[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 192 (Friday, October 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57479-57480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-25188]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2001-10486]
RIN 1625-AA32


Standards for Living Organisms in Ship's Ballast Water Discharged 
in U.S. Waters

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: Under the direction of the National Invasive Species Act, and 
the National Environmental Policy Act, the Coast Guard seeks 
consultation with all interested and affected stakeholders to discuss 
issues to be addressed in the programmatic environmental impact 
statement for the development of ballast water discharge standards as 
stated in the September 26, 2003, Federal Register (68 FR 55559). To 
accomplish this, the Coast Guard will hold five regional public scoping 
meetings in order to expand the opportunity for public input. We seek 
comments from any interested or affected stakeholders and encourage all 
stakeholders to attend these meetings.

DATES: The public scoping meetings will be held on the following dates 
in the cities listed:
    [sbull] New Orleans, LA, October 27, 2003, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
    [sbull] Oakland, CA, October 29, 2003, from, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
    [sbull] Cleveland, OH, October 31, 2003, from, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. 
and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.;
    [sbull] Norfolk, VA, November 3, 2003, from, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and
    [sbull] Washington DC, November 7, 2003, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

[[Page 57480]]


ADDRESSES: The Coast Guard will hold the public scoping meetings at the 
following locations:
    [sbull] New Orleans, LA--New Orleans Marriott, 555 Canal Street, 
New Orleans, LA 70130, 1-504-581-1000;
    [sbull] Oakland, CA--Elihu Harris Building, 1515 Clay Street, 
Oakland, CA 94612, 1-510-622-2398;
    [sbull] Cleveland, OH--Holiday Inn Select, 1111 Lakeside Avenue, 
Cleveland, OH 44114, 1-216-241-5100;
    [sbull] Norfolk, VA--Marriott Norfolk Waterside, 235 E. Main 
Street, Norfolk, VA 23510, 1-757-627-4200; and
    [sbull] Washington, DC--EPA East Building, Room 1153, 1201 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20590, 1-202-566-1200.
    You may also submit your comments on this scoping effort directly 
to the Docket Management Facility. To ensure that your comments and 
related material are not entered more than once in the docket [USCG-
2001-10486], please submit them by only one of the following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility (USCG-2003-14273), 
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.
    (5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    You must also mail comments on collection of information to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, ATTN: Desk Officer, 
United States Coast Guard. In choosing among these means, please give 
due regard to the recent difficulties and delays associated with 
delivery of mail through the U.S. Postal Service to Coast Guard 
Headquarters.
    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 
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; 
Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have any questions about the 
project or the meetings, contact Mr. Bivan R. Patnaik, U.S. Coast Guard 
at (202) 267-1744 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    The Coast Guard encourages you to submit comments and related 
material on the development of the programmatic environmental impact 
statement. If you do so, please include your name and address, identify 
the docket number [USCG-2001-10486], and provide 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. Public comments will also be accepted at these 
public scoping meetings.

Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities

    If you plan to attend these meetings and require special 
assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable 
accommodations, contact us as indicated in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

Public Scoping Meetings

    The Coast Guard encourages interested and affected stakeholders to 
attend the meetings and present oral comment or written comments during 
the meetings. The meetings are open to members of the public. Please 
note that the meetings may close early if all business is finished. If 
you are unable to attend the meetings, we encourage you to submit 
comments to the Docket Management Facility as indicated under Addresses 
by December 26, 2003.

Background and Purpose

    On September 26, 2003, the Coast Guard published a notice of intent 
with request for comments in the Federal Register (68 FR 55559) to 
develop a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) in 
preparation of a proposed rulemaking to establish standards for ballast 
water discharges. As part of the scoping process summarized in that 
notice, and authorized by 40 CFR 1508.22(b)(4), the Coast Guard will 
hold public meetings at the times and locations noted above under DATES 
and ADDRESSES. You may consult the notice of intent for further 
information about the proposed rule for establishing standards for 
ballast water discharges. Please note that information regarding the 
PEIS can also be found at the following Web sites: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mso/mso4/ans.html; and http://www.epa.gov/owow/invasive_species/.

    Dated: September 30, 2003.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security & Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 03-25188 Filed 10-2-03; 8:45 am]
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