[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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Currentlyapproved                  
                                                           Requested    
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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              
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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