[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 219 (Friday, November 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70239-70240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29139]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2015-0961]


Recreational Boating Safety--2016 Nonprofit Organization Grants

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard requests public comments on whether it should 
modify or move forward with its tentative list of topics on which it 
would invite applications for Fiscal Year 2016 grants to nonprofit 
organizations. These grants are intended to promote recreational 
boating safety.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov, or reach the Docket Management Facility, on or 
before 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2014-0911 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email Carlin Hertz, Nonprofit Grants Coordinator; 202-372-1060, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments or related material on this 
notice, and we may modify our tentative list of topics for Fiscal Year 
2016 accordingly. The Coast Guard does not anticipate another FR Notice 
to discuss any of the comments received but your input will be 
considered in the development of the 2016 Nonprofit Organization 
Grants. If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for 
this notice, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public 
comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and 
can be viewed by following that Web site's instructions. Additionally, 
if you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will 
be notified when comments are posted or a final rule is published.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal 
Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal 
Register (70 FR 15086).

Discussion

    Chapter 131 of Title 46, U.S. Code, requires the Secretary of 
Homeland Security to maintain a national recreational boating safety 
program, and gives the Secretary certain regulatory authority to 
implement that program. The Secretary has delegated that authority to 
the Coast Guard.\1\ Chapter 131 mandates annual allocations of funds to 
State boating safety programs, and allows the Coast Guard to allocate 
up to 5% of the total amount of those funds to the national boating 
safety programs undertaken by national nonprofit public service 
organizations.\2\ These allocations are made pursuant to statutory 
guidelines that prescribe the purposes for which allocated funds may be 
used.\3\ The Coast Guard annually evaluates the statutory guidelines to 
determine how they can best be met in the coming fiscal year.
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    \1\ DHS Delegation No. 0170.1(II)(92.i).
    \2\ 46 U.S.C. 13104(c).
    \3\ 46 U.S.C. 13107(b).
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    For Fiscal Year 2016, the Coast Guard has tentatively determined 
that it will invite national nonprofit public service organizations to 
apply for grant allocations in the following ``areas of interest'' we 
have identified as well as other topics.
    1. Conduct Elements of a Year-Round Safe Boating Campaign. This 
area of interest would conduct national campaigns throughout the year 
that are coordinated with other safety initiatives and media events, 
and would--
     Align with the National Recreational Boating Safety 
Strategic Plan, particularly Objective 2: Boating Safety Outreach;
     Target specific boating safety topics and specific boater 
market segments;
     Reach boaters at the local level;
     Educate boaters about the consequences of drinking 
alcohol, taking drugs, or other irresponsible behavior on the water;
     Educate boaters about reporting boating accidents;
     Stress the importance of wearing life jackets;
     Educate boaters on the ``New Life Jacket Standards,'' as 
published by the Coast Guard;
     Educate boaters on propeller strike dangers and avoidance, 
particularly emphasizing the use of engine cut-off switch (lanyards and 
electronic devices);
     Stress the importance of boater safety training; and
     Emphasize that boat operators are responsible for their 
own safety and that of their passengers.
    2. Outreach and Awareness Conference. This area of interest would 
use a single national conference to focus on the topics discussed under 
the first area of interest, in support of the National Recreational 
Boating Safety Strategic Plan's Objective 2--Boating Safety Outreach. 
Conference organizers must focus on professional development 
opportunities for conference participants while making every effort to 
ensure affordability to gain maximum attendance. The conference must 
provide opportunities for grant recipients, as appropriate, to present 
results of completed grant projects and on plans for using new Coast 
Guard

[[Page 70240]]

