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

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations for the Amtrak Old Saybrook-Old Lyme Bridge, mile 3.4, across the Connecticut River, Connecticut. This deviation from the regulations allows scheduled bridge openings every two hours between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day from April 11, 2005 through April 30, 2005. This deviation is necessary in order to facilitate electrical repairs at the bridge.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the draw of the Maxwell Highway Bridge, mile 17.6, near Imola, CA. The drawbridge has been removed from the waterway. Therefore, the regulation controlling the operation of the drawbridge is no longer necessary.

The Captain of the Port Portland, OR will begin, on May 5, 2005, enforcing a small area of the greater Large Passenger Vessel Security and Safety Zones that were established in September 2003. The zones provide for the security and safety of large passenger vessels in the navigable waters of Portland, OR and adjacent waters. These security and safety zones will be enforced for passenger cruise ships only and only from the mouth of the Columbia River at buoy 14 upriver to, and including, Astoria, OR, until further notice.

The Coast Guard proposes to temporarily change the drawbridge operating regulations governing the operation of the William T. Morrisey Boulevard Bridge, at mile 0.0, across Dorchester Bay at Boston, Massachusetts. This change to the drawbridge operation regulations would allow the bridge to remain in the closed position from November 1, 2005 through May 10, 2006. This action is necessary to facilitate necessary maintenance at the bridge.

Technical information or comments are requested on the proposed Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and proposed BFE modifications for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that the community is required either to adopt or to show evidence of being already in effect in order to qualify or remain qualified for participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

This rule identifies communities, where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to add a new system of records to its inventory of record systems, the Homeland Security Operations Center Database.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to sponsor a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to address the need for scientific research to better anticipate, prevent, and mitigate the consequences of biological attacks. The proposed FFRDC will be the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) which is a critical component in the overarching Homeland Security national biodefense complex. The NBACC will both coordinate biodefense research activities among various federal agencies and to execute its own research plan. Also required will be technical and program management capabilities to facilitate operation of the NBACC facility.

The Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee (LMRWSAC) will meet to discuss various issues relating to navigational safety on the Lower Mississippi River and related waterways. The meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is changing the operating regulations that govern the operation of the SR 175 Bridge, at mile 3.5, at Chincoteague, Virginia. The final rule will require the draw to open on demand from midnight to 6 a.m., and on the hour from 6 a.m. to midnight, except from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July of every year, the draw need not be opened. This change will reduce vehicular traffic congestion, increasing public safety and will extend the structural and operational integrity of the movable span, while still balancing the needs of marine and vehicular traffic.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning Report of Diversion. This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13; 44 U.S.C. 3505(c)(2)).

The Department of Homeland Security, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, CBP invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on an information collection requirement concerning the Certificate of Origin. This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13; 44 U.S.C. 3505(c)(2)).

The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: Declaration of Unaccompanied Articles. This is a proposed extension of an information collection that was previously approved. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with no change to the burden hours. This document is published to obtain comments form the public and affected agencies. This proposed information collection was previously published in the Federal Register (69 FR 76954) on December 23, 2004, allowing for a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) will hold a teleconference for the purposes of receiving reports and recommendations from an HSAC working group and task force, and holding member deliberations. The HSAC will receive reports from the HSAC Working Group on Intelligence and Information Sharing, chaired by Governor Mitt Romney, Governor of Massachusetts; and the HSAC Task Force on the National Strategy for Maritime Security HSPD-13/NSPD-41, chaired by Frank J. Cilluffo, Associate Vice President for Homeland Security, George Washington University. The Romney Working Group will report on the topic of State Fusion Centers, and the Cilluffo Task Force will report on the implementation plan for the National Strategy for Maritime Security. Following each report, the HSAC will hold deliberations and discussions among HSAC members.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations for the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge, mile 3.4, across English Kills at New York City, New York. Under this temporary deviation the bridge may remain in the closed position from April 27, 2005 through April 29, 2005. This temporary deviation is necessary to facilitate bridge maintenance.

The Coast Guard is removing drawbridge operation regulations for seven bascule bridges within the Seventh Coast Guard District. The seven bascule bridges were removed and the regulations governing their operation are no longer needed.

The Coast Guard is establishing permanent moving and fixed security zones extending 100 yards in the U.S. navigable waters around and under all cruise ships, tankers, and High Interest Vessels (HIVs) that enter, are moored or anchored in, or depart from the designated waters of Monterey Bay or Humboldt Bay, California. These security zones are needed for national security reasons to protect the public and ports of Monterey Bay and Humboldt Bay from potential subversive acts. Entry into these security zones is prohibited, unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port San Francisco Bay, or his designated representative.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operations of the Fort Madison Drawbridge, mile 383.9, Fort Madison, Iowa across the Upper Mississippi River. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed to navigation for 8-hour and 4-hour time periods from July 16 to July 18, 2005, and from July 23 to July 25, 2005. The deviation is necessary to allow time for making repairs of critical structural components essential to the continued safe operation of the drawbridge.

This is a notice of the Presidential declaration of an emergency for the State of New Hampshire (FEMA-3208-EM), dated March 30, 2005, and related determinations.

The Coast Guard is amending the geographic coordinates and modifying the regulated use of the anchorages in Baltimore Harbor, MD. This amendment is necessary to ensure changes in depth and dimension to the Baltimore Harbor anchorages resulting from an Army Corps of Engineers anchorage-deepening project are reflected in the Federal regulations and on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association charts. The modifications to the regulated uses of the anchorages accommodate changes to ships' drafts and lengths since the last revision of this regulation in 1968 and standardize the anchorage regulations throughout the Fifth Coast Guard District.

The National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) will hold a teleconference meeting on May 6, 2005 to receive reports from the Credentialing Work Group. The NMSAC will physically meet on June 2, 2005 to discuss various issues relating to national maritime security. This notice announces the date, time, and location for the teleconference meeting and the physical meeting of the NMSAC.

This document amends the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection regulations pertaining to the filing of commercial vessel and aircraft manifests for passengers and crew members. Collectively, the provisions of this final rule require the electronic transmission of manifest information for passengers and crew members onboard commercial vessels and aircraft, in advance of arrival in and departure from the United States, and for crew members and non-crew members onboard commercial aircraft that continue within (foreign air carriers only) and overfly the United States, in advance of the departure of those flights. Submission of this manifest information to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is a necessary component of the nation's continuing program of ensuring aviation and vessel safety and protecting national security. The required information also will assist in the efficient inspection and control of passengers and crew members and thus will facilitate the effective enforcement of the customs, immigration, and transportation security laws.