[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 197 (Wednesday, October 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60493-60494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26078]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

[USCG-1998-3553]


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

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of summaries from 
the seven Regional Dialog Sessions sponsored by the Interagency 
Committee for Marine Transportation System. These summaries report on 
progress in addressing the Marine Transportation System Report 
recommendations and coordinating Marine Transportation System issues at 
the regional level.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before November 30, 2000.

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. Comments and material received from the public 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 find this docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, or the 
RDS's, call LCDR Greg Case, Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-0386. For 
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Dorothy 
Beard, 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 
Regional Dialog Sessions or the Marine Transportation System. 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\ by 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.

Background

    The Marine Transportation System (MTS) includes waterways, ports, 
and their intermodal connections with highways, railways, and 
pipelines. The MTS links the United States to overseas markets and is 
important to national security interests. Excluding Mexico and Canada, 
over 95% of the U.S. foreign trade by tonnage are 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, placing 
even greater demands on the marine transportation system. In turn, an 
expanding marine transportation system will pose greater challenges for

[[Page 60494]]

protecting and enhancing the environment
    Many federal agencies, state and local governments, port 
authorities, and the private sector share responsibility for the marine 
transportation system. Recognizing that the economic, safety, and 
environmental implications of aging infrastructure, inadequate 
channels, and congested intermodal connections will become more 
critical as marine traffic volume increases, the Secretary of 
Transportation began a multi-agency MTS initiative in March 1998.
    The MTS initiative began in the spring of 1998 with seven Regional 
Listening Sessions to gather stakeholder input on the current state and 
future needs of the MTS. The input received at the listening sessions 
became the basis for a National MTS Conference in November of 1998. 
After the conference, the Secretary established the Congressionally 
mandated MTS Task Force to conduct an assessment of the U.S. Marine 
Transportation System. The September 1999 MTS Task Force Report to 
Congress, An Assessment of the Marine Transportation System, 
recommended action in seven strategic areas. Regional coordination and 
implementation of the recommendations contained in Chapter 6 of the 
Report to Congress was the focus of the Regional Dialog Sessions. The 
docket (USCG-1998-3553) contains the MTS Report to Congress, summaries 
of the Regional Listening Sessions, the Proceedings of the National MTS 
Conference, and the Regional Dialog Sessions Summaries. You may access 
it electronically on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

Next Steps

    Comments received during the comment period will be considered by 
an Interagency Committee for the Marine Transportation System and 
Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council to assess the 
adequacy of the marine transportation system. They will continue 
examining the critical marine transportation issues, and recommending 
strategies and plans of action to ensure safety, advance national 
interest, including economic competitiveness and national security in 
the marine transportation arena.

    Dated: October 4, 2000.
J.P. High,
Director of Waterways Management.
[FR Doc. 00-26078 Filed 10-10-00; 8:45 am]
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