[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 25, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58986-58987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23283]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 151

[Docket No. USCG-2004-19621]
RIN 1625-AA89


Dry Cargo Residue Discharges in the Great Lakes

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the availability of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) assessing the potential 
environmental impacts associated with a proposed final rule to regulate 
discharges of dry cargo residue (DCR) in the Great Lakes. The Coast 
Guard requests public comment on the FEIS.

DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Docket Management 
Facility on or before October 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit or view comments or related material 
identified by docket number USCG-2004-19621 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call or email Timothy P. O'Brien, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1539, 
email Timothy.P.O'[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: Pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, codified at 42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f, Department of 
Homeland Security Management Directive 023-01, and Commandant 
Instruction M16475.1D, we are making available to the public our FEIS 
assessing the potential environmental impacts associated with a 
proposed final rule to regulate discharges of dry cargo residue in the 
Great Lakes.
    In August 2008, the Coast Guard issued an Environmental Impact 
Statement (the Phase I FEIS), which evaluated regulatory alternatives 
for discharging DCR into the Great Lakes. Based in part on that FEIS's 
findings, we published an interim rule on September 29, 2008 (73 FR 
56492). It kept in place the Coast Guard's interim enforcement policy 
for Great Lakes DCR discharges and announced our intention to research 
Phase I FEIS data gaps related to DCR discharge control measure costs 
and effectiveness.
    The Phase II FEIS we are now making available is ``tiered'' off the 
Phase I FEIS, addresses the Phase I FEIS data gaps, and would provide 
support for a Coast Guard final rule to take the place of the 2008 
interim rule. It finalizes the Phase II draft EIS that we made 
available for public comment when we issued a supplemental notice of 
proposed rulemaking (77 FR 44528; Jul. 30, 2012) to propose the final 
rule. The Phase II FEIS reviews data we collected from approximately 
2,000 DCR reporting forms and 30 Coast Guard-observed dry cargo loading 
and unloading operations. Data collected permitted further evaluations 
of DCR quantities and the effectiveness of control measures. The Phase 
II FEIS analysis concludes that the final rule would require 
maintaining a ``broom-clean'' standard on the vessel deck and 
implementing a management plan to minimize DCR discharges from a 
vessel's deck and tunnel. Vessels would need to keep onboard records of 
DCR-related discharges and continue observing existing DCR discharge 
exclusion areas. Mitigation of nearshore and port impacts would be 
included through a prohibition of limestone and clean stone DCR 
discharges within 3 statute miles of shore. In the Western Basin of 
Lake Erie, vessels not traveling beyond 3 statute miles from shore 
could discharge DCR within dredged navigation channels and not create 
adverse impacts to native sediment or benthos.
    We encourage you to submit comments or related material on the 
FEIS. Please include your personal contact information so we can 
contact you if we need to follow up. 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 http://www.regulations.gov using a comment submitter's personal information; 
for more information see the Department of Transportation's Privacy Act 
notice (73

[[Page 58987]]

FR 3316; Jan. 17, 2008). We will consider all comments and material 
received during the comment period. Currently, we have no plans to hold 
public meetings in connection with this notice, but if you think such a 
meeting would be beneficial, contact us (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).

Authority

    The Coast Guard issues this notice under authority of the Freedom 
of Information Act, codified at 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: September 15, 2013.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, United States Coast 
Guard.
[FR Doc. 2013-23283 Filed 9-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P