[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45719-45720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23068]



[[Page 45719]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 162

[CGD 09-97-021]
RIN 2115-AE84


Inland Waterways Navigation Regulations--Temporary Reduction in 
Speed Limits on the St. Clair River, Great Lakes

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Temporary Final Rule with Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is making a temporary reduction in the speed 
limits on the St. Clair River in order to reduce the possibility of 
wake or surge damage due to unusually high water.

DATES: This regulation becomes effective July 25, 1997, and terminates 
on December 15, 1997. Comments must be received on or before October 
28, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments and supporting materials should be mailed or 
delivered to Commander Eric Reeves, Chief, Marine Safety Analysis and 
Policy Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District, Room 2069, 1240 E. Ninth 
Street, Cleveland, Ohio, 44199-2060, emailed to [email protected], or 
telefaxed to (216) 902-6059. Please reference the name of the proposal 
and the docket number in the heading above. If you wish receipt of your 
mailed comment to be acknowledged, 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 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday except federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lieutenant Benjamin Smith, Port Operations Officer, Marine Safety 
Office Detroit, at (313) 568-9580, or Commander Eric Reeves, Chief, 
Marine Safety Analysis and Policy Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District, 
at (216) 902-6049.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553, a notice of proposed rulemaking 
was not published for this regulation and good cause exists for making 
it effective less than 30 days after Federal Register publication. 
Publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking and delay in the 
effective date would be contrary to the public interest because 
immediate action is necessary to prevent possible loss of life, injury, 
or damage to property which could result from the wakes and surges 
generated along the St. Clair River during this period of unusually 
high water. Although this regulation is being published as a final rule 
without prior notice because of the emergency created by high water, 
public comment is desirable so that the Coast Guard may consider 
appropriate amendments to the regulation during the remainder of the 
1997 navigation season. Persons wishing to comment may do so by 
submitting written comments to the office listed under ADDRESSES in 
this preamble. Commenters should include their names and addresses, 
phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses if available, identify 
the docket number for the regulations (CGD 09-97-021), and provide the 
reasons for their comments. Based on the comments received, the 
regulation may be changed.

Background and Purpose

    The St. Clair River is the connecting channel between Lake Huron 
and Lake St. Clair, and is a relatively narrow commercial channel cut 
through areas of low and sensitive shoreline. The local communities 
have long been concerned about wake or surge damage caused by both 
recreational and commercial vessels, and there have been repeated 
requests for the U.S. Coast Guard to consider reductions in the 
commercial speed limits. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted two detailed 
reviews of the speed limits in 1983 and 1995. The last review in 1995 
tentatively concluded that it was not necessary to make permanent 
reductions in the existing limit of 12 miles per hour, but that 
temporary reductions would be appropriate, especially for upbound 
vessels, during periods of unusually high water. At this time, water 
levels in Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair are approximately 18 and 24 
inches above normal, and approximately 6 inches below all-time historic 
highs. These high water levels create a situation in which damaging and 
even dangerous waves can be produced by the surges from large 
commercial vessels which are operating within the established speed 
limit of 12 miles per hour. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office 
in Detroit, which monitors navigation in this area, has received an 
unusually high number of complaints about wakes from residents along 
the river in recent months. Although high wakes are also created by 
recreational vessels not governed by these regulations operating at 
high speeds (a problem which is being addressed separately) it is clear 
that significant surges can be created by large commercial vessels 
operating at relatively low speeds in the narrow channel simply because 
of the amount of water displaced, the confines of the channel, and the 
height of the water. These surges can cause property damage by impact 
on the shoreline and even personal injury by unexpected waves washing 
over seawalls and roadways. The residents have expressed a special 
concern about the danger to children who may be caught by waves on the 
seawalls. Information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which 
monitors lake levels, indicates that these high levels are likely to 
continue throughout the remainder of the 1997 navigation season. The 
U.S. Coast Guard has consulted with other authorities and interests in 
the local maritime community, including representatives of the 
Transport Canada Marine Safety Office Sarnia, which has jurisdiction 
over the Canadian waters of the St. Clair River, the Canadian Coast 
Guard Vessel Traffic Service Sarnia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
the Lake Carriers' Association, Canadian shipping companies, U.S. and 
Canadian pilots associations, and the International Shipmasters 
Association. Based upon that consultation, the U.S. Coast Guard 
believes that there is a serious problem created by the current high 
water conditions, and that some temporary reduction in speeds for 
upbound commercial vessels in part of the river is required. The 
reduction will affect upbound vessels only, because vessel moving 
downbound with the current produce less disturbance. The reduction will 
be from 12 miles per hour to 10 miles per hour in the section from 
Harsens Island Rear Range Light to Buoy 42, a length of approximately 
11.5 statute miles from the southern end of Harsens Island to Marine 
City, in the lower half of the St. Clair River (where shorelines are 
lowest and most sensitive). The delay imposed on upbound commercial 
vessels will be approximately 12 minutes. Any delay in the movement of 
a large commercial vessel is costly, but the relative effect of this 12 
minute delay on both foreign and domestic vessels, which typically take 
days in transit between major ports in the Great Lakes, applied across 
the board to all vessels and their competitors, should have a minimal 
economic impact. This regulation was drafted in consultation with the 
Canadian authorities, and it is expected that they will make 
corresponding changes to speed limits on the Canadian side of the 
international line running along the river.

[[Page 45720]]

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.

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. As indicated by 
the permanent regulations being temporarily amended, the regulation of 
commercial vessel speed in this binational navigation channel is 
traditionally regulated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

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), and is expected to have minimal, economic 
impact for the reasons given in the ``Background and Purpose'' section 
above.

Collection of Information

    This regulation will impose no collection of information 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Authority

    This regulation is issued pursuant to 33 U.S.C. 1225 and 1231, as 
set out in the authority section for all of Part 162.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 162

    Harbors, Marine Safety, Navigation (water), Security measures, 
Vessels, Waterways.

    Regulations: In consideration of the foregoing, part 162 of title 
33, Code of Federal Regulations, is amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for part 162 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 49 CFR 1.46.

    2. Amend section 162.138 by temporarily suspending paragraph 
(a)(1)(i) from July 25 to December 15, 1997 and adding a new paragraph 
(a)(1)(iv) to read as follows:


Sec. 162.138  Connecting waters from Lake Huron to Lake Erie; speed 
rules.

    (a) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (iv) 12 statute miles per hour (10.4 knots) between Fort Gratiot 
Light and St. Clair Canal Light 2, subject to a limit of 10 statute 
miles per hour (8.7 knots) for upbound vessels between Harsens Island 
Rear Range Light to the charted position of Buoy number 42 from July 
25, 1997 to December 15, 1997 except when waived or terminated by the 
Coast Guard Captain of the Port Detroit or the Commander of the Ninth 
Coast Guard District;
* * * * *
    Dated: August 12, 1997.
J.F. McGowan,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 97-23068 Filed 8-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M