[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7096-7097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3461]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Parts 179, 181 and 183

[USCG-2003-14359]


Small Entities Review

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a review of certain regulations 
and invites public comment on how best to lessen the impact of these 
rules on small entities. The regulations under review address 
notification of defects in boats, manufacturer certification and 
identification requirements, and safety standards for boats and 
associated equipment.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before June 12, 2003.

ADDRESSES: To make sure that 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-2003-14359), 
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 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, 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, 400 
Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC, 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.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78) or you 
may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call Alston Colihan, Office of Boating Safety, Coast Guard, telephone 
(202) 267-0981. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material 
to the docket, call Dorothy Beard, Chief, Dockets, Department of 
Transportation, telephone (202) 366-5149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to respond to this notice. Submit comments and 
related material that tell us how 33 CFR part 179, 181, or 183 affects 
your small entity, and how you think that impact can be lessened. See 
``Background and Purpose,'' below, for more information on the small 
entities review process and the factors the Coast Guard must consider 
in conducting that review.
    Please include your name and address, identify the docket number 
for this notice (USCG-2003-14359), and give the reason 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

[[Page 7097]]

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 that 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. We may change this proposed rule in view of them.

Background and Purpose

    Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.) requires the Coast Guard and other rulemaking agencies to review 
existing rules for their economic impact on small entities. The Coast 
Guard reviews the small entities impact of its existing rules pursuant 
to a plan adopted by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and 
described in Appendix D of DOT's semiannual regulatory agenda (see 67 
FR 74799, December 9, 2002 for the latest publication of the agenda).
    Where our 610 Analysis Year shows that a rule has a ``significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities'' 
(SEIOSNOSE), we begin a 610 Review Year. During the 610 Review Year, we 
determine whether and how the SEIOSNOSE can be lessened. In making that 
determination, the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires us to consider 
the:
    [sbull] Continued need for the rule.
    [sbull] Nature of public complaints or comments received concerning 
the rule.
    [sbull] Rule's complexity.
    [sbull] Extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts 
with other Federal rules and, to the extent feasible, with State and 
local governmental rules.
    [sbull] Length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the 
degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have 
changed in the area affected by the rule.
    In the fall 2002 agenda, we concluded the 610 Analysis Year for 
several rules and determined that 33 CFR parts 179, 181, and 183 
significantly affect enough small entities to warrant a 610 Review Year 
for the three parts. Section 610 requires us to notify you that the 
Review Year is underway and to solicit your input, which we will 
consider in conducting our review.
    In the fall 2003 agenda, we will announce the results of that 
review. We may determine that no further action seems possible or 
advisable at this time, in which case we will explain the basis for 
that determination. Or, we may determine that a rulemaking project is 
needed, to delete or amend the existing rule in a way that will lessen 
its small-entity impact. We will indicate whether a rulemaking project 
will begin promptly or be scheduled at a later date.

    Dated: February 4, 2003.
Harvey E. Johnson,
Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Director of Operations Policy.
[FR Doc. 03-3461 Filed 2-11-03; 8:45 am]
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