[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 12, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46912-46913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-18532]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2003-16158]
RIN 1625-AA77


Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will hold public meetings to let members of 
the public present comments on the advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) for commercial fishing industry vessels and reopen 
the previously announced public comment period. Two public meetings 
will be held at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, WA, on November 21 
and 22, 2008. This proposed rulemaking would consider several changes 
to the current regulations.

DATES: The Coast Guard will hold the public meetings on Friday, 
November 21, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and Saturday, November 22, from 9 
a.m. to 12 noon, except that the meetings may close early if all 
business is finished. Other comments and related material must reach 
the Docket Management Facility on or before December 15, 2008. The 
comment period is reopened from August 12, 2008 to December 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The Coast Guard will hold these public meetings in 
conjunction with the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, WA, at the Qwest 
Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134.
    You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number 
USCG-2003-16158 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: Same as mail address above, 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 notice, 
call M.M. Rosecrans, Chief, Fishing Vessel Safety Division (CG-5433), 
U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1245, or e-mail 
[email protected].
    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 submit comments and related material on the 
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2008 
(73 FR 16815). 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 to use the Docket Management Facility.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the 
docket number for this notice (USCG-2003-16158), 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. We recommend that

[[Page 46913]]

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. 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. 
The comment period is hereby reopened; comments and related material 
must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before December 15, 
2008.
    Viewing the comments as well as other background documents 
available in the docket: To view the comments and other documents 
listed in the ANPRM, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time. 
Enter the docket number for this notice (USCG-2003-16158) in the Search 
box, and click ``Go >>.'' If you do not have access to the internet, 
you may view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management 
Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of 
Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590, 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 a 
Privacy Act, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in 
the January 17, 2008 issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Procedural

    These meetings are open to the public. Please note that the 
meetings may close early if all business is finished.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting(s), 
contact the Coast Guard at the number listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.

Background and Purpose

    In addition to announcing public meetings, the Coast Guard is 
reopening the public comment period announced in the ANPRM from August 
12, 2008 to December 15, 2008.
    Commercial fishing remains one of the most hazardous occupations in 
the United States. Congress addressed this problem by enacting the 
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (``the 1988 
Act,'' Pub. L. 100-424, as subsequently amended; see generally, 46 
U.S.C. chapter 45, ``Uninspected Commercial Fishing Industry 
Vessels''). The Act directed the Secretary of Transportation to provide 
safety requirements for fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, and 
fish tender vessels. It also established the Commercial Fishing 
Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee (CFIVSAC) to advise the 
Secretary on matters relating to the safe operation of commercial 
fishing vessels.
    Coast Guard regulations under the 1988 Act were first issued on 
August 14, 1991 (56 FR 40364), and were further addressed in the 
following documents:
     August 3, 1992, interim rule (57 FR 34188) that amended 
the 1991 immersion suit requirements in 46 CFR 28.110, but advised the 
public that immersion suits would be the subject of further rulemaking;
     October 27, 1992, SNPRM (57 FR 48670) that proposed the 
adoption of stability regulations for vessels less than 79 feet in 
length;
     May 20, 1993, NPRM (58 FR 29502) that proposed further 
changes to immersion suit requirements;
     October 24, 1995, final rule (60 FR 54441) that adopted 
regulations for Aleutian Trade Act vessels;
     November 5, 1996, interim rule (61 FR 57268) that adopted 
safety equipment and vessel operating procedure regulations and 
deferred further action on the 1992 SNPRM's proposal to extend 
stability regulations to smaller vessels;
     September 4, 1997, final rule (62 FR 46672) that finalized 
the 1996 regulations with some changes; and
     July 15, 1998, notice (63 FR 38141) that announced the 
termination of the 1993 NPRM and the Coast Guard's plans for a 
subsequent rulemaking to address immersion suits, vessel stability, and 
other commercial fishing industry vessel issues.
    These documents, as well as other background documents, are 
available in the docket. Each document may be downloaded.

    Dated: August 1, 2008.
J.G. Lantz,
U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-18532 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P