[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11314-11319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05730]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2019-0131]
Port Access Route Study: The Areas Offshore of Massachusetts and
Rhode Island
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of study and public meetings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In order to provide safe access routes for the movement of
vessel traffic offshore of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area 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 a Massachusetts and
Rhode Island Port Access Route Study (MARIPARS) to evaluate the need
for establishing vessel routing measures. The information gathered
during this MARIPARS may result in the establishment of one or more
vessel routing measures. The goal of the MARIPARS is to enhance
navigational safety by examining existing shipping routes and waterway
uses. The recommendations of the study may lead to future rulemaking
action or appropriate international agreements.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast
Guard on or before May 28, 2019. Two public meetings will be held to
provide an opportunity for comments about the MARIPARS on Tuesday,
April 23, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Thursday, April 25, 2019,
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Written comments and related material may also be
submitted to Coast Guard personnel at the meetings. All comments and
related material submitted after the meetings must be received by the
Coast Guard on or before May 28, 2019. Commenters should be aware that
the electronic Federal Docket Management System will not accept
comments after midnight Eastern Daylight Time on the last day of the
comment period.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2019-0131 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.
The public meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 9
p.m., will be
[[Page 11315]]
held at Corless Auditorium (Watkins Laboratory Building), University of
Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography at 215 South Ferry Road,
Narragansett, RI 02882-1197.
The public meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 9
p.m., will be held at Flanagan Hall, Massachusetts Maritime Academy at
101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
notice or study call or email the Project Officer, Mr. Edward G.
LeBlanc, Chief of Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England Waterways
Management Division, telephone (401) 435-2351; email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate in this study by submitting
comments and related materials to the online public docket or orally at
the public meetings. 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 comments to the online public
docket, please include the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-
2019-0131), indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. We accept anonymous comments.
To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov,
and insert ``USCG-2019-0131'' in the ``search box.'' Click ``Search''.
Then click ``Comment Now.'' We will consider all comments and material
received during the comment period.
B. Public Meetings: We plan to hold two public meetings to receive
oral comments on this notice. If you bring written comments to the
public meeting, you may submit them to Mr. Edward G. LeBlanc. These
comments will be added to our online public docket. 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. Attendance at the
public meeting is not required. We will provide a written summary of
the oral comments received and will place that summary in the docket.
The first public meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, from 6 p.m. to
9 p.m., will be held at Corless Auditorium (Watkins Laboratory
Building), University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography,
215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI 02882-1197.
The second public meeting on Thursday, April 25, 2019, from 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m., will be held at Flanagan Hall, Massachusetts Maritime
Academy, 101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532.
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting,
contact Mr. Edward Leblanc at the telephone number or email address
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice.
C. Viewing the comments and documents: To view the comments and
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket,
go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on the ``read comments'' box,
which will then become highlighted in blue. In the ``Keyword'' box
insert ``USCG-2019-0131'' and click ``Search.'' Click the ``Open Docket
Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column.
D. 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, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316)
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/01/17/E8-785/privacy-act-of-1974-system-of-records.
II. Purpose and Background
A. Requirement for Port Access Route Studies: Under 46 U.S.C. 70003
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. The designation of fairways
and TSSs recognizes the paramount right of navigation over all other
uses in the designated areas.
Before establishing or adjusting fairways or TSSs, 46 U.S.C. 70003
requires the Coast Guard to conduct a port access route study (PARS),
i.e. a study of potential traffic density and the need for safe access
routes for vessels. Through the study process, we must coordinate with
Federal, State, and foreign state agencies (as appropriate) and
consider the views of maritime community representatives, environmental
groups, and other interested stakeholders. A primary purpose of this
coordination is, to the extent practicable, to reconcile the need for
safe access routes with other reasonable waterway uses such as
construction and operation of renewable energy facilities and other
uses of the Atlantic Ocean in the study area.
B. Previous port access route studies: In 2011, the Coast Guard
conducted a PARS which focused on the entire Atlantic Coast from Maine
to Florida to analyze all vessel traffic proceeding to and from all
Atlantic Coast ports and transiting through the United States Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ). The Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study Final
Report is available at the Coast Guard Navigation Center website
https://navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/PARS/ACPARS_Final_Report_08Jul2015_Combined_Appendix_Enclosures_Final_After_LMI_Review.pdf.
