Coast Guard December 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to seek the approval of OMB for the renewal of an Information Collection Request (ICR). The ICR is 1625-0073, Alteration of Unreasonably Obstructive Bridges Under the Truman-Hobbs (T-H) Act. Before submitting the ICR to OMB, the Coast Guard is inviting comments on them as described below.

The Coast Guard is changing the regulations governing six bridges across Bayou Lafourche, south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. The Lafourche Parish Council has requested that the bridges remain closed to navigation at various times on weekdays during the school year. These closures will facilitate the safe, efficient movement of staff, students and other residents within the parish.

The United States Coast Guard will meet to discuss the comments received relating to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Kenner Bend Anchorage as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 80 on Wednesday, April 27, 2005.

This final rule revises Coast Guard requirements for alcohol testing after a serious marine incident to ensure that mariners or their employees involved in a serious marine incident are tested for alcohol use within 2 hours of the occurrence of the incident as required under the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998. This final rule also requires that most commercial vessels have alcohol testing devices on board, and authorizes the use of saliva as an acceptable specimen for alcohol testing. This rule also makes some minor procedural changes, including a 32-hour time limit for collecting specimens for drug testing following a serious marine incident.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the drawbridge operation regulations for the Amtrak Old Saybrook-Old Lyme Bridge (Old Saybrook-Old Lyme Bridge), mile 3.4, across the Connecticut River, Connecticut. This deviation from the regulations allows the bridge to operate on a fixed schedule for bridge openings and two three-day closures from January 3, 2006 through February 1, 2006. This deviation is necessary in order to facilitate necessary scheduled bridge maintenance.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the operating schedule of the Stickney Point (SR 72) bridge across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, mile 68.6 in Sarasota County, Florida. This proposed rule would require the drawbridge to open on a 30-minute schedule from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m., Monday through Friday except Federal holidays. This proposed action may improve the movement of vehicular traffic while not unreasonably interfering with the movement of vessel traffic.

The Coast Guard announces the stand-up of Sector Houston- Galveston. Sector Houston-Galveston is an internal reorganization to combine Group Galveston, Base Galveston, Vessel Traffic Service Houston-Galveston, Marine Safety Office Houston-Galveston including Marine Safety Unit Galveston and Marine Safety Office Port Arthur including Marine Safety Unit Lake Charles into one command. The Coast Guard has established a continuity of operations order whereby all previous practices and procedures will remain in effect until superseded by an authorized Coast Guard official and/or document.

The Coast Guard is changing existing permanent security zones in designated waters adjacent to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai, Hawaii. These revised security zones are necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and facilities from acts of sabotage or other subversive acts, accidents, or other causes of a similar nature and will extend from the surface of the water to the ocean floor. Some of the revised security zones are continuously activated and enforced at all times, while others are activated and enforced only during heightened threat conditions. Entry into these Coast Guard security zones while they are activated and enforced is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port.

On August 18, 2004, the Coast Guard published a temporary rule entitled ``Notification of Arrival in U.S. Ports; Certain Dangerous Cargoes; Electronic Submission.'' 69 FR 51176. This temporary rule, which expires March 20, 2006, added ammonium nitrate and ammonium nitrate based fertilizers, in bulk, and propylene oxide, alone or mixed with ethylene oxide, in bulk, to the list of Certain Dangerous Cargoes (CDCs) for which a notice of arrival (NOA) is required. The Coast Guard is now permanently changing the definition of ``certain dangerous cargo'' to include (1) ammonium nitrate, in bulk; (2) ammonium nitrate based fertilizers, in bulk; and (3) propylene oxide, alone or mixed with ethylene oxide, in bulk. This rule also adds an option for vessels to submit notices of arrival electronically. These changes are necessary to promote maritime safety and security and to facilitate the uninterrupted flow of commerce by providing the Coast Guard with information on these cargoes.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the Chicago New Year's Celebration fireworks display. This safety zone is necessary to protect vessels and spectators from potential airborne hazards during a planned fireworks display over Lake Michigan. The safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake Michigan off Chicago, Illinois.

The Coast Guard is revising the drawbridge operation regulations for bridges on the Willamette River, Oregon. The modification will reorganize the text into a more understandable format with minor editing of the regulations and change the operating regulations for the draw of the Burnside Bridge across the Willamette River, mile 12.4, at Portland, Oregon. The change will enable the bridge owner to provide single-leaf operation of the Burnside Bridge, except during the Rose Festival, to facilitate major structural and mechanical rehabilitation of the bridge.

The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announce the cancellation of all actions related to the processing of a license application for the proposed Pearl Crossing LNG Terminal LLC deepwater port. The action announced here includes cancellation of all activities related to the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that was announced on Monday, August 16, 2004, in Federal Register Volume 69 Number 157 (Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement). The action is taken in response to the applicant's decision to withdraw the application.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary special local regulation during the ``Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006'', sailboat races to be held on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay in the vicinity east of Gibson Island, Maryland and near the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Chesapeake Bay) Bridge near Annapolis, Maryland. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the event. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic in segments of the Chesapeake Bay during the sailboat races.

The Coast Guard proposes to temporarily modify the drawbridge operation regulations for the Heron Street Bridge across the Wishkah River, mile 0.2, at Aberdeen, Washington. The proposed temporary change will enable the bridge owner to delay and plan for openings of the bridge from February 2006 through March 2007. This will facilitate major structural and mechanical rehabilitation of the bridge.