Coast Guard November 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard proposes to establish three special anchorage areas in the Connecticut River in the vicinity Old Saybrook, CT. This proposed action is necessary to facilitate safe navigation in that area and provide safe and secure anchorages for vessels less than 20 meters in length. This action is intended to increase the safety of life and property in the Connecticut River in the vicinity of Old Saybrook, improve the safety of anchored vessels, and provide for the overall safe and efficient flow of vessel traffic and commerce. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of the Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee's response to Task Statement 1, ``Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 04-08 Revision Working Group.'' This document recommends various changes to NVIC 04-08, ``Medical and Physical Evaluation Guidelines for Merchant Mariner Credentials,'' which the Coast Guard uses when making decisions on mariner credentialing. The Coast Guard has not adopted this document as policy, but will consider it in future policy development.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the waters encompassing Pea Patch Island Anchorage No. 5 and the upper portion of Reedy Point South Anchorage No. 3 to facilitate dredging in New Castle Range in the Delaware River. This regulation is necessary to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waters of the Delaware River in the vicinity of Pea Patch Island Anchorage No. 5 and Reedy Point South Anchorage No. 3. These closures are intended to restrict vessel anchoring to protect mariners from the hazards associated with ongoing pipe-laying and dredging operations.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the S168 Bridge (Battlefield Boulevard) across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, mile 12.0, at Chesapeake (Great Bridge), VA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position to facilitate the annual Chesapeake Christmas Parade.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval for reinstatement, with change, of the following collection of information: 1625-0041, Various International Agreement Pollution Prevention Certificates and Documents, and Equivalency Certificates. Our ICR describe the information we seek to collect from the public. Before submitting this ICR to OIRA, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR), abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a revision to the following collection of information: 1625-0010, Defect/ Noncompliance Report and Campaign Update Report. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of duties.

The Coast Guard will enforce various safety zones within the Captain of the Port New York Zone on the specified dates and times. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of vessels and spectators from hazards associated with fireworks displays. During the enforcement period, no person or vessel may enter the safety zones without permission of the Captain of the Port (COTP).

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR), abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a revision to the following collection of information: 1625-0088, Voyage Planning for Tank Barge Transits in the Northeast United States. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of duties.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR), abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a revision to the following collection of information: 1625-0099, Requirements for the Use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Compressed Natural Gas as Cooking Fuel on Passenger Vessels. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of duties.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR), abstracted below, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of a revision to the following collection of information: 1625-0103, Mandatory Ship Reporting System for the Northeast and Southeast Coasts of the United States. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and comments by OIRA ensure we only impose paperwork burdens commensurate with our performance of duties.

The Coast Guard is issuing a final rule to increase the limits of liability for vessels, deepwater ports, and onshore facilities, under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, as amended (OPA 90), to reflect significant increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This final rule also establishes a simplified regulatory procedure for the Coast Guard to make future required periodic CPI increases to these OPA 90 limits of liability. These regulatory inflation increases to the limits of liability are required by OPA 90 and are necessary to preserve the deterrent effect and ``polluter pays'' principle embodied in OPA 90. In addition, this final rule clarifies applicability of the OPA 90 vessel limits of liability to edible oil cargo tank vessels and tank vessels designated as oil spill response vessels. This clarification to the prior regulatory text is needed for consistency with OPA 90. Finally, this rule makes several non-substantive clarifying and editorial revisions to the regulatory text. This rulemaking promotes the Coast Guard's missions of maritime safety and maritime stewardship.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone around the Titan SPAR system, located in Mississippi Canyon Block 941 on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the safety zone is to protect the facility from all vessels operating outside the normal shipping channels and fairways that are not providing services to or working with the facility. Placing a safety zone around the facility will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, collisions, security breaches, oil spills, releases of natural gas, and thereby protect the safety of life, property, and the environment.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the waters of the Lake Erie in the vicinity of Kelley's Island Shoal, OH. This zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake Erie due to the presence of an unknown substance emanating from an unknown vessel. This temporary safety zone is necessary to protect people and vessels from the hazards associated with this event.

The Coast Guard will enforce the regulation pertaining to the Savannah Harbor Boat Parade of Lights and Fireworks taking place on November 28, 2015. This action is necessary to ensure safety of life on navigable waters of the United States during the Savannah Harbor Boat Parade of Lights and Fireworks. During the enforcement period, the special local regulation establishes a regulated area which will prohibit all people and vessels from entering. No person or vessel may enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the area without permission of the Captain of the Port Savannah, or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is extending, for 30 days, the period for submitting public comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The extension responds to a request made by several members of the public.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim highway drawbridge across the Cerritos Channel, mile 4.9, at Long Beach, CA. During the deviation electrical power will be disconnected from the bridge to allow removal of the bridge from the waterway. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position during its removal.

The Coast Guard is establishing temporary safety zones around the POLAR PIONEER and NOBLE DISCOVERER, two vessels associated with Royal Dutch Shell's (Shell) Arctic oil drilling and exploration operations, as well as any vessel actively engaged in towing or escorting those vessels, while they are located in the U.S. Territorial and Internal Waters of the Sector Puget Sound Captain of the Port Zone. The safety zones created by this rule are necessary to ensure the mutual safety of all waterways users including the specified vessels and those individuals that may desire to exercise their First Amendment rights relating to Shell's Arctic oil drilling and exploration operations.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) Railroad Bridge across the New River, mile 2.5, at Fort Lauderdale, FL. This proposed rule implements requirements for the operator designed to ensure that adequate notice of bridge closure times are available to the waterway traffic. It also changes the on demand schedule to an operating regulation requiring the bridge to be open at least 60 minutes in every 2 hour period. Modifying the bridge operating schedule will allow the bridge owner to operate the bridge remotely with assistance from the onsite bridge tender.

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Belt Line Railroad Bridge across the South Branch of the Elizabeth River, mile 2.6, between Portsmouth and Chesapeake, VA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position to facilitate a tie replacement project.