Department of Homeland Security January 5, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the establishment of safety zones throughout the Great Lakes for the purpose of conducting gunnery training. The Coast Guard is authorized to conduct training in realistic conditions and in locations including in, on, and over the internal waters of the United States. In order to maximize safety, the NPRM proposed establishing safety zones in order to maintain Coast Guard control over the training area during training periods. This NPRM is being withdrawn, however, because of comments received from the public regarding the number and location of the proposed safety zones, the frequency of use, notification procedures as well as other concerns raised by the public. There will be no further gunnery training on the Great Lakes to satisfy non-emergency training requirements unless we first propose to the public and then publish a final rule. Because the Coast Guard is mandated to provide for the safety and security of the more than 30 million people in Great Lakes region, the critical infrastructure that make up the Great Lakes system, and the vessels that use it, we are evaluating all available options, including a new NPRM for gunnery training.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as lead for DHS, invites public comment on a new information collection requirement abstracted below that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The Coast Guard is changing the operating regulation governing the operation of the Southern Boulevard (SR 700/80) Bridge across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, mile 1024.7, Palm Beach, Florida. The rule will require the drawbridge to open twice an hour. The schedule is based on requests from vessel operators along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The schedule will require the bridge to open on the quarter and three quarter hour and would meet the reasonable needs of navigation while not impacting vehicular traffic.