[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 38236-38239]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15640]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 100

[Docket No. USCG-2012-0215]
RIN 1625-AA08


Special Local Regulation, Underwater Music Festival, Carr Inlet, 
Cutts Island, WA

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to establish a Special Local 
Regulation (SLR) around Cutts Island located in Carr Inlet, WA. This 
SLR is necessary to ensure the safety of the maritime public during the 
Underwater Music Festival and would do so by establishing speed and 
towing restrictions, limiting the number of vessels permitted to raft 
together and limiting the distance persons are permitted to swim from 
vessels or shore.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before July 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2012-0215 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call or email ENS Anthony P.

[[Page 38237]]

LaBoy, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Waterways Management Division; 
telephone 206-217-6323, email [email protected]. If you have 
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Renee 
V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. 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 
rulemaking (USCG-2012-0215), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material 
online (via http://www.regulations.gov) or by fax, mail, or hand 
delivery, but please use only one of these means. If you submit a 
comment online via www.regulations.gov, it will be considered received 
by the Coast Guard when you successfully transmit the comment. If you 
fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, it will be considered as 
having been received by the Coast Guard when it is received at the 
Docket Management Facility. We recommend that you include your name and 
a mailing address, an email 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, 
click on the ``submit a comment'' box, which will then become 
highlighted in blue. In the ``Document Type'' drop down menu select 
``Proposed Rule'' and insert ``USCG-2012-0215'' in the ``Keyword'' box. 
Click ``Search'' 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 comments 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 and may change 
the rule based on your comments.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
click on the ``read comments'' box, which will then become highlighted 
in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box insert ``USCG-2012-0215'' and click 
``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column. 
You may also visit 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 notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one using one of the four methods specified under 
ADDRESSES. Please explain why you believe a public meeting would be 
beneficial. If we determine that one would aid this rulemaking, we will 
hold one at a time and place announced by a later notice in the Federal 
Register.
    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting, 
contact Ensign Anthony LaBoy at the telephone number or email address 
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
notice.

Basis and Purpose

    The Underwater Music Festival is an event which includes musical 
performances from a barge. Spectators approach the barge in their 
private recreational vessels to view the concert. This event was first 
held in 2009 around Cutts Island in Carr Inlet, WA, and has grown 
substantially since its first year. In 2010 there were approximately 
250 vessels and several hundred persons in attendance surrounding the 
event sponsor barge. In 2011, there were approximately 700 vessels and 
3,000 persons in attendance. In 2011, on-scene Coast Guard members 
observed behaviors that caused concern including vessels traveling at 
speeds which created wakes, large groups of vessels rafted together, 
and participants swimming without personal floatation devices (PFD). 
Regardless of PFD wear, persons swimming too far from land or vessels 
in an area of high vessel congestion creates a dangerous situation 
because they are difficult to see by vessels transiting in the area. At 
other similar marine events, swimmers have suffered injuries such as 
propeller strikes. Requiring swimmers to stay near land or their 
vessels will help prevent such injuries because transiting vessels will 
stay clear of other vessels and land, thereby avoiding even those 
swimmers that cannot be easily seen. Due to the increasing popularity 
and number of event participants, a Special Local Regulation (SLR) is 
necessary to ensure safety of the event spectators and participants. 
This rule would mitigate the risk of the event by controlling unsafe 
actions within the boundaries of the SLR.

Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a SLR, which encompasses 
all waters within one nautical mile of Cutts Island, WA. By imposing 
the following restrictions, the Coast Guard will limit the risk to life 
and property of the marine event participants:
    (a) All vessels would be required to transit at the minimum speed 
necessary to maintain course, minimizing vessel wakes. Wakes produced 
by vessels traveling at higher speeds could negatively impact 
unsuspecting anchored vessels or persons swimming in the vicinity of 
vessels.
    (b) Towing would not be permitted inside the SLR area unless prior 
permission was granted by on-scene Coast Guard Patrol. This would allow 
for debris removal by designated vessels and for properly equipped and 
trained tow vessels to assist disabled vessels while preventing 
unqualified vessels from creating further unsafe conditions while 
attempting to assist disabled vessels.
    (c) No more than six vessels would be permitted to raft together. 
Large groups of rafted vessels restrict the ability of response and law 
enforcement vessels to transit and respond to emergencies.
    (d) Any person swimming or otherwise entering the water would be 
required to remain within 10 feet of a vessel or shore. This ensures 
participants are able to exit the water

[[Page 38238]]

under their own means and prevent potential injuries that could be 
caused by persons in the water being struck by transiting vessels.
    (e) The Coast Guard would maintain a patrol for the duration of 
this event. The Coast Guard Patrol of this area is under the direction 
of the Coast Guard Patrol Commander who is empowered to control the 
movement of vessels inside the regulation boundaries. The Patrol 
Commander may be assisted by other federal, state, and local law 
enforcement agencies.

