New Orleans, LA, to discuss issues relating to personnel in the United States Merchant Marine including the training, qualifications, certification, documentation, and fitness of mariners.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary special local regulation in the navigable waters of San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, CA in support of the San Francisco Sail Grand Prix, Season 3 race periods on May 4, 2023, through May 7, 2023. This special local regulation is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters and to ensure the safety of mariners transiting the area from the dangers associated with high-speed sailing activities associated with the Sail Grand Prix race event. This proposed rulemaking would temporarily prohibit persons and vessels from entering, transiting through, anchoring, blocking, or loitering within the event area adjacent to the city of San Francisco waterfront near the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.