[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 39 (Monday, March 2, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9071-9072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-4356]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Parts 160, 161, 164, and 165

[USCG-2005-21869]
RIN 1625-AA99


Vessel Requirements for Notices of Arrival and Departure, and 
Automatic Identification System

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of second public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In response to requests received, the Coast Guard announces a 
second public meeting, to be held March 25, 2009, in Seattle, WA, to 
receive comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend Coast 
Guard regulations governing Notice of Arrival and Departure (NOAD) and 
Automatic Identification System (AIS) requirements. This is an 
additional meeting to the one previously announced for March 5, 2009, 
in Washington, DC.

DATES: A public meeting will be held in Seattle, WA, on March 25, 2009, 
from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The comment period for the proposed rule 
closes April 15, 2009. All written comments and related material must 
be received by the Coast Guard on or before April 15, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The March 25, 2009, public meeting will be held at the 
following location:
     Seattle, WA--Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second 
Ave., Fourth Floor North Auditorium, Seattle, WA 98174-1067.
    A government-issued photo identification will be required for 
entrance to the building.
    Written comments and related material may also be submitted to 
Coast Guard personnel specified at that meeting. All comments and 
related material submitted after the meeting must be submitted using 
any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov under 
docket number USCG-2005-21869.
    (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 four methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning the 
NOAD portion of this proposed rulemaking or concerning the public 
meeting, please contact Lieutenant Sharmine Jones, Office of Vessel 
Activities (CG-543), Coast Guard, [email protected], telephone 
202-372-1234. If you have questions on the AIS portion of this proposed 
rulemaking, contact Mr. Jorge Arroyo, Office of Navigation Systems (CG-
5413), Coast Guard, [email protected], telephone 202-372-1563. If 
you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 
202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Purpose

    We published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal 
Register on December 16, 2008 (73 FR 76295), entitled ``Vessel 
Requirements for Notices of Arrival and Departure, and Automatic 
Identification System.'' In it we stated our intention to hold a public 
meeting, and to publish a notice to announce the location and date of 
the public meeting. 73 FR 76296. In this notice, we announce an 
additional public meeting, to the one previously announced for March 5, 
2009, in Washington, DC (74 FR 7534), to receive comments on this 
proposed rule.
    In the NPRM, we proposed to expand the applicability of Notice of 
Arrival and Departure (NOAD) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) 
requirements to more commercial vessels, modify NOAD reporting 
requirements, establish a mandatory method for electronic data 
submission and establish a separate requirement for certain vessels to 
submit notices of departure. The proposed rulemaking would also clarify 
existing AIS requirements and extend the applicability of AIS 
requirements to additional vessels and beyond Vessel Traffic Service 
areas to all U.S. navigable waters.
    You may view the NPRM in our online docket, in addition to 
supporting documents prepared by the Coast Guard (Regulatory Analysis & 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Valuing Mortality Risk 
Reductions in Homeland Security Regulatory Analyses--Final Report June 
2008, and an Environmental Checklist), and comments submitted thus far 
by going to http://www.regulations.gov. Once there, select the Advanced 
Docket Search option on the right side of the screen, insert USCG-2005-
21869 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 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.
    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments either orally at the meeting or in writing. If you bring 
written comments to the meeting, you may submit them to Coast Guard 
personnel specified at the meeting to receive written comments. These 
comments will be submitted to our online public docket. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov 
and will include any personal information you have provided.
    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).

Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting, 
contact Lieutenant Sharmine Jones at the telephone number indicated 
under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

Public Meeting

    The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting regarding this proposed 
rulemaking on March 25, 2009, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., in Seattle, WA, 
at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Ave., Fourth Floor 
North Auditorium, Seattle, WA 98174-1067.

[[Page 9072]]

Should the length of oral comments or the number of commenters warrant 
doing so, the meeting may be extended to as late as 5 p.m. A 
government-issued photo identification (for example, a driver's 
license) will be required for entrance to the building.
    We plan to record this meeting using an audio-digital recorder and 
to make that audio recording available through a link in our online 
docket. We will also provide a written summary of the meeting and 
comments and will place that summary in the docket.

    Dated: February 25, 2009.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. E9-4356 Filed 2-25-09; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P