Department of Homeland Security January 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Illinois Central Railroad Drawbridge, across the Upper Mississippi River, mile 579.9 at Dubuque, Iowa. This deviation allows the drawbridge to remain closed to navigation unless at least 12 hours advance notice is given for an opening from 6 a.m., January 17, 2005, until 6 p.m., February 28, 2005, Central Standard Time. The deviation is necessary to allow time for making repairs of critical mechanical components essential to the continued safe operation of the drawbridge.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the SR 3073 Swing Bridge across the Vermilion River, mile 44.9, at Flanders, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed to navigation from 6 a.m. on Sunday, February 13, 2005 until 6 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16, 2005. The deviation is necessary to repair and replace the decking on the bridge.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the Bering Sea, west of and including Makushkin Bay, Unalaska Island, Alaska. The zone is needed to facilitate oil spill recovery operations related to the grounding of the merchant vessel (M/V) SELENDANG AYU, and to mitigate damage to the environment during oil spill recovery operations. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard District, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Western Alaska, or their on-scene representative.

The Coast Guard is expanding the geographical boundaries of the permanent security zone at Naval Base San Diego. This action is required to provide adequate area for the U.S. Navy to install an upgraded barrier system and provide the minimum required separation distances between the barrier and protected assets at Naval Station San Diego. The revised security zone will run adjacent to the navigation channel between Piers 14 and Pier 5. From the edge of the navigation channel west of Pier 5, the proposed security zone extends to a point 400 feet opposite of Pier 1. The existing security zone at Naval Station San Diego, implemented on April 15, 2003, does not provide adequate separation distance between protected vessels and the proposed barrier system.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the waters surrounding the Wantagh Parkway Number 3 Bridge across the Sloop Channel in Town of Hempstead, New York. This zone is necessary to protect vessels transiting in the area from hazards imposed by construction barges and equipment. The barges and equipment are being utilized to construct a new bascule bridge over the Sloop Channel. Entry into this zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Long Island Sound, New Haven, Connecticut.

In response to public comments on the proposed Keyspan Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Providence, RI, the Coast Guard is co-sponsoring two public hearings. This action will afford the public and the owner or operator additional time and opportunity to provide the Coast Guard with information regarding the proposed Keyspan LNG facility.

This document modifies the Customs and Border Protection Automated Commercial System Reconciliation prototype test by changing the requirement for filing the Reconciliation entry from no later than 15 months to no later than 21 months after the date the importer declares its intent to file the Reconciliation. This change does not apply to Reconciliation entries covering NAFTA or US-CFTA claims. Other than this modification, the test remains the same as set forth in previously published Federal Register notices.

The location of the public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 11, 2005, announced in a notice we published in the Federal Register on December 3, 2004 (69 FR 70271), has been changed. The new meeting location is: The Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport, 4101 B Island Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 1.5 miles from the original site. Information concerning this change along with directions will be provided at the original meeting location, and the meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. and conclude at 7:30 p.m., to allow attendees who have not received this notice time to travel to the new location.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish permanent security zones around all cruise ships while transiting or moored in the Port of Mobile and Mobile Ship Channel shoreward of the Mobile Sea Buoy. These proposed security zones are needed to ensure the safety and security of these vessels. Entry into these proposed zones would be prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Mobile or a designated representative.

OST and TSA are revising their regulations governing the protection of sensitive security information (SSI) to remove an unintended limitation on parties that have a need to know such information. Specifically, this rule removes the limiting words ``aviation or maritime'' from 49 CFR 15.11 and 49 CFR 1520.11 in order to clearly permit the sharing of vulnerability assessments and other documents properly designated as SSI with covered persons who meet the need to know requirements regardless of mode of transportation.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary fixed safety zone on the Indian River at Lee Wenner Park, Cocoa, FL. This safety zone is for the Cocoa Village Mardi Gras firework display and is needed to protect participants, vendors, and spectators from the hazards associated with the launching of fireworks. Entry into this safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port.

The Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the I Street Drawbridge across the Sacramento River, mile 59.4, at Sacramento, CA. This deviation allows the drawbridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position during essential operating machinery repair, to prevent unexpected failure of the drawspan.

The Coast Guard is proposing to temporarily change the drawbridge operation regulations for the operation of the SR 27 Bridge, at mile 0.7, across Townsend Gut, between Boothbay Harbor and Southport, Maine. This temporary rule would require the bridge to open at specific times between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., each day, from March 1, 2005, through November 30, 2005. Additionally, this temporary rule would also allow the bridge to remain closed for four periods of four days each between March 1, 2005, and May 26, 2005. This action is necessary to help facilitate rehabilitation construction at the bridge.

The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General publish these final rules to amend their respective agencies' regulations pertaining to removal of aliens. With the Department of Homeland Security final rule, the Secretary of Homeland Security adopts as final, without substantial change, the proposed regulations published at 69 FR 42910 (July 19, 2004). The Department of Homeland Security amends its regulations to clarify that acceptance by a country is not required under specific provisions of section 241(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act in order to remove an alien to that country, and that a ``country'' for the purpose of removal is not premised on the existence or functionality of a government in that country. This rule further clarifies the countries to which an alien may be removed and the situations in which the Secretary of Homeland Security will remove an alien to an alternative or additional country. Additionally, this rule provides technical changes as a result of amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act by the Homeland Security Act of 2002. With the Department of Justice final rule, the Attorney General adopts as final, without substantial change, the proposed regulations at 69 FR 42911 (July 19, 2004). The Department of Justice clarifies the procedure for an alien to designate the country to which he or she would prefer to be removed, provides that the immigration judge shall inform any alien making such a designation that he or she may be removed to another country under section 241(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security in effecting the foreign policy of the United States, and clarifies the effect of an identification of a country for removal in an immigration judge's order of removal from the United States. This rule clarifies that acceptance by a country is not a factor to be considered by the immigration judge in identifying a country or countries of removal in the administrative order of removal. The Department of Justice also makes technical changes to eliminate unnecessary provisions and update references to reflect the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed new information collections. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), this notice seeks comments concerning the need to collect program information from stakeholders of the National Fire Programs (NFP), a part of the United States Fire Administration (USFA).

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the waters of the Columbia River during a New Year's fireworks display. The Captain of the Port, Portland, Oregon, is taking this action to safeguard watercraft and their occupants from safety hazards associated with this display. Entry into this safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port.