Department of Homeland Security October 19, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Base (1% annual-chance) Flood Elevations (BFEs) and modified BFEs are made final for the communities listed below. The BFEs and modified BFEs are the basis for the floodplain management measures that each 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).

The Coast Guard will enforce a segment of the Safety Zone; Brandon Road Lock and Dam to Lake Michigan including Des Plaines River, Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, Chicago River, Calumet-Saganashkee Channel on all waters of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal between Mile Marker 291.0 and Mile Marker 296.1 from 4 p.m. on October 19, 2010 to 12 p.m. on October 20, 2010 and from 4 p.m. on October 20, 2010 to 10 a.m. on October 21, 2010. This action is necessary to protect the waterways, waterway users, and vessels from hazards associated with intensive fish sampling efforts in the Lockport pool to be conducted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). These sampling efforts will include the setting of nets throughout this portion of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The purpose of this sampling is to provide essential information in connection with efforts to control the spread of aquatic nuisance species that might devastate the waters of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. During the enforcement period, entry into, transiting, mooring, laying-up or anchoring within the enforced area of this safety zone by any person or vessel is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Lake Michigan, or his or her designated representative.

The Coast Guard is harmonizing its regulations with amendments to Chapter VI and Chapter VII of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended, (SOLAS) that make the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code mandatory. The amendments require that all vessels subject to SOLAS, and carrying bulk solid cargoes other than grain, comply with the IMSBC Code. The Coast Guard is amending its regulations governing the carriage of solid hazardous materials in bulk to allow use of the IMSBC Code as an equivalent form of compliance for all domestic and foreign vessels operating in U.S. navigable waters. The amended Coast Guard regulations also expand the list of solid hazardous materials authorized for bulk transportation by vessel and include special handling procedures based on the IMSBC Code and existing special permits. These changes reduce the need for the current special permits required for the carriage of certain solid hazardous materials in bulk.