[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 112 (Tuesday, June 10, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32665-32667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12988]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334


Restricted Area at Blount Island Command and Marine Corps Support 
Facility-Blount Island, Jacksonville, FL

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to amend 
the existing regulations for a restricted area at Blount Island 
Command, located on Marine Corps Support Facility-Blount Island, 
Jacksonville, Florida. Blount Island Command is responsible for 
managing the United States Marine Corps Prepositioning Programs. Due to 
the importance of this mission, the current restricted area in this 
section must be extended due to Department of Defense (DoD) directives 
that require the implementation of specified force protection measures 
by all DoD components. This amendment to the existing regulation is 
necessary to protect U.S. government personnel, equipment, and 
facilities from potential terrorist attack by providing stand-off 
corridors encompassing the waters immediately contiguous to Marine 
Corps Support Facility--Blount Island.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 10, 2008.

[[Page 32666]]


ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2007-0037, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include the docket number, 
COE-2007-0037, in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David B. Olson), 
441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot 
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2007-0037. 
All comments received will be included in the public docket without 
change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the commenter 
indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or 
e-mail. The regulations.gov Web site is an anonymous access system, 
which means we will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail directly to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your 
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on 
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that 
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your 
comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, we may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov. All documents in the 
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form.
    Consideration will be given to all comments received within 30 days 
of the date of publication of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Mr. Jon M. Griffin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Jacksonville District, Regulatory Division, at 904-232-1680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of 
the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and 
Chapter XIX of the Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat. 892; 33 
U.S.C. 3) the Corps is proposing to amend the regulations in 33 CFR 
part 334 by modifying Sec.  334.515. The modification to the existing 
restricted area is described below.
    The amendment to this regulation will allow the Commanding Officer, 
Blount Island Command and Marine Corps Support Facility--Blount Island 
to restrict passage of persons, watercraft, and vessels in waters 
contiguous to this Command, thereby ensuring that DoD force protection 
requirements are met and antiterrorism measures are properly 
implemented as required by DoD directives.

Procedural Requirements

    a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. The proposed rule is issued 
with respect to a military function of the Defense Department and the 
provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
    b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The proposed rule 
has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354) 
which requires the preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis for 
any regulation that will have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small 
governments). Unless information is obtained to the contrary during the 
comment period, the Corps expects that the economic impact of the 
amendment of this restricted area would have practically no impact on 
the public, or result in no anticipated navigational hazard or 
interference with existing waterway traffic. This proposed rule if 
adopted, will have no significant economic impact on small entities.
    c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. Due to the 
administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended 
change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation, 
if adopted, will not have a significant impact to the quality of the 
human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental 
impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will 
be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments 
have been received and considered. It may be reviewed at the District 
office listed at the end of FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above.
    d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This proposed rule does not impose an 
enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, is not a 
Federal private sector mandate and is not subject to the requirements 
of Section 202 or 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-
4, 109 Stat. 48, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). We have also found under 
Section 203 of the Act, that small governments will not be 
significantly or uniquely affected by this rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, Waterways.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps proposes to 
amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:

PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33 
U.S.C. 3).

    2. Revise Sec.  334.515 to read as follows:


Sec.  334.515  Blount Island Command and Marine Corps Support 
Facility--Blount Island; Jacksonville, Florida restricted areas.

    (a) The areas. (1) The restricted areas shall encompass all 
navigable waters of the United States, as defined at 33 CFR 329, 
contiguous to the area identified as Blount Island Command and Marine 
Corps Support Facility--Blount Island (MCSF-BI). The three areas are 
contiguous but each area is described separately below for 
clarification.
    (2) Area 1. Commencing from the shoreline at the northwest portion 
of the facility, at latitude 30[deg]24[min]46.10[sec] N, longitude 
81[deg]32[min]19.01[sec] W, thence proceed 200 yards in a northwesterly 
direction to latitude 30[deg]24[min]49.84[sec] N, longitude 
81[deg]32[min]23.12[sec] W. From this point the line meanders 
irregularly, following the shoreline at a distance of 200 yards from 
the mean high water line to a point at latitude 
30[deg]23[min]36.75[sec] N, longitude 81[deg]30[min]26.42[sec] W, 
thence southwesterly to a point at latitude 30[deg]23[min]34.44[sec] N, 
longitude 81[deg]30[min]28.80[sec] W, thence west southwesterly to a 
point

[[Page 32667]]

at latitude 30[deg]23[min]33.68[sec] N, longitude 
81[deg]30[min]32.61[sec] W.
    (3) Area 2. This includes all waters within the area generally 
identified as the U.S. Marine Corps Slipway but which is also known as 
the Back River area and the waters out to a distance of 100 yards from 
the entranceway. From the last point identified in paragraph (a)(2) of 
this section, latitude 30[deg]23[min]33.68[sec] N, longitude 
81[deg]30[min]32.61[sec] W, proceed west southwesterly to a point at 
latitude 30[deg]23[min]30.93[sec] N, longitude 81[deg]30[min]57.14[sec] 
W.
    (4) Area 3. From the last point identified in paragraph (a)(3) of 
this section, latitude 30[deg]23[min]30.93[sec] N, longitude 
81[deg]30[min]57.14[sec] W, the line meanders irregularly in a westerly 
direction, following the shoreline at a distance of 100 yards from the 
mean high water line to a point at latitude 30[deg]23[min]26.34[sec] N, 
longitude 81[deg]31[min]49.73[sec] W, thence proceed north to terminate 
at a point on the shoreline at latitude 30[deg]23[min]29.34[sec] N, 
longitude 81[deg]31[min]49.79[sec] W.
    (b) The regulations. (1) With the exception of local, State and 
federal law enforcement entities, all persons, vessels, and other craft 
are prohibited from entering, transiting, anchoring, or drifting within 
the areas described in paragraph (a) of this section for any reason 
without the permission of the Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Support 
Facility-Blount Island, Jacksonville, Florida, or his/her authorized 
representative.
    (2) The restriction noted in paragraph (b)(1) of this section is in 
effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
    (3) Warning signs will be posted near the NCSF-BI shoreline 
advising boaters of the restrictions in this section.
    (c) Enforcement. (1) The regulations in this section shall be 
enforced by the Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Support Facility-
Blount Island, Jacksonville, Florida, and/or such persons or agencies 
as he/she may designate.
    (2) Enforcement of the regulations in this section will be 
accomplished utilizing the Department of Defense Force Protection 
Condition (FPCON) System. From the lowest security level to the 
highest, Force Protection Conditions levels are titled Normal, Alpha, 
Bravo, Charlie and Delta. The regulations in this section will be 
enforced as noted in paragraph (b) of this section, or at the 
discretion of the Commanding Officer.

    Dated: June 4, 2008.
Michael Ensch,
Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. E8-12988 Filed 6-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-92-P