[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 136 (Monday, July 17, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36374-36376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17491]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 165
[CGD09-95-018]
Safety Zone; Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, OH
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 36375]]
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to add a new permanent safety zone in
the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio The new safety zone near the
mouth of the river, would restrict the mooring of boats in the area
from the Conrail No. 1 railroad bridge south for six hundred feet to
the end of the parking lot adjacent Fagan's Restaurant.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 15, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Comments and supporting materials should be mailed or
delivered to Lieutenant (junior grade) Nathan Knapp, Project Officer
and Assistant Chief of the Port Operations Department, Coast Guard
Captain of the Port Cleveland, 1055 E. Ninth Street, Cleveland, Ohio,
44114. Please reference the name of the proposal and the docket number
in heading above. If you wish receipt of your mailed comment to be
acknowledge, 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 8 a.m. to 3
p.m. Monday through Friday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lieutenant (junior grade) Nathan Knapp, Project Officer and Assistant
Chief of the Port Operations Department, Coast Guard Captain of the
Port Cleveland, 1055 E. Ninth Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44114, (216) 522-
4405.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to participate in
this rulemaking by submitting comments which may consist of data, views
arguments, or proposals for amendments to the proposed regulations. The
Coast Guard does not currently plan to have a public hearing. However,
consideration will be given to holding a public hearing if it is
requested. Such a request should indicate how a public hearing would
contribute substantial information or views which cannot be received in
written form. If it appears that a public hearing would substantially
contribute to this rulemaking and there is sufficient time to publish a
notice, the Coast Guard will announce such a hearing by a later notice
in the Federal Register. The Coast Guard will consider all comments
received before the closing date indicated above, and may amend or
revoke this proposal in response to such comments.
Background and Purpose
The section of the Cuyahoga River in which these safety zones are
located is a section of river heavily used by both large commercial
vessels and small recreational traffic. Use of the river by large
commercial vessels continues to increase, rising from 770 transits in
1982, 1,264 transits in 1987, to 1,624 transits in 1994. At the same
time, businesses along the river continue to attract an increasing
number of recreational vessels. During the boating season, large
numbers of recreational vessels tend to raft together into the river
near the many entertainment establishments and restaurants, thereby
creating a hazard to themselves and to the large commercial vessels
which also use this waterway, and creating an obstruction to the use of
the river as a navigable channel. In 1987, a serious collision between
a commercial and a recreational vessel highlighted the need to
establish some rules for the protection of safe navigation in this
increasingly congested waterway. After some experimentation with
temporary safety zones and an extensive process of comment and
consultation with the public, including a public hearing and a study by
a local workgroup made up of representatives of both the commercial and
recreational interests in the local area, along with representatives of
the City of Cleveland and the State of Ohio, whose comments were
incorporated in the formal regulatory comment process, the Coast Guard
Captain of the Port in Cleveland, Ohio, established a set of ten
permanent safety zones under the standing regulation at 33 CFR 165.903.
(See the previous Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at 52 FR 45973,
December 3, 1987, and the previous Notice of Final Rule at 54 FR 9776,
March 8, 1989.) Since that time, it appears that the safety zones have
been effective in protecting the safety of navigation without causing
hardship to the local businesses along the river which serve customers
from recreational vessels. However, continuing commercial development
and use of the area has led to the same problem of recreational vessels
rafted out into the channel and obstructing navigation in a location
near the mouth of the river, around Fagan's Restaurant not previously
covered by a safety zone. Using the same process of informal
consultation with local interests and civic groups which contributed to
the consideration of the prior regulations, the local Coast Guard
Captain of the Port in Cleveland, Ohio, invited comments from a
autonomous ad hoc working group, the Cuyahoga River Task Force 1995,
which included representatives of the Flats Oxbow Association, a local
civic group representing businesses in the area. The Cuyahoga River
Task Force 1995 and the Flats Oxbow Association have also performed a
valuable service in helping to coordinate markings, signs, and
operational procedures used by the local businesses and the Coast Guard
in order to make the existing regulations work in a safe, effective,
and economical manner. The general consensus of the Cuyahoga River Task
Force 1995 is that congestion of recreational vessels experienced
around the area of Fagan's restaurant near the mouth of the river calls
for the inclusion of this area in the standing regulations as an
additional safety zone, under the same terms and conditions, including
provisions for conditional waivers of the restrictions, as the other
zones established for other businesses further up the river.
Although the recent study of the problem by the Cuyahoga River Task
Force 1995 has provided valuable information for the use of the Coast
Guard, this local group does not constitute a formal advisory committee
to the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard will independently review all
public comment on the issue, through the formal process instituted by
this notice, before deciding on a course of action. Therefore, the
Coast Guard now invites formal comment from all members of the public,
including participants in the Cuyahoga River Task Force 1995.
Drafting Information: The drafters of this regulation are,
Lieutenant (junior grade) Nathan Knapp, Project Officer and
Assistant Chief of the Port Operations Department, Coast Guard
Captain of the Port Cleveland, and, Commander Eric Reeves, Chief of
the Port & Environmental Safety Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District.
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. All of the area included in the proposed safety zones is
developed property, with hard seawalls, and commercial construction,
and does not include environmentally sensitive areas. There are other
parts of the Cuyahoga and Old Rivers which do include environmentally
sensitive areas, and which could be affected by a marine accident in
the river. However, the sole purpose and effect of this regulation is
to reduce the probability of such an accident occurring.
[[Page 36376]]
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. Safety of
navigation is a matter of long-standing and well accepted Federal
regulation. In addition, the Coast Guard has actively consulted with
city and state officers with concurrent responsibilities for safety in
this area in formulating this proposal.
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). This is a matter of local concern, with no
implications for national policy or economics.
Small Entities
The economic impact of this regulation is expected to be so minimal
that a full regulatory evaluation is unnecessary. Since the impact of
this regulation is expected to be minimal, the Coast Guard certifies
that, if adopted, it will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The new safety zone will have a
minimal effect on three local businesses, none of which have so far
entered objections to the proposal. The previous experience with the
other safety zones and the local procedures worked out by local
business for the management of the recreational vessels along their
property in cooperation with the Flats Oxbow Association and the Coast
Guard, demonstrates that the restrictions imposed for the benefit of
safety can be accommodated with minimal if any effect on the local
businesses. Also, it should be noted that a serious accident on the
waterway could have a severely adverse affect on the same businesses.
Collection of Information
This regulation will impose no collection of information
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165
Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Security measures,
Vessels, Waterways.
Proposed Regulations
In consideration of the foregoing the Coast Guard proposes to amend
part 165 of Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 165--[AMENDED]
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 Sec. 165.903, paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(10) are
redesignated as paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(11), paragraph (a)
introductory text is revised, a new paragraph (a)(1) is added to read
as follows:
Sec. 165.903 Safety Zones: Cuyahoga River and Old River, Cleveland,
Ohio.
(a) Location: The waters of the Cuyahoga River and the Old River
extending ten feet into the river at the following eleven locations,
including the adjacent shorelines, are safety zones, coordinates for
which are based on NAD 83.
(1) From the point where the shoreline intersects longitude
81 deg.42'31.5'' W, which is the southern side of the Conrail No. 1
railroad bridge, southeasterly along the shore for six hundred (600)
feet to the point where the shoreline intersects longitude
81 deg.42'24.5'' W, which is the end of the parking lot adjacent to
Fagan's Restaurant.
* * * * *
Dated: July 5, 1995.
J.J. Davin, Jr.,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port, Cleveland.
[FR Doc. 95-17491 Filed 7-14-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M