[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10257-10258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-5296]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[USCG-98-3553]


Marine Transportation System: Waterways, Ports, and their 
Intermodal Connections

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration, together with 
several other federal agencies, are holding seven two-day regional 
listening sessions to receive information concerning the current state 
and future needs of the U.S. marine transportation system--the 
waterways, ports, and their intermodal connections. These listening 
sessions are a first step in developing a customer-based strategy to 
work together to ensure waterways, ports, and their intermodal 
connections meet user and public expectations for the 21st 
century. The information provided at the regional listening sessions 
will be presented at a national conference in the fall of 1998.

DATES: The meeting in New Orleans, LA will be on March 31, 1998, from 9 
a.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting in New Orleans, LA will be held at the Port of 
New Orleans, 1320 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130.
    You may mail comments to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-
1998-3553), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 400 Seventh Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or deliver them to room PL-401, located 
on the Plaza Level of the Nassif Building at the same address between 
10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. Comments will become part of this docket and will be available 
for inspection or copying at room PL-401, located on the Plaza Level of 
the Nassif Building at the above address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also 
electronically access the public docket for this notice on the Internet 
at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public docket, 
contact Carol Kelley, Coast Guard Dockets Team Leader or Paulette 
Twine, Chief, Documentary Services Division, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329; for information concerning the 
notice of meeting contact Joyce Short, U.S. Coast Guard (G-M-2), 2100 
Second St., SW, Washington, DC 20593-0001, telephone 202-267-6164.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Other Regional Listening Sessions

    This notice announces the first of seven two-day regional listening 
sessions. Other sessions are being planned for Portland, OR; Oakland, 
CA; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; New York, NY; and Charleston,SC. The 
dates and locations of these sessions will be published in a separate 
Federal Register notice.

Request for Comments

    We encourage interested persons to participate in this information-
gathering initiative by submitting written data, views, or other 
relevant documents. Persons submitting comments should include their 
names and addresses, identify this notice (USCG-1998-3553), and the 
reasons for each comment. Please submit all comments and attachments in 
an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ x 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing to the DOT Docket Management Facility at 
the address under ADDRESSES. If you want acknowledgment of receipt of 
your comments, enclose a stamped, self-addressed post card or envelope.
    Comments received, whether submitted in writing to the docket, or 
presented during the regional listening sessions, will be considered in 
preparing the agenda of a national conference in the fall 1998.

Background

    The marine transportation system includes waterways, ports, and 
their intermodal connections with highways, railways, and pipelines. 
The marine transportation system links the United States to overseas 
markets and is important to national security interests. Excluding 
Mexico and Canada, over 95% of U.S. foreign trade by tonnage is shipped 
by sea, and 14% of U.S. inter-city freight is transported by water.
    Forecasts show that U.S. foreign ocean borne trade is expected to 
more than double by the year 2020; and commuter ferries, recreational 
boating and other recreational uses of the waterway are expected to 
increase,

[[Page 10258]]

placing even greater demands on the marine transportation system.
    Many federal agencies, state and local governments, port 
authorities, and the private sector share responsibility for the marine 
transportation system. The economic, safety, and environmental 
implications of aging infrastructure, inadequate channels, and 
congested intermodal connections will become more critical as marine 
traffic volume increases.
    To meet these challenges, the Department of Transportation is 
pursuing the development of a customer-based strategy, in partnership 
with others responsible for waterways, ports, and their intermodal 
connections. The strategy will be aligned with the principles of the 
National Performance Review, will provide better delivery of Federal 
services, and provide a means to improve the nation's waterways, ports, 
and their intermodal connections to meet user needs and public 
expectations for the 21st century.
    The regional listening sessions will build upon information from 
other Department of Transportation-led outreach activities that 
identified issues of significance to the marine transportation system. 
For example, in 1997 workshops addressed the impact of larger container 
ships; in 1994 outreach sessions led to an action plan to improve the 
dredging process in the United States; and in 1993 port visits 
identified land-side intermodal access impediments.
    The Secretary of the Department of Transportation will host a 
national conference in the fall of 1998. That conference will address 
key issues raised by the regional listening sessions and written 
comments. The purpose of the national conference will be to address 
these issues, develop solutions, and explore potential strategies to 
implement these solutions. The conference will also develop a vision 
for an improved and more cooperative approach to the delivery of 
Federal services.

Objective and Issues

    The objective of these regional listening sessions and the request 
for comments is to receive information from the general public and user 
perspective to identify concerns about the current state and future 
needs of our waterways, ports, and their intermodal connections. We 
need to identify the most critical issues that should be addressed to 
meet the challenges likely to be faced by our marine transportation 
system. We particularly need to identify those areas where the Federal 
government should improve existing services or provide future 
assistance in addressing these issues.
    We specifically are interested in information on the following 
questions for each component of the marine transportation system: 
waterways, the ports, and their intermodal connections:
     Currently, what elements work best in your region and why?
     Currently, what are the most significant problems in your 
region?
     What are the obstacles to resolving these problems?
     What is your vision of a marine transportation system that 
will accommodate the growing and competing demands of the future?
     What changes, additions, and types of assistance are 
needed to achieve your vision?

Format of Regional Listening Sessions

    The first day of each regional listening session will be an open 
forum to receive views and opinions from the public concerning the 
current state and future needs of our waterways, ports and their 
intermodal connections. Persons wishing to make oral presentations 
should notify the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
no later than the day before the meeting. Written material may be 
submitted before, during, or after the meeting. Speakers are encouraged 
to provide a written copy of their comments since time limits may be 
needed to accommodate all speakers, and summary notes will be made of 
oral comments.
    The second day of each regional listening session will be a 
structured focus group format. A representative cross section from the 
region's ports, terminals, stevedores, pilots, vessel operators, 
railroads, truckers, environmental community, and others will be 
selected to provide expert views on the current state and future needs 
of our marine transportation system.
    A summary of each regional listening will be placed in the public 
docket and will be available for public review and comment.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meetings, contact 
the person under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.

    Dated: February 25, 1998.
R.C. North,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety 
and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 98-5296 Filed 2-27-98; 8:45 am]
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