[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74199-74201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31623]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 246 / Tuesday, December 23, 2003 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 74199]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 167

[USCG-2003-16712]


Port Access Routes Study: In the Approaches to Narragansett Bay 
and Buzzards Bay, Cleveland Ledge to the Race, Narragansett Bay East 
Passage, and the Areas Offshore of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and 
Massachusetts

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of study; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS) 
to evaluate the continued applicability of, and the need for 
modifications to, current vessel routing measures in the approaches to 
Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay, Cleveland Ledge to the Race, 
Narragansett Bay East Passage, and the areas offshore of Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The goal of the study is to help 
reduce the risk of marine casualties and increase the efficiency of 
vessel traffic management in the study area. The recommendations of the 
study may lead to future rulemaking action or appropriate international 
agreements.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before February 23, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2003-16712 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    (4) Delivery: 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.
    (5) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
of study, call John Mauro, Project Officer, First Coast Guard District, 
telephone (617) 223-8355, email [email protected]; or George 
Detweiler, Office of Vessel Traffic Management, Coast Guard, telephone 
(202) 267-0574, e-mail [email protected]. If you have questions 
on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Andrea M. 
Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone (202) 366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this study by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, 
without change, to http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal 
information you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department 
of Transportation (DOT) to use the Docket Management Facility. Please 
see DOT's ``Privacy Act'' paragraph below.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include your 
name and address, identify the docket number for this notice of study 
(USCG-2003-16712), indicate the specific section of this document to 
which each comment applies, and give the reason for each comment. You 
may submit your comments and material by electronic means, mail, fax, 
or delivery 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 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.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time and conduct a simple search using the docket 
number. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 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.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can 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 Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 
Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

Definitions

    The following definitions are from the International Maritime 
Organization's (IMO's) ``Ships'' Routeing Guide'' (except those marked 
by an asterisk) and should help you review this notice:
    Area to be avoided or ATBA means a routing measure comprising an 
area within defined limits in which either navigation is particularly 
hazardous or it is exceptionally important to avoid casualties and 
which should be avoided by all vessels or certain classes of vessels.
    Deep-water route means a route within defined limits, which has 
been accurately surveyed for clearance of sea bottom and submerged 
obstacles as indicated on nautical charts.
    Inshore traffic zone means a routing measure comprising a 
designated area between the landward boundary of a traffic separation 
scheme and the adjacent coast, to be used in accordance with the 
provisions of Rule 10(d), as amended, of the International Regulations 
for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGS).
    Precautionary area means a routing measure comprising an area 
within defined limits where vessels must navigate with particular 
caution and within which the direction of traffic flow may be 
recommended.
    Recommended route means a route of undefined width, for the 
convenience of vessels in transit, which is often marked by centerline 
buoys.
    Recommended track means a route which has been specifically 
examined to

[[Page 74200]]

ensure so far as possible that it is free of dangers and along which 
vessels are advised to navigate.
    Regulated Navigation Area or RNA* means a water area within a 
defined boundary for which regulations for vessels navigating within 
the area have been established under 33 CFR part 165.
    Roundabout means a routing measure comprising a separation point or 
circular separation zone and a circular traffic lane within defined 
limits. Traffic within the roundabout is separated by moving in a 
counterclockwise direction around the separation point or zone.
    Separation zone or separation line means a zone or line separating 
the traffic lanes in which vessels are proceeding in opposite or nearly 
opposite directions; or separating a traffic lane from the adjacent sea 
area; or separating traffic lanes designated for particular classes of 
vessels proceeding in the same direction.
    Traffic lane means an area within defined limits in which one-way 
traffic is established. Natural obstacles, including those forming 
separation zones, may constitute a boundary.
    Traffic Separation Scheme or TSS means a routing measure aimed at 
the separation of opposing streams of traffic by appropriate means and 
by the establishment of traffic lanes.
    Two-way route means a route within defined limits inside which two-
way traffic is established, aimed at providing safe passage of vessels 
through waters where navigation is difficult or dangerous.
    Vessel routing system means any system of one or more routes or 
routing measures aimed at reducing the risk of casualties; it includes 
traffic separation schemes, two-way routes, recommended tracks, areas 
to be avoided, inshore traffic zones, roundabouts, precautionary areas, 
and deep-water routes.

