[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 245 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65701-65703]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27604]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2018-1058]


Port Access Route Study: Alaskan Arctic Coast

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of study; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In order to provide safe access routes for the movement of 
vessel traffic along the Arctic Coast of the United States for vessels 
proceeding to or from ports or places of the United States and 
transiting within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the 
Coast Guard is conducting an Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access Route 
Study (AACPARS) to evaluate the need for establishing vessel routing 
measures. The information gathered during this AACPARS may result in 
the establishment of one or more vessel routing measures. The goal of 
the AACPARS is to enhance navigational safety by examining existing 
shipping routes and waterway uses, and, to the extent practicable, 
reconciling the paramount right of navigation with other reasonable 
waterway uses. The recommendations of the study may lead to future 
rulemaking action or appropriate international agreements.

DATES: Comments must be submitted to the online docket via http://www.regulations.gov, or reach the Docket Management Facility, on or 
before September 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2018-1058 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 LCDR Michael Newell, Seventeenth Coast Guard District 
(dpw); telephone (907) 463-2263; email [email protected] or Mr. 
David Seris, Seventeenth Coast Guard District (dpw); telephone (907) 
463-2267; email [email protected] or LT Stephanie Bugyis, 
Seventeenth Coast Guard District (dpw); telephone (907) 463-2265; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related materials) on the 
AACPARS. We will consider all submissions and may adjust our final 
action based on your comments. 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.
    Comments should be submitted 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 website'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).

Public Meeting(s)

    If requested, we plan to hold public meetings to receive oral 
comments on this NPRM and would announce the dates, times, and 
locations in a separate document published in the Federal Register. To 
receive an email notice whenever a comment or notice--including the 
notice announcing when any meetings are to be held, are submitted or 
issued, go to the online docket and select the sign-up-for-email-alerts 
option. When it is published, we will place a copy of the announcement 
in the docket and you will receive an email alert from 
www.regulations.gov.

Definitions

    The following definitions (except as noted by an asterisk) are from 
the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) publication ``Ships' 
Routing'' Twelfth Edition 2017 and should help you review this notice:
    Area to be avoided (ATBA): A routing measure comprising an area 
within defined limits in which either navigation is particularly 
hazardous or it is exceptionally important to avoid casualties and 
which should be avoided by all ships, or certain classes of ships.
    Deep-water route: A route within defined limits which has been 
accurately surveyed for clearance of sea bottom and submerged obstacles 
as indicated on the chart.
    Exclusive economic zone (EEZ)*: The zone established by 
Presidential Proclamation 5030, dated March 10, 1983 and delineated in 
the August 23, 1995, issue of the Federal Register (60 FR 43825).
    Inshore traffic zone: A routing measure comprising a designated 
area between the landward boundary of a traffic separation scheme and 
the adjacent coast, to be used in accordance with the provisions of 
Rule 10(d), as amended, of the International Regulations for Preventing 
Collisions at Sea, 1972 (Collision Regulations).
    Mandatory routing system: A routing system adopted by the 
Organization, in accordance with the requirements of regulation V/10 of 
the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea 1974, for 
mandatory use by all ships, certain categories of ships or ships 
carrying certain cargoes.
    Obstruction*: Anything that restricts, endangers, or interferes 
with navigation (33 CFR 64.06).
    Precautionary area: A routing measure comprising an area within 
defined limits where ships must navigate with particular caution and 
within which the direction of traffic flow may be recommended.

[[Page 65702]]

    Recommended route: A route of undefined width, for the convenience 
of ships in transit, which is often marked by centerline buoys.
    Recommended track: A route which has been specially examined to 
ensure so far as possible that it is free of dangers and along which 
vessels are advised to navigate.
    Regulated Navigation Area (RNA)*: A water area within a defined 
boundary for which regulations for vessels navigating within the area 
have been established under 33 CFR part 165.
    Roundabout: A routing measure comprising a separation point or 
circular separation zone and a circular traffic lane within defined 
limits. Traffic within the roundabout is separated by moving in a 
counterclockwise direction around the separation point or zone.
    Routing system: Any system of one or more routes or routing 
measures aimed at reducing the risk of casualties; it includes traffic 
separation schemes, two way routes, recommended tracks, areas to be 
avoided, no anchoring areas, inshore traffic zones, roundabouts, 
precautionary areas and deep-water routes.
    Separation zone or separation line: A zone or line separating the 
traffic lanes in which ships are proceeding in opposite or nearly 
opposite directions; or separating a traffic lane from the adjacent sea 
area; or separating traffic lanes designated for particular classes of 
ship proceeding in the same direction.
    Structure*: Any fixed or floating obstruction, intentionally placed 
in the water, which may interfere with or restrict marine navigation 
(33 CFR 64.06).
    Traffic lane: An area within defined limits in which one-way 
traffic is established. Natural obstacles, including those forming 
separation zones, may constitute a boundary.
    Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS): A routing measure aimed at the 
separation of opposing streams of traffic by appropriate means and by 
the establishment of traffic lanes.
    Two-way route: A route within defined limits inside which two-way 
traffic is established, aimed at providing safe passage of ships 
through waters where navigation is difficult or dangerous.

