[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29774-29776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14393]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[USCG-1998-3880]


Vessel Traffic Management Measures in the Monterey Bay National 
Marine Sanctuary; Public Workshop Notice

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public workshops; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will hold four Public Workshops 
to obtain views and comments regarding the need for offshore vessel 
management in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) for 
the protection of the marine environment.

DATES: Public Workshops will be held on the following dates:

June 17, 1998, 7 p.m., Half Moon Bay, CA
June 18, 1998, 7 p.m., Oakland, CA
June 29, 1998, 7 p.m., Santa Cruz, CA
June 30, 1998, 7 p.m., Monterey, CA

Oral presentations are encouraged to promote an open forum with group 
participation, however if interested parties are unable to attend the 
workshop, written comments will be accepted and should reach the 
Eleventh Coast Guard District Aids to Navigation and Waterways 
Management Branch on or before July 14, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Public workshops will be held at the following locations:

Half Moon Bay, CA--Ted Adcock Community/Senior Center, 535 Kelly 
Avenue, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
Oakland, CA, Port of Oakland, 2nd Floor Board Room, 530 Water Street, 
Oakland, CA 94607
Monterey, CA--Doubletree Hotel at the Intersection of Del Monte Avenue 
and Alvarado Street, Monterey, CA 93940
Santa Cruz, CA--Cocoanut Grove Hotel, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, CA 
95060

    You may mail your comments to the Docket Management Facility, 
(USCG-1998-3880), U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington DC 20590-0001, or deliver them to room 
PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the same address 
between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    You may also deliver comments or other written materials for 
inclusion in the public docket to Commander (Pow), Eleventh Coast Guard 
District, Building 50-6, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA 94501; Attn: 
MBNMS Public Comment, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays. The telephone number is (510) 437-2982.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for 
these workshops. Comments and other submitted documents will become 
part of this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at 
room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the same 
address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. You may also access this docket on the Internet at 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
LTJG Kati Sylvester, Waterways Management Officer, Eleventh Coast Guard 
District, Building 50-6, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA 94501. The 
telephone number is (510) 437-2982.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Workshop

    Public Workshops to discuss the need for Vessel Traffic Management 
Measures in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary will be held in 
the following locations:
     Half Moon Bay, 7 p.m., Wednesday June 17, 1998, Ted Adcock 
Community/Senior Center, 535 Kelly Avenue, Half Moon Bay, CA.
     Oakland, 7 p.m., Thursday, June 18, 1998, Port of Oakland, 
2nd Floor Board Room, 530 Water Street, Oakland, CA.
     Santa Cruz, 7 p.m., Monday, June 29, 1998, Cocoanut Grove 
Hotel, 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, CA.
     Monterey, 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 30, 1998, Doubletree 
Hotel, intersection of Del Monte Avenue & Alvarado Street, Monterey, 
CA.
    The doors for the public workshops will open at 6:30 p.m. for 
registration. The workshops will begin at 7 p.m. with a brief 
presentation. The presentation will cover the steps leading to the 
workshops, a description of the vessel activity in and near the 
Sanctuary, an overview of the sensitive Sanctuary resources and their 
value to the coastal culture and economy, a description of a work group 
process used by the Coast Guard and NOAA to shape the analysis, and 
lastly a set of management measures believed to increase Sanctuary 
resource protection while preserving the economic viability of 
California ports. Meeting attendees will then be invited to present 
comments or direct questions to a panel of representatives from a work 
group assembled by NOAA and the Coast Guard to help frame the issues. 
We are particularly interested in comments relating to:
     Distance Off Shore--Identification of a distance off shore 
for tankers, tank barges, vessels carrying hazardous materials, and 
large commercial vessels that would provide adequate protection to the 
sensitive marine resources of the Sanctuary without imposing undue 
economic stress to the shipping industry.
     Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS)--Implementation of pre-
approved adjustments to existing TSSs, including a western rotation of 
the southern leg of the San Francisco TSS to provide a true north/north 
alignment and an eighteen miles extension on the western end of the 
Santa Barbara Channel TSS.
     Rescue--Identification of vessels of opportunity available 
to assist vessels which become disabled during coastal transit.
     Implementation Mechanisms--To include Industry Agreements 
and Recommended Routes approved by the International Maritime 
Organization (IMO).
     Reporting Systems:--Voluntary Reporting System, approved 
by the IMO, to monitor vessel transits along the California coastline 
via radio call-in points and/or Automated Information System (AIS).

