[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 117 (Friday, June 17, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35379-35380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15091]



[[Page 35379]]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334


Archers Creek, Ribbon Creek, and Broad River; U.S. Marine Corps 
Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC; Danger Zone

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to amend 
its regulations for two existing danger zones that are located adjacent 
to the rifle range and pistol range at the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit 
Depot Parris Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. These danger 
zones were established in the 1960s. The proposed amendments include 
reformatting the existing regulations for clarity, modifying the 
boundaries of the danger zones, and modifying the hours of range 
operations from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through 
Friday. These amendments will enhance the ability of the U.S. Marine 
Corps to provide for the safe operation of the existing rifle and 
pistol ranges.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 18, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2011-0010, 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-2011-0010, 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-2011-0010. 
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 
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 http://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 B. Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Mr. Nathaniel I. Ball, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Charleston District, Regulatory Division, at 843-329-8047.

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 is proposing to amend the regulations in 33 CFR 
part 334 by modifying the regulations for existing danger zones that 
are located immediately adjacent to the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot 
at Parris Island, South Carolina. The proposed modifications to the 
regulations are described below.
    The proposed modifications include reformatting the existing 
regulations to describe the areas, the regulations, and enforcement. 
The proposed format is consistent with other danger zone regulations 
and provides greater clarity. The boundaries of both areas have been 
modified to incorporate modern methods of measuring ballistic 
footprints and design criteria for range construction. Since the 
proposed changes to the boundaries of the areas are relatively minor, 
the existing live fire warning signs will continue to be used to ensure 
safe navigation in the vicinity of the rifle and pistol ranges.
    The proposed regulations allow the Commanding General, U.S. Marine 
Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island South Carolina Director, to restrict 
passage of persons, vessels and other watercraft in navigable waters 
adjacent to the existing rifle range and pistol range between the hours 
of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. 
on Saturdays, National holidays excepted, and at other times as 
designated and properly published by the Commanding General, U.S. 
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
    The proposed regulations would result in an increase in the hours 
of operation from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday 
through Friday. Existing procedures for publishing any temporary 
changes in the hours of operation include sending a notice to local 
news sources, marinas, and fishing shops. The public will continue to 
be able to use these portions of Archers Creek, Ribbon Creek, and the 
Broad River when the rifle and pistol ranges are not in use.

Procedural Requirements

    a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. This proposed rule is issued 
with respect to a military function of the Department of Defense and 
the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
    b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The 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). The Corps determined that this regulation would have 
little or no economic impact on the public nor would it result in any 
anticipated navigational hazard or interference with existing waterway 
traffic. This regulation 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,

[[Page 35380]]

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. It will be available from 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, is not a 
Federal private sector mandate and is not subject to the requirements 
of Section 202 or 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-
4, 109 Stat. 48, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). We have also found under 
Section 203 of the Act, that small governments will not be 
significantly or uniquely affected by this regulation.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, 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 part 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. Revise Sec.  334.480 to read as follows:


Sec.  334.480  Archers Creek, Ribbon Creek, and Broad River; U.S. 
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina; danger 
zones.

    (a) The areas. (1) The danger zone on Archers Creek (between the 
Broad River and Beaufort River), Ribbon Creek, and the Broad River 
shall encompass all navigable waters of the United States, as defined 
at 33 CFR part 329, adjacent to the existing rifle range. This area is 
bounded by a line connecting the following coordinates: Commencing from 
the shoreline at the southernmost portion of the area, at latitude 
32[deg]19'59'' N, longitude 80[deg]42'54'' W, thence to a point at 
latitude 32[deg]20'05'' N, longitude 80[deg]43'16'' W, thence to a 
point at latitude 32[deg]21'40'' N, longitude 80[deg]44'54'' W, thence 
to a point at latitude 32[deg]22'20'' N, longitude 80[deg]43'52'' W, 
thence to a point on the shoreline at latitude 32[deg]21'34'' N, 
longitude 80[deg]42'48'' W, thence follow the mean high water line 
southwesterly around Horse Island approximately 2.3 nautical miles to a 
point at latitude to latitude 32[deg]21'22'' N, longitude 
80[deg]42'30'' W, thence to a point on the shoreline at latitude 
32[deg]20'56'' N, longitude 80[deg]41'50'' W, thence follow the mean 
high water line southwesterly approximately 2.2 nautical miles to 
terminate at the southernmost portion of the area.
    (2) The danger zone on the Broad River shall encompass all 
navigable waters of the United States, as defined at 33 CFR part 329, 
adjacent to the existing pistol range. This area is bounded by a line 
connecting the following coordinates: Commencing from the shoreline at 
the easternmost portion of the area, at latitude 32[deg]19'36'' N, 
longitude 80[deg]42'34'' W, thence to a point at latitude 
32[deg]19'23'' N, longitude 80[deg]42'50'' W, thence to a point at 
latitude 32[deg]19'06'' N, longitude 80[deg]43'31'' W, thence to a 
point at latitude 32[deg]19'28'' N, longitude 80[deg]43'54'' W, thence 
to a point at latitude 32[deg]19'59'' N, longitude 80[deg]43'28'' W, 
thence to a point on the shoreline at latitude 32[deg]20'10'' N, 
longitude 80[deg]43'10'' W, and thence follow the mean high water line 
southeasterly approximately 0.75 nautical miles to terminate at the 
easternmost portion of the area.
    (b) The regulations. (1) All persons, vessels, or other watercraft 
are prohibited from entering, transiting, anchoring, or drifting within 
the danger zones described in paragraph (a) of this section when the 
adjacent rifle or pistol ranges on Parris Island are in use.
    (2) Firing over these ranges will normally take place between the 
hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 6 a.m. to 
12 p.m. on Saturday, National holidays excepted, and at other times as 
designated and properly published by the Commanding General, U.S. 
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
    (3) Warning signs indicating the periods when the rifle range is in 
use will be posted by the entrances to Archers Creek and Ribbon Creek. 
In addition, warning signs will be placed along the shoreline on the 
Broad River near the upstream and downstream boundaries of both the 
rifle range and the pistol range.
    (4) Warning flags shall be flown from the top of the lookout tower 
and on the rifle range and pistol range during actual firing. In 
addition, a sentry lookout will be on duty during actual firing and a 
patrol boat will be accessible for clearing the area and warning all 
approaching vessels of the danger zone and the schedule of firing.
    (5) During storms or similar emergencies these areas shall be 
opened to vessels to reach safety without undue delay for the 
preservation of life and property.
    (c) Enforcement. The regulations in this section shall be enforced 
by the Commanding General, U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris 
Island and/or such persons or agencies as he/she may designate.

    Dated: June 10, 2011.
Michael G. Ensch,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2011-15091 Filed 6-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P