[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 414-416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-31415]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 197

[USCG-1998-3786]
RIN 1625-AA21


Commercial Diving Operations

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to amend the commercial diving 
regulations. We request public comment on industry standards and 
current practices that might be incorporated in our regulations or 
accepted as regulatory equivalents; the use of third-party auditing; 
new requirements for compliance documentation; the adoption of 
recommendations made following the investigation of a 1996 fatality; 
and possible additional regulatory revisions. This rulemaking will 
promote the enhancement of maritime safety which is a strategic goal of 
the Coast Guard.

DATES: Comments and related material must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before March 9, 2009 
or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
1998-3786 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) 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.
    (4) 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.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these methods. For 
instructions on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation and 
Request for Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call Lieutenant Commander Rogers Henderson, U.S. Coast Guard, 
telephone (202) 372-1411. 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:

Table of Contents for Preamble

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
    A. Submitting Comments
    B. Viewing Comments and Documents
    C. Privacy Act
    D. Public Meeting
II. Abbreviations
III. Background and Purpose

I. 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.

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking (USCG-1998-3786), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material 
online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only one of 
these means. 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.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
select the Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the 
screen, insert ``USCG-1998-3786'' in the Docket ID box, press Enter, 
and then click on the balloon shape in the Actions column. If you 
submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an 
unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches,

[[Page 415]]

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 and may change this proposed rule based on your 
comments.

B. 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, 
select the Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the 
screen, insert USCG-1998-3786 in the Docket ID box, press Enter, and 
then click on the item in the Docket ID column. 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. We have an agreement with the 
Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.

C. Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of 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 notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008 issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

D. 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.

II. Abbreviations

ACDE Association of Commercial Diving Educators
ADC Association of Diving Contractors
ADCI Association of Diving Contractors International
ANPRM Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
IMCA International Marine Contractors Association
NOSAC National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee

III. Background and Purpose

    In 1994, an industry group known as the Association of Diving 
Contractors (ADC) (now the Association of Diving Contractors 
International, or ADCI), asked the Coast Guard to update commercial 
diving operation regulations in 46 CFR Part 197, Subpart B. Among other 
things, ADC recommended that we incorporate their consensus standards 
by reference. In response, we began this rulemaking and published an 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM, 63 FR 34840, June 26, 
1998; comment period extended, 63 FR 50848, Sept. 23, 1998). The ANPRM 
referenced ADC's recommendations, and sought public comment on the 
necessity and scope of potential regulatory revisions.
    Public comments received in response to the 1998 ANPRM revealed a 
deep split of opinion over incorporation of the ADC standards. Although 
the majority of commenters favored incorporation of the ADC standards, 
many said those standards were either inadequate or, alternatively, 
were unnecessarily burdensome and costly for small businesses. Other 
industry groups--the Association of Commercial Diving Educators (ACDE) 
and the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)--offered 
their own proposals. No further regulatory action was taken. However, 
the Coast Guard continued to recognize the need for further regulation 
to improve the safety of commercial diving.
    Earlier this year, the Coast Guard received recommendations for 
commercial diving regulatory improvements from the National Offshore 
Safety Advisory Committee (NOSAC), a Federal advisory committee that 
advises the Coast Guard on matters related to operations and safety on 
the outer continental shelf including commercial diving safety. We have 
placed those recommendations in the docket for this rulemaking and are 
in the process of analyzing them for possible action. To assist in our 
analysis, we are soliciting public comments on the NOSAC 
recommendations, and on other ways in which we might improve our 
regulations, in light of experience and lessons learned since 1978, and 
since our first ANPRM in 1998. As noted, commercial diving industry 
groups were active in responding to the 1998 ANPRM, and we look forward 
to hearing from them again. We encourage those groups to work together 
to explore possible areas of agreement as to the regulatory changes 
that might do most to improve diver safety throughout the industry.
    To assist you in organizing your comments, we invite your 
consideration of the following observations:
    1. Industry standards. Our 1978 regulations in Part 197 provide a 
minimum framework for commercial diving safety. We are aware that in 
many regulated industries, regulated persons and companies often 
develop voluntary standards that provide protection at levels equal or 
superior to the protection that regulations can provide. Increasingly 
since 1978, Federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, have 
encouraged the development of, and compliance with, these standards. 
They provide regulatory flexibility and can be effective, efficient 
tools for attaining regulatory safety objectives. We would like to know 
whether such standards exist, or could be developed, for the commercial 
diving industry. We could consider incorporating such standards in our 
Part 197 regulations, or we could consider accepting compliance with 
such standards as equivalent to compliance with our regulations.
    As previously discussed, public comments on our 1998 ANPRM revealed 
a deep split of opinions over the adequacy, effectiveness, and cost of 
the then-current industry standards. The apparent lack of industry 
consensus as to the value of the then-current standards was a major 
reason why the Coast Guard took no further regulatory action in the 
ensuing decade. Therefore, we strongly encourage commercial diving 
industry groups to work together to define standards to which all or 
most commercial diving operations can subscribe.
    2. Third-party audits. The Coast Guard prefers to use regulations 
as a tool to encourage compliance, before injuries or deaths occur, 
rather than as a way of punishing violators in the wake of a tragedy. A 
third-party audit system could augment Coast Guard resources and help 
commercial diving operators avoid casualties before they happen, by 
providing regular monitoring of an operator's compliance with Part 197 
or with an equivalent industry standard. The Coast Guard could regulate 
third-party auditors, and require commercial diving operators to be 
audited following promulgation of a final rule, and then annually and 
after any accident resulting in a diver's injury or death.
    3. Compliance documentation. Even with annual compliance audits, 
there remains the potential for accidents leading to injury or death. 
The best protection against accidents are the diving operation's safety 
policies and practices, which need to be encouraged at all 
organizational levels beginning

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with industry owners and operators. The Coast Guard believes that in 
many industries, owners and operators are more aware of safety 
requirements and do more to make sure their employees follow those 
requirements when they must document their compliance with those 
requirements.
    4. Rig No. 12 report. The Coast Guard devotes significant resources 
to studying the causes of accidents that result in serious property 
losses, injury, or death, so that similar accidents can be avoided in 
the future. Lessons learned from tragedy make special demands on us to 
give them serious consideration and to implement them if possible. In 
the docket for this rulemaking at http://www.Regulations.gov, we are 
placing the formal investigation report into a commercial diving death 
at Cliff's Drilling Rig No. 12 in 1996. The report includes 13 
recommendations and the Coast Guard is considering adopting most of 
these, in some cases with modifications.
    5. Regulatory priorities. We have indicated our interest in 
industry standards, third-party audits, compliance documentation, and 
the Rig No. 12 report recommendations. In addition, we invite you to 
comment on overall regulatory approaches or on specific regulatory 
requirements that you believe should be a priority for this rulemaking. 
We are also inviting comments on current industry practices and changes 
in circumstances from conditions existing in 1998.
    6. Costs and Benefits. We request comments on the costs and 
benefits of regulatory revisions suggested by the commenters. Providing 
us with specific information on the costs and benefits of regulatory 
suggestions will assist us with fully evaluating the merits of such 
suggestions. We are especially interested in information providing data 
on the cost of regulatory suggestions on small entities, and State, 
local, and tribal governments.

    Dated: December 22, 2008.
Brian M. Salerno,
Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship, U.S. 
Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. E8-31415 Filed 1-5-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P