[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22142-22144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09048]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket Number USCG-2015-0181]
RIN 1625-AA00


Safety Zone, Low Country Splash, Wando River, Cooper River, and 
Charleston Harbor, Charleston, SC

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to establish temporary moving safety 
zone during the Low Country Splash, a swimming race occurring on the 
Wando River, the Cooper River, and Charleston Harbor, in Charleston, 
South Carolina. The Low Country Splash is scheduled on May 30, 2015, 
from 7:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. The temporary moving safety zone is 
necessary to protect swimmers, participant vessels, spectators, and the 
general public during the event. Persons and vessels would be 
prohibited from entering the safety zone unless authorized by the 
Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before May 6, 2015. Requests for public meetings must be 
received by the Coast Guard on or before April 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number using 
any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail or Delivery: 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. Deliveries 
accepted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for further instructions 
on submitting comments. To avoid duplication, please use only one of 
these three methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call or email Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Ruleman, Sector 
Charleston Office of Waterways Management, Coast Guard; telephone 
(843)-740-3184, 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: 

Table of Acronyms

DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking

A. 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.

1. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 
please use only one of these means. If you submit a comment online, it 
will be considered received by the Coast Guard when you successfully 
transmit the comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, 
it will be considered as having been received by the Coast Guard when 
it is received at the Docket Management Facility. 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, 
type the docket number USCG-2015-0181 in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with 
this rulemaking.
    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 the rule 
based on your comments.

2. 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, 
type the docket number USCG-2015-0181 in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with 
this rulemaking. You may also visit 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.

3. 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).

4. Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one, using one of the methods specified under ADDRESSES. 
Please explain why you believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If 
we determine that one would aid this

[[Page 22143]]

rulemaking, we will hold one at a time and place announced by a later 
notice in the Federal Register.

B. Basis and Purpose

    The legal basis for the proposed rule is the Coast Guard's 
authority to establish regulated navigation areas and other limited 
access areas: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 
6.04-6, and 160.5; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 
0170.1.
    The purpose of the proposed rule is to ensure the safety of the 
swimmers, participant vessels, spectators, and the general public 
during the Low Country Splash.

C. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    On May 30, 2015, the Low Country Splash is scheduled to take place 
on the Wando River, the Cooper River, and Charleston Harbor, in 
Charleston, South Carolina. Low Country Splash will consist of a 5 mile 
swim that starts at Daniel Island pier on the Wando River, crosses the 
main shipping channel of Wando River at Hobcaw Point, and finishes at 
the Charleston Harbor Resort Marina.
    The proposed rule would establish a temporary moving safety zone of 
50 yards in front of the lead safety vessel preceding the first race 
participant, 50 yards behind the safety vessel trailing the last race 
participants, and at all times extend 100 yards on either side of the 
race participants and safety vessels. The temporary moving safety zone 
would be enforced from 7:30 a.m. until 9:45 a.m. on May 30, 2015.
    Persons and vessels would be prohibited from entering or transiting 
through the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port 
Charleston or a designated representative. Persons and vessels would be 
able to request authorization to enter or transit through the safety 
zone by contacting the Captain of the Port Charleston by telephone at 
(843) 740-7050, or a designated representative via VHF radio on channel 
16.

D. Regulatory Analyses

    We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes 
and executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our 
analyses based on a number of these statutes or executive orders.

 1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and does not require an assessment of potential 
costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of Executive Order 12866 or 
under section 1 of Executive Order 13563. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under those Orders.
    The economic impact of this proposed rule is not significant for 
the following reasons: (1) The safety zone would only be enforced for a 
total of two and one quarter hours; (2) the safety zone would move with 
the participant safety vessels so that once the swimmers clear a 
portion of the waterway, the safety zone would no longer be enforced in 
that portion of the waterway; (3) although persons and vessels would 
not be able to enter or transit through the safety zone without 
authorization from the Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated 
representative, they would be able to operate in the surrounding area 
during the enforcement period; (4) persons and vessels would still be 
able to enter or transit through the safety zone if authorized by the 
Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative; and (5) 
the Coast Guard would provide advance notification of the safety zone 
to the local maritime community by Local Notice to Mariners and 
Broadcast Notice to Mariners.

2. Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as 
amended, requires federal agencies to consider the potential impact of 
regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term ``small 
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations 
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 
50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this 
proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    This proposed rule may affect the following entities, some of which 
may be small entities: The owners or operators of vessels intending to 
enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within that portion of the 
Wando River, the Cooper River, and Charleston Harbor, in Charleston, 
South Carolina encompassed within the safety zone from 7:30 a.m. until 
9:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2015. For the reasons discussed in the 
Regulatory Planning and Review section above, this proposed rule would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. If you think that your business, organization, or 
governmental jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this 
rule would have a significant economic impact on it, please submit a 
comment (see ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how 
and to what degree this rule would economically affect it.

3. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule. If the rule would affect 
your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you 
have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, 
please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section above. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small 
entities that question or complain about this proposed rule or any 
policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. Collection of Information

    This proposed rule will not call for a new collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520.).

5. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and 
determined that this rule does not have implications for federalism.

 6. Protest Activities

    The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. 
Protesters are asked to contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that 
your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or 
security of people, places or vessels.

7. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this

[[Page 22144]]

proposed rule would not result in such an expenditure, we do discuss 
the effects of this rule elsewhere in this preamble.

8. Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not cause a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

9. Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

10. Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and would not 
create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

 11. Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

 12. Energy Effects

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under 
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.

13. Technical Standards

    This proposed rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we 
did not consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

14. Environment

    We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security 
Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction M16475.lD, which 
guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have concluded 
this action is one of a category of actions that do not individually or 
cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. This 
rule involves a special local regulation issued in conjunction with a 
regatta or marine parade. This rule is categorically excluded from 
further review under paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant 
Instruction. We seek any comments or information that may lead to the 
discovery of a significant environmental impact from this rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

    Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-
1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 
0170.1.

0
2. Add a temporary Sec.  165.T07-0181 to read as follows:


Sec.  165.T07-0181  Safety Zone; Low Country Splash, Charleston, SC.

    (a) Regulated Areas. The following regulated area is a moving 
safety zone: all waters 50 yards in front of the lead safety vessel 
preceding the first race participants, 50 yards behind the safety 
vessel trailing the last race participants, and at all times extend 100 
yards on either side of the race participants and safety vessels. The 
Low Country Splash swimming race consists of a 5 mile course that 
starts at Daniel Island Pier on the Wando River, crosses the main 
shipping channel of Wando River at Hobcaw Point, and finishes at the 
Charleston Harbor Resort Marina.
    (b) Definition. The term ``designated representative'' means Coast 
Guard Patrol Commanders, including Coast Guard coxswains, petty 
officers, and other officers operating Coast Guard vessels, and 
Federal, state, and local officers designated by or assisting the 
Captain of the Port Charleston in the enforcement of the regulated 
areas.
    (c) Regulations.
    (1) All persons and vessels are prohibited from entering or 
transiting through the regulated areas unless authorized by the Captain 
of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.
    (2) Persons and vessels desiring to enter or transit through the 
regulated areas may contact the Captain of the Port Charleston by 
telephone at (843) 740-7050, or a designated representative via VHF 
radio on channel 16, to request authorization. If authorization to 
enter or transit through the regulated areas is granted by the Captain 
of the Port Charleston or a designated representative, all persons and 
vessels receiving such authorization must comply with the instructions 
of the Captain of the Port Charleston or a designated representative.
    (3) The Coast Guard will provide notice of the regulated areas by 
Local Notice to Mariners, Broadcast Notice to Mariners, and on-scene 
designated representatives.
    (d) Effective Date. This rule is effective on Saturday, May 30, 
2015, and will be enforced from 7:30 a.m. until 9:45 a.m.

    Dated: April 9, 2015.
B.D. Falk,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port Charleston.
[FR Doc. 2015-09048 Filed 4-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P