[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3145-3147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1200]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[USCG-1999-4974]


Port Access Routes Study; Strait of Juan de Fuca and Adjacent 
Waters

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a study of port-access routes to 
evaluate the continued applicability of and the need for modifications 
to current vessel routing measures in and around the Strait of Juan de 
Fuca and adjacent waters, including Admiralty Inlet, Rosario Strait, 
Haro Strait, Boundary Pass, and the Strait of Georgia. The goal of the 
study is to help reduce the risk of marine casualties and increase 
vessel traffic management efficiency in the study area. The 
recommendations of the study may lead to future rulemaking action or 
appropriate international agreements. The Coast Guard asks for comments 
on the issues raised and questions listed in this document.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 20, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may mail your comments to the Docket Management 
Facility, (USCG-1999-4974), 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 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket. 
Comments, and documents as indicated in this preamble, 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 9 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.
    A copy of the 1995 Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) 
report for the Strait of Juan de Fuca (1995) is available in the public 
docket at the above addresses. You may also obtain a copy of the WAMS 
report by calling Mr. John Mikesell at 206-220-7272.
    A copy of the ``Puget Sound Additional Hazards Study,'' formally 
titled ``Scoping Risk Assessment: Protection Against Oil Spills in the 
Marine Waters of Northwest Washington State,'' is available in the 
public docket at the above addresses. You may also obtain a copy of the 
study from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port 
Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, telephone 800-553-6847, fax 703-321-
8547. Order the study as document PB97-205488 and the technical 
appendices to the study as document PB97-205470.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, contact 
Mr. John Mikesell, Chief, Plans and Programs Section, Aids to 
Navigation and Waterways Management Branch, Thirteenth Coast Guard 
District, telephone 206-220-7272, or Ms. Barbara Marx, Office of Vessel 
Traffic Management, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, telephone 202-267-
0574. For questions on viewing, or submitting material to, the docket, 
contact Dorothy Walker, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, 
telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to respond to this 
notice by submitting written data, views, or arguments. Persons 
submitting comments should include their names and addresses, identify 
this notice (USCG-1999-4974) and the specific section of this document 
to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. 
Please submit all comments and attachments in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing to the Docket Management Facility at the address under 
ADDRESSES. 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.
    The Coast Guard will hold at least one public meeting. We will 
announce the time, place, and agenda for the public meeting in a later 
notice in the Federal Register.

Definition of Terms Used in this Notice

    The following International Maritime Organization (IMO) definitions 
should help you review this notice and provide comments.
    1. Internationally recognized vessel routing system means any 
system of one or more routes or routing measures aimed at reducing the 
risk of casualties; it includes traffic separation schemes, two-way 
routes, recommended tracks, areas to be avoided, inshore traffic zones, 
roundabouts, precautionary areas, and deep-water routes.
    2. Traffic Separation Scheme or TSS means a routing measure aimed 
at the separation of opposing streams of traffic by appropriate means 
and by the establishment of traffic lanes.
    3. Two-way route means a route within defined limits inside which 
two-way traffic is established, aimed at providing safe passage of 
ships through waters where navigation is difficult or dangerous.
    4. Recommended track means a route which has been specially 
examined to ensure so far as possible that it is free of dangers and 
along which ships are advised to navigate.
    5. Area to be avoided means a routing measure comprising an area 
within defined limits in which either navigation is particularly 
hazardous or it is exceptionally important to avoid casualties and 
which should be avoided by all ships, or certain classes of ships.
    6. Inshore traffic zone means a routing measure comprising a 
designated area between the landward boundary of a traffic separation 
scheme and the adjacent coast, to be used in accordance with the 
provisions of Rule 10(d), as amended, of the International Regulations 
for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (Collision Regulations).
    7. Roundabout means a routing measure comprising a separation point 
or circular separation zone and a circular traffic lane within defined 
limits. Traffic within the roundabout is separated by moving in a 
counterclockwise direction around the separation point or zone.
    8. Precautionary area means a routing measure comprising an area 
within defined limits where ships must navigate with particular caution 
and within which the direction of traffic flow may be recommended.
    9. Deep-water route means a route within defined limits which has 
been accurately surveyed for clearance of sea bottom and submerged 
obstacles as indicated on the chart.

[[Page 3146]]

