[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49844-49845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18471]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 66

[USCG-1998-3798]
RIN 1625-AA14


Numbering of Undocumented Barges

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is reopening the comment period on its notice 
of proposed rulemaking on numbering of undocumented barges, published 
in the Federal Register on January 11, 2001 (66 FR 2385). Reopening the 
comment period gives the public more time to submit comments and 
recommendations on the issues raised in the proposed rule. This 
rulemaking is necessary to establish a statutorily required numbering 
system for undocumented barges more than 100 gross tons

[[Page 49845]]

operating on the navigable waters of the United States.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before November 10, 2004.

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-1998-3798), 
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.
    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, 
U.S. Coast Guard.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for the 
rulemaking. Comments and material received from the public will become 
part of this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at 
room PL-401, located 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call Ms. Pat Williams, Project Manager, National Vessel Documentation 
Center, Coast Guard, telephone 304-271-2400, e-mail: 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing the docket, 
call Ms. Andrea M. Jenkins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, 
telephone 202-366-0271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this Coast Guard rulemaking by 
submitting comments and related material. If you do so, please include 
your name and address, identify the docket number for this rulemaking 
(USCG-1998-3798), indicate the specific section of the Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking to which each comment applies, 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 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 they reached the Facility, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    Your comments and materials may influence this rulemaking. We will 
consider all comments received during the comment period.

Regulatory History

    On October 18, 1994, the Coast Guard published a notice in the 
Federal Register (59 FR 52646) requesting comments on issues related to 
a numbering system for undocumented barges measuring more than 100 
gross tons. The primary issues addressed in the notice concerned who 
should administer a barge numbering system, what type of number should 
be required, and how much the numbering system would cost. The Coast 
Guard received twenty-one comments in response to the notice.
    On July 6, 1998, the Coast Guard published an Advanced Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the Federal Register (63 FR 36384), 
discussing the proposed regulation, comments received from the October 
1994 notice, and a preliminary regulatory assessment.
    On January 11, 2001, the Coast Guard published a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (66 FR 2385), discussing the 
proposed regulation, comments received from the ANPRM, and requesting 
additional comments.
    The comments received from the NPRM (see this docket on the 
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov) will be discussed in the final rule, 
along with comments received from this notice.

Background and Purpose

    Congress passed the Abandoned Barge Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-
587, Sec. Sec.  5301-05) (``the Act''). During passage of the Act, 
Congress noted that abandoned barges are often used for the illegal 
disposal of hazardous cargo, waste, and petroleum products. This 
illegal disposal can lead to actual or potential pollution incidents. 
To prevent these incidents, the Act added a new chapter 47 to title 46 
of the United States Code that prohibits abandoning barges in the 
navigable waters of the United States. The Act also amended 46 U.S.C. 
12301 to require the numbering of undocumented barges measuring more 
than 100 gross tons operating on the navigable waters of the United 
States.
    This numbering system will provide a means for identifying parties 
responsible for the now illegal abandonment of barges. More 
importantly, it will help identify those parties who may be held liable 
for the removal and proper disposal of any hazardous substances stored 
or deposited on board abandoned barges, as well as for the removal of 
the barges from the nation's waterways. This potential for liability 
would serve as a deterrent to barge abandonment.
    Taking into consideration the time since the publication of the 
NPRM, the Coast Guard is soliciting more public information before a 
final rule is published.

Public Meeting

    The Coast Guard plans no public meeting. You may request a public 
meeting by submitting a comment requesting one to the address under 
ADDRESSES. The request should include the reasons why a meeting would 
be beneficial. If the Coast Guard determines that a meeting should be 
held, we will announce the time and place in a later notice in the 
Federal Register.

    Dated: August 6, 2004.
Joseph J. Angelo,
Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security & Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 04-18471 Filed 8-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P