[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50508-50510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25601]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[CGD01-97-022]
RIN 2115-AE47
Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Manchester Harbor, MA
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has changed the operating rules for the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Bridge over
Manchester Harbor in Manchester, Massachusetts. The mariners located in
the vicinity of the MBTA Bridge and the Manchester Harbormaster
requested longer operating hours for the bridge during the summer
boating season. This change to the regulations will require the bridge
owner to crew the bridge for eight additional hours each day from
Memorial Day through the end of September, to install clearance gauges
and to post the regulations for the operation of the bridge.
DATES: This final rule is effective October 27, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Unless otherwise indicated, documents referred to in this
preamble are available for inspection or copying at the office of
Commander (obr), First Coast Guard District, 408 Atlantic Avenue,
Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (617) 223-
8364.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John McDonald, Project Manager, First Coast Guard District, (617) 223-
8364.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulatory History
On June 14, 1994, the Coast Guard published a temporary 90 day
deviation (59 FR 30524) from the effective operating regulations to
evaluate changes to the operating rules during the 1994 boating season.
The Coast Guard received one letter opposing the proposal and nine
letters in favor of increasing the operating hours for the bridge
during the boating season. On July 17, 1995, the Coast Guard published
a temporary final rule with a request for comments (60 FR 36357) which
tested an alternate operating schedule for the bridge. The Coast Guard
received 20 letters from mariners. Three petitions with a total of 40
signatures, a letter from Manchester Harbor Marina, and a letter from
the Manchester Harbor Boat Club with 200 members were also received.
All comments requested that the operating rules be changed to require
the bridge to open on signal from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day, Memorial
Day through the end of September. On April 11, 1997, the Coast Guard
published a notice of proposed rulemaking with a request for comments
(62 FR 17762) to permanently change the operating hours to 7 a.m. to 11
p.m. Memorial Day to the end of September. No additional comments were
received as a result of the April 1997, proposal.
Background and Purpose
The Manchester MBTA Bridge was formerly owned and operated by the
Boston and Maine Railroad. The present owner of the bridge is the MBTA.
The existing operating regulations are published at 33 CFR 117.603 and
require that the bridge be crewed from 1 April through 1 November from
9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a one hour lunch closure between 1 p.m. and 2
p.m. daily.
The Coast Guard received a request in May 1994, from the Manchester
Harbormaster/Chief of Police and several mariners located upstream of
the bridge to extend the hours that the Manchester MBTA Bridge is
crewed during the boating season. The June 1994 temporary deviation
extended the hours that the bridge was crewed by an additional five
hours a day during the boating season. It required the bridge to be
crewed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and eliminated the one hour lunch
hour closure from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. each day. The Coast Guard asked for
comments at the close of the 90 day deviation period.
The Coast Guard received only one letter during the comment period
that closed October 31, 1994. The MBTA, the bridge owner, opposed the
proposal to extend the operating hours of the bridge. Their objection
was based upon the additional cost of $16,000 to crew the bridge during
the deviation period. The Coast Guard requested additional data and
actual copies of the bridge logs to analyze the impact of the
deviation. The data was never provided.
Several comments were received after the comment period closed. The
comments included seven petition letters, one letter representing
forty-five boat owners located upstream of the bridge at the Manchester
Harbor Marina, and one letter from the Manchester Harbormaster/Chief of
Police. All the letters were strongly in favor of increasing the
operating hours for the bridge.
The July 1995, temporary final rule increased the period that the
bridge opened on signal by three hours, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., each day
during the boating season. As noted in the Regulatory History section
above, all the letters received in response to the rule were in favor
of permanently changing the operating regulations to require that the
bridge be crewed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day from Memorial Day
through the end of September. The mariners requested the extended
bridge operating hours so that they could get underway earlier in the
summer mornings and return to their moorings after a day trip or their
evening racing and sailing.
One letter from the bridge owner, the MBTA, opposed the proposal
requesting that the hours remain unchanged. The MBTA objected to the
extra operating hours based upon a claim that there was a $27,000
additional cost to crew the bridge during the 1995 test period. Copies
of the bridge logs were not submitted as requested.
On April 30, 1996, the Coast Guard implemented another temporary
final rule with a request for comments (61 FR 18946) requiring the
bridge to be crewed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day Memorial Day
through the end of September. On May 7, 1996, the Coast guard sent a
letter to the MBTA requiring them to post a sign summarizing the
temporary regulations and maintain a bridge log for the 1996 test
period. The MBTA was asked to provide bridge logs and operating cost
data to the Coast Guard no later than October 31, 1996, for
consideration of impacts upon the MBTA. The Coast Guard received one
letter from a mariner in favor the temporary regulation. A review of
the bridge logs provided by MBTA for the 1996 test period indicated
that there was an average of 247 additional openings per month for the
hours 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
[[Page 50509]]
during June, July and August 1996. Thirty-five additional openings
during these hours were logged for September, 1996. The MBTA submitted
a letter indicating an additional operating cost of $41,459 for the
period May 30 to September 30, 1996. On April 11, 1997, the Coast Guard
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (62 FR 17762) to permanently
change the operating hours for the Manchester MBTA Bridge to 7 a.m. to
11 p.m. Memorial Day to the end of September. No additional comments
have been received in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking.