[[Page 29775]]

    A detailed Information Packet concerning these issues is available 
for review and copying in the public docket at the address under 
ADDRESSES or on the internet at http://dms.dot.gov, or may be obtained 
from the Coast Guard Internet Home Page at www.uscg.mil/pacarea/pm/
graphic/mbnms.htm or by calling (408) 647-4201 in Monterey, CA or (510) 
437-2982 in Oakland, CA.

Purpose of Workshop

    In January of 1997 the USCG and NOAA submitted a Report to Congress 
on Regulating Vessel Traffic in the Monterey Bay National Marine 
Sanctuary, which was mandated by the National Marine Sanctuaries 
Program Amendments Act of 1992. In this report, the USCG and NOAA made 
a commitment to hold public workshops to help formulate a policy 
concerning the need for vessel management measures in the Sanctuary. 
These public workshops are designed to realize this goal.

Sanctuary Background

    In September of 1992 the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary 
(MBNMS) was established in recognition of its dramatic underwater 
geology and topography, its floral and fauna diversity, its abundant 
commercial fishery, and its standing as an important research site. The 
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the largest of its kind in 
the country, and includes over 5,000 square miles of water off the 
central California Coast. It spans over 350 miles of coastline from 
Cambria to Rocky Point, and extends as much as fifty-three miles 
offshore. The Sanctuary supports diverse bird species and several 
threatened and endangered marine mammals.

Formation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Vessel 
Traffic Management Work Group

    To better prepare for the public workshops, the Coast Guard and 
NOAA invited members from industry, conservation, and government groups 
to participate in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Vessel 
Management work group. Formed as a Panel under the Navigation Safety 
Advisory Committee (NAVSAC), its purpose was to frame the issues in 
such a way as to facilitate productive public workshops. The work group 
will help NOAA and the Coast Guard incorporate the views obtained from 
the public workships into a report to NAVSAC containing suggested 
strategies for increasing Sanctuary protection at reasonable cost to 
the shipping industry. NAVSAC will in turn make recommendations to the 
Coast Guard and NOAA on implementation.

Sanctuary Resources and Potential Threats

    The MBNMS is characterized by a combination of oceanic conditions 
and undersea topography that provides for a rich and highly productive 
ecosystem. Six distinct marine habitats can be described in the MBNMS: 
(1) A submarine canyon habitat (2) a near-shore sublittoral habitat (3) 
a rocky intertidal habitat (4) a sandy beach intertidal habitat (5) a 
kelp forest habitat (6) estuaries and sloughs.
    Living resources found in the MBNMS include twenty-seven different 
types of marine mammals including several endangered species, 
approximately ninety-four bird species, approximately 345 fish species 
and one of the most diverse populations of invertebrate marine fauna in 
the world. The proximity of the Monterey submarine canyon to shore 
allows scientists a unique opportunity to study the land-deep sea 
interface.

Current Vessel Traffic Management Procedures

    Shipping activity in the Sanctuary includes both U.S. and foreign 
registered vessels of the following types: Tankers, container ships, 
bulk carriers, chemical carriers, military vessels, research vessels, 
cruise ships, tugboats, registered fishing vessels and other types of 
vessels used for commercial purposes. Altogether, these total about 
4,000 vessel transits through the Sanctuary per year. There are no 
formal vessel routes along the central California coast. However, there 
are a variety of preventative measures in place to reduce the 
likelihood of marine accidents. These include an Industry Agreement 
between tankers carrying Alaskan crude oil and the State of California 
to transit at least fifty nautical miles offshore; Vessel Traffic 
Services in San Francisco and Los Angeles/Long Beach; TSS's in the 
approach to San Francisco Bay and the Santa Barbara Channel; regulatory 
initiatives relating to vessel construction, equipment, and operating 
procedures; and the Coast Guard's Prevention Through People and vessel 
inspection programs.