grants. Three to six months after the conference, the organizers must 
survey participants on the long term impacts of the conference and 
include survey results in their final report.
    3. Standardize Statutes and Regulations. This area of interest 
would foster measurable standardization and reciprocity among State 
boating safety statutes and regulations and how they are administered 
and enforced, especially with respect to accident reporting, boater 
education, and life jacket wear requirements. Hands-on coordination of 
state efforts and the establishment of cooperative environments where 
state officials can discuss issues regarding this topic are encouraged. 
This standardization should be compatible with other State boating 
safety efforts and promote RBS program effectiveness, the use of Coast 
Guard-recognized boater education programs, and improved administration 
of Coast Guard-approved vessel numbering and accident reporting 
systems. A further desired outcome of this area of interest is an 
updated comprehensive guide to State recreational boating safety laws 
and regulations.
    4. Accident Investigations Seminars. This area of interest would 
develop Coast Guard-approved curriculum and materials for seminars for 
Federal and State recreational boating accident investigators in 
support of the National Recreational Boating Safety Strategic Plan's 
Objective 9--Boating Accident Reporting. The curriculum must cover the 
requirements of 46 U.S.C. 6102 and 33 CFR parts 173 subpart C, part 174 
subparts C & D (in particular the accident-reporting system 
administration requirements of 33 CFR 174.103), and part 179. Between 
four and eight 60 student regional seminars are desired, as well as 
between two and four advanced courses at an appropriate location 
designed to garner maximum participation at the lowest cost. Three 20-
student regional train-the-trainer seminars would also be required with 
seminar locations agreed to with the Coast Guard. Each seminar would 
reserve at least four places for Coast Guard marine investigators to be 
assigned by the Coast Guard. Each regional seminar must cover an 
overview of recreational boat accident investigations, witness 
interviews, collision dynamics, evidence collection and preservation, 
diagramming, and report writing with an emphasis on adherence to 
definitions and detail in the accident narrative, with particular focus 
on human factor causal elements. The advanced seminars must include 
instruction in the investigation of video-simulated accidents with 
actual recreational boats used as training aids.
    5. Life Jacket Wear Rate Study. This area of interest would provide 
alternatives to achieving reliable estimates of nationwide recreational 
boater life jacket wear rates. This estimate will directly address the 
National Recreational Boating Safety Strategic Plan's Strategy 4.1--
Track and Evaluate Life Jacket Wear Rates. Plans presented should lay 
out the advantages and disadvantages and projected costs of an annual, 
biannual, and every three years study. Plans can include the use of 
paid or volunteer observers, and must be based on actual observation of 
a representative sample of boaters on high-use lakes, rivers, and bays, 
ideally conducted in different locations at different times of the year 
to accurately capture the impact of the seasonal nature of boating. 
Methods for developing estimates must be replicable and must be able to 
collect data by number, type, length, operation, and activity of boats 
and by boater age and gender.
    6. Voluntary Manufacturing Standards Development. This area of 
interest would develop and carry out a program to promote the 
formulation of technically sound voluntary standards for building 
recreational boats and associated equipment such as electronics. 
Development of these standards will address the National Recreational 
Boating Safety Strategic Plan's Strategy 7.3--Manufacturer Outreach. 
The standards must help reduce accidents in which stability, speed, 
operator inattention, and navigation lights are factors. For example, 
standards could be developed for labeling flying-bridge capacity or 
horsepower rating, or for minimizing operator distraction, or for 
determining the effects of underwater or decorative lighting.
    7. Targeted Boating Safety Knowledge and Skills Awareness Training. 
This area of interest would build a sustainable network of training 
providers to target traditionally underrepresented groups in boating. 
The program should have structured, engaging, in-depth opportunities 
for learning basic boating safety and for practicing on-the-water 
boating safety skill. The curriculum used must be based on appropriate 
elements of the national skills standards being promulgated through the 
ANSI (or other comparable) process and available currently in draft 
form, and must compliment the national knowledge standards. This effort 
must support Objectives 2 and 3 of the National Recreational Boating 
Safety Program Strategic Plan--Boating Safety Outreach and Advanced 
and/or On the Water, Skills Based Boating Education.
    8. ``Boating Under the Influence'' (BUI) Detection and Enforcement 
Courses. This area of interest would develop and conduct train-the-
trainer and BUI detection and enforcement training courses for State 
and local marine patrol officers, Coast Guard boarding officers, and 
others. The goal of the training would be to give students the 
knowledge and skills they need to deter recreational boater alcohol use 
and alcohol-related accidents.
    Additionally, the area of interest would support the execution of a 
focused national outreach effort to highlight the dangers of BUI 
through education and enforcement. This outreach effort would be 
targeted to run during a specified time frame during a time of high 
boating participation to achieve maximum exposure. These courses and 
outreach actions will directly address National Recreational Boating 
Safety Strategic Plan Strategy 6.2, Train marine law enforcement 
officers in Boating Under the Influence and Strategy 6.3, Expand 
nationwide use of the validated Standardized Field Sobriety Tests 
(SFST).
    9. Media ``toolbox''. This area of interest would develop a 
``toolbox'' of methods and strategies to assist entities in carrying 
out media and other awareness campaigns related to pertinent boating 
safety messaging including, but not limited to, Boating Under the 
Influence (BUI), life jacket wear, accident reporting, and boating 
safety education. Any ``toolbox'' developed should include the use of 
social media and other innovative techniques to be used in a prevention 
campaign and should build on currently available boating safety 
messaging. This initiative directly supports Objective 2: Boating 
Safety Outreach.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: November 4, 2015.
Verne B. Gifford,
Captain, Coast Guard, Director of Inspections and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-29139 Filed 11-10-15; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P