[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45719-45720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23068]
[[Page 45719]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 162
[CGD 09-97-021]
RIN 2115-AE84
Inland Waterways Navigation Regulations--Temporary Reduction in
Speed Limits on the St. Clair River, Great Lakes
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Temporary Final Rule with Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is making a temporary reduction in the speed
limits on the St. Clair River in order to reduce the possibility of
wake or surge damage due to unusually high water.
DATES: This regulation becomes effective July 25, 1997, and terminates
on December 15, 1997. Comments must be received on or before October
28, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments and supporting materials should be mailed or
delivered to Commander Eric Reeves, Chief, Marine Safety Analysis and
Policy Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District, Room 2069, 1240 E. Ninth
Street, Cleveland, Ohio, 44199-2060, emailed to [email protected], or
telefaxed to (216) 902-6059. Please reference the name of the proposal
and the docket number in the heading above. If you wish receipt of your
mailed comment to be acknowledged, please include a stamped self-
addressed envelope or postcard for that purpose. Comments and materials
received will be available for public inspection at the above location
from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday except federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lieutenant Benjamin Smith, Port Operations Officer, Marine Safety
Office Detroit, at (313) 568-9580, or Commander Eric Reeves, Chief,
Marine Safety Analysis and Policy Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District,
at (216) 902-6049.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Notice
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553, a notice of proposed rulemaking
was not published for this regulation and good cause exists for making
it effective less than 30 days after Federal Register publication.
Publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking and delay in the
effective date would be contrary to the public interest because
immediate action is necessary to prevent possible loss of life, injury,
or damage to property which could result from the wakes and surges
generated along the St. Clair River during this period of unusually
high water. Although this regulation is being published as a final rule
without prior notice because of the emergency created by high water,
public comment is desirable so that the Coast Guard may consider
appropriate amendments to the regulation during the remainder of the
1997 navigation season. Persons wishing to comment may do so by
submitting written comments to the office listed under ADDRESSES in
this preamble. Commenters should include their names and addresses,
phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses if available, identify
the docket number for the regulations (CGD 09-97-021), and provide the
reasons for their comments. Based on the comments received, the
regulation may be changed.
Background and Purpose
The St. Clair River is the connecting channel between Lake Huron
and Lake St. Clair, and is a relatively narrow commercial channel cut
through areas of low and sensitive shoreline. The local communities
have long been concerned about wake or surge damage caused by both
recreational and commercial vessels, and there have been repeated
requests for the U.S. Coast Guard to consider reductions in the
commercial speed limits. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted two detailed
reviews of the speed limits in 1983 and 1995. The last review in 1995
tentatively concluded that it was not necessary to make permanent
reductions in the existing limit of 12 miles per hour, but that
temporary reductions would be appropriate, especially for upbound
vessels, during periods of unusually high water. At this time, water
levels in Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair are approximately 18 and 24
inches above normal, and approximately 6 inches below all-time historic
highs. These high water levels create a situation in which damaging and
even dangerous waves can be produced by the surges from large
commercial vessels which are operating within the established speed
limit of 12 miles per hour. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office
in Detroit, which monitors navigation in this area, has received an
unusually high number of complaints about wakes from residents along
the river in recent months. Although high wakes are also created by
recreational vessels not governed by these regulations operating at
high speeds (a problem which is being addressed separately) it is clear
that significant surges can be created by large commercial vessels
operating at relatively low speeds in the narrow channel simply because
of the amount of water displaced, the confines of the channel, and the
height of the water. These surges can cause property damage by impact
on the shoreline and even personal injury by unexpected waves washing
over seawalls and roadways. The residents have expressed a special
concern about the danger to children who may be caught by waves on the
seawalls. Information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which
monitors lake levels, indicates that these high levels are likely to
continue throughout the remainder of the 1997 navigation season. The
U.S. Coast Guard has consulted with other authorities and interests in
the local maritime community, including representatives of the
Transport Canada Marine Safety Office Sarnia, which has jurisdiction
over the Canadian waters of the St. Clair River, the Canadian Coast
Guard Vessel Traffic Service Sarnia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
the Lake Carriers' Association, Canadian shipping companies, U.S. and
Canadian pilots associations, and the International Shipmasters
Association. Based upon that consultation, the U.S. Coast Guard
believes that there is a serious problem created by the current high
water conditions, and that some temporary reduction in speeds for
upbound commercial vessels in part of the river is required. The
reduction will affect upbound vessels only, because vessel moving
downbound with the current produce less disturbance. The reduction will
be from 12 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour in the section from
Harsens Island Rear Range Light to Buoy 42, a length of approximately
11.5 statute miles from the southern end of Harsens Island to Marine
City, in the lower half of the St. Clair River (where shorelines are
lowest and most sensitive). The delay imposed on upbound commercial
vessels will be approximately 12 minutes. Any delay in the movement of
a large commercial vessel is costly, but the relative effect of this 12
minute delay on both foreign and domestic vessels, which typically take
days in transit between major ports in the Great Lakes, applied across
the board to all vessels and their competitors, should have a minimal
economic impact. This regulation was drafted in consultation with the
Canadian authorities, and it is expected that they will make
corresponding changes to speed limits on the Canadian side of the
international line running along the river.
[[Page 45720]]
Environment
The Coast Guard has considered the environmental impact of this
regulation and concluded that, under section 2.B.2.c of Coast Guard
Commandant Instruction M16475.1B, it is categorically excluded from
further environmental documentation, and has so certified in the docket
file.
Federalism
This action has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and
criteria contained in Executive Order 12612, and it has been determined
that this regulation does not have sufficient federalism implications
to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. As indicated by
the permanent regulations being temporarily amended, the regulation of
commercial vessel speed in this binational navigation channel is
traditionally regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Regulatory Evaluation
This regulation is considered to be nonsignificant under Executive
Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review and nonsignificant under
Department of Transportation regulatory policies and procedures (44 FR
11034 of February 26, 1979), and is expected to have minimal, economic
impact for the reasons given in the ``Background and Purpose'' section
above.
Collection of Information
This regulation will impose no collection of information
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Authority
This regulation is issued pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 1225 and 1231, as
set out in the authority section for all of Part 162.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 162
Harbors, Marine Safety, Navigation (water), Security measures,
Vessels, Waterways.
Regulations: In consideration of the foregoing, part 162 of title
33, Code of Federal Regulations, is amended as follows:
1. The authority citation for part 162 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 49 CFR 1.46.
2. Amend section 162.138 by temporarily suspending paragraph
(a)(1)(i) from July 25 to December 15, 1997 and adding a new paragraph
(a)(1)(iv) to read as follows:
Sec. 162.138 Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed
rules.
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) 12 statute miles per hour (10.4 knots) between Fort Gratiot
Light and St. Clair Canal Light 2, subject to a limit of 10 statute
miles per hour (8.7 knots) for upbound vessels between Harsens Island
Rear Range Light to the charted position of Buoy number 42 from July
25, 1997 to December 15, 1997 except when waived or terminated by the
Coast Guard Captain of the Port Detroit or the Commander of the Ninth
Coast Guard District;
* * * * *
Dated: August 12, 1997.
J.F. McGowan,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 97-23068 Filed 8-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M
