E7-14652. Naval Restricted Area, Manchester Fuel Depot, WA; and Naval Restricted Areas, Sinclair Inlet, WA

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 (Corps) is proposing to amend its regulations to establish a restricted area in the waters of Puget Sound adjacent to the Manchester Fuel Depot near Manchester, Kitsap County, Washington. The Corps is also proposing to amend the existing regulations that established the restricted areas in the waters of Sinclair Inlet, Puget Sound adjacent to Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington. The proposed amendments will enable the affected units of the United States military to enhance safety and security around active military establishments. The regulations are necessary to safeguard military vessels and United States government facilities from sabotage and other subversive acts, accidents, or incidents of similar nature. The regulations are also necessary to protect the public from potentially hazardous conditions that may exist as a result of military use of the area.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before August 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-2007-0019, 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-2007-0019 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-2007-0019. 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 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 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 Olson, Headquarters, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, at 202-761-4922; Ms. Michelle Walker, Regulatory Branch Chief, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, Northwest Division, at 206-764-6915; or Ms. Koko Ekendiz of the Regulatory Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, at 206-764-6878.

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 is proposing to add a new regulation at 33 CFR 334.1244 to establish a restricted area that would surround the Manchester Fuel Depot pier during times of active fueling. The restricted area would establish a no-entry zone around the fueling pier during active fueling. The U.S. Navy would alert the public by utilizing flashing lights on the pier.

Under the same authorities noted above, the Corps is also proposing to amend the restricted area regulations in 33 CFR part 334 by modifying the areas at § 334.1240. The proposed modifications to the existing restricted areas are described below. This request has been made to clarify that Washington State Ferries on established routes are exempt from the restrictions for Area 1, disestablish a portion of Area 2 by the Washington State Ferry terminal, and enlarge a portion of Area 2 near Mooring E.

In addition to the publication of these proposed rules, the Seattle District Engineer is concurrently soliciting public comment on the proposed rules by distribution of a public notice to all known interested parties.

Procedural Requirements

a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. These proposed rules were issued with respect to a military function of the United States 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 (Pub. L. 96-354, 5 U.S.C. 601) 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). The Corps expects that the addition of, and proposed modification to, the existing restricted areas would have practically no economic impact on the public, and would create no anticipated navigational hazard or interference with existing waterway traffic. Accordingly, it is certified that this proposal if adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Corps has concluded, based on the minor nature of the proposed rules, that the establishment of a new restricted area at Manchester and amendments to the restricted areas in Sinclair Inlet, if adopted, would not be a major federal action having a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required. An environmental assessment will be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments have been received and considered. After it is prepared, it may be reviewed at the District office listed at the end of the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above.

d. Unfunded Mandates Act. These proposed rules do not impose an enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, are not a Federal private sector mandate and are not subject to the requirements of Section 202 or 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-4). We have also found under Section 203 of the Act that small governments will not be significantly or 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 set out 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. Amend § 334.1240 by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:

§ 334.1240

Sinclair Inlet; naval restricted areas.

(a) Sinclair Inlet: naval restricted areas—(1) Area No. 1. All the waters of Sinclair Inlet westerly of a line drawn from the Bremerton Ferry Landing at latitude 47°33′48″ North, longitude 122°37′23″ West on the north shore of Sinclair Inlet; and latitude 47°32′52″ North, longitude 122°36′58″ West, on the south shore of Sinclair Inlet.

(2) Area No. 2. That area of Sinclair Inlet to the north and west of an area bounded by a line commencing at latitude 47°33′40″ North, longitude 122°37′32″ West (Point A); thence south to latitude 47°33′36″ North, longitude 122°37′30″ West (Point B); thence southwest to latitude 47°33′23″ North, longitude 122°37′45″ West (Point C); thence southwest to latitude 47°33′19″ North, longitude 122°38′12″ West (Point D); thence southwest to latitude 47°33′10″ North, longitude 122°38′19″ West (Point E); thence southwest to latitude 47°33′07″ North, longitude 122°38′29″ West (Point F); thence southwest to latitude 47°33′04″ North, longitude 122°39′07″ West (Point G); thence west to the north shore of Sinclair Inlet at latitude 47°33′04.11″ North, longitude 122°39′41.92″ West (Point H).

(3) The regulations—(i) Area No. 1. No vessel of more than, or equal to, 100 gross tons shall enter the area or navigate therein without permission from the enforcing agency, except Washington State Ferries on established routes.

(ii) Area No. 2. This area is for the exclusive use of the United States Navy. No person, vessel, craft, article or thing, except those under supervision of military or naval authority shall enter this area without permission from the enforcing agency.

(b) Enforcement. The regulation in this section shall be enforced by the Commander, Navy Region Northwest, and such agencies and persons as he/she shall designate.

3. Add § 334.1244 to read as follows:

§ 334.1244

Puget Sound, Manchester Fuel Depot, Manchester, Washington; Naval Restricted Area.

(a) The area. The waters of Puget Sound surrounding the Manchester Fuel Depot Point A, a point along the northern shoreline of the Manchester Fuel Depot at latitude 47°33′55″ North, longitude 122°31′55″ West; thence to latitude 47°33′37″ North, longitude 122°31′50″ West (Point B); thence to latitude 47°33′32″ North, longitude 122°32′06″ West (Point C); thence to latitude 47°33′45.9″ North, longitude 122°32′16.04″ West (Point D), a point in Puget Sound on the southern shoreline of the Manchester Fuel Depot.

(b) The regulations. No person, vessel, craft, article or thing except those under the supervision of the military or naval authority shall enter the area without the permission of the enforcing agency or his/her designees. The restriction shall apply during periods when a ship is loading and/or pier operations preclude safe entry. The restricted periods will be identified by the use of quick-flashing beacon lights, which are mounted on poles at the end of the main fuel pier on the north side of Orchard Point at the entrance of Rich Passage. Entry into the area is prohibited when the quick-flashing beacons are in a flashing mode.

(c) Enforcement. The regulation in this section shall be enforced by the Commander, Navy Region Northwest, and such agencies and persons as he/she shall designate.

Dated: July 25, 2007.

Mark Sudol,

Acting Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works.