[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 133 (Wednesday, July 11, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 36223-36224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17108]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 164; 46 CFR Parts 25 and 27

[USCG-2000-6931]
RIN 2115-AF53


Fire-Suppression Systems and Voyage Planning for Towing Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking; Notice of meeting 
and reopening of comment period.

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

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting to let members of 
the public present oral comments on proposed rules for improving the 
safety of towing vessels. A supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking 
(SNPRM) published on November 8, 2000, would require the installation 
of fixed fire-extinguishing systems in towing vessels' engine rooms, 
and it would require owners or operators, and masters, to ensure that 
voyage plans are complete before their towing vessels commence trips 
with any barges in tow. These rules would reduce the number of 
uncontrolled fires in engine rooms, and other fire-related or 
operational mishaps on towing vessels; they would thereby save lives, 
diminish property damage, and reduce the associated threats to the 
environment and maritime commerce.

DATES: The Coast Guard will hold this public meeting on August 15, 
2001, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., except that the meeting may close early if 
all business is finished. Other comments must reach the Docket 
Management Facility on or before September 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The Coast Guard will hold this public meeting at the 
Radisson Hotel, 1001 3rd Avenue, Huntington, West Virginia. The 
telephone number is 304-525-1001.
    You may submit your comments directly to the Docket Management 
Facility. To make sure that your comments and related material are not 
entered more than once in the docket [USCG-2000-6931], please submit 
them by only one of the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By 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 Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web Site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Facility maintains the public docket for this notice. Comments, 
and documents as indicated in this notice, 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 access this docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, call 
Randall Eberly, P. E., Project Manager, Lifesaving and Fire Safety 
Division of

[[Page 36224]]

the Office of Design and Engineering Standards (G-MSE-4), Coast Guard, 
telephone 202-267-1861. For questions on viewing, or submitting 
material to the docket, call Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department 
of Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Requests for Comments

    The Coast Guard encourages you to submit comments and related 
material on the proposed rules concerning fire-suppression systems and 
voyage planning for towing vessels. If you do so, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number [USCG-2000-6931] and give 
the reasons for each comment. You may submit your comments and material 
by mail, 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 
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.

Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to seek special assistance at the meeting, contact Mr. 
Eberly at the address or phone number under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT as soon as possible.

Background Information

    The SNPRM on ``Fire-Suppression Systems and Voyage Planning for 
Towing Vessels'' [USCG-2000-6931] was published in the Federal Register 
November 8, 2000 [65 FR 66941]. It proposes the installation of fixed 
fire-extinguishing systems in the engine rooms of towing vessels, and 
it proposes that owners or operators, and masters, ensure that voyage 
planning is conducted before vessels towing barges get under way on 
trips or voyages of at least 12 hours. Towing vessels that engage only 
in assistance towing, pollution response, or fleeting duties in limited 
geographical areas would be exempt from the measures in this SNPRM. The 
SNPRM stems from the incident on January 19, 1996, when the tugboat 
SCANDIA, with the tank barge NORTH CAPE in tow, caught fire five miles 
off the coast of Rhode Island. Crewmembers could not control the fire 
and, without power, they were unable to prevent the barge carrying 4 
million gallons of oil from grounding and spilling about a quarter of 
its contents into the coastal waters. The spill led Congress to amend 
the law to permit the Secretary of Transportation--''in consultation 
with the Towing Safety Advisory Committee'' (TSAC)--to require fire-
suppression and other measures on all towing vessels. The measures 
outlined in the SNPRM would likely decrease the number and severity of 
injuries to crews, prevent damage to vessels, structures, and other 
property, and protect the environment.
    On February 8, 2001, a public meeting concerning the SNPRM was held 
in Washington, DC (as announced in the Federal Register on December 28, 
2000 [65 FR 82303]). On February 23, 2001, we announced in the Federal 
Register that we were extending the comment period for the SNPRM to May 
8, 2001 [66 FR 11241]. Several comments to the docket sought another 
public meeting, in Huntington, West Virginia. The Coast Guard agrees 
with those comments, so we are planning to hold the meeting announced 
by this notice.

Public Meeting

    The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to attend the meeting 
and present oral comments during the meeting. The meeting is open to 
members of the public. Please note that the meeting may close early if 
all business is finished. If you would like to present an oral comment 
during the meeting, please notify Mr. Eberly at the address given under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT no later than August 8, 2001. If you 
are unable to attend the meeting, you may submit comments as indicated 
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

    Dated: July 2, 2001.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Acting Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 01-17108 Filed 7-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-U