[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 168 (Tuesday, August 31, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53264-53266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21756]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

 Department of the Army

 Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334


United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Quantico 
VA; Restricted Area

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to amend its 
regulations to establish a permanent restricted area in the waters of 
the Potomac River in the vicinity of Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico, 
located in Quantico, Virginia. The establishment of a permanent 
restricted area is necessary to reflect the current security and safety 
needs at MCB Quantico, including protection of military assets at the 
Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) Quantico, which include the 
Presidential Helicopter Squadron. The assets located on MCAF Quantico 
are considered national assets of strategic value and require the 
increased protection obtained by restricting all public access to 
within 500 meters of the MCAF shoreline. The proposed restricted area 
provides standoff from most small arms weapons, acts as a security 
buffer, and assists USMC security forces in determining intent amongst 
heavy boat traffic. Additionally, there is an extreme hazard to small 
craft and vessels operating in close proximity to the MCAF due to jet 
and prop wash from heavy jet and rotary wing aircraft operating at low 
altitudes while conducting takeoff and landing operations. The proposed 
restricted area protects public safety by denying vessels access to 
this danger. The restricted area is also required to protect public 
health by preventing vessels from disturbing a planned environmental 
remediation area located in the vicinity of MCAF. The restricted area 
will extend approximately 500 meters from the shoreline of MCB/MCAF 
Quantico and will include the Chopawamsic Creek channel.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 30, 
2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2010-0032, 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-2010-0032, in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO-R (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-2010-0032. 
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

[[Page 53265]]

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922, or Mr. Steve Elinsky, Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, 
Regulatory Branch, at 410-962-4503.

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 proposes to amend its regulations at 33 CFR part 
334 to establish a permanent restricted area to reflect the current 
security and safety needs at MCB Quantico, including protection of 
military assets at the Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) Quantico, which 
include the Presidential Helicopter Squadron. The assets located on 
MCAF Quantico are considered national assets of strategic value and 
require the increased protection obtained by restricting all public 
access to within 500 meters of the MCAF shoreline. The proposed 
restricted area provides standoff from most small arms weapons, acts as 
a security buffer, and assists USMC security forces in determining 
intent amongst heavy boat traffic. Additionally, there is an extreme 
hazard to small craft and vessels operating in close proximity to the 
MCAF due to jet and prop wash from heavy jet and rotary wing aircraft 
operating at low altitudes while conducting takeoff and landing 
operations. The proposed restricted area will protect public safety by 
keeping vessels from this danger. The restricted area is also required 
to protect public health by preventing vessels from disturbing a 
planned environmental remediation area located in the vicinity of MCAF. 
The restricted area will extend approximately 500 meters from the 
shoreline of MCB/MCAF Quantico and will include the Chopawamsic Creek 
channel.

Procedural Requirements

a. Review Under Executive Order 12866

    This 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

    This 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 public notice comment period, the 
Corps expects that the economic impact of the establishment of this 
danger zone would have practically no impact on the public, result in 
no anticipated navigational hazard, or cause 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. After it has been 
prepared, 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, it is not a Federal private sector 
mandate and it is not subject to the requirements of either Section 202 
or Section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Act. We have also found under 
Section 203 of the Act, that small governments will not be 
significantly and uniquely affected by this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Marine safety, 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 33 CFR 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. Add section 334.235 to read as follows:


Sec.  334.235  Potomac River, in the vicinity of Marine Corps Base 
Quantico, Quantico, Virginia; Restricted Area.

    (a) The area. All of the navigable waters of the Potomac River 
extending approximately 500 meters from the mean high water mark on the 
Eastern shoreline of the Marine Corps Air Facility, bounded by these 
coordinates (including the Chopawamsic Creek channel, but excluding 
Chopawamsic Island):

Latitude N 38[deg]29[min]34.04[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]18[min]22.4[sec] (Point A); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]29[min]43.01[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]18[min]4.1[sec] (Point B); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]29[min]55.1[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]51.3[sec] (Point C); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]10.1[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]40.3[sec] (Point D); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]23.43[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]50.30[sec] (Point E); then along the western 
shoreline of Chop Island to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]35.13[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]47.45[sec] (Point F); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]42.1[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]37.1[sec] (Point G); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]50.71[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]17[min]54.12[sec] (Point H); then along the shoreline to
Latitude N 38[deg]30[min]0.058[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]18[min]39.26[sec] (Point I); then across Chopawamsic Channel 
to
Latitude N 38[deg]29[min]58.45[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]18[min]39.97[sec] (Point J); thence to
Latitude N 38[deg]29[min]38.2[sec] Longitude W 
077[deg]18[min]38.14[sec] (Point K); and thence to the point of 
origin.

    The United States Marine Corps intends to install marker buoys and 
warning signs at 500 foot intervals to outline the boundary of the 
Restricted Area. In addition, lighted, floating, small craft intrusion 
barriers will be placed across the Chopawamsic Creek channel at the 
entrance to the channel

[[Page 53266]]

from the Potomac and just West of the CSX railroad bridge.
    (b) The regulations. (1) All persons, vessels, or other craft are 
prohibited from entering, transiting, drifting, dredging, or anchoring 
within the restricted area without the permission of the Commander, MCB 
Quantico or his/her designated representatives.
    (2) The restriction will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a 
week.
    (3) Licensed commercial fisherman will be authorized controlled 
access to the restricted area after registering with MCB Quantico 
officials and following specific access notification procedures. 
However, no vessels will be allowed in the Chopawamsic Creek channel. 
Warning signs/buoys will be placed at 500-foot intervals along the 
boundary to notify individuals of the restricted area and that entry is 
prohibited. Additionally, floating, lighted, small craft intrusion 
barriers will be placed across the Chopawamsic Creek channel at the 
entrance to the channel from the Potomac and just west of the CSX 
railroad bridge.
    (c) Enforcement. The restricted area will be enforced by the 
Commander, MCB Quantico. Enforcement will include 24/7 shoreline 
observation by security personnel and electronic monitoring systems. 
USMC boats with law enforcement personnel will randomly patrol the 
restricted area and provide a response capability. All persons, 
vessels, or other craft are prohibited from entering, transiting, 
drifting, dredging, or anchoring within the restricted area without the 
permission of the Commander, MCB Quantico or his/her designated 
representative.

    Dated: August 23, 2010.
 Michael G. Ensch,
Chief, Operations, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2010-21756 Filed 8-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P