Coast Guard – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters of Laguna de Lobina within a 50-yard radius of Culebra Bridge due to structural damage to the bridge. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the damaged bridge. Entry of persons and vessels from into the safety zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.

This rule makes non-substantive changes to Coast Guard regulations in association with a change in the Coast Guard's internal organization. The purpose of this rule is to reflect that U.S. Coast Guard Sector Buffalo has been renamed U.S. Coast Guard Sector Eastern Great Lakes. These changes will have no substantive effect on the regulated public.

The Coast Guard is extending the effective period for the 13 temporary 500-meter temporary safety zones around the construction of 12 wind turbine generators (WTGs) and one offshore substation (OSS) located in the South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF) project area within Federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), specifically, in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0517, approximately 16 nautical miles (NM) southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 30 NM east of Montauk Point, New York. This rule extends the effective period of the existing safety zones for an additional five months. The safety zones will now end on May 31, 2024. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life, property, and the environment during the anticipated construction of each facility's monopile type foundation and subsequent installation of the WTGs turbines and OSS platform. When enforced, only attending vessels and those vessels specifically authorized by the First Coast Guard District Commander or a designated representative are permitted to enter or remain in the safety zones.

The Coast Guard announces the designation of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) as a designated non-federal entity for the purposes of participation in its management by an authorized Coast Guard employee. Dr. Amy Donahue, the Provost of the Coast Guard Academy, has been authorizated to serve as a member of NECHE to provide oversight of, advice to, and coordination with, NECHE. Dr. Donahue will not participate in the day-to-day operations of NECHE.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters in the Illinois River between Mile Marker (MM) 165.2 to 166.3. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from all potential hazards associated with the McClugage Bridge arch installation. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Sector Upper Mississippi River or a designated representative.

The Smith Point Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) is a vessel traffic routing measure which lies on inland waters, at the mouth of the Potomac River. The Coast Guard announces its intention to have the TSS removed from the nautical charts, and from the U.S. Coast Pilot. We will also change the buoy which identifies the TSS from a special purpose lighted yellow buoy to a red and white striped lighted mid- channel buoy.

The Coast Guard proposes amending and updating its special local regulations for recurring marine parades, regattas, and other events that take place in the Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley area of responsibility (AOR). This proposed rulemaking would update the current list of recurring special local regulations with revisions, additions, and removals of events that no longer take place in the Sector Ohio Valley AOR. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (Committee) and its Subcommittees will meet virtually to discuss matters relating to national boating safety. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a 0.5 nautical mile radius temporary safety zone for navigable waters in Kaneohe Bay, HI encompassing the partially submerged Navy P8 aircraft. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by salvage operations of the Navy P8 aircraft. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Honolulu.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the John F. Kennedy Space Center Bridge (NASA Causeway), across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (Indian River), mile 885, at Addison Point, FL. The drawbridge was replaced with a fixed bridge in 2023 and the operating regulation is no longer applicable or necessary.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the navigable waters in the vicinity of Lahaina Boat Basin, Maui, Hawaii. The temporary safety zone encompasses all waters extending 200 yards from shore from the northernmost boundary, 60 yards south of the intersection of Front Street and Baker Street, Maui, to the southernmost boundary, 20 yards south of the intersection of Front Street and Shaw Street, Maui. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of persons and the marine environment from the potential safety hazards associated with the damage assessment, debris management, vessel salvage, and port recovery of Lahaina Boat Basin and surrounding waters, through December 15, 2023. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Honolulu or designated representative.

The Coast Guard is modifying a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge, across the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW), mile 7.41, at Stuart, Florida. This modification extends the period the drawbridge may operate under the temporary deviation to the drawbridge operating schedule. This modification will allow the Coast Guard to review public comments and will provide continuity in the operation of the drawbridge until a determination is made if this temporary deviation will meet the reasonable needs of competing modes of transportation.

This document provides notification of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard that were made temporarily effective but expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This document lists temporary safety zones, security zones, and special local regulations, all of limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible. This document also announces notifications of enforcement for existing reoccurring regulations that we issued but were unable to be published before the enforcement period ended.

The Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 mandated the Coast Guard create planning criteria for vessel response plans (VRPs) distinct to the Western Alaska and Prince William Sound Captain of the Port zones. These criteria must include minimum response times, improvements to wildlife response, and consideration of prevention and mitigation measures. The Coast Guard seeks input from the public to establish these VRP planning criteria. The information will assist the Coast Guard in potentially developing a regulatory proposal to support the mandate.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters in the Upper Mississippi River at Mile Marker (MM) 660.5 through 659.5. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from all potential hazards associated with the implosion of the Lansing Power Station. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Upper Mississippi River (COTP) or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain navigable waters in the Laguna Madre. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by a firework display launched from a stationary barge in the Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, Texas. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone or remaining in the zone when it is in effect is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Corpus Christi or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters of the Lower Mississippi River below Head of Passes. The safety zone is needed to protect persons and critical infrastructure from the potential contamination due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone, or movement of vessels within this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone for a fireworks display at The Wharf DC on December 2, 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 temporarily modifying the operating schedule that governs the draw of the California Department of Transportation (Route 4) highway bridge, mile 14.8 between Victoria Island and Byron Tract, CA. This action is necessary to allow the bridge owner to complete rehabilitation of the bridge after an unexpected delay in delivery of custom made electronics.

The National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a virtual meeting to discuss issues relating to personnel in the United States Merchant Marine including the training, qualifications, certification, documentation, and fitness of mariners. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone for all navigable waters within a 2 nautical miles radius of Read Island, AK, centered at Latitude: 57[deg]06'48.3'' N, Longitude: 133[deg]11'43.4'' W, where a MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crashed (CG- 6016), early on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. This security zone is needed to protect and preserve the crash site of the MH-60 Helicopter wreck. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Southeast Alaska or a designated representative.

The National Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a virtual meeting to discuss matters relating to medical certification determinations for issuance of licenses, certificates of registry, and merchant mariners' documents, medical standards, and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial vessels, medical examiner education, and medical research. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing four temporary, 500-yard radius, moving security zones within the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and the La Quinta Channel. The temporary security zones are needed to protect certain vessels carrying cargoes which pose such risks that they require an elevated level of security, the cargoes themselves, and the surrounding waterway from terrorist acts, sabotage, or other subversive acts, accidents, or other events of a similar nature. Entry of vessels or persons into these zones is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Corpus Christi or a designated representative.

The U.S. Coast Guard is accepting applications to fill four vacancies on the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (Committee). This Committee advises the Secretary of Homeland Security, via the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, on matters relating to national recreational boating safety.

The Coast Guard is issuing a final rule for recreational vessel owners to select a recreational vessel endorsement on a Certificate of Documentation (COD) with a validity of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. Currently, our regulations require that a COD will be effective for a 5-year period. Congress passed, and the President signed, the self-executing National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 (2022 Act), which directs the Coast Guard to issue recreational vessel CODs for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. By updating the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to reflect this change, this final rule harmonizes the requirements of the 2022 Act, aligns CFR text with current Coast Guard policy, and provides vessel owners' statutorily directed option to select the validity period of their COD that best suits their individual needs.