Coast Guard – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard announces that it is removing the conditions of entry on vessels arriving from the country of the Republic of Congo.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Neuse River Railroad Bridge, at mile 33.7, over the Neuse River, at New Bern, NC. The deviation restricts the operation of the draw span to facilitate repairs to the main mechanism of the bridge.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the US 70 Alfred Cunningham Bridge across the Trent River, mile 0.0, at New Bern, NC. The deviation is necessary to accommodate racers in the three Neuse River Bridge Runs. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed position to ensure safe passage for the racers.

The Commander Fifth Coast Guard District has issued a temporary deviation from the regulations governing the operation of the Corson Inlet Bridge (County Route 619), at mile 0.9, across Corson Inlet, in Strathmere, NJ. The deviation is necessary to facilitate the replacement of the steel railing. This deviation restricts operation of the draw span by not allowing openings during the project while the railings on the moveable span portion of the bridge are replaced.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit Information Collection Requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting approval of revisions to the following collections of information: 1625-0034, Ships' Stores Certification for Hazardous Materials Aboard Ships; and 1625-0043, Ports and Waterways SafetyTitle 33 CFR Subchapter P. Our ICRs describe the information we seek to collect from the public. Before submitting these ICRs to OIRA, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on Lake St. Clair, Muscamoot Bay, Harsens Island, MI. This safety zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake St. Clair during the Cannonade event.

Based on a review of safety and security zones around critical infrastructure in the Chicago area, the Captain of the Port Sector Lake Michigan has determined that to better protect such infrastructure, while also mitigating burdens on waterway users, it is necessary to amend the Lake Michigan at Chicago Harbor & Burnham Park HarborSafety and Security Zone regulation and the Security Zones; Captain of the Port Lake Michigan regulation. Specifically, the Coast Guard is amending these two regulations to reduce the size of an existing security zone, disestablish another security zone, and create three new security zones.

The Coast Guard is amending its regulations for certain lifesaving equipment, including launching appliances (winches and davits), release mechanisms, survival craft (lifeboats, inflatable liferafts, and inflatable buoyant apparatuses), rescue boats, and automatic disengaging devices. The amended regulations harmonize the Coast Guard's design, construction, and performance standards for this lifesaving equipment with international standards. In addition, the regulations provide for the use of qualified independent laboratories, instead of Coast Guard inspectors, during the approval process and for production inspections of certain types of lifesaving equipment. Because the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recently changed its international standards for lifeboat release mechanisms, the Coast Guard is issuing these amended regulations as an interim rule and will finalize the regulations after proposing amendments as necessary to address the recent IMO changes regarding release mechanisms. Additionally, recent IMO action modified the international standards for liferafts, and the Coast Guard is proposing new changes to its regulations to implement the modified international standards. The Coast Guard is publishing the proposal regarding liferafts separately in the Proposed Rules section of this issue of the Federal Register.

The Coast Guard is establishing special local regulations on the waters of the East River and the Brunswick River in Brunswick, Georgia during the Line of Sail Marine Parade on Saturday, October 8, 2011. The marine parade will consist of approximately 10 to 20 vessels. The marine parade will begin at Brunswick Landing Marina. From Brunswick Landing Marina, the marine parade will transit southeast on the East River, head east on the Brunswick River, and then turn around at St. Simons Pier. The marine parade will then return to Brunswick Landing Marina by the same route. These special local regulations are necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during the marine parade. The special local regulations consist of a series of moving buffer zones around participant vessels as they transit from Brunswick Landing Marina to St. Simons Pier and back. Persons and vessels that are not participating in the marine parade are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within any of the buffer zones unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Savannah or a designated representative.

