[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 12 (Friday, January 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2536-2537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-680]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2006-26136]


Potential Revision of Mandatory Ballast Water Management 
Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard requests public comments on its current 
ballast water management reporting and recordkeeping requirements. To 
provide additional opportunities for public comment, public meetings 
will be held in Chicago, IL and in New Orleans, LA. All stakeholders 
and interested parties are encouraged to submit comments to the docket 
and to attend one of the scheduled meetings.

DATES: The public meetings will be held on the following dates:
     Chicago, IL, March 13, 2007 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
     New Orleans, LA, March 15, 2007 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
    Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before March 16, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The Coast Guard will hold the public meetings at the 
following addresses:
     Chicago, IL, Radisson Chicago Hotel and Suites,160 East 
Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, 312-787-2900, www.radisson.com/chicago.
     New Orleans, LA, Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal Street, New 
Orleans, LA 70130, 504-532-3341, www.hotelmonteleone.com.
    You may also submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2006-26136 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
contact LT Heather St. Pierre, Project Manager, Environmental Standards 
Division, Coast Guard, via telephone at 202-372-1432 or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Request for Comments

    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 (USCG-
2006-26136) and give the reason for each comment. You may submit your 
comments by electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket 
Management Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit 
your comments 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 received during the comment period.
    Viewing comments and documents: To view comments, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time, click on ``Simple Search,'' enter the last 
five digits of the docket number for this notice, and click on 
``Search.'' 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.

Public Meetings

    The Coast Guard encourages interested and affected stakeholders to 
attend one of the scheduled public meetings and provide oral or written 
comments. These meetings will be open to the public. Please note that 
the public meeting may close early if all business is finished. Oral or 
written comments received at the public meeting will be entered into 
the Docket. If you are unable to attend, you may submit comments to the 
Docket Management Facility at the address listed under ADDRESSES by 
March 16, 2007.
    For the public meeting in Chicago, the Radisson Hotel and Suites 
Chicago is holding a limited number of rooms for the meeting. To 
receive the group rate of $138.00 plus tax per night, reservations must 
be made directly with the Radisson Hotel and Suites Chicago by calling 
312-787-2900 no later than February 16, 2007. Please mention the `Coast 
Guard Meeting' to receive the block rate. After this date, rooms will 
be available at the standard rate on a space available basis only.
    For the public meeting in New Orleans, the Hotel Monteleone is 
holding a limited number of rooms for the meeting. To receive the group 
rate of $148.00 plus tax per night, reservations must be made directly 
with the Hotel Monteleone by calling 504-523-3341 no later than 
February 16, 2007. Please mention the `Coast Guard Meeting' to receive 
the block rate. After this date, rooms will be available at the 
standard rate on a space available basis only.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    If you plan to attend one of the public meetings and require 
special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other 
reasonable accommodations,

[[Page 2537]]

please contact us as indicated in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Background and Purpose

    In accordance with the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention 
and Control Act of 1990 (as reauthorized and amended by the National 
Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA)), the Coast Guard promulgated 
ballast water management (BWM) regulations in 33 CFR part 151, subparts 
C and D. As part of NISA, Congress authorized the Coast Guard to 
require BWM reporting and recordkeeping so that we can monitor 
discharge trends and practices as well as monitor compliance with BWM 
regulations.
    Subpart C of 33 CFR part 151 applies to vessels carrying ballast 
water after operating outside of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 
that enter the Snell Lock at Massena, New York, or vessels that 
navigate north of the George Washington Bridge on the Hudson River. In 
accordance with 33 CFR 151.1516 and 151.2041(b)(1)-(2), vessels 
entering the Great Lakes or Hudson River, north of the George 
Washington Bridge, must submit BWM reports at least 24 hours prior to 
arrival.
    The regulations in subpart D apply to all vessels, foreign and 
domestic, equipped with ballast tanks that operate in U.S. waters and 
are bound for U.S. ports or places. 33 CFR 151.2041 contains specific 
BWM reporting requirements. To accompany these regulations, we also 
published Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 07-04, 
change 1 entitled ``Ballast Water Management for the Control of Aquatic 
Nuisance Species in the Waters of the United States.'' NVIC 07-04, CH-1 
also provides additional guidance on the equivalent reporting program 
for vessels operating exclusively within the EEZ (as established in 33 
CFR 151.2043), allowing approved vessels to submit reports on a monthly 
basis, as opposed to the standard schedule required by 33 CFR 151.2041.
    These BWM reporting requirements are currently being reviewed for 
potential revisions. In this review process, the Coast Guard is 
interested in receiving comments on current reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements contained in the mandatory BWM regulations in 33 CFR part 
151, subparts C and D. Specifically, the Coast Guard is seeking public 
comments on the current ballast water management reporting submission 
requirements, including comments on vessel types currently required to 
submit ballast water management reporting forms. Also, the Coast Guard 
is seeking comments on the ballast water reporting form itself to 
determine whether or not the form should be updated. Comments submitted 
to the docket may or may not be used to amend these ballast water 
management reporting requirements.

    Dated: January 10, 2007.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of National and International Standards, Assistant Commandant 
for Prevention, U.S. Coast Guard.
 [FR Doc. E7-680 Filed 1-18-07; 8:45 am]
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