[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39198-39200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15669]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334


Pacific Ocean Off the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking 
Sands, Island of Kauai, Hawaii; Danger Zone

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers is proposing to amend an existing 
danger zone in waters of the Pacific Ocean off the Pacific Missile 
Range Facility at Barking Sands, Island of Kauai, Hawaii. The U.S. Navy 
conducts missile defense activities, test missile launches, and 
training activities at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. The proposed 
amendment is necessary to protect the public from hazards associated 
with missile launch operations, training activities, and increased 
threat conditions. The proposed amendment would expand the existing 
danger zone and would prohibit any activity by the public within the 
danger zone without first obtaining permission from the Commanding 
Officer, Pacific Missile Range Facility, to ensure public safety and/or 
installation good order during range operations, weapon system testing, 
training activities, increases in force protection and other mission 
essential evolutions. The expanded danger zone would extend along 
approximately seven miles of shoreline adjacent to the Pacific Missile 
Range Facility, with its seaward extent ranging between 2.96 and 4.16 
nautical miles offshore.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 31, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2013-0007, by any of the following methods:

[[Page 39199]]

    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number, 
COE-2013-0007, 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-2013-0007 . 
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 
email. 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 email 
directly to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your email 
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 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 Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922, or Mr. Farley Watanabe, Corps of Engineers, Honolulu 
District, Regulatory Branch, at 808-835-4305 or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary

    The purpose of this regulatory action is to amend the danger zone 
in waters of the Pacific Ocean off the Pacific Missile Range Facility 
at Barking Sands, Island of Kauai, Hawaii by increasing the water area 
historically noted on nautical charts as 334.1390.
    The Corps authority to amend this danger zone is 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).

Background

    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 of 
Engineers is proposing to amend the regulations at 33 CFR Part 334 by 
amending the existing permanent danger zone in the waters of the 
Pacific Ocean off the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, 
Island of Kauai, Hawaii.
    The U.S. Navy conducts missile defense activities, test missile 
launches, and training activities at the Pacific Missile Range 
Facility. The proposed amendment is necessary to protect the public 
from hazards associated with missile launch operations, training 
activities, and increased threat conditions. The proposed amendment 
would expand the existing danger zone and would prohibit any activity 
by the public within the danger zone without first obtaining permission 
from the Commanding Officer, Pacific Missile Range Facility, to ensure 
public safety and/or installation good order during range operations, 
weapon system testing, training activities, increases in force 
protection and other mission essential evolutions. The expanded danger 
zone would extend along approximately seven miles of shoreline adjacent 
to the Pacific Missile Range Facility, with its seaward extent ranging 
between 2.96 and 4.16 nautical miles offshore.

Procedural Requirements

a. Review Under Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule is issued with respect to a military function of 
the Defense Department and the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do 
not apply.

b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This 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). Unless information is 
obtained to the contrary during the public notice comment period, the 
Corps expects that the amendment of this danger zone would have 
practically no economic impact on the public, no anticipated 
navigational hazard, or interference with existing waterway traffic. 
This proposed rule, if adopted, 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, 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. After it is 
prepared, it may be reviewed at the District office listed at the end 
of the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, above.

d. Unfunded Mandates Act

    This proposed rule does not impose an enforceable duty among the 
private sector and, therefore, it is not a Federal private sector 
mandate and it is not subject to the requirements of either Section 202 
or Section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Act. We have also found under 
Section 203 of the Act, that small governments will not be 
significantly and uniquely affected by this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, 
Waterways.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps proposes to 
amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:

[[Page 39200]]

PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for 33 CFR 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).

0
2. Revise Sec.  334.1390 to read as follows:


Sec.  334.1390  Pacific Ocean off the Pacific Missile Range Facility at 
Barking Sands, Island of Kauai, Hawaii; danger zone.

    (a) The danger zone. All navigable waters within an area beginning 
at a point on the shore at latitude 22[deg]04'13.65'' N, longitude 
159[deg]46'30.76'' W; and continue south along the shoreline to 
latitude 21[deg]58'42.77'' N, and longitude 159[deg]45'26.35'' W. 
Thence extending southwest to latitude 21[deg]56'6.00'' N, and 
longitude 159[deg]46'55.91'' W extending northwest to latitude 
21[deg]58'59.81'' N and longitude 159[deg]50'51.42'' W, continuing 
north to latitude 22[deg]02'28.09'' N, and longitude 159[deg]51'28.15'' 
W, and continuing northeast to latitude 22[deg]06'30.71'' N, longitude 
159[deg]49'20.43'' W; and thence to point of beginning. All coordinates 
reference 1983 North American Datum (NAD 83).
    (b) The regulations. (1) Dredging, dragging, seining, and other 
similar operations within the danger zone are prohibited.
    (2) All persons, boats, vessels, or other craft are prohibited from 
entering, transiting, or remaining within the danger zone during range 
operations, test and training activities, or increases in force 
protection that pose a hazard to the general public, as determined by 
the enforcing agency. The enforcing agency's determination of the 
necessity of closing the danger zone due to increases in force 
protection will be based on the Department of Defense Force Protection 
Condition (FPCON) System. From the lowest security level to the 
highest, FPCON levels are titled Normal, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and 
Delta.
    (3) Closure of the danger zone will be indicated by Notice to 
Mariners, the presence of Pacific Missile Range Facility range boats, 
beach markings including beach signs along the north and south beach 
borders alerting shoreline foot traffic, security patrols, and radio 
transmissions on common ocean frequencies to include Marine band 
channel 6 (156.300 MHz), Marine band channel 16 (156.800 MHz), and CB 
channel 22. The enforcing agency will post the danger zone closure 
schedule on its official Navy Web site, http://www.cnic.navy.mil/PMRF/, 
and Facebook Web site, http://www.facebook.com/PacificMissileRangeFacility. The danger zone closure schedule may also 
be obtained by calling the following phone numbers: 808-335-4301, 808-
335-4388, and 808-335-4523.
    (4) The enforcing agency will authorize the use of some, or all, of 
the danger zone for civilian waterborne activities when mission-
essential evolutions such as range operations, test and training 
operations, or increases in force protections levels permit it. Such 
activities include fishing, sightseeing, shelling, surfing, and 
transit.
    (c) The enforcing agency. The regulations in this section shall be 
enforced by the Commanding Officer, Pacific Missile Range Facility, 
Hawaii and such agencies or persons as he or she may designate.

    Dated: June 24, 2013.

    Approved:
James R. Hannon,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2013-15669 Filed 6-28-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P