Department of Homeland Security – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Coast Guard is establishing three temporary, 500-yard radius, moving security zones for certain vessels carrying Certain Dangerous Cargoes (CDC) within the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and La Quinta Channel. The temporary security zones are needed to protect the vessels, the CDC cargo, 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 Coast Guard announces the recertification of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) as an alternative voluntary advisory group for Prince William Sound, Alaska. This certification allows the PWSRCAC to monitor the activities of terminal facilities and crude oil tankers under an alternative composition, other than prescribed, the Prince William Sound Program established by the Oil Terminal and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight and Monitoring Act of 1990.

This rule amends existing Department of Homeland Security (``DHS'') and Department of Justice (``DOJ'') (collectively, ``the Departments'') regulations to implement the Additional Protocol to the Agreement between The Government of the United States of America and The Government of Canada For Cooperation in the Examination of Refugee Status Claims From Nationals of Third Countries (``Additional Protocol of 2022'') negotiated by the Governments of the United States and Canada and signed in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 29, 2022, and in Washington, DC, United States, on April 15, 2022, respectively. The Additional Protocol of 2022 supplements certain terms of the December 5, 2002, Agreement between The Government of the United States and The Government of Canada For Cooperation in the Examination of Refugee Status Claims from Nationals of Third Countries (``Safe Third Country Agreement,'' ``STCA,'' or ``Agreement''). Pursuant to the STCA, the respective governments manage which government decides certain individuals' requests for asylum or other protection relating to fear of persecution or torture (referred to as a ``refugee status claim'' in the STCA and the Additional Protocol of 2022) pursuant to its laws, regulations, and policies implementing its international treaty obligations relating to non-refoulement. Under the STCA, only those individuals who cross the U.S.-Canada land border at a port of entry (``POE''), or in transit while being removed or deported to a third country from the ``country of last presence,'' are subject to the terms of the STCA. Once the Additional Protocol of 2022 is implemented, the STCA also will apply to individuals who cross the U.S.-Canada land border between POEs, including certain bodies of water, and who make an asylum or other protection claim relating to a fear of persecution or torture within 14 days after such crossing. The Additional Protocol of 2022 will enter into force once the United States and Canada have officially notified each other that they have completed the necessary domestic procedures for bringing the Additional Protocol of 2022 into force. The Departments intend this official notification to coincide with the effective date of this final rule at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary special local regulation for the navigable waters of the Bonita Tideway near Brigantine, NJ. This action is needed to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters during a rowing regatta on April 1, 2023, and April 2, 2023. This rule prohibits persons and vessels from being in the regulated area during the enforcement period unless authorized entry by the Captain of the Port (COTP), Delaware Bay, or a designated representative.

New or modified Base (1-percent annual chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundaries or zone designations, and/or regulatory floodways (hereinafter referred to as flood hazard determinations) as shown on the indicated Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) for each of the communities listed in the table below are finalized. Each LOMR revises the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and in some cases the Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports, currently in effect for the listed communities.

This notice lists communities where the addition or modification of Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundaries or zone designations, or the regulatory floodway (hereinafter referred to as flood hazard determinations), as shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), and where applicable, in the supporting Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports, prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for each community, is appropriate because of new scientific or technical data. The FIRM, and where applicable, portions of the FIS report, have been revised to reflect these flood hazard determinations through issuance of a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR), in accordance with Federal Regulations. The currently effective community number is shown in the table below and must be used for all new policies and renewals.

Flood hazard determinations, which may include additions or modifications of Base Flood Elevations (BFEs), base flood depths, Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) boundaries or zone designations, or regulatory floodways on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and where applicable, in the supporting Flood Insurance Study (FIS) reports have been made final for the communities listed in the table below. The FIRM and FIS report are the basis of the floodplain management measures that a community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of having in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

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.

This document announces that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will convene the 2023 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security (TFCS) Summit in Boston, MA, on April 17-19, 2023. The 2023 TFCS Summit will be open for the public to attend in person or via webinar. The 2023 TFCS Summit will feature CBP personnel, members of the trade community, and members of other government agencies in panel discussions on CBP's role in international trade initiatives and programs. Members of the international trade and transportation communities and other interested parties are encouraged to attend.

The Coast Guard announces that it has received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an information collection request associated with the interim rule requirements for fire safety on certain covered small passenger vessels. This rule announces the effective dates for the requirements for vessel operators to log the occurrence of passenger emergency egress drills and to post passenger safety bills in overnight accommodation spaces. In the interim rule, we stated we would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of the collection-of- information related sections upon OMB approval. This rule establishes April 24, 2023 as the effective date for those sections.

The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary special local regulation for certain waters of the Bush River and Otter Point Creek, in Maryland. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters located at Edgewood, MD, during a high-speed power boat race on May 13, 2023 and May 14, 2023. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels (other than those already at berth at the time the regulation takes effect) from being in the regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Maryland-National Capital Region (COTP), or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

The Coast Guard will enforce special local regulations for the Windermere Cup on May 6, 2023, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for marine events within the Thirteenth Coast Guard District identifies the regulated area for this event on the Montlake Cut and Union Bay Reach between Portage Bay and Webster Point on Lake Washington in Seattle, WA. The regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the regulated areas unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Puget Sound or a designated representative.

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 temporary safety zone for certain navigable waters in the Corpus Christi Bay. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by an acrobatic airshow near the Corpus Christi Bayfront, Corpus Christi, Texas. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Corpus Christi or a designated representative.

The Department of Homeland Security, will submit the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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 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 1 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 1 rocket, flying over the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

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.

The U.S. Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone over the waters near Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, CA, in support of the Point Mugu Airshow. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters in the area near the air demonstrations and to provide an emergency landing area for the event. This regulation prohibits vessels from entering into, transiting through, or remaining within the designated area unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach (COTP), or a designated representative.