[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 174 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49041-49042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23422]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard
Maritime Administration
[USCG 1998-3553]


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

AGENCY: Coast Guard, and Maritime Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration announce the 
availability of the Report to Congress ``An Assessment of the Marine 
Transportation System''. A task force comprised of private and public 
members prepared the Report, which was mandated in the Coast Guard 
Authorization Act of 1998. The Report is available for your review and 
comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by the Docket Management Facility by 
November 8, 1999.

ADDRESSES: To make sure your comments and related material are not 
entered more than once in the docket, please submit them by only one of 
the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, (USCG 1998-3553), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By hand delivery 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.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
notice. The 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 same address between 9 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 questions on this notice, or the 
Marine Transportation System initiative, contact Ms. Margie Hegy, U.S. 
Coast Guard (G-MW), telephone 202-267-0415 or Mr. John Swank, Maritime 
Administration (MAR-240), telephone 202-366-5807. 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

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the 
Report. If you do so, please include your name and address, identify 
the docket number for this notice (USCG-1998-3553), and give the 
reasons for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by 
mail, hand delivery, fax, or electronic means to the Docket Management 
Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your 
comments and material by only one means. If you submit them by mail or 
hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ 
x  11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit 
them by mail and would like to know they reached the Facility, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will 
consider all comments and material received during the comment period.
    A copy of the Report is available for review in the docket and may 
be electronically accessed on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. To 
request a printed copy of the Report, contact Ms. Joyce Short, 
telephone 202-267-6164, or Ms. Joann Spittle, telephone 202-366-4357.

Background

    On November 13, 1998, the U.S. Congress directed, in Section 308 of 
the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998, that ``The Secretary of 
Transportation, through the Coast Guard and the Maritime 
Administration, shall, in consultation with the National Ocean Service 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Corps of 
Engineers, and other interested Federal agencies and departments, 
establish a task force to assess the adequacy of the Nation's marine 
transportation system (including ports, waterways, harbor approach 
channels, and their intermodal connections) to operate in a safe, 
efficient, secure, and environmentally sound manner.''
    The task force was to consider the capability of the MTS, the 
adequacy of the depth of channels and harbors, and the cost to the 
Federal government of accommodating projected increases in foreign and 
domestic traffic over the next 20 years. Evaluations of the Nation's 
capability to dispose of dredged materials and the future of the 
navigational aid system were additional components of this effort. This 
Report summarizes the results of the task force's assessment and 
constitutes the response to Congress.
    The Report reflects a highly collaborative effort among public 
sector agencies, private sector organizations, and other stakeholders 
in the MTS. The process began with seven regional listening sessions in 
spring 1998, hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Maritime 
Administration, and 12 other Federal agencies. The purpose of these 
sessions was to learn what users, stakeholders, and the public 
perceived to be the current state of the MTS and its future needs.
    The input received at the regional listening sessions became the 
basis for a National Conference on the Marine Transportation System 
hosted by the Secretary of Transportation in November 1998. Executives 
from industry, labor, and government participated in this conference. 
Through breakout groups and plenary sessions, the participants 
addressed two overarching issues--the development of a shared national 
vision for the MTS and public and private sector coordination of MTS 
activities. Participants also addressed specific MTS issues concerning 
safety, competitiveness, infrastructure, security, and the environment.
    After the National Conference, the Secretary established the 
Congressionally mandated MTS Task Force. The Task Force included MTS 
users and service providers, such as Federal agencies and departments, 
ports, commercial carriers, shippers, labor, recreational boaters, 
fishermen, environmental organizations, and other MTS stakeholders.
    The Report is available for your review and comment. We request 
information from the general public and system users on the strategic 
areas of action recommended and how to accomplish them. Identification 
of sub-issues and relevant data or other information that will assist 
us in developing strategies and action plans is

[[Page 49042]]

also requested. In addition, information on relevant MTS activities 
that are ongoing or planned within the public or private sector is 
requested.

Next Steps

    The Report is just another step in our process and is not intended 
to recommend absolute solutions. Comments received during the comment 
period will be considered by the Interagency Committee for the Marine 
Transportation System (ICMTS) as it begins the work to implement the 
recommendations. There is much work ahead for the public/private 
partnership that has emerged from this initiative.
James M. Loy,
Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commandant.
Clyde J. Hart, Jr.,
Maritime Administrator.
[FR Doc. 99-23422 Filed 9-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P