[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-18791]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 3, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 4

[CGD 94-030]
RIN 2115-AE89

 

Immediate Reporting of Casualties

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Interim rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is amending the rule that requires notice of 
marine casualties. The amended rule will clarify which marine 
casualties require immediate notice, the means of giving other notice, 
who shall give it, and to whom it shall be given, so that prompt 
corrective or investigative efforts can be initiated. The intent of 
this change is to provide a mechanism that will help prevent another 
disaster such as the derailment of a passenger train near Mobile, 
Alabama, in September, 1993.

DATES: This rule is effective on August 3, 1994. Comments must be 
received on or before November 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Executive Secretary, Marine 
Safety Council (G-LRA, 3406) [CGD 94-030], U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC 20593-0001, or may 
be delivered to Room 3406 at the above address between 8 a.m. and 3 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is (202) 267-1477.
    The Executive Secretary maintains the public docket for this 
rulemaking. Comments will become part of this docket and will be 
available for inspection or copying at Room 3406, U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
LCDR P.A. Jensen or LTJG S. M. Atkinson, Marine Investigation Division, 
Office of Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection (G-MMI-
1), (202) 267-1430, between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

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 [CGD 94-030] and the specific section of this 
interim rule to which each comment applies, and give a reason for each 
comment. Please submit two copies of all comments and attachments in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. 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 Marine Safety Council at the address 
under ``ADDRESSES.'' The request should include reasons why a hearing 
would be beneficial. It it determines that the opportunity for oral 
presentations 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 principal persons involved in drafting this document are LCDR 
P.A. Jensen and LTJG S.M. Atkinson, Project Managers, Office of Marine 
Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection, and Patrick J. Murray, 
Project Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel.

Regulatory Information

    This rule is being published as an interim rule and is being made 
effective on the date of publication. The Coast Guard has determined 
that it would be contrary to the public interest to delay publication 
of this amendment, which clarifies existing law, imposes no new 
regulatory requirement, and accomplishes no significant change in 
policy. For these good reasons, the Coast Guard finds, under 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(3) and (d)(3), that both notice and public hearing on the 
notice, before the effective date of this rule, are unnecessary and 
that this rule should be made effective less than 30 days after 
publication.

Background and Purpose

    (a) The derailment of the Amtrak Sunset Limited, a passenger train, 
on September 22, 1993, with extensive injury and loss of life, resulted 
in a study by the Coast Guard entitled Review of Marine Safety Issues 
Related to Uninspected Towing Vessels. This study, conducted jointly by 
the Office of Navigation Safety and Waterway Services (G-N) and the 
Office of Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection (G-M), 
provided the Commandant with a number of recommendations to enhance 
safety in the towing industry. (Persons may review this study at the 
office of the Marine Safety Council at the address under 
``ADDRESSES.'') One of these recommendations called for a regulatory 
project to improve procedures whereby information concerning allisions 
is reported. The Commandant concurred, and directed the Marine 
Investigation Division (G-MMI), within G-M, to initiate the project. On 
March 2, 1994, the Coast Guard announced [59 FR 10031] a public meeting 
to help guide the project.
    (b) The preliminary findings on the allision in September, 1993, of 
a tow with a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama (the AMTRAK 
accident), indicated that there is substantial potential for 
misunderstanding which incidents require immediate notice, the means of 
giving other notice, by whom, and to whom. Rulemaking is necessary to 
improve the giving of notice on allisions.
    (c) A ``town meeting'' took place on April 4, 1994, at Coast Guard 
Headquarters, 2100 Second Street SW., Washington, DC. This open 
meeting, comprised mainly of representatives from the towing industry 
and the Coast Guard, solicited and elicited detailed comments 
concerning the recommendations of the Coast Guard and Department of 
Transportation (DOT) in the study of safety of towing vessels. The 
comments helped shape both the Work Plan and the new regulatory 
language.

Discussion of Rule

    The net effect of this interim rule and of a similar one, going 
forward under docket number CGD 94-027 and concerning 33 CFR part 160, 
will be to rationalize the ``division of labor'' between that part and 
46 CFR part 4. Part 160 will comprehend all urgent matters, including 
some that part 4 might have seemed either to embrace or to neglect. 
Conspicuous among these will be many allisions with bridges, prompt 
notice of which might prevent another such catastrophe as the AMTRAK 
accident.
    This interim rule cross-refers to new 33 CFR Secs. 160.203 and 
160.215, which, respectively, redefine the term ``hazardous condition'' 
and elaborate the requirements for reporting hazardous conditions. 
Sec. 160.215 now covers many allisions with bridges and every hazardous 
condition ``caused by a vessel or its operation.''
    Like the interim rule on part 160, this interim rule on part 4 adds 
the term ``operator'' to the list of those responsible for giving 
notice. Often, a vessel is owned by one company but operated by 
another.
    Making ``operator'' explicit in both parts will clarify the 
operator's responsibility for giving notice of hazardous conditions and 
marine casualties.
    This interim rule breaks existing 46 CFR 4.05-1 into two 
paragraphs. Paragraph (a) will require specified marine casualties to 
be reported immediately after the resulting safety concerns have been 
addressed rather than ``as soon as possible.'' This quoted phrase has 
allowed for considerable personal interpretation and has been removed. 
Paragraph (b) will eliminate dual reporting when a hazardous condition 
also involves a marine casualty, by allowing the notice given under 33 
CFR 160.215 to suffice for the notice required in 46 CFR 4.05-1(b).
    New paragraph (b) of 46 CFR 4.05-10 emphasizes the filing of the 
required written notice without delay. The timely submission of the 
written notice of marine casualties not involving hazardous conditions 
will fulfill the requirement of paragraph (a) of Sec. 4.05-1. The 
substitution of written for spoken notice will lighten the burden both 
on mariners of giving, and on the Coast Guard of getting, spoken notice 
of marine casualties not involving hazardous conditions.

