[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 104 (Thursday, May 29, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30868-30870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-11866]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket No. USCG-2008-0290]
RIN 1625-AA00


Safety Zone; Gulf of Mexico--Johns Pass, FL

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary safety zone 
on the waters of Johns Pass, Florida while construction operations are 
being conducted. This rule is necessary to ensure the safety of the 
workers and mariners on the navigable waters of the United States. No 
person or vessel may anchor, moor, or transit the Regulated Area 
without permission of the Captain of the Port St. Petersburg, Florida.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or 
before June 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2008-0290 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S. 
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one 
of the following methods:
    (1) Online: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (3) Hand delivery: Room W12-140 on the Ground Floor of the West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C. 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The 
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    (4) Fax: 202-493-2251.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call BM1 Charles Voss at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, (813) 
228-2191 Ext 8307. If you have questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, 
without change, to http://www.regulations.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 the docket number for this 
rulemaking (USCG-2008-0290), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and give the reason for each 
comment. We recommend that you include your name and a mailing address, 
an e-mail address, or a phone number in the body of your document so 
that we can contact you if we have questions regarding your submission. 
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. We may change this 
proposed rule in view of them.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov at 
any time. Enter the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2008-0092) 
in the Search box, and click ``Go >>.'' You may also visit either the 
Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the 
DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays; or the Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Prevention 
Department, 155 Columbia Drive, Tampa, Florida 33606-3598 between 7:30 
a.m. and 3:30 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://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one to the Docket Management Facility at the address under 
ADDRESSES explaining why one would be beneficial. If we determine that 
one would aid this rulemaking, we will hold one at a time and place 
announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

    Flatiron Construction will be performing construction work on the 
new Johns Pass Bridge. This work will involve setting girders, 
installing a new fendering system, setting the deck, setting overhangs, 
placing resteel, pouring the bridge deck, and wrecking the old bridge's 
deck on the Johns Pass old bridge. These operations will require the 
closure of the navigable channel. The closures will only be for limited 
times, during nighttime hours, and scheduled to accommodate the local 
marine traffic. The nature of the operation and environment surrounding 
the Johns Pass Bridge presents a danger to the workers and mariners 
transiting the area. This proposed safety zone is being established to 
ensure the safety of life on the navigable waters of the United States.

Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The proposed safety zone encompasses the following waters of the 
Gulf of Mexico, Florida: all waters from surface to bottom, within a 
100-yard radius of the following coordinates: 27[deg]46'58'' N, 
082[deg]46'57'' W. Vessels are

[[Page 30869]]

prohibited from anchoring, mooring, or transiting within this zone 
unless authorized by the Captain of the Port St. Petersburg or a 
designated representative.
    The proposed safety zone will be effective until the completion of 
the bridge project tentatively scheduled for July 2010. However, the 
safety zone will only be enforced for a limited time on days when 
construction operations that require the channel to be closed are 
actually occurring. The Coast Guard does not know the exact dates of 
the construction operations at this time. Most of the operations are 
tide and weather restricted. However, every attempt will be made to 
conduct the operations at early morning hours to reduce the impact to 
mariners. At no time will the zone be enforced on a Saturday or Sunday 
and the closures will in no way exceed any continuous 18 hour period. 
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg will give notice of the enforcement 
of the safety zone by publishing it in the Local Notice to Mariners and 
by issuing a Broadcast Notice to Mariners 24 to 48 hours prior to the 
start of enforcement. On-Scene notice will be provided by Coast Guard 
or other local law enforcement maritime units enforcing the safety zone 
as designated representatives of Captain of the Port St. Petersburg.

Regulatory Evaluation

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
and does not require an assessment of potential costs and benefits 
under section 6(a)(3) of that Order. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under that Order.
    We expect the economic impact of this proposed rule to be so 
minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation is unnecessary.
    The rule will only be enforced during a time when vessel traffic is 
expected to be minimal. Moreover, vessels may still enter the safety 
zone with the express permission of the Captain of the Port St. 
Petersburg or a designated representative.

Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we have 
considered whether this proposed rule would have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The term ``small 
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations 
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 
50,000.
    The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this proposed 
rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. This rule may affect the following entities, 
some of which may be small entities: The owners or operators of vessels 
intending to transit Johns Pass, FL. This safety zone will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
for the following reasons: This rule will be enforced for a limited 
time when marine traffic is expected to be minimal; additionally 
traffic will be allowed to enter the zone with the permission of the 
Captain of the Port Sector St. Petersburg or a designated 
representative.
    If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have 
a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see 
ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to what 
degree this rule would economically affect it.

Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule so that they can better 
evaluate its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. If the 
rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or 
options for compliance, please contact the office listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against 
small entities that question or complain about this rule or any policy 
or action of the Coast Guard.

Collection of Information

    This proposed rule would call for no new collection of information 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on State or local 
governments and would either preempt State law or impose a substantial 
direct cost of compliance on them. We have analyzed this proposed rule 
under that Order and have determined that it does not have implications 
for federalism.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 or more in any 
one year. Though this proposed rule would not result in such an 
expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere in this 
preamble.

Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not effect a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

Protection of Children

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and would not 
create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

Energy Effects

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13211, 
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use. We have determined that it is not a ``significant 
energy action'' under that order because it is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866 and is not likely to 
have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use 
of energy. The Administrator of the Office

[[Page 30870]]

of Information and Regulatory Affairs has not designated it as a 
significant energy action. Therefore, it does not require a Statement 
of Energy Effects under Executive Order 13211.

Technical Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15 
U.S.C. 272 note) directs agencies to use voluntary consensus standards 
in their regulatory activities unless the agency provides Congress, 
through the Office of Management and Budget, with an explanation of why 
using these standards would be inconsistent with applicable law or 
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical 
standards (e.g., specifications of materials, performance, design, or 
operation; test methods; sampling procedures; and related management 
systems practices) that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus 
standards bodies.
    This proposed rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we 
did not consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Commandant Instruction 
M16475.lD which guides the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and 
have made a preliminary determination that this action is not likely to 
have a significant effect on the human environment. Therefore, we 
believe that this rule should be categorically excluded, under figure 
2-1, paragraph (34)(g) of the Instruction, from further environmental 
documentation. A preliminary ``Environmental Analysis Check List'' is 
available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES. We seek any 
comments or information that may lead to the discovery of a significant 
environmental impact from this proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

    Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, and Waterways.
    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

    1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1226, 1231; 46 U.S.C. Chapter 701; 50 
U.S.C. 191, 195; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Public 
Law 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of Homeland Security 
Delegation No. 0170.1.

    2. A new temporary Sec.  165.T08-0290 is added to read as follows:


Sec.  165.T08-290  Safety Zone; Gulf of Mexico, Florida.

    (a) Regulated area. The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary 
safety zone on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, in the 
vicinity of the John's Pass Bridge, that includes all the waters from 
surface to bottom, within a 100-yard radius of the following 
coordinates: 27[deg]46'58'' N, 082[deg]46'57'' W. All coordinates 
referenced use datum: NAD 83.
    (b) Definitions. The following definition applies to this section:
    Designated representative means Coast Guard Patrol Commanders 
including Coast Guard coxswains, petty officers and other officers 
operating Coast Guard vessels, and federal, state, and local officers 
designated by or assisting the Captain of the Port (COTP) St. 
Petersburg, Florida, in the enforcement of regulated navigation areas 
and safety and security zones.
    (c) Regulations. In accordance with the general regulations in 
Sec.  165.23 of this part, no person or vessel may anchor, moor or 
transit the Regulated Area without the prior permission of the Captain 
of the Port St. Petersburg, Florida, or a designated representative.
    (d) Dates. This rule is effective until the bridge construction is 
completed tentatively scheduled for July 2010.
    (e) Enforcement. This regulated area will only be enforced while 
construction operations are taking place. The Coast Guard does not know 
the exact dates of the construction operations at this time; however 
Sector St. Petersburg will announce each enforcement period by 
publishing the restriction in the local notice to mariners and issuing 
a Broadcast Notice to Mariners 24 to 48 hours prior to the start of 
enforcement. Additionally, on-scene notice will be provided by Coast 
Guard or other local law enforcement maritime units enforcing the 
safety zone.

    Dated: May 8, 2008.
J.A. Servidio,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port, St. Petersburg, 
Florida.
[FR Doc. E8-11866 Filed 5-28-08; 8:45 am]
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