[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47331-47334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19378]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket No. USCG-2012-0343]
RIN 1625-AA11


Regulated Navigation Area--New Haven Harbor, Quinnipiac River, 
Mill River, New Haven, CT; Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Interstate 95) 
Construction

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is proposing changes to the existing regulated 
navigation area in the navigable waters of New Haven Harbor, Quinnipiac 
River and Mill River. The current RNA pertains only to the operation of 
tugs and barges. The changes would allow periodic, temporary closure of 
the area which will be needed during construction of the new Pearl 
Harbor Memorial Bridge, and which could be needed at other times as 
well. This proposed revision would allow the Coast Guard to suspend all 
vessel traffic through the RNA during periods of temporary closure. 
This rule is necessary to provide for the safety of life in the 
regulated area.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before September 7, 2012.
    Requests for public meetings must be received by the Coast Guard on 
or before August 20, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2012-0343 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.

[[Page 47332]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call or email Petty Officer Joseph Graun, Prevention Department, 
U. S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, (203) 468-4544, 
[email protected]; or Lieutenant Isaac M. Slavitt, Waterways 
Management Division, U.S. Coast Guard First District, (617) 223-8385. 
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: 

Table of Acronyms

COTP Captain of the Port
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

A. 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.

1. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking (USCG-2012-0343), 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, 
type the docket number (USCG-2012-0343) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with 
this rulemaking.
    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.

2. 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, 
type the docket number ``USCG-2012-0343'' in the ``SEARCH'' box and 
click ``Search.'' Click and Open Docket Folder on the line associated 
with this rulemaking. 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.

3. 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).

4. Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one on or before August 20, 2012 using one of the 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.

B. Basis and Purpose

    Under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, the Coast Guard has the 
authority to establish RNAs in defined water areas that are hazardous 
or in which hazardous conditions are determined to exist. See 33 U.S.C. 
1231 and Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.
    The purpose of this proposed rulemaking is to provide for safety on 
the navigable waters in the regulated area, and to update some of the 
terminology used in describing the boundaries of the RNA.

C. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The Coast Guard proposes to amend 33 CFR 165.150, the regulation 
that establishes the New Haven Harbor, Quinnipiac River, and Mill River 
RNA. The proposed amendment would give the Captain of the Port Sector 
Long Island Sound (COTP) the authority to temporarily close the RNA to 
vessel traffic in any circumstance, whether currently planned or 
unforeseen, that the COTP determines creates an imminent hazard to 
waterway users in the RNA. Waterway closures would be made with as much 
advance notice as possible and, when a closure is planned, at least ten 
days in advance. During closures, mariners may request permission from 
the COTP to transit through the RNA.
    The proposed rule was prompted by (but is not limited to) the 
navigation safety situation created by reconstruction of the Pearl 
Harbor Memorial Bridge (sometimes referred to as the I-95 Bridge, 
Quinnipiac Bridge, or ``Q'' Bridge). This bridge carries Interstate 95 
(Connecticut Turnpike) over the Quinnipiac River in New Haven. The 
present bridge was built in the 1950s and designed with a 50 year life 
span. The bridge has surpassed its useable life span and the 
Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) has contracted H. W. 
Lochner INC. (Lochner) to construct a replacement bridge. Lochner has 
begun bridge construction and is scheduled to complete the project in 
2015.
    The Coast Guard has discussed this project at length with CDOT and 
Lochner to determine whether the project can be completed without 
channel closures and, if possible, what impact that would have on the 
project timeline. Through these discussions, it became clear that while 
the majority of construction activities during the span of this project 
would not require waterway closures, there are certain tasks that can 
only be completed in the channel and will require closing the waterway. 
Specifically, this includes the demolition of steel support beams. 
These large and extremely heavy steel support beams are suspended 60 
feet above the water; to demolish them, they must be cut into small 
sections and lowered on to a barge below. This process will be 
extremely complex and presents many safety hazards including overhead 
crane operations, overhead cutting operations, potential falling 
debris, and barges positioned in the

[[Page 47333]]

channel with a restricted ability to maneuver.
    In an email to the U.S. Coast Guard dated January 20, 2012, Lochner 
outlined three phases of operations that require in-channel work, two 
of which will require waterway closures. Lochner will notify the Coast 
Guard as far in advance as possible if additional closures are needed.
    The first planned closure period will be two days during the fall 
of 2012. The purpose of this closure is to remove the steel support 
beams of the existing Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge northbound span. The 
two days will be weekdays and the closure will be in effect for the 
full 48 hours.
    The second planned closure period will be two days during the fall 
of 2013. The purpose of this closure is to remove the steel support 
beams of the existing Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge southbound span. The 
two days will be weekdays and the closure will be in effect for the 
full 48 hours.
    In addition to the revisions discussed above, the Coast Guard is 
proposing several wording updates in the description of the RNA. The 
updates would reflect the current names of local landmarks to make them 
more easily identifiable for mariners, but do not change the location 
or dimensions of the RNA.