Discussion of Comments and Changes
Upon review of the comments from all the test periods, the Coast
Guard believes that the operating hours for the bridge should be
permanently changed. The mariners specifically requested, after several
alternative schedules, that the bridge be crewed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
each day during the prime boating season, Memorial Day through the end
of September. The bridge logs also indicated that there were
significant additional openings as a result of the longer operating
hours for the bridge; therefore, the Coast Guard is changing the
operating hours for the Manchester MBTA Bridge. This final rule change
will amend section 117.603 to require the Manchester MBTA Bridge to
open on signal between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from Memorial Day through
September 30 each year. The hours that the bridge is crewed from April
1 to Memorial Day and from October 1 through November 1 would remain 9
a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
It is the Coast Guard's policy in the interest of protecting the
needs of navigation to assure that drawbridges are operated in such a
manner that they are a minimum obstruction to waterway traffic while at
the same time still providing for the reasonable needs of land traffic.
Under that policy drawbridges shall be operated in a manner and under
operating rules and regulations that are in the overall public best
interest by pursuing balanced operating schedules. Under the existing
operating rules for the Manchester MBTA Bridge, the needs of navigation
were clearly not being satisfied as evidenced by the comments from the
mariners and the documented increased openings as a result of the 1996
temporary final rule. The Coast Guard responded to all the MBTA's
submissions, but believes the increase in the operating hours for a
four month period each year will allow the mariners to enjoy the prime
boating season and best serve the public interest by balancing the
needs of the boating public against the needs of rail traffic and
operating costs. The expanded operating schedule will allow the
mariners to depart earlier and return later each day during the prime
boating season. The previous hours clearly did not meet the needs of
navigation as a result of the bridge not opening until 9 a.m. and
closing at 6 p.m. during the boating season.
The Coast Guard has also changed the advance notice requirements of
the Manchester MBTA Bridge by establishing a four hour advance notice
requirement for openings during all periods when the bridge is not
scheduled to be crewed.
The Coast Guard determined that clearance gauges should be
installed and maintained for the safety of navigation to assist
mariners in determining whether they can safely pass under the bridge
without an opening during periods when the bridge is not crewed. The
final rule requires the bridge owner to post the operating regulations
to assist mariners interested in transiting under the bridge by posting
the operating schedule of the bridge.
Regulatory Evaluation
This rule is not a significant regulatory action under section 3(f)
of Executive Order 12866, and does not require an assessment of
potential costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that order. It
has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under that
order. It is not significant under the regulatory policies and
procedures of the Department of Transportation (DOT) (44 FR 11040;
February 26, 1979). The Coast Guard expects the economic impact of this
rule to be so minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation, under
paragraph 10e of the regulatory policies and procedures of DOT, is
unnecessary. This conclusion is based on the fact that bridges must
operate in accordance with the needs of navigation while providing for
the reasonable needs of land transportation. This rule adopts the
operating hours which the Coast Guard believes to be appropriate based
on the results of previous test periods and public comments. The Coast
Guard believes this rule achieves the requirement of balancing the
navigational rights of recreational boaters and the needs of land based
transportation.
Small Entities
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the
Coast Guard considered whether this proposal will have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. ``Small
entities'' include small businesses, not-for-profit organizations that
are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their
fields and governmental jurisdictions with populations less than
50,000. For the reasons discussed in the Regulatory Evaluation section
above, the Coast Guard certifies under section 605(b) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act that this rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. If, however, you
think that your business or organization qualifies as a small entity
and that this rule will have a significant economic impact on your
business or organization, please submit a comment (see ADDRESSES)
explaining why you think it qualifies and in what way and to what
degree this rule will economically affect it.
Collection of Information
This rule does not provide for a collection of information under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Federalism
The Coast Guard has analyzed this rule in accordance with the
principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 and has
determined that this rule does not have sufficient federalism
implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
Environment
The Coast Guard considered the environmental impact of this rule
and concluded that, under section 2.B.2.e.(32)(e) of Commandant
Instruction M16475.1B, this rule is categorically excluded from further
environmental documentation. A ``Categorical Exclusion Determination''
is available in the docket for inspection or copying where indicated
under ADDRESSES.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117
Bridges.
Regulation
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33
CFR part 117 as follows:
PART 117--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 117 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g); section
117.255 also issued under the authority of Pub. L. 102-587, 106
Stat. 5039.
2. Revise Sec. 117.603 to read as follows:
[[Page 50510]]
Sec. 117.603 Manchester Harbor.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Bridge at mile 1.0
in Manchester, shall operate as follows:
(a) The draw shall open on signal--
(1) From Memorial Day through September 30 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.;
(2) From April 1 to Memorial Day and from October 1 to November 1
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
(b) At all other times, the draw shall open on signal with at least
four hours notice.
(c) The owner of this bridge shall provide and keep in good legible
condition, clearance gauges for each draw with figures not less than
twelve (12) inches high designed, installed and maintained in
accordance with the provisions of section 118.160 of this chapter.
Sec. 117.604 [Removed]
3. Section 117.604 is removed.
Dated: August 17, 1997.
R.M. Larrabee,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 97-25601 Filed 9-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M