Vessel Traffic Work Group Processes and Evaluations

    The goal of the Vessel Traffic Management work group was to 
identify, evaluate, and prioritize strategies for vessel traffic 
management in the MBNMS. Using public comment from past studies, key 
components of vessel traffic management were categorized as Traffic 
Separation Schemes (TSS), Distance From Shore, Implementation 
Mechanisms for routing, Reporting, and Response to Disabled Vessels. 
Each potential strategy was listed under one of the above categories 
and was individually evaluated by the group in terms of its 
environmental effectiveness, socio-economic impacts, and institutional 
feasibility.
    Through the systematic evaluation process, a set of vessel routing 
and management measures emerged as increasing Sanctuary protection 
without unreasonable cost to industry. These measures are discussed 
below to help facilitate discussion at the workshops.

Distance From Shore

    One of the work group's challenges was to identify a distance off 
shore for the implementation of routing measures that would provide 
adequate protection to the sensitive marine resources of the Sanctuary 
without imposing undue economic stress to the shipping industry. The 
following recommended transit distances off shore were derived based on 
current practice and threat level:

Tankers--Fifty nautical miles
Barges--Twenty-five nautical miles
Hazmat Vessels--Twenty-five nautical miles
LCVs--Off Pigeon Point:
    Twelve decimal seven nautical miles (northbound)
    Sixteen nautical miles (southbound)
Off Point Sur:
    Fifteen nautical miles (northbound)
    Twenty nautical miles (southbound)

    A Vessel Drift Rate Analysis was used to help determine a suitable 
protection level for the Sanctuary by identifying a line along the 
central coast where a response vessel from a nearby port could arrest 
the drift of a disabled vessel prior to shore impact during a worst 
case wind event.

Implementation Mechanisms for Routing

    The minimum transit distances from shore listed above would be 
implemented by establishing IMO approved Recommended Routes for LCV's. 
The Recommended Routes would be depicted on National Oceanic Service 
nautical charts. This system would reduce risk by adding order and 
predictability to coastwise traffic flow and by virtually eliminating 
the threat of grounding by a disabled vessel. Tankers would be 
encouraged to continue their participation in Industry Agreements with 
Western States Petroleum Association. The Industry Agreements would be 
strengthened with

[[Page 29776]]

Coast Guard involvement. Tank barges would be encouraged to remain 25 
nautical miles offshore, in compliance with the Responsible Carriers 
Program, and standard developed by the American Waterway Operators.

Reporting

    An effective way to monitor vessel transits along the California 
coastline is through the use of radio call-in points at two key 
geographical points: Point Sur and Point Arguello.
    The work group also supports the implementation of the Automatic 
Identification System (AIS) for ships currently being developed by the 
IMO. AIS is an automated electronic vessel position reporting system 
that transmits a real-time positional information packet to a shore 
based station such as the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS).
    A Near-Miss Reporting system is currently under development at the 
National level and will help to identify causes of marine accidents and 
rectify problem areas before accidents occur.

Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS)

    To provide alignment with the recommended routing measures, the 
Santa Barbara Channel Traffic Separation Scheme will be extended 
approximately eighteen nautical miles to Point Arguello. The southern 
leg of the San Francisco TSS would be shifted slightly to the west to 
provide a true north-south alignment for vessels entering and departing 
the TSS. These recommended changes to the TSS have been approved by the 
International Maritime Organization (IMO) and are ready for 
implementation.

Response to Disabled Vessels

    There is a low but existing risk to the resources of the Sanctuary 
from a disabled vessel grounding on the rocky shoreline. Timely 
response from one or more appropriate vessels could make the difference 
between an environmental disaster and an insignificant event. The work 
group recommended the development of a vessel response network to 
enable a shoreside authority to identify and locate vessels willing and 
able to provide immediate emergency assistance to a disabled vessel.
    Informaiton 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: May 22, 1998.
R. C. North,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Marine, Safety and 
Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 98-14393 Filed 5-29-98; 8:45 am]
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