Regulatory Evaluation

    This interim rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
Sec. 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an assessment 
of potential costs and benefits under Sec. 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 10(e) of 
the regulatory policies and procedures of DOT is unnecessary. This 
finding rests on the determination that this interim rule clarifies an 
existing requirement and does not place any new requirement on the 
public.

Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act [5 U.S.C. 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.
    The Coast Guard has reviewed this interim rule for potential impact 
on small entities. Because this rule does not place any new requirement 
on the public, the Coast Guard has determined that it will have no 
economic impact on small entities. If you nonetheless think that your 
business or organization qualifies as a small entity and that this rule 
will have a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment 
(see ``ADDRESSES'') explaining why and to what degree this rule will 
economically affect it.

Collection of Information

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act [44 U.S.C. 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 reporting, 
recordkeeping, notification, and other, similar requirements. This rule 
will clarify the reporting of marine casualties to include 
unintentional strikes of bridges. However, when it has met the 
additional criteria found in 46 CFR 4.05-1, this type of casualty has 
always been included in the category of ``other'' casualties listed on 
the form. A CG-2692 (OMB No. 2115-0003) will still be the form used. 
Persons submitting comments on the requirements should submit their 
comments both to OMB and to the Coast Guard where indicated under 
ADDRESSES.

Federalism

    The Coast Guard has analyzed this interim rule under the principles 
and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 and has determined that 
this rule does not have sufficient implications for federalism to 
warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Environment

    The Coast Guard has considered the environmental impact of this 
interim rule and has concluded that, under Sec. 2.B.2 of Commandant 
Instruction M16475.1B, this rule is categorically excluded from further 
environmental documentation.
    This rule is an administrative matter within the meaning of sub-
Sec. 2.B.2.1 of that instruction that clearly has no environmental 
impact. (It requires the reporting of marine casualties and the 
reporting of most strikes of bridges.) A ``Determination of Categorical 
Exclusion'' is available in the docket for inspection or copying where 
indicated under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 4

    Administrative practice and procedure, Investigations, Marine 
safety, National Transportation Safety Board, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Safety, and Transportation.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 46 
CFR Part 4 as follows:

TITLE 46  [AMENDED]

PART 4--MARINE CASUALTIES AND INVESTIGATIONS

    1. The citation of authority for part 4 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 43 U.S.C. 1333; 46 U.S.C. 2103, 2306, 
6101, 6301, 6305; 50 U.S.C. 198; 49 CFR 1.46. Authority for subpart 
4.40: 49 U.S.C. 1903(a)(1)(E); 49 CFR 1.46.

    2. Section 4.05-1 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 4.05-1  Notice of marine casualty.

    (a) Immediately after the addressing of resultant safety concerns, 
the owner, agent, master, operator, or person in charge, shall notify 
the nearest Marine Safety Office, Marine Inspection Office or Coast 
Guard Group Office whenever a vessel is involved in a marine casualty 
consisting in--
    (1) An unintended grounding, or an unintended strike of (allison 
with) a bridge;
    (2) An intended grounding, or an intended strike of a bridge, that 
creates a hazard to navigation, the environment, or the safety of a 
vessel, or that meets any criterion of paragraphs (a) (3) through (7);
    (3) A loss of main propulsion, primary steering, or any associated 
component or control system that reduces the maneuverability of the 
vessel;
    (4) An occurrence materially and adversely affecting the vessel's 
seaworthiness or fitness for service or route, including but not 
limited to fire, flooding, or failure of or damage to fixed fire-
extinguishing systems, lifesaving equipment, auxiliary power-generating 
equipment, or bilge-pumping systems;
    (5) A loss of life;
    (6) An injury that requires professional medical treatment 
(treatment beyond first aid) and, if the person is engaged or employed 
on board a vessel in commercial service, that renders the individual 
unfit to perform his or her routine duties; or
    (7) An occurrence causing property-damage in excess of $25,000, 
this damage including the cost of labor and material to restore the 
property to its condition before the occurrence, but not including the 
cost of salvage, cleaning, gas-freeing, drydocking, or demurrage.
    (b) Notice given as required by 33 CFR 160.215 satisfies the 
requirement of this section if the marine casualty involves a hazardous 
condition as defined by 33 CFR 160.203.
    3. Section 4.05-10 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 4.05-10  Written report of marine casualty.

    (a) The owner, agent, master, operator, or person in charge shall, 
within five days, file a written report of any marine casualty. This 
written report is in addition to the immediate notice required by 
Sec. 4.05-1. This written report must be delivered to a Coast Guard 
Marine Safety Office or Marine Inspection Office. It must be provided 
on Form CG-2692 (Report of Marine Accident, Injury or Death), 
supplemented as necessary by appended Forms CG-2692A (Barge Addendum) 
and CG-2692B (Report of Required Chemical Drug and Alcohol Testing 
Following a Serious Marine Incident).
    (b) If filed without delay after the occurrence of the marine 
casualty, the notice required by paragraph (a) of this section suffices 
as the notice required by Sec. 4.05-1(a).

    Dated: July 15, 1994.
J.C. Card,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Marine Safety, 
Security and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 94-18791 Filed 8-2-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M