Coast Guard January 25, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In 1999, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century made $5 million per year available to the Secretary of Homeland Security for payment of Coast Guard expenses for personnel and activities directly related to coordinating and carrying out the national recreational boating safety program. In 2005, the law was amended, and the amount was increased to $5.5 million. The Coast Guard is publishing this notice to satisfy a requirement of the Act that a detailed accounting of the projects, programs, and activities funded under the national recreational boating safety program provision of the Act be published annually in the Federal Register. In this notice, we have specified the funding amounts the Coast Guard has committed, obligated, or expended during fiscal year 2011, as of September 30, 2011.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the State Route 56 swing bridge across Boudreaux Canal, mile 0.1, near Chauvin, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The deviation is necessary to perform structural repairs on the bridge. This deviation allows the bridge to remain closed-to-navigation for 30 days during March and April 2012.

The Coast Guard is seeking comments and information on how best to address a proposal to change the operating regulation for the Freeport Drawbridge, mile 46.0, over the Sacramento River. The bridge owner has proposed to change the 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., summer time ``on demand'' bridge opening hours to a new timeframe between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; and to extend the annual winter operating schedule to include the month of October, due to a documented decrease in drawbridge openings compared to other nearby bridges. The proposed change is to address the issue of misalignment between drawbridge staffing and actual usage of the drawbridge that currently appears to be resulting in unnecessary staffing of the drawbridge during periods of navigational inactivity. In addressing this issue, the Coast Guard will continue to ensure the reasonable needs of navigation and maritime users are met. We will use your comments to help determine the best means to resolve this issue.