Background and Purpose

    Port Access Route Study Requirements. Under the Ports and Waterways 
Safety Act (PWSA) (33 U.S.C. 1223(c)), the Secretary of Transportation 
may designate necessary fairways and Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS's) 
to provide safe access routes for vessels proceeding to and from U.S. 
ports. The Secretary's authority to make these designations was 
delegated to the Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, in 49 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) 1.46. The designation of fairways and TSS's 
recognizes the paramount right of navigation over all other uses in the 
designated areas.
    The PWSA requires the Coast Guard to conduct a study of port-access 
routes before establishing or adjusting fairways or TSS's. Through the 
study process, we must coordinate with Federal, State, and foreign 
state agencies (as appropriate) and consider the views of maritime 
community representatives, environmental groups, and other interested 
stakeholders. A primary purpose of this coordination is, to the extent 
practicable, to reconcile the need for safe access routes with other 
reasonable waterway uses.
    Initial port access route study. An initial port access route study 
for the coasts of Oregon and Washington, including the entrance to the 
Strait of Juan de Fuca, was announced on April 16, 1979, in the Federal 
Register (44 FR 22543) and modified on January 31, 1980 (45 FR 7026). 
Results of this study were published in the Federal Register (46 FR 
59686) on December 7, 1981. For the entrance to the Strait of Juan de 
Fuca, the study recommended to continue addressing port access routes 
under a cooperative agreement between the United States and Canada.
    The United States and Canada established an ``Agreement for a 
Cooperative Vessel Traffic Management System for the Juan de Fuca 
Region'' in 1979. This agreement included a protocol to develop a TSS 
at the entrance to and within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This TSS was 
adopted by the Marine Safety Committee of the International 
Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (now called 
``International Maritime Organization'') and became effective on 
January 1, 1982. Other than minor alignment changes, no modifications 
have been made to the TSS in the study area since that date.
    Why is a new port access route study necessary? The latest 
Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) report for the Strait 
of Juan de Fuca, dated June 1995, identified potential measures to 
improve navigational safety and traffic management efficiency. In 1997, 
the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, on behalf of the 
Coast Guard, conducted a broad assessment of the probabilities and 
consequences of marine accidents in Puget Sound-area waters, including 
Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, passages around and through 
the San Juan Islands, and the offshore waters of the Olympic Coast 
National Marine Sanctuary. This assessment, formally titled ``Scoping 
Risk Assessment: Protection Against Oil Spills in the Marine Waters of 
Northwest Washington State'' but commonly called the ``Puget Sound 
Additional Hazards Study,'' recommends several vessel routing measures 
for further study, including changes to the offshore approaches to the 
Strait of Juan de Fuca. You will find a listing of some specific 
recommendations from these reports later in this document.
    Timeline, area, and process of the new port access route study. 
Based on the recommendations of the 1995 WAMS report and the Puget 
Sound Additional Hazards Study, the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, in 
close cooperation with Canadian counterparts, will conduct a port 
access route study to determine the need to modify the existing vessel 
routing measures and the effects of potential modifications in the 
study area. The study will begin immediately and be completed by August 
30, 1999.
    The study area will encompass waters in and around the Strait of 
Juan de Fuca, approximately between longitudes 126 deg.W and 
122 deg.40'W, including Admiralty Inlet, Rosario Strait, Haro Strait, 
Boundary Pass, and the Strait of Georgia. The study area includes both 
U.S. and Canadian TSS's and an area to be avoided.
    As part of the study, we will consider previous studies (i.e., the 
1995 WAMS report, the Puget Sound Additional Hazards Study, etc.), 
analyses of vessel traffic density, and agency and stakeholder 
experience in vessel traffic management, navigation, ship-handling, and 
affects of weather. We encourage you to participate in the study 
process by submitting comments in response to this notice and by 
attending public meetings.
    We will publish the results of the port access route study in the 
Federal Register. It is possible that the study may validate continued 
applicability of existing vessel routing measures and conclude that no 
changes are necessary. It is also possible that the study may recommend 
one or more changes to enhance navigational safety and vessel traffic 
management efficiency. Study recommendations may lead to future 
rulemaking or appropriate international agreements.
    Potential study topics. Based on the recommendations of the 1995 
WAMS report and the Puget Sound Additional Hazards Study, as well as 
related public comments, we plan to address the following potential 
measures in the port access route study. We welcome your feedback on 
these measures, as well as any additional measures you believe the 
study should address under the broad category of vessel routing.
     Require mandatory compliance with the International 
Maritime Organization (IMO)-approved area to be avoided associated with 
the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
     Establish in-shore traffic zones in the Strait of Juan de 
Fuca.
     Require mandatory compliance with the TSS in U.S. waters.
     Remove the dogleg in the TSS west of Port Angeles.
     Change the location of the pilot embarkation and 
debarkation station near Port Angeles.
     Modify the TSS convergence zone at the western entrance to 
the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
     Modify the precautionary area located west of Port 
Angeles.
     Straighten the TSS approach to Rosario Strait.
     Grant formal recognition to an offshore VTS zone as part 
of the Cooperative Vessel Traffic Management System (CVTMS).

Questions

    To help us conduct the port access route study, we request comments 
on the following questions, although comments on other issues addressed 
in this document are also welcome. In responding to a question, please 
explain your reasons for each answer, and follow the instructions under 
``Request for Comments'' above.
    1. What navigational hazards do vessels operating in the study area 
face? Please describe.
    2. Are there strains on the current vessel routing system 
(increasing traffic density, for example)? If so, please describe.
    3. Are modifications to existing vessel routing measures needed to 
address hazards and strains and improve traffic management efficiency 
in the study area? Why or why not? If so, what measures should the 
study of port-access routes address for potential implementation?
    4. What costs and benefits are associated with the potential 
measures

[[Page 3147]]

for study discussed in this document? What measures do you think are 
most cost-effective?
    5. What impacts, both positive and negative, would changes to 
existing routing measures or new routing measures have on the study 
area?

    Dated: January 13, 1999.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 99-1200 Filed 1-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-U