C. Necessity for a new port access route study: The Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management (BOEM) has leased seven adjacent areas of the outer
continental shelf (OCS) south of Martha's Vineyard and east of Rhode
Island that together constitute the MA/RI Wind Energy Area (WEA).
Potentially seven distinct offshore renewable energy installations
(``wind farms'') could be constructed, each with its own number, size,
type of wind turbines, and distinct turbine layout. The topic of safe
navigation routes to facilitate vessel transit through the MA/RI WEA
has been discussed at various forums throughout southeastern New
England. The forums have included participation by the Coast Guard,
other federal, state, and local agencies, fishing industry
representatives, and a myriad of stakeholders. Various different
transit plans have been proposed through these different forums.
In September 2018, the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management
Fisheries Working Group offered a vessel transit layout as depicted at
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/fisheries-working-group-on-offshore-wind-energy and below:
[[Page 11316]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN26MR19.002
In December 2018, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance
(RODA), https://www.rodafisheries.org/, offered an alternative layout
for consideration by stakeholders:
[[Page 11317]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN26MR19.003
Though neither of these alternatives achieved consensus of all
stakeholders, they serve as a basis for further discussion of the issue
and are provided here for that purpose. Comments on these alternative
proposals are welcome, but comments need not be limited to them.
III. This PARS: Timeline, Study Area, and Process
The First Coast Guard District Waterways Management Division and
Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England Waterways Management
Division will conduct this PARS. The study will begin upon publication
of this notice and should take approximately six months to complete.
The study area is described as an area bounded by a line connecting
the following geographic positions:
41[deg]20' N, 070[deg]00' W;
40[deg]35' N, 070[deg]00' W;
40[deg]35' N, 071[deg]15' W;
41[deg]20' N, 071[deg]15' W.
Below is an illustration showing the study area.
[[Page 11318]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN26MR19.004
The Coast Guard will use the PARS process described in Appendix D
to Commandant Instruction 16003.2A, Marine Planning to Operate and
Maintain the National Marine Transportation System (MTS) and Implement
National Policy, which is available in the docket or see https://
media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/15/
[[Page 11319]]
2001716995/-1/-1/0/CI_16003_2A.PDF, as a guide.
IV. Possible Scope of the Recommendations
We are attempting to determine what, if any, navigational safety
concerns exist with vessel transits in the study area. We expect that
information gathered during the study will help us identify anticipated
impacts to navigation that may be experienced by mariners intending to
transit in, around and through the study area which includes the MA/RI
Wind Energy Area (MA/RI WEA) which is an area of wind farm leases south
of Martha's Vineyard. All leases are currently being studied for
development including the construction of wind energy generating
turbines affixed to the sea floor. These installations could impact
routes used to access ports (e.g., transiting from Georges Bank through
the MA/RI WEA to New Bedford; or from the vicinity of Montauk, NY/Point
Judith, RI, to Georges Bank, etc.). Impacts could result from factors
such as number, size, type, and layout of wind farm turbines and
electric service platform(s), subsea cabling, increased vessel traffic,
changing vessel traffic patterns, weather conditions, or navigational
difficulty. Comments should include or reference data (both empirical
and anecdotal) where available, published studies (academic,
government, or industry), and other supporting documentation.
As part of this study, we may collect and analyze data and other
information on vessel traffic characteristics and trends in an attempt
to balance the needs of all waterway users.
This MARIPARS includes the following objectives:
1. Determine present vessel traffic types, patterns, and density;
2. Determine potential vessel traffic types, patterns, and density;
3. Determine if existing vessel routing measures are adequate;
4. Determine if existing vessel routing measures require
modifications;
5. Determine the type of modifications;
6. Define and justify the needs for new vessel routing measures;
7. Determine the type of new vessel routing measures; and
8. Determine if the usage of the vessel routing measures must be
mandatory for specific classes of vessels.
We will publish the results of the PARS in the Federal Register. It
is possible the study may validate the status quo (no routing measures)
and conclude that no changes are necessary. It is also possible 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 46 U.S.C. 70004 and
5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: March 21, 2019.
G. D. Case,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Commander, First Coast Guard
District.
[FR Doc. 2019-05730 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
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