[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78928-78929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31699]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 45

[Docket No. USCG-1998-4623]
RIN 1625-AA17


Limited Service Domestic Voyage Load Lines for River Barges on 
Lake Michigan, Delay of Effective Date

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of delay of effective date and reopening of the comment 
period.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces that it is delaying the effective 
date of certain revisions in 46 CFR part 45 as amended by the final 
rule published in the November 18, 2010, Federal Register (75 FR 
70595), and soliciting comments on those amendments.

DATES: Effective Date. This action is effective December 20, 2010. The 
effective date of revisions to 46 CFR Table 45.171, Sec.  45.187, and 
Sec.  45.191(a), as revised in the final rule published in the November 
18, 2010, Federal Register (75 FR 70595) is delayed until June 15, 
2011. All other provisions of the final rule are effective on December 
20, 2010.
    Comment Period. Comments must be received at the address provided 
below no later than January 18, 2011. Comments are limited to the 
subject matter described below.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
1998-4623 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 four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.
    Comments and material received from the public, as well as 
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, 
are part of docket USCG-1998-4623 and are available for inspection or 
copying at the 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, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also find this 
docket on the Internet by going to http://www.regulations.gov, 
inserting USCG-1998-4623 in the ``Keyword'' box, and then clicking 
``Search.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call or e-mail Mr. Thomas Jordan, Office of Design and Engineering 
Standards, Naval Architecture Division (CG-5212), Coast Guard; 
telephone 202-372-1370, 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: 

Background and Purpose

    On November 18, 2010, the Coast Guard published a final rule (75 FR 
70595) regarding special load line regimes for certain river barges 
operating on Lake Michigan. This rule finalized interim regulations 
that have been in effect since 2002, with some changes. The final 
regulations are scheduled to go into effect on December 20, 2010. For 
reasons explained herein, we are extending the effective date of the 
revised weather restrictions (found in 46 CFR Table 45.171, Sec.  
45.187, and Sec.  45.191(a) of the final rule) for 6 months and 
requesting public comment on that provision.
    United States vessels operating on Lake Michigan are normally 
required to have a load line assignment. River barges do not typically 
qualify for load line assignment because their hull construction is not 
robust enough for unrestricted operations on the Great

[[Page 78929]]

Lakes. However, we have established special load line regimes whereby 
certain river barges may operate on select Great Lakes routes under 
limited conditions. These are conditional exemptions: The barges are 
exempted from the normal Great Lakes load line requirement only if they 
comply with the specified provisions for the route. On all routes, the 
tows are restricted to not more than 5 nautical miles from shore. And 
because river barges are not as robustly constructed as vessels 
designed for Great Lakes service, certain weather restrictions pertain 
to the routes in order to ensure the safety of the tow. It is up to the 
tow master to review the weather forecast and interpret it against the 
particular weather restrictions for the route.
    In reviewing marine weather forecast services for the routes, the 
National Weather Service (NWS) Nearshore Marine Forecasts for Lake 
Michigan were identified as providing localized forecasts for the 
specific waters covered by the exemption routes. The Nearshore forecast 
waters are a 5-mile wide corridor along the Lake shoreline. This 
corridor is further divided into coastwise zones: There are five zones 
between Milwaukee and Calumet, two zones between Calumet and Burns 
Harbor, and seven zones beyond Burns Harbor to Muskegon. The Nearshore 
forecast takes into account wind direction and speed for these zones, 
and the resulting wave conditions expected over the forecast period.
    In addition to geographic coverage, the general ``Small Craft 
Advisory'' (SCA) threshold conditions for the Great Lakes are sustained 
winds or gusts between 22 and 33 knots inclusive, and/or seas or waves 
greater than 4 feet. Small Craft Advisories may also be issued when 
lake ice exists that could be hazardous to small boats.
    Although river barges are not customary small craft, the SCA 
threshold conditions align closely with the weather limits for the 
routes that have been in effect with the interim regulations. While the 
SCA wind range is higher than the interim regulation's wind limits, the 
compensating factor is that the effects of the winds are analyzed for 
wave conditions in the Nearshore zones, as opposed to an open Lake 
forecast. We believe that this will lead to more-accurate wave 
forecasts within the Nearshore waters actually transited by the tows.
    In this regard, we believe that the use of the SCA is also a 
reasonable clarification of the ``fair weather conditions'' for the 
Burns Harbor route, since the zone forecast similarly considers the 
effect of wind direction on wave heights along that route.
    For these reasons, the final rule substituted SCA conditions as the 
limiting weather criteria for all routes because they align closely 
with the interim weather limitations, and offer the benefit of 
simplifying and clarifying the weather restrictions without adversely 
affecting any operations. Since publishing the final rule, however, the 
Coast Guard has received several comments from operators contending 
that the use of SCA criteria would reduce the number of operational 
days on the Burns Harbor route. Therefore, in order to provide 
operators with an opportunity to comment specifically on that issue, 
the Coast Guard is delaying the implementation of the SCA weather 
criteria and reopening the comment period. Meanwhile, the weather 
limitations that are in the present regulations, as summarized in 
original Table 45.171, will remain in effect during the delay period. 
All other revisions in the final rule enter into force on December 20, 
2010.

Request for Public Comment

    The Coast Guard is soliciting public comment on the weather 
limitations for these routes. Comments are particularly requested in 
regard to the following issues:
     Suitability of the Nearshore SCA for the limiting weather 
conditions.
     Alternative limiting conditions if SCA conditions are 
considered excessive or otherwise inappropriate.
    We are also interested in comments regarding operator practices and 
interpretation of the ``fair weather'' requirement for the Burns Harbor 
route found in the interim regulations.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 553.

    Dated: December 13, 2010.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2010-31699 Filed 12-16-10; 8:45 am]
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