Background and Purpose

Requirement for Port Access Route Studies

    Under the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA) (33 U.S.C. 
1223(c)), the Commandant of the Coast Guard may designate necessary 
fairways and traffic separation schemes (TSSs) to provide safe access 
routes for vessels proceeding to and from U.S. ports.

Previous Port Access Route Studies

    The Coast Guard conducted a PARS in 1981 which focused on localized 
approaches for some Alaskan ports and Unimak Pass in the Aleutian 
Island Chain. Another PARS was conducted for the Bering Sea and Bering 
Strait region of Alaska to analyze the need and suitability of a vessel 
routing system for that region. Neither of these studies focused on the 
United States Arctic coast to analyze vessel traffic proceeding to or 
from ports and places of the United States and transiting within the 
United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which will be the focus of 
this study.

Necessity for a New Port Access Route Study

    Sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean, Chukchi Sea, and Beaufort Sea 
is declining. These changes in the arctic are affecting the people, 
wildlife and habitat of the region which in turn has resulted in 
increased levels of government attention, media attention, scientific 
research, natural resource exploration, eco and adventure tourism, and 
increasing commercial use of the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea 
Route as alternative shipping routes.
    As the federal agency most responsible for coastal and marine 
spatial planning, the Coast Guard, via the PARS process, is initiating 
the study to analyze current vessel patterns, predict future vessel 
needs and balance the needs of all waterway users by developing and 
recommending vessel routing measures for the arctic coast.

PARS Timeline, Study Area, and Process

    The PARS will begin upon publication of this Federal Register 
notice. The study is expected to take in excess of 48 months to 
complete due to the size and remoteness of the study area, expected 
difficulty in accessing and communicating with regional stakeholders at 
times when discussions will be most productive, the proximity to 
Canada, difficulty in predicting expected future changes in 
international shipping and other waterway uses, and the highly 
technical nature of scientific data available on the Arctic.
    The study will encompass the entire EEZ of the United States Arctic 
coast from the border between the United States and Canada to Cape 
Prince of Wales on Alaska's Seward Peninsula.
    As part of the study, the Coast Guard may analyze commercial vessel 
traffic, fishing vessel traffic, subsistence hunting and fishing 
activities, recreational activities, military activities, existing and 
potential outer continental shelf activities, port activities, 
environmental factors, economic effects and impacts, as well as other 
topics that may arise during the study process.
    Specific areas of interest for initial public comment: The lack of 
historical information about actual vessel traffic patterns in U.S. 
Arctic waters, and how those patterns have changed over time, makes 
this PARS study unique. There are few instances where actual vessel 
track and density information will be available to analyze as potential 
routing measures are considered. Generic comments on vessels operating 
in U.S. Arctic waters are welcome and will be given due consideration, 
but at this stage in the AACPARS study, the Coast Guard is particularly 
interested in identifying specific locations, times, or instances where 
future vessel activity could increase significantly in density or cause 
specific undesirable consequences. Specific areas of concern include, 
but are not limited to:
    1. Times and/or locations where vessel operations could cause 
significant consequences to species of concern, subsistence activities, 
marine mammal migration routes, or other equities.
    2. Areas of known biological importance, such as the area of the 
Hanna Shoal, and whether they are of importance year round or only 
during specific times.
    3. Specific times and locations of current and expected future 
subsistence activity.
    4. Areas identified or expected to have high potential for Outer 
Continental Shelf resource development, to include oil/gas development, 
development of renewable energy sources, and extraction of seabed 
resources.
    5. Onshore areas of particular environmental concern.
    6. Areas where extreme weather or ice conditions that could impact 
navigation are expected to be present, now or in the future.
    7. Any information on prevailing wind/current patterns and how they 
might change in the future in varying scenarios of decreasing or 
increasing sea ice coverage.
    8. Any information on specific habitat characteristics (for 
example, water depth, ocean currents, or distances to or from land or 
sea ice) that tend to attract higher concentrations of marine mammals.
    The Coast Guard will publish the results of the PARS in the Federal

[[Page 65703]]

Register. It is possible that the study may validate the status quo (no 
routing measures) and conclude that no changes are necessary. It is 
also possible that the study may recommend one or more changes to 
enhance navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel traffic 
management. The recommendations may lead to future rulemakings or 
appropriate international agreements.
    This notice is published under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: December 4, 2018.
Melissa L. Rivera,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief of Staff, Seventeenth Coast Guard 
District.
[FR Doc. 2018-27604 Filed 12-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P