[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23894-23895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11179]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
[USCG-1999-5484]


Predisclosure Notice Under the Freedom of Information Act for the 
Release of Vessel Response Plan Information on the Internet

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice is to inform the submitters of vessel response 
plans that certain portions of the information contained within their 
plans as submitted to the Coast Guard may be released to the general 
public via the Internet, and to give them the opportunity to comment 
on, or object to, the release of that information.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before July 6, 1999.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments and related material by only 
one of the following methods:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG-1999-5484), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By hand to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, call 
Lieutenant Commander John Caplis, Plans and Preparedness Division, 
Office of Response, Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-6922, fax 202-267-
4065, or at email address [email protected]. For questions on 
viewing, or submitting material to, the docket, call Dorothy Walker, 
Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard encourages you to submit comments and related 
material. If you do so, please include your name and address, identify 
the docket number for this notice (USCG-1999-5484), indicate the 
specific section of this document to which each comment applies, and 
give the reason for each comment. You may submit your comments and 
material by mail, hand, fax, or electronic means to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please do not 
submit the same comment or material by more than one means. If you 
submit them by mail or hand, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing. If you submit them by mail and would like to know they were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or 
envelope. We will consider all comments and material received during 
the comment period.
    We do not plan to hold a public meeting. You may request one by 
submitting a request to the Docket Management Facility at the address 
under ADDRESSES explaining why one would be beneficial. If we determine 
that a meeting is necessary, we will hold one at a time and place 
announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

    The owners and operators of tank vessels are required to submit 
vessel response plans to the Coast Guard for review and approval in 
accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and 33 CFR part 155. An 
important aspect of the planning and approval process is the submission 
and review of the preparedness arrangements made by the owner/operator 
for each Captain of the Port (COTP) zone in which their tank vessel 
operates. These arrangements include provisions for a ``qualified 
individual'', a spill management team, and contracted response 
resources. Contracted response resources include arrangements for oil 
spill removal organizations (OSROs), salvage and firefighting 
companies, and emergency lightering companies.
    As part of our review process, we maintain an electronic database 
that tracks both the status of these plans as well as many other 
important elements, such as the contracted response resources listed in 
the plan for each COTP zone where a vessel operates. We believe that it 
is important for Federal, State, and local governments, non-
governmental organizations, response organizations, and other 
interested parties within the general public to have ready access to 
this pre-spill planning information. This information is critical for 
port state officials who are responsible for monitoring activities 
within their jurisdictions, as well as entities responsible for 
planning response activities in our coastal and riverine communities.

[[Page 23895]]

    The Coast Guard has been working to make this information available 
to the public. In 1997, we developed an Internet website for 
disseminating important vessel response plan program information 
(http://www.uscg.mil/vrp). A portion of the Internet website provides 
the general public with the status of each plan's approval with respect 
to each COTP zone. We intend to expand the information available to the 
general public on this website to include other important data, such as 
identity of the contracted response resources listed for each COTP zone 
included in a plan. We intend to make the following information from 
its electronic database available to the general public via the 
Internet: (1) Owner name, (2) Operator name, (3) Point of contact 
information for owner/operator, (4) Point of contact information for 
plan preparer, (5) Date of last plan update, (6) Plan approval status, 
(7) Plan approval date, (8) Plan expiration date, (9) Plan 
identification number, (10) Vessel name, (11) Vessel identification 
number, (12) Vessel flag, (13) Vessel type, (14) Hull configuration, 
(15) Vessel length, (16) Cargo types, (17) Primary or secondary carrier 
designation, (18) Worst case discharge amount, (19) Qualified 
individuals, (20) Oil Spill Removal Organizations, (21) Other 
contracted resources, (22) Alternate compliance agreements, (23) 
Navigational restrictions, and (24) Operating environments.
    The information submitted in vessel response plans to the Coast 
Guard is covered by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), applicable 
regulations, and Executive Order 12600. Under FOIA, information must be 
disclosed unless it falls within one of the statute's listed 
exemptions. Exemption 4, which applies to information submitted to the 
Government by any private person, applies here. Exemption 4 shields 
from release confidential, commercial, or financial information if the 
release would cause substantial competitive harm to the submitter. 
Executive Order 12600 also applies and requires that before any 
executive agency releases information to which Exemption 4 would apply, 
it must give the submitter the opportunity to show that the material is 
confidential, commercial, or financial information and, if released, 
would cause substantial competitive harm to the submitter. If the 
submitter objects to the release of the information, then the agency 
weighs the submitter's arguments and makes a final determination on 
release of that information. The agency may release information if it 
does not accept the submitter's assertions of confidentiality or harm, 
but it must delay the release long enough to allow the submitter to 
obtain a court order preventing release.
    Executive Order 12600 provides that if there is a large number of 
submitters, as here, the agency may satisfy its requirements by 
publishing a notice reasonably calculated to accomplish notification. 
We have determined that publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register and in other relevant Coast Guard publications is reasonably 
calculated to accomplish notification of submitters of response plans.
    Under Executive Order 12600 and 49 CFR 7.17, we must have detailed 
justification to withhold material you believe should not be placed on 
the Internet. You should identify material from the twenty-four 
numbered items in this Notice under Background and Purpose that would 
be likely to cause substantial harm to your present or future 
competitive position if it were released to your competitors. You must 
provide to the Coast Guard, by a method listed in this Notice under 
ADDRESSES, detailed information on why release would be harmful. 
Describe specifically how the information could be used by competitors 
to your detriment. Some factors you may wish to describe to help us 
understand your position are (1) the general custom or usage of the 
information in your business, (2) the number and situation of the 
persons who have access to the information, and (3) the length of time 
the information will need to be kept confidential. All submitters of 
response plans who object to release of information from their plans 
should respond to this notice as detailed above. We will notify all 
submitters who respond to this notice of our decision to release or not 
release their information on the Internet. If a submitter of a response 
plan does not respond to this notice, we will assume there is no 
objection to the planned release of information from their plan. The 
response plan information which we decide to release will not be posted 
on the Internet until submitters who objected have been given a 
reasonable opportunity to seek judicial review of our decision.

    Dated: April 25, 1999.
R.C. North,
Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection.
[FR Doc. 99-11179 Filed 5-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P