Coast Guard November 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is extending the effective period of the safety zone in the Bering Sea, Unalaska Island, Alaska. The zone is needed to facilitate safe salvage operations related to the grounding of the merchant vessel (M/V) SELENDANG AYU. 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 intended effect of the proposed safety zone is to mitigate safety risks to salvage personnel.

The Coast Guard announces that it intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) as part of the environmental planning process for the Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS) project. The NAIS project, a USCG and DHS Level 1 investment and major systems acquisition, was initiated as a component of implementing the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Implementation of the NAIS, in part, involves installing Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment and related support systems on and around communications towers or other structures along 95,000 miles of coastline and inland rivers. The NAIS project is being conducted to provide the USCG with the capability to receive and distribute information from shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment in order to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). The project will provide detection and identification of vessels carrying AIS equipment approaching or operating in the maritime domain where little or no vessel tracking currently exists. AIS is an international standard, approved by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), for ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore and shore- to-ship communication of information, including vessel position, speed, course, destination, and other data of critical interest for maritime safety and security. The information provided by this system will support national maritime interestsfrom the safety of ports through collision avoidance, to the safety of the nation through detection and classification of vessels when they are still thousands of miles offshore. Publication of this notice begins a scoping process that identifies and determines the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the PEIS. This notice requests public participation in the scoping process and provides information on how to participate.

The Coast Guard is establishing a regulated navigation area (RNA) within San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, and their approaches out to the 12 nautical mile limit of the territorial sea. This action is necessary to provide the COTP a greater situational awareness of vessels intending to enter San Diego Bay or Mission Bay, to allow the COTP to enforce safety and security zones associated with naval vessel movements and exercises, and increase awareness of potential threats to national security assets within the area. This RNA will ensure the safe movement of vessels in the vicinity of San Diego Bay and Mission Bay.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the drawbridge operating regulations governing the operation of the Route 35 Bridge, mile 0.0, across Cheesequake Creek at South Amboy, New Jersey. This proposed rule would allow the bridge owner to require a two hour notice from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., year round and all day from December 1 through March 31. This rule is expected to meet the reasonable needs of navigation.

The Coast Guard announces the establishment of Sector Guam. Sector Guam is an internal reorganization that combines Marianas Section and Marine Safety Office Guam into a single command. The Coast Guard has established a continuity of operations whereby all previous practices and procedures will remain in effect until superseded by an authorized Coast Guard official or document.

The Coast Guard announces the establishment of Sector Honolulu. Sector Honolulu is an internal reorganization that combines Group Honolulu and Marine Safety Office Honolulu into a single command. The Coast Guard has established a continuity of operations whereby all previous practices and procedures will remain in effect until superseded by an authorized Coast Guard official or document.

In accordance with the requirements in 33 CFR 127.009, the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) Mobile, AL is preparing a letter of recommendation as to the suitability of the Pascagoula Bar, Horn Island Pass, Lower Pascagoula, and Bayou Casotte Channels for liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine traffic. The letter of recommendation is in response to a letter of intent submitted by Bayou Casotte Energy LLC to operate a LNG facility in Jackson County, MS. The COTP Mobile, AL is soliciting written comments and related material, and will hold a public meeting seeking comments, pertaining specifically to maritime safety and security aspects of the proposed LNG facilities. In preparation for issuance of a letter of recommendation and the completion of certain other regulatory mandates, the COTP Mobile, AL will consider comments received from the public as input into a formalized risk assessment process. This process will assess the safety and security aspects of the facility, adjacent port areas, and navigable waterways.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Burlington Northern Railway Vertical Lift Span Railroad Bridge across Berwick Bay, mile 17.5 [Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Morgan City to Port Allen Alternate Route), mile 0.4], at Morgan City, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. This deviation provides for two (2) four-hour bridge closures to conduct scheduled maintenance to the railroad on the drawbridge.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone at the North Carolina State Port Authority (NCSPA), Wilmington to include the Cape Fear River and Eagle Island. Entry into or movement within the security zone will be prohibited without authorization from the Captain of the Port (COTP), Wilmingon, NC. This action is necessary to safeguard the vessels and the facility from sabotage, subversive acts, or other threats.

