[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17482-17483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07080]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 1

[Docket No. USCG-2008-1259]
RIN 1625-AB32


Assessment Framework and Organizational Restatement Regarding 
Preemption for Certain Regulations Issued by the Coast Guard

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is extending the comment period for the notice 
of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Assessment Framework and 
Organizational Restatement Regarding Preemption for Certain Regulations 
Issued by the Coast Guard,'' which published on December 27, 2013. For 
reasons discussed in this notice, the comment period is extended until 
May 26, 2014.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on December 
27, 2013 (78 FR 79242), is extended. Comments and related material must 
be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or 
before May 26, 2014, or reach the Docket Management Facility by that 
date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Coast Guard docket 
number USCG-2008-1259, 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 methods. For 
instructions on submitting comments, see the ``Public Participation and 
Request for Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 
below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call or email Lieutenant Commander Lineka Quijano, Office of Maritime 
and International Law, Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-3865, email 
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program 
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted, 
without change, to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided.

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking (USCG-2008-1259), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide the 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 phone 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, 
search for the docket number USCG-2008-1259, and then click on the 
``comment now'' link. 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 them 
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. We may change this proposed rule in view of them.

B. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
search for the docket number USCG-2008-1259, and then click ``Open 
Docket Folder.'' 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 DOT 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 all 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 intend to hold a public meeting on this topic. We will announce 
the time and place of that meeting in a later notice in the Federal 
Register.

II. Reasons for Extension

    On December 27, 2013, the Coast Guard published its NPRM, 
``Assessment Framework and Organizational Restatement Regarding 
Preemption for Certain Regulations Issued by the Coast Guard'' (78 FR 
79242). The NPRM provided for a comment period of 90 days, which is now 
extended by an additional 60 days for a total comment period length of 
150 days. This notice of extension is issued under authority of 5 
U.S.C. 552(a).
    The NPRM discusses existing law on preemption, and identifies the 
laws and regulations that have preemptive effect. It clarifies (but 
does not alter) the Coast Guard's application of statutes and case law 
regarding the preemptive effect of its regulations. It also sets forth 
a process the Coast Guard will use in future rulemakings for evaluating 
the preemptive impact of those future regulations.
    The Coast Guard has received requests for extension of the comment 
period. Some of these requests are from members of the public and of 
State agencies who are concerned that the proposed rule would interfere 
with existing State permitting practices, or would require a thorough 
review of State regulations to find out what State regulations may be 
preempted by the proposed rule. The Coast Guard does not believe the 
proposed rule should raise such concerns. As stated here and throughout 
the NPRM, the proposed rule merely restates the current preemptive 
impact of our regulations as it exists today as a result of statute and 
court decisions. The proposed rule does not make any new determinations 
or assertions, but only summarizes in one

[[Page 17483]]

location existing law and the Coast Guard's statement of preemptive 
impact. The proposed rule does not alter in any way the rights of 
States. Likewise, it does not serve to prospectively give preemptive 
impact to any future regulatory effort. The proposed rule does not 
change the law as it exists today.
    However, we are interested in better understanding the concerns 
expressed, and we want to allow ample time for the public to consider 
the proposed rule. Accordingly, we have extended the comment period. We 
encourage all members of the public, and especially States, to send 
comments explaining what, if any, impact the proposed rule could have. 
Please be as specific as possible in explaining how the proposed rule 
would affect you.

    Dated: March 26, 2014.
F.J. Kenney,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Judge Advocate General.
[FR Doc. 2014-07080 Filed 3-27-14; 8:45 am]
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