D. 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.

1. 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, 
as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory 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 determined that this rulemaking would not be a 
significant regulatory action for the following reasons: vessel traffic 
would only be restricted from the RNA for limited durations and the RNA 
covers only a small portion of the navigable waterways. Furthermore, 
entry into this RNA during a closure may be authorized by the COTP 
Sector Long Island Sound or designated representative.
    Advanced public notifications will also be made to local mariners 
through appropriate means, which will include but are not limited to 
the Local Notice to Mariners and Broadcast Notice to Mariners.

2. Impact on Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we have 
considered whether this proposed rule would have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of 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 will affect the following entities, 
some of which may be small entities: the owners or operators of vessels 
intending to enter, transit, anchor or moor within the regulated areas 
during a vessel restriction period.
    The RNA will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities for the following reasons: the RNA 
will be of limited size and any waterway closures will be of short 
duration, and entry into this RNA during a closure is possible if the 
vessel has Coast Guard authorization. Additionally, before the 
effective period of a waterway closure, notifications will be made to 
local mariners through appropriate means.
    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.

3. 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 Petty Officer Joseph Graun, 
Prevention Department, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound, (203) 
468-4544, [email protected]. The Coast Guard will not retaliate 
against small entities that question or complain about this proposed 
rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. 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).

5. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on State or local 
governments and would either preempt State law or impose a substantial 
direct cost of compliance on them. We have analyzed this proposed rule 
under that Order and have determined that it does not have implications 
for federalism.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

[[Page 47334]]

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. Technical Standards

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

14. 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. This proposed rule 
involves restricting vessel movement within a regulated navigation 
area. This rule is categorically excluded from further review under 
paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant Instruction. A 
preliminary environmental analysis checklist supporting this 
determination is available in the docket where indicated under 
ADDRESSES. 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 165

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

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to revise 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

    1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 46 U.S.C. Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 50 
U.S.C. 191, 195; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Pub. L. 
107-295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of Homeland Security Delegation 
No. 0170.1.

    2. In Sec.  165.150 revise paragraphs (a) and (b)(8), and add new 
paragraph (b)(9) to read as follows:


Sec.  165.150  New Haven Harbor, Quinnipiac River, Mill River.

    (a) Boundaries. The following is a regulated navigation area: The 
waters surrounding the Tomlinson Bridge and Pearl Harbor Memorial 
Bridge (I-95 Bridge) located within a line extending from a point A at 
41[deg]17'50'' N, 072[deg]54'36'' W (the southeast corner of the 
Magellan Pink Tanks Terminal dock) thence along a line 126[deg]T to 
point B at 41[deg]17'42'' N, 072[deg]54'21'' W (the southwest corner of 
the Gulf facility) thence north along the shoreline to point C at 
41[deg]17'57'' N, 072[deg]54'06'' W (the northwest corner of the R & H 
Terminal dock) thence along a line 303[deg]T to point D at 
41[deg]18'05'' N, 072[deg]54'23'' W (the west bank of the mouth of the 
Mill River) thence south along the shoreline to point of origin.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (8) The Captain of the Port Sector Long Island Sound (COTP) may 
issue an authorization to deviate from any regulation in paragraph (b) 
of this section if the COTP determines that an alternate operation can 
be done safely.
    (9) The COTP may temporarily close the RNA for any situation the 
COTP determines would create an imminent hazard to waterway users in 
the RNA. Entry into the RNA during temporary closure is prohibited 
unless authorized by the COTP or the COTP's designated representative. 
The COTP or designated representative may order the removal of any 
vessel or equipment within the RNA. To assure wide advance notice of 
each closure among affected mariners, the COTP will use means 
including, but not limited to, Broadcast Notice to Mariners and Local 
Notice to Mariners. The COTP will announce the dates and times of the 
closure and whether exceptions will be authorized for emergency or 
other specific vessel traffic.

    Dated: July 19, 2012.
D. B. Abel,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2012-19378 Filed 8-7-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P