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulations at 33 CFR 100.511 during the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade, a marine event to be held December 10, 2005, on the waters of Spa Creek and the Severn River at Annapolis, Maryland. These special local regulations are necessary to control vessel traffic due to the confined nature of the waterway and expected vessel congestion during the event. The effect will be to restrict general navigation in the regulated area for the safety of event participants, spectators and vessels transiting the event area.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary special local regulation for the Offshore Super Series Boat Race in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, in the vicinity of the Don Cesar Hotel. This event will be held November 16th, 17th, 19th, and 20th, 2005 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). Historically, there have been approximately 400 participant and spectator craft. The nature of high speed boats traveling at speeds in excess of 130 miles per hour creates an extra or unusual hazard in the navigable waters of the United States. This rule is necessary to ensure the safety of life for the participating vessels, spectators, and mariners in the area on the navigable waters of the United States.

The Coast Guard is temporarily revising the operating regulations for the Ft. Madison Drawbridge, mile 383.9, the Burlington RR Drawbridge, mile 403.1, the Illinois Central Railroad Drawbridge, mile 579.9, and the Rock Island Arsenal Drawbridge, mile 482.9, all located along the Upper Mississippi River. The temporary revision established the winter operating schedules for these four drawbridges while still providing for the reasonable needs of navigation.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announces the availability of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Decommissioning and excessing of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter USCGC MACKINAW (WAGB-83) in Cheboygan, Michigan and invites comments as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The EA evaluates the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the Proposed Action. The Draft FONSI records the USCG's determination that the Proposed Action would have no significant impact on the environment. The U.S. Coast Guard also announces the development of a Memorandum of Agreement to resolve potential adverse effects to a historic property and invites comments as part of the public involvement process under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary 90-day deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations to test an alternate drawbridge operation regulation for the Beach Channel Railroad Bridge mile 6.7, across Jamaica Bay, New York. Under this temporary deviation, in effect from December 1, 2005 through February 28, 2006, the bridge may remain closed during the commuter rail rush hours in the morning and afternoon, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The purpose of this temporary deviation is to test an alternate drawbridge operation schedule for 90 days and solicit comment from the public.

The Coast Guard is changing the regulation governing the Chief John Ross Drawbridge, mile 464.1, across the Tennessee River at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Under the temporary change, the drawbridge need not open for river traffic and may remain in the closed-to-navigation position from 8 a.m., December 1, 2005 until 8 a.m., July 1, 2006. This temporary change will allow the drawbridge to be maintained in the closed-to-navigation position to allow major repair work to be performed on the bridge.

The Great Lakes Regional Waterways Management Forum will hold a meeting to discuss various waterways management issues. Potential agenda items will include navigation, ballast water regulations, Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), waterways management, and discussions about the agenda for the next meeting. The meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving security zone around foreign naval submarines in transit within the area between 12 nautical miles offshore from the baseline, also known as the shoreline, at the mouth of the St. Mary's River to the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, GA. The security zone includes all waters within 500 yards in any direction of the submarine. The rule prohibits entry into the security zone without the permission of the Captain of the Port (COTP) Jacksonville or his designated representative. Persons or vessels that receive permission to enter the security zone must proceed at a minimum safe speed, must comply with all orders issued by the COTP or his designated representative, and must not proceed any closer than 100 yards, in any direction, to the submarine. This security zone is needed to ensure public safety and to prevent sabotage or terrorist acts against the submarine.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this request for comments announces that the Coast Guard has forwarded two Information Collection Requests (ICRs)(1) 1625-0035, Title 46 CFR Subchapter Q: Lifesaving, Electrical, and Engineering Equipment, Construction and Materials & Marine Sanitation Devices, and (2) 1625- 0051, (A) Reports of MARPOL 73/78 Oil, Noxious Liquid Substances (NLS) and Garbage Discharge; (B) Application for Equivalents, Exemptions and Alternatives; and (C) Voluntary Reports of Pollution Sightings 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.