[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33844-33845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15838]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 173

[USCG 1999-6094]
RIN 2115-AF87


Raising the Threshold of Property Damage for Reports of Accidents 
Involving Recreational Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; partial suspension of rule with request for 
comments.

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

SUMMARY: On May 1, 2001, the Coast Guard published a final rule raising 
the threshold of damage to property for reports of accidents involving 
recreational vessels when damage to vessels and other property totals 
$2,000 or more in any one accident. The rule also included a second 
provision requiring reports of collisions involving two or more vessels 
resulting exclusively in damage to property, regardless of the amount 
of such damage. After issuance of the rule, a State Boating Law 
Administrator expressed concern about the second provision. Because of 
this concern, we are suspending that provision and are inviting 
comments on the provision.

DATES: Effective date: July 2, 2001. Comments must reach the Facility 
specified in ADDRESSES on or before September 24, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Identify your comments and related material by the docket 
number for this rulemaking [USCG-1999-6094]. To make sure they do not 
enter the docket more than once, please submit them by only one of the 
following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility, 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 Internet Site for the Docket 
Management System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for this 
rulemaking. Comments and material received from the public, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
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 address listed above 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. You may obtain a copy of this partial 
suspension of final rule by calling the U.S. Coast Guard Infoline at 1-
800-368-5647, or read it on the Internet, at the Web Site for the 
Office of Boating Safety, at http://www.uscgboating.org or at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this proposed rule, 
contact Bruce Schmidt, Project Manager, Office of Boating Safety, U.S. 
Coast Guard, by telephone at 202-267-0955 or by e-mail at 
[email protected]. For questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department 
of Transportation, telephone 202-366-5149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

    The regulatory history for this rulemaking appears in the preamble 
of the final rule entitled ``Raising the Threshold of Property Damage 
for Reports of Accidents Involving Recreational Vessels'' [66 FR 21671 
(May 1, 2001)].

Reason for Partial Suspension of Effective Date

    After issuance of the final rule, a State Boating Law Administrator 
expressed concern about a provision in the rule requiring reports of 
all collisions involving two or more vessels resulting exclusively in 
damage to property, regardless of the amount of such damage.
    Currently, few States have statutory authority to require reports 
of multi-vessel accidents that result neither in personal injury nor in 
any damage to property. Further, States' legislative calendars preclude 
compliance by the published effective date, July 2, 2001. We note that 
States' legislation would be unnecessary if the provision for reporting 
collisions of two or more vessels included a threshold of $500, since 
all States do now maintain such a threshold. In response to the concern 
raised about the impacts on States' legislation, the Coast Guard has 
decided to suspend the provision in 33 CFR 173.55(a)(3), requiring a 
report whenever ``* * * a collision occurs involving two or more 
vessels, regardless of the amount of damage to property; * * *'', and 
to provide a 90-day comment period on the provision. To facilitate the 
editorial handling of this suspension, Coast Guard is designating this 
provision as paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of Sec. 173.55. The first provision 
raising the threshold of damage to $2000 is designated as paragraph 
(a)(3)(i) and remains effective July 2, 2001.

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting to 
the Facility specified in ADDRESSES comments and related material 
limited to the requirements of the provision in newly designated 33 CFR

[[Page 33845]]

173.55(a)(3)(ii). We will consider all comments received during the 
comment period and may change 33 CFR 173.55(a)(3) in response to the 
comments.

    Dated: June 19, 2001.
Kenneth T. Venuto,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Assistant Commandant for 
Operations.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 33 CFR part 173 is 
amended as follows:

PART 173--VESSEL NUMBERING AND CASUALTY AND ACCIDENT REPORTING

    1. The authority citation for part 173 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701; 46 U.S.C. 2110, 6101, 12301, 12302; 
OMB Circular A-25; 49 CFR 1.46.


Sec. 173.55  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 173.55 in paragraph (a)(3), the text reading ``Damage to 
vessels and other property totals $2000 or more or there is a complete 
loss of any vessel; or'' is designated as paragraph (a)(3)(i), and the 
remainder of the paragraph is designated as paragraph (a)(3)(ii) and 
suspended indefinitely.
[FR Doc. 01-15838 Filed 6-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-U