[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 41 (Monday, March 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11806-11808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04561]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2013-1065]


Towing Safety Advisory Committee; March 2014 meeting

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

[[Page 11807]]


ACTION: Notice of Federal advisory committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) will meet in New 
Orleans, Louisiana on March 20, 2014, to review and discuss 
recommendations from its subcommittees and to receive briefs listed in 
the agenda under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. The subcommittees will meet 
on March 19, 2014, and work on nine assigned tasks listed in the 
referenced agenda. All meetings will be open to the public.

DATES: TSAC subcommittees will meet on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, from 
7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The full TSAC Committee will meet on Thursday, 
March 20, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. These meetings may close 
early if the Committee has completed its business. All submitted 
written materials, comments, and requests to make oral presentations at 
the meetings should reach Lieutenant Commander William A. Nabach, 
Alternate Designated Federal officer (ADFO) for TSAC no later than 
March 10, 2014. For contact information, please see the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section below. Any written material submitted by 
the public will be distributed to the Committee and become part of the 
public record.

ADDRESSES: All meetings will be held at the Wyndham Riverfront New 
Orleans Bacchus Conference Room, 701 Convention Center Blvd., New 
Orleans, LA 70130.
    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, 
as soon as possible.
    To facilitate public participation, we are inviting public comment 
on the issues to be considered by the committee as listed in the 
``Agenda'' section below. Written comments must be submitted no later 
than March 10, 2014 and must be identified by Docket No. USCG-2013-1065 
and may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. (Preferred method to 
avoid delays in processing).
     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. We encourage use of 
electronic submissions because security screening may delay the 
delivery of mail.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     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 
methods.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the words 
``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number of this 
notice. All comments submitted will be posted without alteration at 
http://www.regulations.gov including any personal information provided. 
You may review a Privacy Act notice regarding our public dockets in the 
January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
    Docket: For access to the docket to read documents or comments 
related to this notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov, insert USCG-
2013-1065 in the Search box, press Enter, and then click on the item 
you wish to view.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Commander Robert L. Smith Jr., 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO) for TSAC, Commandant (CG-OES-2), U.S. 
Coast Guard, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. Stop 7509, 
Washington, DC 20593-7509; telephone 202-372-1410, fax 202-372-8382, or 
email [email protected] or Lieutenant Commander William A. 
Nabach, Alternate Designated Federal Officer (ADFO), TSAC; telephone 
(202) 372-1386, fax (202) 372-8382 or email [email protected]. 
If you have any questions on viewing or submitting material to the 
docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, 
telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting is given under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. Appendix (Pub. L. 92-
463). TSAC is established in accordance with and operates under the 
provisions of the FACA. As stated in 33 U.S.C. 1231a, the Towing Safety 
Advisory Committee provides advice and recommendations to the 
Department of Homeland Security on matters relating to shallow-draft 
inland and coastal waterway navigation and towing safety.

Agenda of Meetings

    The subcommittees will meet on March 19, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 
p.m., to work on their specific task assignments:
    (1) Recommendations Regarding Manning of Inspected Towing Vessels.
    (2) Recommendations to Create Standardized Terminology for the 
Towing Industry.
    (3) Recommendations for Evaluating Placement of Structures Adjacent 
to or Within the Navigable Channel.
    (4) Recommendations for Designation of Narrow Channels.
    (5) Recommendations for the Maintenance, Repair and Utilization of 
Towing Equipment, Lines and Couplings.
    (6) Recommendations Regarding Steel Repair of Inspected Towing 
Vessels on Inland Service.
    (7) Recommendations For Mid-Stream Liquefied Natural Gas and 
Compressed Natural Gas Refueling of Towing Vessels.
    (8) Recommendations for Improvement of Coast Guard Marine Casualty 
Reporting.
    (9) Recommendation to Establish Criteria for Identification of Air 
Draft for Towing Vessels and Tows.
    On March 20, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., TSAC will meet to 
receive oral and written reports from its subcommittees on the 
following issues:
    (1) Recommendations Regarding Manning of Inspected Towing Vessels. 
A progress update will be given.
    (2) Recommendations to Create Standardized Terminology for the 
Towing Industry. A final report will be given.
    (3) Recommendations for Evaluating Placement of Structures Adjacent 
to or Within the Navigable Channel. A final report will be given.
    (4) Recommendations for Designation of Narrow Channels. A progress 
update will be given.
    (5) Recommendations for the Maintenance, Repair and Utilization of 
Towing Equipment, Lines and Couplings. A progress update will be given.
    (6) Recommendations Regarding Steel Repair of Inspected Towing 
Vessels on Inland Service. A final report will be given.
    (7) Recommendations For Mid-Stream Liquefied Natural Gas and 
Compressed Natural Gas Refueling of Towing Vessels. A progress update 
will be given.
    (8) Recommendations for Improvement of Coast Guard Marine Casualty 
Reporting. A progress update will be given.
    (9) Recommendation to Establish Criteria for Identification of Air 
Draft for Towing Vessels and Tows. A progress update will be given.
    There will be a comment period for TSAC and a comment period for 
the public after each final report presentation, but before each is 
voted on by the Committee. The Committee will review the information 
presented on each issue, deliberate on any

[[Page 11808]]

recommendations presented in the subcommittees' reports, and formulate 
recommendations for the Department's consideration.
    The Committee is scheduled to receive the following briefs:
    (1) National Plan for Safety and Security of Especially Hazardous 
Cargo.
    (2) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District Set-back 
Standard Operating Procedures.
    (3) Carriage of Shale Gas Extraction Wastewater in Bulk.
    A copy of each draft report, presentation and the final agenda will 
be available at https://homeport.uscg.mil/tsac.
    An opportunity for oral comments by the public will be provided 
during the meeting on March 20, 2014. Speakers are requested to limit 
their comments to 3 minutes. Please note that the public oral comment 
period may end before the end of the stated meeting times if the 
Committee has finished its business. Please contact Lieutenant 
Commander William A. Nabach, listed in the FOR FURTHER INFFORMATION 
CONTACT section to register as a speaker.

Minutes

    Minutes from the meeting will be available for public review and 
copying within 90 days following the close of the meeting and can be 
accessed from the Coast Guard Homeport Web site http://homeport.uscg.mil/tsac.

Notice of Future 2014 TSAC Meetings

    To receive automatic email notices of future TSAC meetings in 2014, 
go to the online docket, USCG-2013-1065 (http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=USCG-2013-1065), and select the sign-up-for-email-
alerts option. We plan to use the same docket number for all TSAC 
meeting notices in 2014, so when the next meeting notice is published 
you will receive an email alert from www.regulations.gov when the 
notice appears in this docket.

    Dated: February 25, 2014.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2014-04561 Filed 2-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P