[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48180-48182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19098]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2013-0491]


Consolidation of Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection For Outer 
Continental Shelf Activities; Eighth Coast Guard District

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is considering establishing a single Officer 
in Charge, Marine Inspection (OCMI) to oversee marine inspections for 
all Mobile Offshore Drilling Units and Floating Outer Continental Shelf 
Facilities (as defined in Coast Guard regulations) engaged directly in, 
capable of engaging directly in, or being constructed to engage 
directly in oil and gas exploration or production in the offshore 
waters of the Eighth Coast Guard District (referred to hereafter 
collectively as ``units''). Currently, these units are inspected by six 
separate OCMI offices across the Eighth Coast District. The Coast Guard 
believes that the consolidation of the six existing OCMI offices into 
one will promote efficiency and consistency for both the Coast Guard 
and the regulated industry.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received on or before 
September 6, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2013-0491 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Online: 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.
    If you have questions on this notice, call or email Commander 
Michael Zamperini, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (202) 372-1230, email 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Barbara Hairston, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments and related material in 
response to this notice. 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 notice (USCG-2013-0491) and provide a reason for 
each suggestion or recommendation. You may submit your comments and 
material online, or by fax, mail or hand delivery, but please use only 
one of these means. 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, 
and follow the instructions on that Web site. 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 this proposed rule based on your 
comments.

[[Page 48181]]

B. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
instructions on that Web site. 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 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.

C. 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).

D. Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one to the docket using one of the methods specified under 
ADDRESSES. In your request, 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.

Basis and Purpose

    The Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, Louisiana has six 
OCMI field offices located along the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama; New 
Orleans, Louisiana; Morgan City, Louisiana; Port Arthur, Texas; 
Houston, Texas; and Corpus Christi, Texas. Currently, each of these 
offices has full OCMI authority to conduct inspections of all vessels 
required to undergo Coast Guard inspection within their respective 
zones as defined in 33 CFR part 3. The functions of an OCMI are found 
in 33 CFR 1.01-20 and include inspection of vessels in order to 
determine that they comply with the applicable laws, rules, and 
regulations relating to safe construction, equipment, manning, and 
operation and that they are in a seaworthy condition for the services 
in which they are operated.
    At the six field offices listed above, the OCMI also serves as the 
commanding officer of the unit. The title ``commanding officer'' refers 
to the highest ranking military official at a Coast Guard field office. 
In addition to being geographically separated from the Eighth Coast 
Guard District office, commanding officers exercise independent 
military justice and disciplinary authority over their entire staff. 
Commanding officers in the Eighth Coast Guard District report directly 
to the Eighth Coast Guard District Commander in New Orleans. Commanding 
officers also serve other statutory functions within their geographic 
area such as Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) for oil and hazardous 
material spills, Captain of the Port (COTP), and Federal Maritime 
Security Coordinator (FMSC). As OCMIs, they have authority to 
independently render decisions effecting the approval or disapproval of 
certain vessels to operate on the OCS. Any appeal of a decision made by 
an OCMI is made to the District Commander in accordance with 33 CFR 
1.03-20.
    In order to understand the various options discussed later in this 
notice, it is important to note that the Eighth Coast Guard District 
Commander also has various division chiefs on staff. Unlike commanding 
officers, division chiefs do not exercise military justice authority 
over their staffs and are co-located with the District Commander. 
Division chiefs report directly to the District Commander and 
historically have not served as OCMI, FOSC, COTP, or FMSC. Should the 
role of OCMI be assigned to a division chief, appeals from the OCMI 
level would also be made to the District Commander.
    Vessels requiring Coast Guard inspection include Mobile Offshore 
Drilling Units (MODUs), Floating Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 
Facilities (as defined in 33 CFR 140.10), and other similar vessels 
that engage in oil and gas exploration and production on the OCS. Coast 
Guard OCMIs are required to inspect these units when they are operating 
on the OCS.
    The offshore oil and gas industry is currently experiencing 
substantial growth in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, unit 
construction and operation in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to 
increase by 60% in the next five years. In order to keep pace with this 
growth, the Coast Guard is considering ways to increase efficiency and 
streamline inspection of offshore units. We are considering creating 
one office to serve as OCMI for MODUs and Floating OCS facilities, 
creating a single point of contact for scheduling inspections and 
promoting consistency of regulatory interpretation and enforcement 
across the Gulf for units operating on the OCS. At this time, we are 
not suggesting the inclusion of support vessels such as offshore supply 
vessels, crew boats, accommodation vessels, and similar vessels that 
routinely call on ports as falling under the authority of the OCS OCMI. 
Those vessels would continue to be inspected by the six existing OCMIs.
    We are seeking public comment on the following questions to assist 
us in determining whether consolidating the OCMI function as described 
above is advisable and, if so, the manner in which it should be 
implemented:
    (1) Do you support the consolidation of the OCMI function into a 
single office for the oversight and inspection of units operating on 
the OCS in the Eighth Coast Guard District? Why or why not?
    (2) If a consolidated OCMI for the OCS were created, which of the 
following options is the most appropriate organizational placement of 
the consolidated OCMI within the Eighth Coast Guard District? (In each 
of the scenarios below, appeals to decisions made by the consolidated 
OCMI would be made to the Eighth Coast Guard District Commander.) Are 
there other options we should consider?
    (a) Consolidate the OCMI function into one of the six existing 
OCMIs. This OCMI would retain the title of commanding officer they 
already have at their current unit, but their OCMI authority to inspect 
units would be expanded to include all of the Eighth Coast Guard 
District.
    (b) Make the consolidated OCMI a member of the staff of one of the 
six existing OCMIs. This OCMI would not hold the title of commanding 
officer.
    (c) Make the consolidated OCMI a division chief on the Eighth Coast 
Guard District staff. This OCMI would not hold the title of commanding 
officer.
    (d) Create a new command separate from the existing six OCMI 
commands with the consolidated OCMI as the commanding officer.
    (3) If the consolidated OCMI for the OCS were created, where in the 
Eighth Coast Guard District should the offices of the consolidated OCMI 
be physically located?
    We ask that all comments submitted in response to this request 
include the reasoning behind the comment to better inform our decision 
making. This request for comments should not be construed as suggesting 
that the Eighth Coast Guard District will create a consolidated OCMI 
for the OCS. Whether, and in what format, this position would be 
created will depend on a number of factors including public responses 
to this request, staffing requirements, legal constraints, and budget 
impacts.
    Specific questions regarding this request should be addressed to

[[Page 48182]]

Commander Michael Zamperini whose contact information is located above 
the ``For Further Information Contact'' section.
    This notice is issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C 552(a), 14 
U.S.C. 92, and DHS Delegation 0170.1 II (23).

    Dated: August 1, 2013.
J. C. Burton,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Inspections & Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2013-19098 Filed 8-6-13; 8:45 am]
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