[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38061-38064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13066]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 167

[USCG-2005-21650]


Port Access Routes Study: In the Waters of Montauk Channel and 
Block Island Sound

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 applicability of and the need for modifications to 
current vessel routing measures in the

[[Page 38062]]

approaches to Block Island Sound, between Montauk Channel and The Race, 
and the area from the Point Judith Pilot Boarding area to The Race. 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 August 30, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2005-21650 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 Lieutenant Junior Grade Brian Jeffery, Project Officer, 
First Coast Guard District, telephone 617-223-8348, or send email to 
[email protected]; or call Lieutenant Andrea Logman, Waterways 
Management Branch Chief, Coast Guard Group/MSO Long Island Sound, 
telephone 203-468-4429, or send e-mail to [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-2005-21650), 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, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
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) publication ``Ships' Routeing'' (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 ships, or certain classes of ships.
    Deep-water route is 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 is 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 ships 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 ships in transit, which is often marked by centerline 
buoys.
    Recommended track is a route which has been specifically examined 
to ensure so far as possible that it is free of dangers and along which 
ships are advised to navigate.
    Regulated Navigation Area or RNA* is 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 ships are proceeding in opposite or nearly 
opposite directions; or from the adjacent sea area; or separating 
traffic lanes designated for particular classes of ships proceeding in 
the same direction.
    Traffic lane means an area within defined limit 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 ships 
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.

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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 the extent 
practicable, to reconcile the need for safe access routes with other 
reasonable waterway uses.
    Were there previous port access route studies? The area (known as 
Area 5a of the original PARS), which included Long Island Sound, was 
last studied in 1980, and the final results of the study were published 
in the Federal Register on October 5, 1981 (46 FR 49035). The study of 
area 5a concluded that no routing measures were necessary within the 
study area, including Long Island Sound.
    Why is a new port access route study necessary? Subsequent to an 
oil spill in Buzzards Bay in April 2003, the Coast Guard sponsored a 
Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment (PAWSA). One PAWSA recommendation 
was to establish a recommended route to help assist vessel traffic and 
provide safer transit routes for commercial vessels. In response to the 
PAWSA a domestic recommended route from Cleveland Ledge, Buzzards Bay, 
Massachusetts to The Race was developed by the Coast Guard and 
subsequently charted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) as a recommended vessel route. This recommended vessel route has 
never been submitted to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 
for approval. Our own requirements stipulate that prior to submitting 
vessel routing measures to IMO for approval, we conduct a PARS. 
Therefore, we announced in the Federal Register that we would conduct a 
PARS for 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 (68 FR 74199, December 
23, 2003). Final results of the PARS are pending and will be published 
in the Federal Register when finalized.
    In addition, the First Coast Guard District published an Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) on October 26, 2004 (69 FR 
62427) for Navigation and Waterways Management Improvements, Buzzards 
Bay, MA. The ANPRM is seeking comments on the merits of formally 
designating the recommended vessel route within Buzzards Bay, as well 
as amending a First Coast Guard District regulated navigation area to 
require tug escorts for all tank barges transiting Buzzards Bay, MA. 
The PARS and the ANPRM did not include the waters of western Block 
Island Sound extending from Montauk Channel to The Race.
    The Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) Long Island Sound was 
asked to consider implementing recommended vessel routes from Montauk 
Channel to a point south of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, then running 
westerly to The Race. These proposed routes would converge with the 
recommended vessel route from Cleveland Ledge to The Race. Vessels 
transiting to ports in Long Island Sound or transiting Long Island 
Sound on voyages to or from the Port of New York utilize one of two 
routes encompassed in this new study. The first route runs from the 
Point Judith Pilot Boarding area through Block Island Sound to The 
Race; the second includes the waters of Montauk Channel north through 
Block Island Sound to a point south of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, then 
westerly to The Race.
    The areas of study experience high traffic density and multiple 
uses. Montauk Channel is commonly used by ocean-going vessels with 
drafts less than 38 feet, large numbers of commercial fishing and 
recreational vessels, and military vessels. Heavy recreational traffic 
and commercial ferries that run from New London, Connecticut, to Block 
Island, Rhode Island, cross Block Island Sound. Significant tug and 
barge traffic carrying petroleum products and deeper draft tank vessels 
heading for ports within Long Island Sound or the Port of New York also 
utilize this route, presenting higher potential for adverse impact to 
the marine environment due to an oil spill.
    The areas of study also correspond to vessel routes utilized by 
vessels embarking a pilot. Vessels transiting Long Island Sound, 
irrespective of destination, may utilize either a New York or 
Connecticut-licensed pilot. Both the New York Board of Commissioners 
for Pilots and the Connecticut Department of Transportation have 
designated two pilot boarding areas corresponding to the routes 
utilized by vessels. Vessels entering Long Island Sound must utilize 
one of two pilot boarding areas to board or disembark a pilot: the 
Point Judith Pilot Boarding Area, located South of Point Judith, Rhode 
Island, and the Montauk Boarding area, located off of Montauk Point, 
New York.
    Long Island Sound receives approximately 750 foreign flag vessel 
arrivals per year. Of these, over 500 are tank vessels carrying 
petroleum products. In addition, there are approximately 1500 tug and 
barge transits through Long Island Sound per year, all of which utilize 
one of the two routes being examined in this study. Vessels with a 
draft less than 38 feet may utilize Montauk Channel or Block Island 
Sound en route to Long Island Sound via The Race.
    This PARS is also significant due to the potential increase in 
vessel traffic due to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vessels transiting 
the area for Long Island Sound. Broadwater Energy, Inc. recently 
notified the COTP Long Island Sound of its intent to construct a 
floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regassification 
facility within Long Island Sound. If permitted for construction, the 
facility is expected to be operational by 2010, and it is projected it 
would receive between 110 and 160 LNG vessels per year. The loaded 
draft of typical LNG vessels is between 36 and 39 feet (11 to 12 
meters). Under 33 CFR 127.009, the Coast Guard is required to conduct 
an analysis of the suitability of a waterway for LNG marine traffic. 
The results of this PARS will contribute to that suitability analysis, 
which will occur later in the LNG permitting process.
    This study is also necessary due to projected increases in vessel 
traffic and to ensure any routing measures that may be considered for 
the area from Montauk Point through Block Island to The Race are 
consistent with measures implemented from Point Judith to The Race. 
Although this study overlaps the PARS for Narragansett Bay and the 
ANPRM for Narragansett Bay, this overlap is required due to the 
potential for LNG vessel traffic through the study area.
    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 we anticipate the study will take 6 to 12 months to 
complete.
    The study area includes the approaches to Block Island Sound, 
between Montauk Channel and The

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Race, and the area from Point Judith Pilot Boarding area to The Race.
    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, vessel handling, and effects 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 continued applicability of 
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 vessel traffic management 
efficiency. Study 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--
     Maintain the current vessel routing measures;
     Establish a deep-water route;
     Establish recommended routes;
     Create precautionary area(s);
     Create one or more inshore traffic zone(s);
     Establish two-way routes;
     Establish an area to be avoided (ATBA) in shallow areas 
where the risk of grounding is present;
     Establish, disestablish, or modify anchorage grounds; and
     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.
    1. What navigational hazards do vessels operating in the study area 
face? Please describe.
    2. Are there strains on the current vessel routing system 
(increasing traffic density, for example)? 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 measures listed 
as potential study recommendations? 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?
    6. What impacts would routing measures implemented in the study 
area have on vessels transiting in waters adjacent to the study area, 
such as in Long Island Sound?

    Dated: June 23, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 05-13066 Filed 6-30-05; 8:45 am]
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