E9-10755. Regulated Navigation Areas; Bars Along the Coasts of Oregon and Washington

AGENCY:

Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION:

Proposed rule; notice of reopening of comment period; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Coast Guard announces the reopening of the comment period to receive comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Regulated Navigation Areas; Bars Along the Coasts of Oregon and Washington” that was published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2009. As stated in the NPRM, the Coast Guard proposes to establish Regulated Navigation Areas (RNA) covering specific bars along the coasts of Oregon and Washington that will include procedures for restricting and/or closing those bars as well as additional safety requirements for recreational and small commercial vessels operating in the RNAs. The RNAs are necessary to help ensure the safety of the persons and vessels operating in those hazardous bar areas. The RNAs will do so by establishing clear procedures for restricting and/or closing the bars and mandating additional safety requirements for recreational and small commercial vessels operating in the RNAs when certain conditions exist.

DATES:

The comment period for the proposed rule published on February 12, 2009 (74 FR 7022), is reopened and will close on June 30, 2009. All comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before June 30, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit written comments identified by docket number USCG-2008-1017 using any one of the following methods:

(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

(2) Fax: [phone].

(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.

To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. Our online docket for this rulemaking is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2008-1017. For instructions on submitting comments, see the “Public Participating and Request for Comments” portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you have questions concerning the proposed rule, please call or e-mail LCDR Emily Saddler, Thirteenth Coast Guard District, Prevention Division, Inspections and Investigations Branch; telephone [phone], e-mail [e-mail]. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

We published an NPRM in the Federal Register on February 12, 2009 (74 FR 7022), entitled “Regulated Navigation Areas; Bars Along the Coasts of Oregon and Washington.” On April 13, 2009 (74 FR 16814), we published a notice of public meetings and the reopening of the comment period to April 14, 2009.

In the NPRM, we propose to establish Regulated Navigation Areas (RNA) covering specific bars along the coasts of Oregon and Washington that will include procedures for restricting and/or closing those bars as well as additional safety requirements for recreational and small commercial vessels operating in the RNAs. The RNAs are necessary to help ensure the safety of the persons and vessels operating in those hazardous bar areas. The RNAs will do so by establishing clear procedures for restricting and/or closing the bars and mandating additional safety requirements for recreational and small commercial vessels operating in the RNAs when certain conditions exist.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2008-1017), indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. We recommend that you include your name and a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact you if we have questions regarding your submission.

To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, select the Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the screen, insert “USCG-2008-1017” in the Docket ID box, press Enter, and then click on the balloon shape in the Actions column. If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 81/2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period and may change the rule based on your comments.

You may view the NPRM in our online docket, in addition to supporting documents prepared by the Coast Guard, including an “Environmental Analysis Checklist” and RNA Fact Sheets for recreational, passenger, and commercial fishing vessels, and comments submitted thus far by going to http://www.regulations.gov. Once there, select the Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the screen, insert USCG-2008-1017 in the Docket ID box, press Enter, and then click on the item in the Docket ID column. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays; or the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, Prevention Division, Inspections and Investigations Branch in Room 3506 on the 35th floor of the Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement with the Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.

We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments via one of the methods listed under ADDRESSES. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have provided.

Comments must reach the Coast Guard on or before June 30, 2009. If you submit a comment online via http://www.regulations.gov, it will be considered received by the Coast Guard when you successfully transmit the comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, it will be considered as having been received by the Coast Guard when it is received at the Docket Management Facility.

Anyone can search the electronic form of comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Dated: April 27, 2009.

J.P. Currier,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander, Thirteenth Coast Guard District.