[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17156-17157]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7622]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration


Amendments to the Area To Be Avoided Off the Olympic Coast 
National Marine Sanctuary

AGENCY: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Commerce

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 
notifying the public of its intention to submit a proposal to 
International Maritime Organization (IMO) to extend the scope of the 
existing Area to be Avoided (ATBA) off the Washington Coast to include 
all vessels of 1,600 gross tons and above solely in transmit and to 
increase the size of the ATBA to reflect changes in the adjacent Strait 
of Juan de Fuca traffic separation scheme. NOAA is taking this action 
in response to information gathered during the development of the Port 
Access Routing Study for the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and Approaches 
(PARS) by the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard docket USCG 1999-4974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Galasso, Assistant Manager, 
Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, phone (360) 457-6622 ext. 26, 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An Area to be Avoided (ATBA) is defined by 
IMO as an area that all ships or certain classes of ships should avoid 
because navigation is particularly hazardous or it is exceptionally 
important to avoid casualties within the area. On December 7, 1994, the 
Maritime Safety Committee of the IMO adopted at ATBA proposed by the 
U.S. Government off the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Since 
implementation in June 1995, the United States has been monitoring 
compliance through the use of Canadian Coast Guard radar data from the 
Tofino Marine Communications and Traffic System. Compliance with the 
ATBA is estimated to be between 90-95%, due to the excellent 
cooperation by the maritime community, vigorous education and outreach 
efforts by the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary staff and the 
U.S. Coast Guard, and the sending of educational letters to those ships 
found to be in non-compliance.
    The U.S. Coast Guard has recently completed a Port Access Route 
Study to critically review all aspects of vessel movements in the area. 
As presently configured, the inbound traffic lane originating from the 
southwest may bring traffic within close proximity to Duntze and Duncan 
Rocks and the rocky shoreline of Cape Flattery. The configuration also 
presents a potential for collisions between fishing and recreational 
vessels and transiting ships. It is customary practice for smaller, 
slower traffic to transit inbound and outbound south of the designated 
Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) lanes when on coastwise voyages to and 
from the south. Thus, this traffic is navigating even closer to these 
hazards. The PARS Study recommends that the TSS at the entrance to the 
Strait of Juan de Fuca be extended approximately 10 miles further 
offshore, that the separation zone at the entrance to the Strait of 
Juan de Fuca be centered on the International Boundary, that a 
recommended route be established south of the TSS to accommodate 
existing traffic patterns, and to expand the ATBA boundaries to the 
north and west. The U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA have adopted these 
recommendations. The U.S. Coast Guard is developing proposals to the 
IMO to change the TSS and adopt recommended routes. NOAA has developed 
the proposal to amend the ATBA.
    NOAA's proposal to amend the existing ATBA off the Olympic Coast 
National Marine Sanctuary has two elements. First, it proposes to 
increase the size of the ATBA to the north and west, to accommodate the 
Coast Guard's proposed amendment of the TSS. This increased size will 
enhance maritime safety because it provides for a greater distance and 
margin of safety from the navigational hazards of Duntze and Duncan 
Rocks and Tatoosh Island. Second, NOAA proposes to expand the class of 
ships to which the ATBA applies to include commercial ships of 1,600 
gross tons and above. These ships carry substantial amounts of bunker 
fuel, which, if spilled, would have a devastating impact on the unique, 
valuable, and sensitive resources of Olympic Coast National Marine 
Sanctuary.
    The area contains economically important fishery resources, 
including a variety of baitfish, shellfish, and salmon. The resources 
in this area are also critical to the cultural activities and 
subsistence living of Native American Indian tribes. Important 
archaeological sites of these peoples are found on the shoreline and 
they are likely to be affected by an oil spill from a ship. In 
addition, the area has been designated as an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve 
and World Heritage Site and overlaps with three National Wildlife 
refuges and one National Park. With the extensive wilderness shoreline 
and natural beauty, recreation and tourism are critical and vital 
economic forces in the region.
    The coastal rocks and islands provide important breeding, nesting, 
and roosting areas for marine birds. Marbled murrelets, which use 
offshore waters for feeding, are listed by the United States as a 
threatened species and are of special concern due to their high 
vulnerability to oil spills. Common murres nest on offshore islands and 
their populations have been seriously affected by past oil spills, 
including the 1991 Tenyo Maru oil spill. Bald eagles, listed as a 
threatened species, are also important to the marine ecosystem in the 
region. Twenty-nine species of whales, dolphins, and other marine 
mammals regularly inhabit the area, including recovering populations of 
sea otters, which are the most vulnerable to oil spills. The Olympic 
Coast also contains some of the most productive kelp beds and 
intertidal areas on the U.S. West Coast.
    When viewed in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard proposal to 
amend the TSS and establish recommended tracks, the expansion of the 
ATBA is necessary for protection of natural resources from maritime 
casualty and for general maritime safety. Moving the northern border of 
the ATBA to a consistent distance south of the southernmost edge of the 
TSS will provide an improved safety buffer for those smaller, slower 
moving vessels that choose to transit south of the TSS. Continuing this 
buffer area parallel to the TSS to a point at

