Coast Guard December 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Pacific Ocean. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters near Westport, Washington, during a fireworks display on January 1, 2024. This regulation prohibits persons and vessels from entering the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Columbia River or a designated representative.

The National Chemical Transportation Safety Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a series of subcommittee meetings over two days in League City, TX, and a full committee meeting in Texas City, TX to discuss matters relating to the safe and secure marine transportation of hazardous materials. The subcommittee meetings will also be available by videoconference for those unable to attend in person, however the full committee meeting will be held in person only. All meetings will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is updating its user fees for seagoing towing vessels that are 300 gross tons or more and revising user fees for other inspected towing vessels. The Coast Guard is issuing these updates because it is required to establish and maintain a fair fee for its vessel inspection services and to separate the fees for inspection options that involve third-party auditors and surveyors from inspection options that do not involve third parties. Under this final rule, owners and operators of vessels using the Alternate Compliance Program, Streamlined Inspection Program, or the Towing Safety Management System options will pay a lower fee than vessels that use the traditional Coast Guard inspection option.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone for a recurring firework event taking place December 31, 2023, in the Los Angeles-Long Beach Captain of the Port Zone. This action is necessary and intended to provide for the safety of life and property on navigable waterways during these events. During the enforcement period, the operator of any vessel in the regulated area must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any official patrol vessels displaying a Coast Guard ensign.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters within a 105-foot radius of a pedestrian bridge and the surrounding Erie Canal in North Tonawanda, NY. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by a fireworks display. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Eastern Great Lakes.

The Coast Guard is considering establishing an anchorage ground near Rice Island, Oregon in the Columbia River. We are considering this action after receiving requests suggesting that this anchorage ground is necessary to provide for the safe anchoring of commercial vessels in the navigable waters of the Lower Columbia River. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The rule makes non-substantive changes to Coast Guard regulations in association with a change in the Coast Guard's internal organization. The purpose of this rule is to reflect that U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Sainte Marie has been renamed U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern Great Lakes. This rule will have no substantive effect on the regulated public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters of Laguna de Lobina within a 50-yard radius of Culebra Bridge due to structural damage to the bridge. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the damaged bridge. Entry of persons and vessels from into the safety zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.

This rule makes non-substantive changes to Coast Guard regulations in association with a change in the Coast Guard's internal organization. The purpose of this rule is to reflect that U.S. Coast Guard Sector Buffalo has been renamed U.S. Coast Guard Sector Eastern Great Lakes. These changes will have no substantive effect on the regulated public.

The Coast Guard is extending the effective period for the 13 temporary 500-meter temporary safety zones around the construction of 12 wind turbine generators (WTGs) and one offshore substation (OSS) located in the South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF) project area within Federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), specifically, in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0517, approximately 16 nautical miles (NM) southeast of Block Island, Rhode Island, and 30 NM east of Montauk Point, New York. This rule extends the effective period of the existing safety zones for an additional five months. The safety zones will now end on May 31, 2024. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life, property, and the environment during the anticipated construction of each facility's monopile type foundation and subsequent installation of the WTGs turbines and OSS platform. When enforced, only attending vessels and those vessels specifically authorized by the First Coast Guard District Commander or a designated representative are permitted to enter or remain in the safety zones.

The Coast Guard announces the designation of the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) as a designated non-federal entity for the purposes of participation in its management by an authorized Coast Guard employee. Dr. Amy Donahue, the Provost of the Coast Guard Academy, has been authorizated to serve as a member of NECHE to provide oversight of, advice to, and coordination with, NECHE. Dr. Donahue will not participate in the day-to-day operations of NECHE.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters in the Illinois River between Mile Marker (MM) 165.2 to 166.3. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from all potential hazards associated with the McClugage Bridge arch installation. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Sector Upper Mississippi River or a designated representative.

The Smith Point Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) is a vessel traffic routing measure which lies on inland waters, at the mouth of the Potomac River. The Coast Guard announces its intention to have the TSS removed from the nautical charts, and from the U.S. Coast Pilot. We will also change the buoy which identifies the TSS from a special purpose lighted yellow buoy to a red and white striped lighted mid- channel buoy.

The Coast Guard proposes amending and updating its special local regulations for recurring marine parades, regattas, and other events that take place in the Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley area of responsibility (AOR). This proposed rulemaking would update the current list of recurring special local regulations with revisions, additions, and removals of events that no longer take place in the Sector Ohio Valley AOR. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

The National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (Committee) and its Subcommittees will meet virtually to discuss matters relating to national boating safety. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a 0.5 nautical mile radius temporary safety zone for navigable waters in Kaneohe Bay, HI encompassing the partially submerged Navy P8 aircraft. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by salvage operations of the Navy P8 aircraft. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Honolulu.

The Coast Guard is removing the existing drawbridge operation regulation for the John F. Kennedy Space Center Bridge (NASA Causeway), across the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (Indian River), mile 885, at Addison Point, FL. The drawbridge was replaced with a fixed bridge in 2023 and the operating regulation is no longer applicable or necessary.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for the navigable waters in the vicinity of Lahaina Boat Basin, Maui, Hawaii. The temporary safety zone encompasses all waters extending 200 yards from shore from the northernmost boundary, 60 yards south of the intersection of Front Street and Baker Street, Maui, to the southernmost boundary, 20 yards south of the intersection of Front Street and Shaw Street, Maui. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of persons and the marine environment from the potential safety hazards associated with the damage assessment, debris management, vessel salvage, and port recovery of Lahaina Boat Basin and surrounding waters, through December 15, 2023. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Honolulu or designated representative.

The Coast Guard is modifying a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge, across the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW), mile 7.41, at Stuart, Florida. This modification extends the period the drawbridge may operate under the temporary deviation to the drawbridge operating schedule. This modification will allow the Coast Guard to review public comments and will provide continuity in the operation of the drawbridge until a determination is made if this temporary deviation will meet the reasonable needs of competing modes of transportation.

This document provides notification of substantive rules issued by the Coast Guard that were made temporarily effective but expired before they could be published in the Federal Register. This document lists temporary safety zones, security zones, and special local regulations, all of limited duration and for which timely publication in the Federal Register was not possible. This document also announces notifications of enforcement for existing reoccurring regulations that we issued but were unable to be published before the enforcement period ended.

The Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 mandated the Coast Guard create planning criteria for vessel response plans (VRPs) distinct to the Western Alaska and Prince William Sound Captain of the Port zones. These criteria must include minimum response times, improvements to wildlife response, and consideration of prevention and mitigation measures. The Coast Guard seeks input from the public to establish these VRP planning criteria. The information will assist the Coast Guard in potentially developing a regulatory proposal to support the mandate.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters in the Upper Mississippi River at Mile Marker (MM) 660.5 through 659.5. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from all potential hazards associated with the implosion of the Lansing Power Station. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Upper Mississippi River (COTP) or a designated representative.