[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35838-35839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-17228]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 404

[Docket No. USCG-2009-0552]


Great Lakes Pilotage Ratemaking Methodology

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard requests public comments on the adequacy of 
existing regulations that provide the methodology for reviewing and 
adjusting rates for pilots on the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes. The 
Coast Guard seeks these comments in order to obtain a better 
understanding of how well Great Lakes shippers, Great Lakes pilots, and 
the general public think those formulas represent the realities of 
commercial shipping on the Great Lakes and fairly balance competing 
considerations. The Coast Guard will refer the comments it receives to 
the Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee for review and 
recommendations.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before October 19, 2009 for consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments identified by docket number 
USCG-2009-0552 using any one of the following:
    (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 four methods. 
Our online

[[Page 35839]]

docket is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under 
docket number USCG-2009-0552.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning this 
notice, please call or e-mail Mr. Paul Eulitt, CG-54122, Coast Guard, 
telephone 202-372-1537, Coast Guard; e-mail [email protected]. 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: 

Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material in 
response to this notice. We discuss why we seek comments, and suggest 
what your comments should cover, under ``Background and Purpose.'' All 
comments received will be posted, without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have 
provided.
    Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the 
docket number for this notice (USCG-2009-0552). 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 telephone 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-2009-0552'' 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, 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.
    Viewing comments: To view comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov, select the Advanced Docket Search option on the 
right side of the screen, insert USCG-2009-0552 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.
    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 system of records notice regarding our public dockets in 
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Background and Purpose

    This notice is issued pursuant to the authority granted to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security by the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960 
(``the Act''), 46 U.S.C. Chapter 93 as amended, as delegated by the 
Secretary to the Coast Guard in Department of Homeland Security 
Delegation No. 0170.1. The Act requires foreign-flag vessels and U.S.-
flag vessels engaged in foreign trade to use federally registered Great 
Lakes pilots while transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great 
Lakes system, and requires the Secretary to ``prescribe by regulation 
rates and charges for pilotage services, giving consideration to the 
public interest and the costs of providing the services.'' 46 U.S.C. 
9303(f). Coast Guard regulations implement the Act and can be found in 
46 CFR, parts 401 through 404.
    The Great Lakes pilotage regulations contain ratemaking formulas 
that we apply each year in reviewing rates and, if necessary, adjusting 
them. The formulas appear in appendices to 46 CFR part 404. The final 
rule for our 2009 rate review and adjustment appears elsewhere in 
today's Federal Register, and you may consult it for more information 
about the ratemaking process.
    In past years, some commenters on our annual ratemakings have 
suggested we need to review our ratemaking formulas. Some of these 
commenters have implied the need for a general review, while others 
have focused on our definition of ``bridge hours.'' Bridge hours are a 
key component in determining the target rate of compensation that our 
ratemaking aims to provide for pilots, and currently are defined as 
``the number of hours a pilot is aboard a vessel providing pilotage 
service.'' 46 CFR part 404, Appendix A, Step 2.B(1). Some commenters 
have suggested that the current definition is too narrow, in part 
because it does not include a pilot's wait time due to vessel delays or 
detentions.
    At this time, there is no Coast Guard rulemaking project under way 
to revise our current Great Lakes pilotage regulations, and this notice 
is not an ``advance notice'' of a proposed rulemaking nor does it 
indicate that such a rulemaking has been opened. However, we are 
interested in obtaining as comprehensive an idea as possible of the 
extent and nature of any objections to the current ratemaking formulas. 
We seek a better understanding of how well Great Lakes shippers, Great 
Lakes pilots, and the general public think those formulas fairly 
balance competing considerations and represent the realities of 
commercial shipping on the Great Lakes. Any comments we receive in 
response to this notice will be referred to the Great Lakes Pilotage 
Advisory Committee (GLPAC) for GLPAC's review and recommendations. The 
Act established GLPAC to advise on significant actions or policy 
formulation affecting Great Lakes pilotage. 46 U.S.C. 9307(d).
    If you would like to comment on our ratemaking formulas, we ask 
that, insofar as possible, you:
     Tell us whether you are a member of the general public, an 
industry representative, or a pilot;
     Tell us specifically what you like or dislike about the 
current formulas; and
     Tell us exactly how you would revise our formulas to 
better serve industry, pilots, and the public--``Write your own 
formula''.

    Dated: July 13, 2009.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast 
Guard.
[FR Doc. E9-17228 Filed 7-20-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P