E7-17155. Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Island of Oahu, HI

AGENCY:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION:

Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend the regulations at 33 CFR 334.1380 for the existing danger zone in the vicinity of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The proposed amendment will reflect the current operational and safety procedures at the Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range and highlight a change in the hours that weapons firing may occur. These regulations are necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions which may exist as a result from use of the areas by the United States Marine Corps.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before October 1, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-2007-0027, by any of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

E-mail: [e-mail]. Include the docket number, COE-2007-0027, in the subject line of the message.

Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David B. Olson), 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.

Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot receive comments by hand delivery or courier.

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2007-0027. All comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the commenter indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or e-mail. The regulations.gov web site is an anonymous access system, which means we will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail directly to the Corps without going through www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, we may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. All documents in the docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form.

Consideration will be given to all comments received within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. David B. Olson, Headquarters, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, D.C. at 202-761-4922, or Ms. Susan A. Meyer, Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, Regulatory Branch, at 808-438-2137.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of the Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat. 892; 33 U.S.C. 3), the Corps proposes to amend the danger zone regulations at 33 CFR 334.1380 to reflect current operational and safety procedures at the Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range, Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Kaneohe Bay, Island of Oahu, Hawaii and highlight a change in the hours that weapons firing may occur. The proposed amendment will also provide more detailed times, dates, and extents of restrictions.

Procedural Requirements

a. Review under Executive Order 12866

This proposed rule is issued with respect to a military function of the Defense Department and the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.

b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

These proposed rules have been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Public Law 96-354) which requires the preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis for any regulation that will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small governments). Unless information is obtained to the contrary during the public notice comment period, the Corps expects that the economic impact of the amendment to this danger zone would have practically no impact on the public, no anticipated navigational hazard, or no interference with existing waterway traffic. This proposed rule, if adopted, will have no significant economic impact on small entities.

c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act

Due to the administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation, if adopted, will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments have been received and considered. It may be reviewed at the District office listed at the end of the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, above.

d. Unfunded Mandates Act

This proposed rule does not impose an enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, it is not a Federal private sector mandate and it is not subject to the requirements of either Section 202 or Section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Act. We have also found under Section 203 of the Act that small governments will not be significantly and uniquely affected by this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

• Danger zones
• Marine safety
• Navigation (water)
• Restricted areas
• Waterways

For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Corps proposes to amend 33 CFR part 334, as follows:

PART 334—DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for 33 CFR part 334 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33 U.S.C. 3).

2. Revise § 334.1380 to read as follows:

§ 334.1380

Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Kaneohe Bay, Island of Oahu, Hawaii—Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range; danger zone.

(a) The danger zone. The waters within a sector extending seaward a distance of 3.8 nautical miles between radial lines bearing 001° true and 129° true, respectively, from a point on Mokapu Peninsula at latitude 21° 27′ 10″ N, longitude 157° 43′ 45″ W, exclusive of the existing 500-yard wide prohibited area. The interface between the existing 500-yard prohibited area and this danger zone is defined by five points having the following coordinates:

Point A: Latitude 21° 29′ 53″ N, Longitude 157° 43′ 37″ W

Point B: Latitude 21° 30′ 39″ N, Longitude 157° 42′ 30″ W

Point C: Latitude 21° 28′ 34″ N, Longitude 157° 40′ 04″ W

Point D: Latitude 21° 28′ 10″ N, Longitude 157° 41′ 05″ W

Point E: Latitude 21° 35′ 31″ N, Longitude 157° 41′ 23″ W

(b) The regulations. (1) Weapons firing at the Ulupau Crater Weapons Training Range may occur at any time between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Specific dates and hours for weapons firing, along with information regarding onshore warning signals, will be promulgated by the U.S. Coast Guard's Local Notice to Mariners. Information on weapons firing schedules may also be obtained by calling the MCBH Range Manager, AC/S G-3 (telephone number 808-257-8816/17).

(2) Whenever live firing is in progress during daylight hours, two large red triangular warning pennants will be flown at each of two highly visible and widely separated locations on the shore at Ulupau Crater.

(3) Whenever any weapons firing is scheduled and in progress during periods of darkness, flashing red warning beacons will be displayed on the shore at Ulupau Crater.

(4) Boaters will have complete access to the danger zone whenever there is no weapons firing scheduled, which will be indicated by the absence of any warning flags, pennants, or beacons displayed ashore.

(5) The danger zone is not considered safe for boaters whenever weapons firing is in progress. Boaters shall expeditiously vacate the danger zone at best speed and by the most direct route whenever weapons firing is scheduled. Passage of vessels through the danger zone when weapons firing is in progress will be permitted, but boaters shall proceed directly through the area at best speed. Weapons firing will be suspended as long as there is a vessel in the danger zone. Whenever a boater disregards the publicized warning signals that hazardous weapons firing is scheduled, the boater will be personally requested to expeditiously vacate the danger zone by MCBH Kaneohe Bay military personnel utilizing a bull-horn from a Marine helicopter, hailing the vessel via VHF channel 16 or U.S. Navy surface craft.

(6) Observation posts will be manned whenever any weapons firing is scheduled and in progress. Visibility will be sufficient to maintain visual surveillance of the entire danger zone and for an additional distance of 5 miles in all directions whenever weapons firing is in progress.

(c) The Enforcing Agency. The foregoing regulations shall be enforced by the Commanding General, MCBH Kaneohe Bay and such agencies as he/she may designate.

Dated: August 23, 2007.

Mark F. Sudol,

Acting Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works.