Coast Guard February 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 Tule Lake Vertical Lift Span Highway and Railroad Bridge across the Corpus ChristiPort Aransas Channel, mile 14.0, at Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed to navigation for four hours on two consecutive days. This temporary deviation is necessary for the removal of scaffolding used during the maintenance of the rope sheaves and for the cleaning and lubrication of the haul and counterweight ropes of the drawbridge.

This notice requests individuals interested in serving on the Area Maritime Security CommitteeCentral California (Los Angeles-Long Beach) (CCAMSC) to submit their resumes to the Captain of the Port (COTP)/Federal Maritime Security Coordinator (FMSC) Los Angeles-Long Beach.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the drawbridge operating regulations governing the operation of the Chatham Highway Bridge, mile 0.2, across the Mitchell River at Chatham, Massachusetts. This proposed change to the drawbridge operation regulations would require from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. that only one hour notice be given for a bridge opening instead of the currently required 12 hours notice from May 1 through October 31. This rulemaking would also change the on-call contact information. This action is expected to better meet the reasonable needs of navigation.

A working group of the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) will meet to discuss task statement 47 concerning Recommendations on knowledge and practical qualifications for engineers at the operational and management levels to serve on steam propelled vessels, and task statement 49 concerning Recommendations for use of a model sea course project in conjunction with an approved program for officer in charge of an engineering watch coming up through the hawse pipe. MERPAC advises the Secretary of Homeland Security on matters relating to the training, qualifications, licensing, certification, and fitness of seamen serving in the U.S. merchant marine. These meetings will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish safety and security zones around waterfront areas in New London, Connecticut during the Congressionally-mandated third Top Officials exercise scheduled for April 2005. These zones are necessary to provide for the safety and security of participants in the exercise, the surrounding shore and maritime communities from potential sabotage or subversive acts aimed at this large scale, high profile exercise. These temporary safety and security zones prohibit persons or vessels from entering unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Long Island Sound or designated representative.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Coast Guard intends to seek the approval of OMB for the renewal of two Information Collection Requests (ICRs). The ICRs comprise (1) 1625- 0067, Claims Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and (2) 1625-0068 State Access to The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund For Removal Costs Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Before submitting the ICRs to OMB, the Coast Guard is inviting comments on them as described below.

The Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) and its working groups will meet as required to discuss various issues relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal waterway navigation and towing safety. All meetings will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of a document that provides interim guidelines for the development and review of plans for responding to a discharge, or threat of a discharge, of oil from nontank vessels. The document, in the form of a Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular, is available as indicated in this notice. Federal law requires that these response plans be prepared and submitted to the Coast Guard no later than August 8, 2005.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations for the Casco Bay Bridge, mile 1.5, across the Fore River between Portland and South Portland, Maine. Under this temporary deviation, from February 28, 2005 through March 4, 2005, bridge openings between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. will require a 24-hour advance notice. The bridge will open on signal at all other times. This temporary deviation is necessary to facilitate mechanical repairs at the bridge.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the Gulf of Alaska, east of Sitkinak Island, Kodiak Island, Alaska. The zone is needed to protect persons and vessels operating in the vicinity of the safety zone during a rocket launch from the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, Narrow Cape, Kodiak Island facility. 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 changing the regulation governing the Stillwater Highway Drawbridge, across the St. Croix River at Mile 23.4, at Stillwater, Minnesota. Under this rule, the drawbridge need not open for river traffic and may remain in the closed-to-navigation position from midnight, October 14, 2005, until midnight, March 15, 2006. This rule allows time to perform maintenance and repairs to the bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration announce the availability of the draft environmental impact statement for this license application. The application describes a project that would be located in the Outer Continental Shelf and Mississippi Sound areas of the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 11 miles south of Dauphin Island, AL, in lease block Mobile 910. The draft environmental impact statement is a Coast Guard document with several agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission acting as cooperating agencies in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 process, as described by 40 CFR 1501.6. The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency in the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement for the liquefied natural gas terminal, construction of the gravity-based structures, and the associated offshore and onshore pipelines. The joint document will satisfy the requirements of the Deepwater Port Act. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will assist in the preparation of the draft environmental impact statements for permits pursuant to section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403) and section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will assist in the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement for the onshore pipeline. Even though an affiliate of Compass Port LLC must separately apply for and receive an authorization for the onshore pipeline, and from the Army Corps of Engineers for the appropriate section 10 and 404 permits, this draft environmental impact statement will assess the environmental impacts of both the onshore and offshore portions of the project. The lead agencies (Coast Guard and Maritime Administration), as well as the cooperating agencies (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), request public comments on the draft environmental impact statement.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a permanent security zone in the vicinity of the HOVENSA refinery facility on St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands. The security zone is needed for national security reasons to protect the public and the HOVENSA facility from potential subversive acts. The proposed rule would exclude entry into the proposed permanent security zone by all vessels without permission of the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port San Juan or a scheduled arrival in accordance with the Notice of Arrival requirements of 33 CFR part 160, subpart C.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations governing the operation of the Long Beach Bridge, at mile 4.7, across Reynolds Channel New York. This temporary deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position from February 21, 2005 through February 27, 2005. This temporary deviation is necessary to facilitate scheduled bridge maintenance.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this request for comments announces that the Coast Guard has forwarded one Information Collection Report (ICR)1625-0006, Shipping Articles abstracted below, to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and comment by OIRA ensures that we impose only paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of duties.

The Coast Guard is temporarily changing the regulations that govern the operation of the S.R. 44 bridge over Mantua Creek, at mile 1.7, in Paulsboro, New Jersey. The bridge will be closed to navigation from 8 a.m. on September 12, 2005, through 6 p.m. on December 9, 2005. The extensive structural, mechanical, and electrical repairs and improvements necessitate this closure.

The location of the upcoming public meeting being held in New Orleans, Louisiana, is changed. Instead of the Hale Boggs Federal Building, as previously announced in the Federal Register, the meeting will take place at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. The date of the meeting, February 10, and the hours, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. remain the same. In the recently enacted Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004, the Congress directed the Coast Guard to add towing vessels to the list of vessels subject to inspections, and to consider the establishment of a safety management system appropriate for towing vessels. Through public meetings, we are seeking public and industry involvement as we consider how to proceed.

This document provides required notice of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard and temporarily effective between October 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004, that were not published in the Federal Register. This quarterly notice lists temporary special local regulations, security zones, safety zones, and regulated navigation areas, all of limited duration for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a moving and fixed security zone around cruise ships entering, departing, mooring or anchoring at the Port of Fredericksted in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. These proposed regulations are designed to protect cruise ships at this port. All vessels, with the exception of cruise ships, would be prohibited from entering a moving and fixed security zone around each cruise ship without the express permission of the Captain of the Port San Juan or designated representative.