The purpose of this notice is to inform the public that the Coast Guard has recertified the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (CIRCAC) as an alternative voluntary advisory group for Cook Inlet, Alaska. This certification allows the CIRCAC to monitor the activities of terminal facilities and crude oil tankers under the Cook Inlet Program established by statute.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the U.S. Coast Guard is forwarding Information Collection Requests (ICRs), 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 collections of information: 1625-0001, Marine Casualty Information & Periodic Chemical Drug and Alcohol Testing of Commercial Vessel Personnel; 1625-0013, Plan Approval and Records for Load LinesTitle 46 CFR Subchapter E.; 1625-0097, Plan Approval and Records for Marine Engineering Systems46 CFR Subchapter F; and 1625- 0101, Periodic Gauging and Engineering Analyses for Certain Tank Vessels Over 30 Years Old. Our ICRs describe 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 establishing four temporary security zones on the navigable waters of Oahu's southern and western shores in support of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Oahu, Hawaii. The establishment of these security zones is necessary to ensure the safety of all APEC attendees to include the President of the United States, as well as numerous foreign dignitaries and senior government officials. Entry into the temporary security zones established by this rule is prohibited unless authorized by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Honolulu, or her designated representatives.

The Coast Guard is establishing safety zones for Fireworks displays within the Captain of the Port (COTP) Long Island Sound Zone. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters during these events. Entry into, transit through, mooring or anchoring within these zones is prohibited unless authorized by the COTP Sector Long Island Sound.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone in the specified navigable waters near Seacliff State Beach Pier in Aptos, California in support of the Monte Foundation Fireworks Extravaganza. This safety zone is established to ensure the safety of participants and spectators from the dangers associated with the pyrotechnics. Unauthorized persons or vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or remaining in the safety zone without permission of the Captain of the Port or their designated representative.

The Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee (GLPAC) will meet on October 18, 2011, in Washington, District of Columbia. The meeting will be open to the public.

This final rule makes non-substantive changes throughout Titles 46 and 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this rule is to make conforming amendments and technical corrections to Coast Guard shipping and transportation regulations. This rule will have no substantive effect on the regulated public. These changes are provided to coincide with the annual recodification of Titles 46 and 49 on October 1, 2011.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all waters of the Mississippi River beginning at mile marker 230 and ending at mile marker 234, in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The temporary safety zone is needed to protect persons and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with a maritime salvage operation. Entry into this zone is prohibited unless vessels have met the specified instructions or are specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port New Orleans or a designated representative.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Smith Point Bridge, 6.1, across Narrow Bay, between Smith Point and Fire Island, New York. The deviation is necessary to facilitate bridge rehabilitation. This deviation allows the bridge to open only one of the two moveable spans for the passage of vessel traffic.

On March 30, 2011, the Coast Guard published a direct final rule that notified the public of the Coast Guard's intent to harmonize structural and performance standards for inflatable recreational personal flotation devices (PFDs) with current voluntary industry consensus standards, and to slightly modify regulatory text in anticipation of a future rulemaking addressing the population for which inflatable recreational PFDs are approved (76 FR 17561). As discussed below, we have received an adverse comment on the direct final rule, and have withdrawn the direct final rule in a notice of withdrawal published separately in this issue of the Federal Register. The Coast Guard seeks comment on the issues raised by the commenters and proposes to make the same changes to the current regulatory text, as modified below.

The Coast Guard is reopening the period for accepting applications for membership to the Lower Mississippi River Waterway Safety Advisory Committee. This Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Department of Homeland Security on matters relating to communications, surveillance, traffic management, anchorages, development and operation of the New Orleans Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), and other related topics dealing with navigation safety on the Lower Mississippi River as required by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard proposes to change the shape and expand the dimensions of anchorage ``D'' at Newport, Rhode Island, to better accommodate increasing cruise ship visits to Newport and to improve navigation safety.

On August 16, 2011 (76 FR 50744), the Coast Guard published a notice of meeting for the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee in the Federal Register. The Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee was unable to complete all agenda items during a two day working group meeting on September 8-9, 2011 therefore, Coast Guard is adding a day to the meeting. This notice corrects the August 16, 2011 (76 FR 50744) Federal Register notice.

The National Boating Safety Advisory Council (NBSAC) will meet on October 14, 2011, in Washington, DC. NBSAC discusses issues relating to recreational boating safety. This meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone during the Swim Around Charleston, a swimming race occurring on waters of the Wando River, the Cooper River, Charleston Harbor, and the Ashley River, in Charleston, South Carolina. The Swim Around Charleston is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 23, 2011. The temporary safety zone is necessary for the safety of the swimmers, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public during the event. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on Lake St. Clair, Harrison Township, MI. This zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Lake St. Clair during the Giannangeli Wedding Fireworks.