[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10257-10258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5296]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
[USCG-98-3553]
Marine Transportation System: Waterways, Ports, and their
Intermodal Connections
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration, together with
several other federal agencies, are holding seven two-day regional
listening sessions to receive information concerning the current state
and future needs of the U.S. marine transportation system--the
waterways, ports, and their intermodal connections. These listening
sessions are a first step in developing a customer-based strategy to
work together to ensure waterways, ports, and their intermodal
connections meet user and public expectations for the 21st
century. The information provided at the regional listening sessions
will be presented at a national conference in the fall of 1998.
DATES: The meeting in New Orleans, LA will be on March 31, 1998, from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting in New Orleans, LA will be held at the Port of
New Orleans, 1320 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130.
You may mail comments to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-
1998-3553), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 400 Seventh Street
SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or deliver them to room PL-401, located
on the Plaza Level of the Nassif Building at the same address between
10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available
for inspection or copying at room PL-401, located on the Plaza Level of
the Nassif Building at the above address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also
electronically access the public docket for this notice on the Internet
at http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public docket,
contact Carol Kelley, Coast Guard Dockets Team Leader or Paulette
Twine, Chief, Documentary Services Division, U.S. Department of
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329; for information concerning the
notice of meeting contact Joyce Short, U.S. Coast Guard (G-M-2), 2100
Second St., SW, Washington, DC 20593-0001, telephone 202-267-6164.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Other Regional Listening Sessions
This notice announces the first of seven two-day regional listening
sessions. Other sessions are being planned for Portland, OR; Oakland,
CA; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; New York, NY; and Charleston,SC. The
dates and locations of these sessions will be published in a separate
Federal Register notice.
Request for Comments
We encourage interested persons to participate in this information-
gathering initiative by submitting written data, views, or other
relevant documents. Persons submitting comments should include their
names and addresses, identify this notice (USCG-1998-3553), and the
reasons for each comment. Please submit all comments and attachments in
an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ x 11 inches, suitable for
copying and electronic filing to the DOT Docket Management Facility at
the address under ADDRESSES. If you want acknowledgment of receipt of
your comments, enclose a stamped, self-addressed post card or envelope.
Comments received, whether submitted in writing to the docket, or
presented during the regional listening sessions, will be considered in
preparing the agenda of a national conference in the fall 1998.
Background
The marine transportation system includes waterways, ports, and
their intermodal connections with highways, railways, and pipelines.
The marine transportation system links the United States to overseas
markets and is important to national security interests. Excluding
Mexico and Canada, over 95% of U.S. foreign trade by tonnage is shipped
by sea, and 14% of U.S. inter-city freight is transported by water.
Forecasts show that U.S. foreign ocean borne trade is expected to
more than double by the year 2020; and commuter ferries, recreational
boating and other recreational uses of the waterway are expected to
increase,
[[Page 10258]]
placing even greater demands on the marine transportation system.
Many federal agencies, state and local governments, port
authorities, and the private sector share responsibility for the marine
transportation system. The economic, safety, and environmental
implications of aging infrastructure, inadequate channels, and
congested intermodal connections will become more critical as marine
traffic volume increases.
To meet these challenges, the Department of Transportation is
pursuing the development of a customer-based strategy, in partnership
with others responsible for waterways, ports, and their intermodal
connections. The strategy will be aligned with the principles of the
National Performance Review, will provide better delivery of Federal
services, and provide a means to improve the nation's waterways, ports,
and their intermodal connections to meet user needs and public
expectations for the 21st century.
The regional listening sessions will build upon information from
other Department of Transportation-led outreach activities that
identified issues of significance to the marine transportation system.
For example, in 1997 workshops addressed the impact of larger container
ships; in 1994 outreach sessions led to an action plan to improve the
dredging process in the United States; and in 1993 port visits
identified land-side intermodal access impediments.
The Secretary of the Department of Transportation will host a
national conference in the fall of 1998. That conference will address
key issues raised by the regional listening sessions and written
comments. The purpose of the national conference will be to address
these issues, develop solutions, and explore potential strategies to
implement these solutions. The conference will also develop a vision
for an improved and more cooperative approach to the delivery of
Federal services.
Objective and Issues
The objective of these regional listening sessions and the request
for comments is to receive information from the general public and user
perspective to identify concerns about the current state and future
needs of our waterways, ports, and their intermodal connections. We
need to identify the most critical issues that should be addressed to
meet the challenges likely to be faced by our marine transportation
system. We particularly need to identify those areas where the Federal
government should improve existing services or provide future
assistance in addressing these issues.
We specifically are interested in information on the following
questions for each component of the marine transportation system:
waterways, the ports, and their intermodal connections:
Currently, what elements work best in your region and why?
Currently, what are the most significant problems in your
region?
What are the obstacles to resolving these problems?
What is your vision of a marine transportation system that
will accommodate the growing and competing demands of the future?
What changes, additions, and types of assistance are
needed to achieve your vision?
Format of Regional Listening Sessions
The first day of each regional listening session will be an open
forum to receive views and opinions from the public concerning the
current state and future needs of our waterways, ports and their
intermodal connections. Persons wishing to make oral presentations
should notify the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
no later than the day before the meeting. Written material may be
submitted before, during, or after the meeting. Speakers are encouraged
to provide a written copy of their comments since time limits may be
needed to accommodate all speakers, and summary notes will be made of
oral comments.
The second day of each regional listening session will be a
structured focus group format. A representative cross section from the
region's ports, terminals, stevedores, pilots, vessel operators,
railroads, truckers, environmental community, and others will be
selected to provide expert views on the current state and future needs
of our marine transportation system.
A summary of each regional listening will be placed in the public
docket and will be available for public review and comment.
Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meetings, contact
the person under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.
Dated: February 25, 1998.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety
and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 98-5296 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-P