Regulatory Analyses

    We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes 
and executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our 
analyses based on 13 of these statutes or executive orders.

Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
and does not require an assessment of potential costs and benefits 
under section 6(a)(3) of that Order. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under that Order.
    The Coast Guard bases this finding on the fact that the proposed 
Special Local Regulation would be in place for a limited period of time 
and vessel traffic would be able to transit around the regulated area.
    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we have 
considered the impact of this proposed rule on small entities. The term 
``small entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit 
organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not 
dominant in their fields, and governmental jurisdictions with 
populations of less than 50,000.
    The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this proposed 
rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.
    This rule would affect the following entities, some of which may be 
small entities; the owners and operators of vessels intending to 
operate in the waters encompassed within the regulated area. The rule 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities because the Special Local Regulation will be in place 
for a limited period of time and vessel traffic will be able to transit 
around the regulated area.
    If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have 
a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see 
ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to what 
degree this rule would economically affect it.

Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule so that they can better 
evaluate its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. If the 
rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or 
options for compliance, please contact Ensign Anthony P. LaBoy at the 
telephone number or email address indicated under the FOR FUTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

Collection of Information

    This proposed rule would call for no new collection of information 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and 
have determined that it does not have implications for federalism.

Protest Activities

    The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. 
Protesters are asked to contact the person listed in the For Further 
Information Contact section to coordinate protest activities so that 
your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or 
security of people, places or vessels.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this proposed rule would not 
result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule 
elsewhere in this preamble.

Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not cause a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

Protection of Children

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and would not 
create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

Energy Effects

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under 
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use because it is 
not a ``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866 and 
is not likely to have a significant adverse effect on the supply, 
distribution, or use of energy. The Administrator of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs has not designated it as a 
significant energy action. Therefore, it does not require a Statement 
of Energy Effects under Executive Order 13211.

Technical Standards

    This proposed rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we 
did not consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

[[Page 38239]]

Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Department of Homeland 
Security Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction 
M16475.lD, which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and 
have made a preliminary determination that this action is one of a 
category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant effect on the human environment. A preliminary 
environmental analysis checklist supporting this determination is 
available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES. This proposed 
rule involves the establishment of a Special Local Regulation. We seek 
any comments or information that may lead to the discovery of a 
significant environmental impact from this proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 100

    Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and recordkeeping, 
requirements, Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 100 as follows:

PART 100--SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS

    1. The authority citation for part 100 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  U.S.C. 1233.

    2. Add Sec.  100.1310 to read as follows:


Sec.  100.1310  Special Local Regulation, Underwater Music Festival, 
Carr Inlet, Cutts Island, WA

    (1) Effective Period. This rule is effective annually during the 
Underwater Music Festival which typically occurs in late July or early 
August.
    (2) Regulated Area. The following area is specified as a regulated 
area: All waters encompassed within one nautical mile of Cutts Island, 
WA located at approximately 47[deg]19'15'' N, 122[deg]41'15'' W.
    (3) Special Local Regulations.
    (a) The Coast Guard will maintain a patrol consisting of Coast 
Guard vessels for the duration of this event. The Coast Guard Patrol of 
this area is under the direction of the Coast Guard Patrol Commander 
who is empowered to control the movement of vessels inside the 
boundaries of the regulation during the time in which this regulation 
is in effect. The Patrol Commander may be assisted by other federal, 
state, and local law enforcement agencies.
    (b) Vessels are required to transit the regulated area at the 
minimum speed necessary to maintain course, unless required to maintain 
speed by the Navigation Rules, and shall proceed as directed by the 
Coast Guard Patrol Commander.
    (c) Only vessels authorized by the Patrol Commander or other law 
enforcement agencies shall be permitted to engage in towing.
    (d) No more than six vessels are permitted to raft together.
    (e) Any person swimming or otherwise entering the water shall 
remain within 10 feet of a vessel or shore.
    (4) Notice of Enforcement. The Captain of the Port will provide 
notice of the enforcement of this Special Local Regulation by all 
appropriate means to ensure the widest dissemination among the affected 
segments of the public, as practicable; such means of notification may 
include but are not limited to, Broadcast Notice to Mariners and Local 
Notice to Mariners.

    Dated: May 28, 2012.
K.A. Taylor,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Thirteenth Coast Guard 
District.
[FR Doc. 2012-15640 Filed 6-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P