[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18617-18618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06986]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2010-1066]


Recreational Boating Safety Projects, Programs and Activities 
Funded Under Provisions of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 
Century; Accounting of

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In 1999, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
made $5 million per year available for the payment of Coast Guard 
expenses for personnel and activities directly related to coordinating 
and carrying out the national recreational boating safety program. In 
2005, the law was amended, and the amount was increased to $5.5 
million. The Coast Guard is publishing this notice to satisfy a 
requirement of the Act that a detailed accounting of the projects, 
programs, and activities funded under the national recreational boating 
safety program provision of the Act be published annually in the 
Federal Register. In this notice, we have specified the funding amounts 
the Coast Guard has committed, obligated, or expended during fiscal 
year 2012, as of September 30, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this notice, call 
Jeff Ludwig, Regulations Development Manager, telephone 202-372-1061.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century became law on 
June 9, 1998 (Pub. L. 105-178; 112 Stat. 107). The Act required that of 
the $5 million made available to carry out the national recreational 
boating safety program each year, $2 million shall be available only to 
ensure compliance with Chapter 43 of title 46, U.S. Code. On September 
29, 2005, the Sportfishing and Recreational Boating Safety Amendments 
Act of 2005 was enacted (Public Law 109-74; 119 Stat. 2031). This Act 
increased the funds available to the national recreational boating 
safety program from $5 million to $5.5 million annually, and stated 
that ``not less than'' $2 million shall be available only to ensure 
compliance with Chapter 43 of title 46, U.S. Code.
    These funds are available to the Secretary of Homeland Security 
(Secretary) from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund 
established under 26 U.S.C. 9504(a) for payment of Coast Guard expenses 
for personnel and activities directly related to coordinating and 
carrying out the national recreational boating safety program. Under 46 
U.S.C. 13107(c), no funds available to the Secretary under this 
subsection may be used to replace funding traditionally provided 
through general appropriations, nor for any purposes except those 
purposes authorized; namely, for personnel and activities directly 
related to coordinating and carrying out the national recreational 
boating safety program. Amounts made available under 46 U.S.C. 13107(c) 
remain available during the two succeeding fiscal years. Any amount 
that is unexpended or unobligated at the end of the 3-year period 
during which it is available, shall be withdrawn by the Secretary and 
allocated to the States in addition to any other amounts available

[[Page 18618]]

for allocation in the fiscal year in which they are withdrawn or the 
following fiscal year.
    Use of these funds requires compliance with standard Federal 
contracting rules with associated lead and processing times resulting 
in a lag time between available funds and spending. The total amount of 
funding transferred to the Coast Guard from the Sport Fish Restoration 
and Boating Trust Fund and committed, obligated, and/or expended during 
fiscal year 2012 for each activity is shown below.

Specific Accounting of Funds

    Factory Visit Program/Boat Testing Program: Funding was provided to 
continue the national recreational boat factory visit program, 
initiated in January 2001. Under the factory visit program, contracted 
personnel, acting on behalf of the Coast Guard, visited 1,150 
recreational boat manufacturers during the 2012 reporting year to 
either inspect for compliance with Federal regulations, communicate 
with the manufacturers as to why they need to comply with Federal 
regulations, or educate them, as necessary, on how to comply with 
Federal regulations. Funding was also provided for testing of certain 
associated equipment and in-water testing of atypical and used 
recreational boats for compliance with capacity and flotation 
standards. Funding in the amount of $1,984,621 was provided for the 
Factory Visit Program/Boat Testing Program, with an additional $857 for 
travel expenses. ($1,985,478).\1\
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    \1\ Section 13707(c)(1) of title 46 U.S.C. requires that ``* * 
*not less than $2,000,000 be available to ensure compliance with 
chapter 43 of title 46 U.S.C.[--Recreational Vessels].'' For 
purposes of satisfying this requirement, we consider $100,000 of 
funding for ``personnel support'' and $140,000 for ``reimbursable 
salaries'' in addition to the amount of $1,985,478 itemized for 
Factory Visit Program/Boat Testing Program. We did not include those 
amounts in the total for Factory Visit Program/Boat Testing Program 
because the broad categories of ``personnel support'' and 
``reimbursable salaries'' are accounted for separately below.
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    New Recreational Boating Safety Associated Travel: Travel by 
employees of the Boating Safety Division was performed to carry out 
additional recreational boating safety actions and to gather background 
and planning information for new recreational boating safety 
initiatives, in support of the National Recreational Boating Safety 
Program Strategic Plan. ($23,367).
    Boating Accident News Clipping Services: Funding was provided to 
continue to gather daily news stories of recreational boating accidents 
nationally for more real time accident information and to identify 
accidents that may involve regulatory non-compliances or safety 
defects. ($82,900).
    Web-based Document Management System: Funding was provided to 
continue to provide a web-based document management system to better 
enable the handling of thousands of recreational boating recall case 
and campaign reports. ($60,000).
    Recreational Boating Safety (RBS) Outreach Program: Funding was 
allocated for this program, which provides full marketing, media, 
public information, and program strategy support to the nation-wide RBS 
effort. The goal is to coordinate the RBS outreach initiatives and 
campaigns, some of which include: National Boating Under the Influence 
Campaign (BUI), ``Boat Responsibly!'', Life Jacket Wear, Vessel Safety 
Check Program (VSC), Boating Safety Education Courses, Propeller Strike 
Avoidance, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Awareness and Education, and other 
recreational boating safety issues on an as needed basis. ($845,598).
    Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) Web System: Funding was 
allocated to continue providing the BARD Web System, which enables 
reporting authorities in the 50 States, five U.S. Territories, and the 
District of Columbia to submit their accident reports electronically 
over a secure Internet connection. The system also enables the user 
community to generate statistical reports that show the frequency, 
nature, and severity of boating accidents. Fiscal year 2012 funds 
supported system maintenance, development, and technical (hotline) 
support. ($372,440).
    Personnel Support: Funding was provided for personnel to support 
the development of new regulations and to conduct boating safety-
related research and analysis. ($681,773).
    Reimbursable Salaries: Funding was provided to carry out the work 
as prescribed in 46 U.S.C. 13107(c) and as described herein. The first 
position was that of a professional mathematician/statistician to 
conduct necessary national surveys and studies on recreational boating 
activities as well as to serve as a liaison to other Federal agencies 
that are conducting boating surveys so that we can pool our resources 
and reduce costs. The second position was that of an Outreach 
Coordinator with responsibilities that include overseeing and managing 
RBS projects related to carbon monoxide poisoning, propeller injury 
mitigation, and manufacturer compliance initiatives. ($296,000).
    Web site Support: Funding for this initiative provides a full range 
of public media and boating safety information at http://www.uscgboating.org for a worldwide audience. It covers a wide spectrum 
of boating safety related topics and is dedicated to reducing loss of 
life, injuries, and property damage that occur on U.S. waterways by 
improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of recreational boaters. 
($79,658).
    Of the $5.5 million made available to the Coast Guard in fiscal 
year 2012, $2,280,621 has been committed, obligated, or expended and an 
additional $2,146,591 of prior fiscal year funds have been committed, 
obligated, or expended, as of September 30, 2012.

Authority

    This notice is issued pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 13107(c)(4).

    Dated: March 20, 2013.
Paul F. Thomas,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Inspections & Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2013-06986 Filed 3-26-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P