Background and Purpose

    Why are port access route studies required? Under the Ports and 
Waterways Safety Act (PWSA)(33 U.S.C. 1223(c)), the Commandant of the 
Coast Guard may designate necessary fairways and traffic separation 
schemes (TSSs) to provide safe access routes for vessels proceeding to 
and from U.S. ports. The designation of fairways and TSSs recognizes 
the paramount right of navigation over all other uses in the designated 
areas.
    The PWSA requires the Coast Guard to conduct a study of port access 
routes before establishing or adjusting fairways or TSSs. Through the 
study process, we must coordinate with Federal, State, and foreign 
state agencies (as appropriate) and consider the views of maritime 
community representatives, environmental groups, and other interested 
stakeholders. A primary purpose of this coordination is to reconcile, 
to the extent practicable, the need for safe access routes with other 
reasonable uses of the waterway.
    Were there previous port access route studies? The Approaches to 
Narragansett Bay, RI, and Buzzards Bay, MA, were last studied in 1979, 
and the final results were published in the Federal Register on January 
7, 1982 (47 FR 879). The study concluded that two minor modifications 
to the existing TSS in the Approaches to Narragansett Bay, RI, and 
Buzzards Bay, MA, were needed. Both minor modifications were made and 
are in effect.
    Why is a new port access route study necessary? Vessel size, 
traffic density, and channel depths and widths have changed since the 
1979 study. Major changes on channel depth, channel width, and 
navigational aid alignment are currently underway in the Providence 
River and the port of Providence, RI. The report by the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers entitled ``Waterborne Commerce of the United States'' 
states that, from 1997 to 2001, the number of annual trips through the 
Cape Cod Canal decreased by 38 percent from 1,635 to 1,007; the number 
of trips to and from the Port of Providence, RI, decreased by 36 
percent from 1,449 to 930; the number of trips to and from the Port of 
Fall River, MA, decreased by 18 percent from 380 to 313, and the number 
of trips to and from the Port of New Bedford/Fairhaven, MA, decreased 
by 16 percent from 2,665 to 2,242. Since 1944, a Corps of Engineers 
navigation project for the Cape Cod Canal has maintained a depth of 32 
feet in the Cape Cod Canal. Maintenance dredging is currently underway 
in the Providence River, where shoaling has reduced the depths in the 
channel by as much as 10 to 12 feet in places. Dredging the navigation 
channel to a depth of 40 feet and a width of 600 feet will restore the 
channel to its full, congressionally authorized, project dimensions. 
Once the dredging is complete, vessel traffic to and from the Port of 
Providence and through the Cape Cod Canal should increase 
significantly.
    What are the timeline, study area, and process of this PARS? The 
First Coast Guard District will conduct this PARS. The study will begin 
immediately and should take 6 to 12 months to complete.
    The study area will encompass the approaches to Narragansett and 
Buzzards Bays, Cleveland Ledge to the Race, Narragansett Bay East 
Passage, and the areas offshore of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and 
Massachusetts that are used by commercial and public vessels transiting 
to and from Long Island Sound and the Cape Cod Canal.
    As part of this study, we will consider previous studies, analyses 
of vessel traffic density, and agency and stakeholder experience in 
vessel traffic management, navigation, ship handling, and affects of 
weather. We encourage you to participate in the study process by 
submitting comments in response to this notice.
    We will publish the results of the PARS in the Federal Register. It 
is possible that the study may validate existing vessel routing 
measures and conclude that no changes are necessary. It is also 
possible that the study may recommend one or more changes to enhance 
navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel traffic management. 
The recommendations may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate 
international agreements.

Possible Scope of the Recommendations

    We are attempting to determine the scope of any safety problems 
associated with vessel transits in the study area. We expect that 
information gathered during the study will identify any problems and 
appropriate solutions. The study may recommend that we--
    1. Maintain the current vessel routing measures;
    2. Establish a deep-water route;
    3. Modify the existing TSS in the Approaches to Narragansett Bay 
and Buzzards Bay;
    4. Designate a recommended route encompassing the routes typically 
used by merchant and naval vessels transiting the study area;
    5. Create one or more additional precautionary areas;
    6. Create one or more inshore traffic zones near either or both 
approaches;
    7. Establish an area to be avoided (ATBA) in shallow areas where 
the risk of grounding is present;
    8. Establish, disestablish, or modify anchorage grounds; and
    9. Establish a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) with specific vessel 
operating requirements to ensure safe navigation near shallow water.

Questions

    To help us conduct the port access route study, we request comments 
on the following questions, although comments on other issues addressed 
in this document are also welcome. In responding to a question, please 
explain your reasons for each answer and follow the instructions under 
``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' above.

[[Page 74201]]

    1. What navigational hazards do vessels operating in the study area 
face? Please describe.
    2. Are there strains on the current vessel routing system, such as 
increasing traffic density? If so, please describe.
    3. Are modifications to existing vessel routing measures needed to 
address hazards and strains and to improve traffic management 
efficiency in the study area? If so, please describe.
    4. What costs and benefits are associated with the potential study 
recommendations listed above? What measures do you think are most cost-
effective?
    5. What impacts, both positive and negative, would changes to 
existing routing measures or new routing measures have on the study 
area?

    Dated: December 16, 2003.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security & Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 03-31623 Filed 12-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P