[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 81 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-10170]
[Federal Register: April 28, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
33 CFR Part 165
[CGD08-94-006]
RIN 2115-AE81
Regulated Navigation Area; Mississippi River, Miles 88 to 240
Above Head of Passes
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Interim rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is extending the upper limits of the
Mississippi River regulated navigation area, which presently exists
between miles 88 and 127, Mississippi River, above Head of Passes,
Louisiana, to cover the area between river miles 88 and 240, above Head
of Passes, up to the Port of Baton Rouge. This regulation is necessary
to improve the safety of barge fleeting areas that exist on the
Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an
extremely confined navigation area with a high volume of marine
traffic. The extension of this regulated navigation area will result in
safer, standardized methods of mooring barges at and around barge
fleeting facilities along the lower Mississippi River between New
Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
DATES: This regulation becomes effective on April 28, 1994. Comments on
this regulation must be received on or before June 27, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Commander (mps), Eighth Coast
Guard District, Hale Boggs Federal Bldg., 501 Magazine St., New
Orleans, LA 70130-3396. Comments may also be hand delivered to this
address. The comments and other materials related to this regulation
will be available for inspection and copying in room 1341 at the above
address. Normal office hours are between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except holidays. Comments on collection-of-information
requirements must be mailed also to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street
NW., Washington, DC 20503, ATTN: Desk Officer, U.S. Coast Guard.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lieutenant Verne Gifford, Marine Safety Division, Eight Coast Guard
District, room 1341, Hale Boggs Federal Building, 501 Magazine Street,
New Orleans, LA 70130-3396. Phone number: (504) 589-6172.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting written data, views or arguments. Persons
submitting comments should include their names and addresses, identify
this rulemaking (CGD8-94-006) and the specific section of this rule to
which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment.
Please submit two copies of all comments and attachments in an unbound
format, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, suitable for copying. Persons
wanting acknowledgment of receipt of comments should enclose stamped,
self-addressed postcards or envelopes.
The Coast Guard will consider all comments received during the
comment period. It may change this rule in view of the comments.
The Coast Guard plans no public hearing. Persons may request a
public hearing by writing to the Commander (mps), Eighth Coast Guard
District, at the address under ADDRESSES. The request should include
the reasons why a hearing would be beneficial. If it determines that
the opportunity for oral presentation will aid this rulemaking, the
Coast Guard will hold a public hearing at a time and place announced by
a later notice in the Federal Register.
Drafting Information
The drafters of this regulation are LTJG Stephanie Spunt, project
officer for the Captain of the Port, New Orleans, Louisiana, LT Verne
Gifford, project officer, Eighth Coast Guard District Marine Safety
Division, and CDR D. G. Dickman, project attorney, Eighth Coast Guard
District Legal Office.
Regulatory Information
This rule is being published as an interim rule and is being made
effective on the date of publication. Many barge fleet breakaways have
occurred outside the currently regulated area that are a direct result
of inadequate mooring practices that are addressed by this regulation.
Current high water conditions in the amended regulated area have
exacerbated the problem. Continued high water conditions are expected
in the regulated area throughout the spring and summer months.
Immediate action is needed to limit the number and effect of barge
breakaways and to protect the environment, especially during high water
conditions. For these reasons, the Coast Guard for good cause finds,
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and (d)(3), that notice, and public procedure
on the notice, before the effective date of this rule are contrary to
the public interest and that this rule should be made effective in less
than 30 days after publication.
Background and Purpose
Recent barge fleet breakaways on the Mississippi River within the
Captain of the Port New Orleans zone show that there are a
statistically significant higher incidence of barge fleet breakaways
between miles 127 and 240 above Head of Passes, which is outside of the
current regulated navigation area. Coast Guard fleet inspectors have
found that many fleeting operations located between miles 127 and 240
do not currently conform with the mooring regulations that apply to
fleets operating within the current regulated navigation area.
Casualty investigations have indicated that a majority of the
breakaways occur as the result of a passing tow or deep draft vessel
striking the fleet. Additionally, barge fleet breakaways are also
caused by large wakes from passing deep draft vessels. Both of these
causal factors increase during high water conditions as faster currents
and increased debris result from the high water conditions. This
contributes to more collisions and to more incidents from large vessel
wakes. Most often, in these cases, barge moorings outside the current
regulated area have been determined to have been weak or inadequate to
withstand these foreseeable increased forces. High water conditions
currently exist and it is expected that higher than normal river stages
will continue to exist during the spring and summer of 1994.
Discussion of Rules
The existing regulations establish general procedural and equipment
requirements for mooring of barge fleets on the Mississippi River
between miles 88 and 127 above Head of Passes. These regulations
further outlined additional specific fleeting requirements during
periods of high water. High water is specified in the regulations as
existing when the Carrollton Gauge stands at 12 feet, or when the
Carrollton Gauge stands at 10 feet, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
forecasts the Mississippi River will rise to 12 feet and the District
Commander determines the conditions to be hazardous.
