[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64053-64055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27028]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
33 CFR Part 334
[COE-2018-0005]
Pacific Ocean at Naval Base Guam Telecommunication Site,
Finegayan Small Arms Range, on the Northwestern Coast of Guam; Danger
Zone
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to
revise the existing regulations to establish a danger zone at the U.S.
Naval Base Guam Telecommunication Site in the Pacific Ocean, Guam. The
Navy requested establishment of a danger zone extending over the
Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Finegayan Small Arms Range. Establishment
of a danger zone would intermittently restrict commercial, public, and
private vessels from entering or lingering in the restricted safety
zone to ensure public safety during small arms training activities.
This danger zone is necessary to minimize potential conflicts between
local populace activities and ongoing military training in the subject
area.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 14,
2019.
[[Page 64054]]
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2018-0005, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number,
COE-2018-0005, in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO-R (David B.
Olson), 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20314-1000.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2018-0005.
All comments received will be included in the public docket without
change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided, unless the commenter
indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or
email. The regulations.gov website is an anonymous access system, which
means we will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email directly
to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your email address
will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that
is placed in the public docket and made available on the internet. If
you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you include your
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with
any compact disc you may submit. If we cannot read your comment because
of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, we
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic comments should
avoid the use of any special characters, any form of encryption, and be
free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov . All documents in the
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters,
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Ms. Karen Urelius, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu
District, Regulatory Branch at 671-339-2108.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of the Rivers and Harbors
Act of 1917 (40 Stat 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of the Army
Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat 892; 33 U.S.C. 3) the Corps is
proposing to revise the regulations at 33 CFR part 334 by establishing
a danger zone in the Pacific Ocean. The amendment to this regulation
will allow the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Base Guam to
restrict passage of persons, watercraft, and vessels in the waters
within the danger zone during use of the Finegayan Small Arms Range.
The establishment of a danger zone would intermittently restrict
commercial, public, and private vessels from entering or lingering in
the restricted safety zone to ensure public safety during small arms
training activities at the Finegayan Small Arms Range. This danger zone
will be in place as a precautionary measure to protect the public from
any potential impacts in firing small arms to the west.
The proposed establishment of this danger zone was considered in
the Final Mariana Islands Training and Testing/Overseas Environmental
Impact Statement prepared by the Navy. This location is an existing
range and meets all of the landside requirements of a small arms range.
With limited land on the island, it is not feasible to have the firing
range and safety zone completely on land.
Military and Government of Guam law enforcement agencies are
required to qualify with their assigned weapon prior to executing their
duties. Additionally, other military forces (ships, submarines,
expeditionary forces and other combat forces) are required to qualify
and maintain their qualifications on the weapons needed to further the
execution of their assigned mission. These ranges are not only used by
forces assigned to the island, but also deployable military forces
(Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines). The Department of Defense
requires frequent firing of assigned weapons to ensure proficiency in
the use and operations of assigned weapons.
Currently there are two other ranges on Naval Base Guam that are
being used to support weapons qualifications. However, due to the
number of units required to maintain weapon qualifications, the two
ranges are insufficient. Both ranges are fully booked with commands
having to be placed on a waiting list for range availability.
Procedural Requirements
a. Review Under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. Executive Orders
12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of
available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to
select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits. Executive
Order 13771 directs agencies to control regulatory costs through a
budgeting process. This proposed rule has not been designated a
``significant regulatory action,'' under Executive Order 12866.
Accordingly, this proposed rule has not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and pursuant to OMB guidance it is exempt
from the requirements of Executive Order 13771.
The Corps determined this proposed rule is not a significant
regulatory action. This regulatory action determination is based on the
proposed rule governing the danger zone, which allow any vessel that
needs to transit the danger zone to expeditiously transit through the
danger zone when the small arms range is in use. When the range is not
in use, the danger zone will be open to normal maritime traffic and to
all activities, include anchoring and loitering. The proposed rule is
issued with respect to a military function of the Department of Defense
and the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This proposed rule
has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-
354). The Regulatory Flexibility Act generally requires an agency to
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to
notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small
governments). The danger zone is necessary to protect public safety
during use of the small arms range. Unless information is obtained to
the contrary during the comment period, the Corps certifies that the
proposed rule would have no significant economic impact on the public.
After considering the economic impacts of this proposed danger zone
[[Page 64055]]
regulation on small entities, I certify that this action will not have
a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. Due to the
administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended
change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation,
if adopted, will not have a significant impact on the quality of the
human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental
impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will
be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments
have been received and considered.
d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This proposed rule does not contain a
Federal mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more
for State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the
private sector in any one year. Therefore, this proposed rule is not
subject to the requirements of Sections 202 and 205 of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The proposed rule contains no regulatory
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small
governments. Therefore, the proposed rule is not subject to the
requirements of Section 203 of UMRA.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334
Danger zones, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, Waterways.
For the reasons set forth in the summary above, the Corps proposes
to amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:
PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33
U.S.C. 3).
0
2. Add Sec. 334.1415 to read as follows:
Sec. 334.1415 Pacific Ocean, adjacent to the Finegayan Small Arms
Range at Naval Base Guam Telecommunication Site, on the northwestern
coast of Guam; danger zone.
(a) The area. Coordinates are bounded by the following four points:
Point A (13[deg]34'57'' N; 144[deg]49'53'' E) following the high tide
line to Point B (13[deg]35'49'' N; 144[deg]47'59'' E), Point C
(13[deg]34'57'' N; 144[deg]47'45'' E), and Point D (13[deg]34'48'' N;
144[deg]49'50'' E). The datum for these coordinates is NAD-83.
(b) The regulation. (1) Vessels or persons shall expeditiously
transit through the danger zone when the small arms range is in use.
Vessels shall not be permitted to anchor or loiter within the danger
zone while the range is in use. Range activities shall be halted until
all vessels are cleared from the danger zone. When the range is not in
use, the danger zone shall be open to normal maritime traffic and all
activities to include anchoring and loitering.
(2) When the range is in use, the person(s) or officer(s) in charge
shall display a red flag from a conspicuous and easily-seen location
along the nearby shore to signify that the range is in use and will
post lookouts to ensure the safety of all vessels transiting through
the area. If the range is in use at night, a strobe light shall be
displayed from the same conspicuous and easily-seen location in lieu of
flags. The range shall not be used when visibility is equal to or less
than the maximum range of the weapons being used at the facility.
(c) Enforcement. The restrictions on public access in this section
shall be enforced by the Commander, Joint Region Marianas, and such
agencies as the Commander may designate in writing.
Dated: December 6, 2018.
Thomas P. Smith,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2018-27028 Filed 12-12-18; 8:45 am]
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