[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20289-20290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07733]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR 101,104,105,106

[Docket No. USCG-2007-28915]


Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader 
Requirements

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting on proposed rulemaking; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to take place on 
April 25, 2013, in Houston, Texas to receive comments on a notice of 
proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 22, 
2013, under the title ``Transportation Worker Identification Credential 
(TWIC)--Reader Requirements.'' The Coast Guard encourages members of 
the public to attend this meeting and provide oral comments on the 
notice of proposed rulemaking on TWIC reader requirements.

DATES: A public meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2013, from 
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to provide an opportunity for oral comments. 
Coast Guard personnel will accept written comments and related 
materials at the public meeting as well. Written comments may also be 
submitted in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking referenced 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The comment period for the 
notice of proposed rulemaking will close on May 21, 2013. All written 
comments and related materials submitted before or after the meeting 
must either be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before May 21, 2013, or reach the Docket 
Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Houston Marriott 
North, 255 N. Sam Houston Parkway East, Houston, Texas 77060. The 
building is accessible by taxi, public transit, and privately-owned 
conveyance.
    This meeting is open to the public. Please note that the session 
may adjourn early if all business, concerns, and questions are 
addressed. You may submit written comments identified by docket number 
USCG-2007-28915 before or after the meeting 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. 
Our online docket for this notice is available on the Internet at 
http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2007-28915.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning the 
meeting, please call or email LCDR Gregory Callaghan, Commandant (CG-
FAC-2), Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1168, email 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Barbara Hairston, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Purpose

    On March 22, 2013, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (78 FR 17781), in which we 
proposed to require owners and operators of certain vessels and 
facilities regulated by the Coast Guard to use electronic readers 
designed to work with the Transportation Worker Identification 
Credential (TWIC) as an access control measure. The NPRM also proposed 
additional requirements associated with electronic TWIC readers, 
including recordkeeping requirements for those owners and operators 
required to use an electronic TWIC reader, and security plan amendments 
to incorporate TWIC reader requirements. The TWIC program, including 
the TWIC reader requirements proposed in the NPRM, is an important 
component of the Coast Guard's multi-layered system of access control 
requirements and other measures designed to enhance maritime security.
    As authorized by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 
\1\ (MTSA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) 
established the TWIC program to address identity management 
shortcomings and vulnerabilities identified in the nation's 
transportation system and to comply with the MTSA statutory 
requirements. On January 25, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security 
(DHS), through the Coast Guard and TSA, promulgated regulations that 
require mariners and other individuals granted unescorted access to 
secure areas of MTSA-regulated vessels or facilities to undergo a 
security threat assessment by TSA and obtain a TWIC.\2\
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    \1\ Public Law 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064 (Nov. 2, 2002).
    \2\ Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) 
Implementation in the Maritime Sector; Hazardous Materials 
Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License, 72 FR 3492 (Jan. 25, 
2007).
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    This NPRM that is the subject of this public meeting, which would 
require owners and operators of certain types of vessels and facilities 
to use electronic TWIC readers, would advance the goals of the TWIC 
program. In crafting the proposals in the NPRM, the Coast Guard 
conducted a risk-based analysis of MTSA-regulated vessels and 
facilities to categorize them into one of three risk groups, labeled A, 
B, and C. Risk Group A is comprised of vessels and facilities that 
present the highest risk of being involved in a transportation security 
incident (TSI).\3\ The NPRM proposes TWIC reader requirements for 
vessels and facilities in Risk Group A. Under the NPRM, vessels and 
facilities in Risk Groups B and C present progressively lower risks, 
and would continue to follow existing regulatory requirements for 
visual TWIC inspection.
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    \3\ A transportation security incident is a security incident 
resulting in a significant loss of life, environmental damage, 
transportation system disruption, or economic disruption in a 
particular area, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 70101 (49 CFR 1572.103).
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    The Coast Guard believes that in addition to receiving written 
comments on the NPRM, a public meeting would benefit the impacted 
community by providing another forum to raise relevant issues. Also, 
the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 \4\ 
requires the Coast Guard to hold at least one public hearing before 
promulgating final TWIC reader regulations (see 46 U.S.C. 70105(k)(3)). 
This public meeting will further enable the Coast Guard to craft policy 
informed by the public.
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    \4\ Public Law 109-347, 120 Stat. 1884 (Oct. 13, 2006).
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    We may hold one or more additional public meetings regarding the 
proposals

[[Page 20290]]

in the NPRM on TWIC reader requirements. We will notify the public of 
the date(s), time(s), location(s), and other details of any such 
meeting(s) by publishing a separate notice in the Federal Register as 
soon as we have information available.
    You may view the NPRM, written comments, and supporting documents 
in the online docket by going to http://www.regulations.gov and using 
``USCG-2007-28915'' as your search term. Locate the NPRM among the 
search results and use the filters on the left side of the page to 
search for specific types of documents. If you do not have access to 
the Internet, you may view the docket online by visiting 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 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Coast Guard has an agreement with 
the Department of Transportation to use its Docket Management Facility.
    We encourage you to participate by submitting comments either 
orally at the meeting or in writing. If you bring written comments to 
the meeting, you may submit them to Coast Guard personnel specified at 
the meeting to receive written comments. These comments will be 
submitted to our online public docket. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include 
any personal information you have provided.
    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, or other entity). You may review a Privacy Act 
notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of 
the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting, 
contact LCDR Gregory Callaghan at the telephone number or email address 
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
notice.

Public Meeting

    The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting regarding the 
``Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader 
Requirements'' NPRM (78 FR 17781) on Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 1:00 
p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Houston Marriott North, 255 N Sam Houston 
Parkway East, Houston, Texas 77060. The building is accessible by taxi, 
public transit, and privately-owned conveyance. Please note that the 
session may adjourn early if all business, concerns, and questions are 
addressed. We will post a written summary of the meeting and oral 
comments in the docket.

Authority

    This notice is issued under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 70105(k)(3) 
and 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: March 29, 2013.
J.R. Morgan,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Cargo and Facility Division (CG-
FAC-2).
[FR Doc. 2013-07733 Filed 4-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P