The Coast Guard has determined that extending the regulated
navigation area to include the area of the Mississippi River between
mile 88 and mile 240 above Head of Passes will improve the management
and mooring procedures for the bare fleets in this area and will reduce
the number of breakaways as well as create a safer environment for the
entire maritime community in the Captain of the Port New Orleans zone.
Regulatory Evaluation
This regulation 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 11034); 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.
Small Entities
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. section 601 et
seq.), the Coast Guard must consider the economic impact on small
entities of a rule for which a general notice of proposed rulemaking is
required. ``Small entities'' may include: (1) Small businesses and not-
for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and
are not dominant in their fields and (2) governmental jurisdictions
with populations of less than 50,000. This rule does not require a
general notice of proposed rulemaking and, therefore, is exempt from
the requirements of the Act. Although this rule is exempt, the Coast
Guard has reviewed it for potential impact on small entities.
There are approximately 33 barge fleeting operations outside of the
current regulated area that will be required to comply with the
increased mooring and supervision requirement as a result of the
expansion of the regulated area. Operators of barge fleets often share
locations and some operators have multiple locations both within and
without the current regulated area, meaning that the businesses
affected will be less than the number of fleets.
Therefore, the Coast Guard's position is 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
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. section 3501 et seq.),
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviews each rule that
contains a collection-of-information requirement to determine whether
the practical value of the information is worth the burden imposed by
its collection. Collection-of-information requirements include
recordkeeping, notification, and other, similar requirements.
This rule contains collection of information requirements in the
following section: Section 165.803(i). The following particulars apply:
DOT No.: 2115.
OMB Control No.: 2115-0092.
Administration: U.S. Coast Guard.
Title: Regulated Navigation Area; Mississippi River, Miles 88 to
240 Above Head of Passes.
Need for Information: To ensure that the operators of barge
fleeting facilities follow the proper mooring and inspection
procedures, in order to prevent barges from breaking away from a
fleeting facility and creating a hazard in a very congested area of the
Mississippi River.
Proposed Use of Information: To provide documentary evidence that
inspections are being made and to aid in the investigation of any
occurrences of barge fleet breakaways.
Frequency of Response: Barge fleeting facilities must record: the
time of commencement and termination of each inspection of barge
moorings and the name of each person who does the inspection (twice
daily); the date and time of each barge entering or leaving the
facility; and the hazardous cargoes in them.
Burden Estimate: Estimated burden is as follows:
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Currentlyapproved
Requested
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Number of recordings per day....... 9.3.............. 9.3
Estimated time per recording....... 5 minutes........ 5 minutes
Number of days per year............ 365 days......... 365 days
Average wage of inspectors......... $8 per hour...... $8 per hour
Number of fleeting facilities...... 39............... 70
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9.3 recordings per day x 365 days x 70 fleets x 5 minutes per recording
divided by 60 (minutes per hour) = 19801 hours. Annual total cost is
$158,408. (Current approved burden is 11032 hours and annual total cost
of $88,256.)
Respondents: 70 barge fleeting operators in the regulated area.
Form(s): None specified.
Average Burden Hours per Respondent: 283 hours per respondent per
year.
This rule represents an increase of 8769 total hours in
recordkeeping requirements.
The Coast Guard is submitting the increased requirements to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3504(h)
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The section
number is Sec. 165.803(i) and the current OMB control number is OMB
Control Number 2115-0092. Persons submitting comments on the
requirements should submit their comments both to OMB and to the Coast
Guard where indicated under ADDRESSES.
Federalism Assessment
This action has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and
criteria contained in Executive Order 12612, and it has been determined
that this proposed rule does not raise sufficient federalism concerns
to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
Environmental Consideration
This rule has been thoroughly reviewed by the Coast Guard, the lead
Federal agency for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). It has been determined not to have a significant effect on the
human environment or environmental conditions and to be categorically
excluded from further environmental documentation in accordance with
section 2.B.2.c. of Commandant Instruction M16475.1B.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165
Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways.
Final Regulation
In consideration of the foregoing, part 165 of title 33, Code of
Federal Regulations, is amended as follows:
PART 165--[REVISED]
1. The authority citation for Part 165 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g),
6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; 49 CFR 1.46.
2. In section 165.803, the introductory text and paragraph (m)(1)
introductory text are revised to read as follows:
Sec. 165.803 Mississippi River--regulated navigation area.
The following is a regulated navigation area--The waters of the
Mississippi River between miles 88 and 240 above Head of Passes.
* * * * *
(m) High water.
(1) This subsection applies to barges on the Mississippi River
between miles 88 and 240 above Head of Passes when:
* * * * *
Dated: April 20, 1994.
J.C. Card,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 94-10170 Filed 4-26-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M