[[Page 17157]]

124 deg. 55.1'W will allow sufficient room for this slower moving 
traffic to transit without conflicting with the inbound traffic 
steering for the southern approach to the TSS. It also provides a 
greater margin of safety around the hazards of Duntze and Duncan Rocks, 
and Tatoosh Island, which is known for its strong tides.
    NOAA proposes to apply the ATBA to commercial ships of 1,600 gross 
tons and above because these ships carry a substantial amount of bunker 
fuel. Concerns regarding spills of bunker fuel were heightened on the 
U.S. West Coast after the 1999 incident involving the New Carissa, 
which spilled approximately 70,000 gallons of bunker fuel. Requiring 
commercial ships of 1,600 gross tons and above to transit outside the 
ATBA would move these ships farther offshore, thus increasing the time 
available to respond to a propulsion or steering casualty and 
decreasing the potential for a drift or powered grounding. If there was 
a discharge of bunker fuel, the increased distance offshore would 
diminish the impact on the shoreline and provide more time to mobilize 
a response. NOAA analyzed various ship sizes to which the ATBA should 
be made applicable. Commercial ships of 1,600 gross tons (versus those 
of only 300 gross tons) are considered large enough to be able to 
maneuver safely while avoiding the ATBA, even in most weather 
conditions. NOAA has determined there will be minimal adverse impacts 
on shipping by expanding the applicability of the ATBA to commercial 
ships of 1,600 gross tons and above. It will not affect those ships 
bound for the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the north or west. Most ships 
coming from destinations well to the south of the ATBA will, if the 
amendment to the TSS is approved, have to alter their course to enter 
the TSS and thus the expanded applicability of the ATBA will have 
limited, if any, effect.
    Ships bound to or from Grays Harbor, a tidal port that is located 
at the immediate southern end of the ATBA, will be minimally affected 
by this expanded applicability. Using 1999 data, an analysis on the 
impacts to ships transiting between Grays Harbor and the Strait of Juan 
de Fuca found that of the 107 vessels in transit, 48 are of sufficient 
size to be affected by the proposed change in applicability. Of those 
vessels, 80% transited outside the existing ATBA. With the proposed 
amendment of the TSS, the expanded ATBA applicability will add an 
approximate 10 miles in transit distance or 42 minutes in additional 
transit time.
    The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council and 
North Puget Sound Risk Management Panel have discussed the extension of 
the provisions of the ATBA to vessels not currently included. Both of 
these federal advisory bodies supported the extension of the ATBA 
applicability. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary has analyzed 
the population of vessels transiting the ATBA for the risk they pose to 
Sanctuary resources. The Sanctuary's analysis and further information 
on NOAA's proposal, including charts and reports, can be viewed at 
http://www.ocnms.nos.noaa.gov/use/atbea.html.

    Dated: March 21, 2001.
Margaret A. Davidson,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal Zone 
Management.
[FR Doc. 01-7622 Filed 3-28-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-M