[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26695-26697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09538]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2020-0172]


Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of New Jersey Including 
Offshore Approaches to the Delaware Bay, Delaware

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of study; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS) 
to determine whether existing or additional vessel routing measures are 
necessary along the seacoast of New Jersey and approaches to the 
Delaware Bay. The PARS will consider whether existing or additional 
routing measures are necessary to improve navigation safety due to 
factors such as planned or potential offshore development, current port 
capabilities and planned improvements, increased vessel traffic, 
existing and potential anchorage areas, changing vessel traffic 
patterns, weather conditions, or navigational difficulty. Vessel 
routing measures are implemented to reduce the risk of marine 
casualties. Examples of potential measures include traffic separation 
schemes, two-way routes, recommended tracks, deep-water routes, 
precautionary areas, and areas to be avoided. The recommendations of 
the study may lead to future rulemakings or international agreements.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received on or before July 
6, 2020. Requests for a public meeting must be submitted on or before 
June 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2020-0172 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal 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: If you have questions about this 
notice of study, call or email Mr. Jerry Barnes, Fifth Coast Guard 
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (757) 398-6230, email 
[email protected]; or Mr. Matt Creelman, Fifth Coast Guard 
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (757) 398-6225, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 26696]]

I. Table of Abbreviations

ACPARS Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study
AIS Automatic Identification System
COMDTINST Commandant Instruction
DHS Department of Homeland Security
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
MTS Marine Transportation System
PARS Port Access Route Study
TSS Traffic Separation Scheme
USCG United States Coast Guard

II. Background and Purpose

    A. Requirements for Port Access Route Studies: Under Section 70003 
of Title 46 of the United States Code, 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, the Coast Guard 
must conduct a PARS, i.e., a study of potential traffic density and the 
need for safe access routes for vessels. Through the study process, the 
Coast Guard 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. The 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 anchorages, construction and 
operation of renewable energy facilities and other uses.
    In addition to aiding the Coast Guard in establishing new or 
adjusting fairways or TSSs, this PARS may recommend establishing or 
amending other vessel routing measures. Examples of other routing 
measures include two-way routes, recommended tracks, deep-water routes 
(for the benefit primarily of ships whose ability to maneuver is 
constrained by their draft), precautionary areas (where ships must 
navigate with particular caution), and areas to be avoided (for reasons 
of exceptional danger or especially sensitive ecological and 
environmental factors).
    B. Previous Port Access Route Studies: The Coast Guard last studied 
the Seacoast of New Jersey and approaches to the Delaware Bay in 1994, 
and published the final results in 1995 (60 FR 49237, September 22, 
1995). The study was conducted in response to a number of near 
collisions and at least one collision between an outbound tug-barge and 
an inbound deep draft ship in the eastern approach lane of the TSS. The 
previous study is available for review upon request (refer to FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    In 2016, the Coast Guard published a notice of its Atlantic Coast 
Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) (81 FR 13307, March 14, 2016) that 
analyzed the Atlantic Coast waters seaward of existing port approaches 
within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and announced the report 
as final in 2017 (82 FR 16510, April 5, 2017). This multiyear study 
began in 2011, included public participation, and identified the 
navigation routes customarily followed by ships engaged in commerce 
between international and domestic U.S. ports. The study is available 
at https://navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=PARS Reports. The ACPARS analyzed 
waters located seaward of existing port approaches within the EEZ along 
the entire Atlantic Coast. Data and information from stakeholders, 
including Automatic Identification System (AIS) data from vessel 
traffic, were used to identify and verify deep draft and coastwise 
navigation routes that are typically followed by ships engaged in 
commerce between international and domestic U.S. ports. Additional 
analysis of sea space for vessels to maneuver in compliance with the 
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea led to the 
development of marine planning guidelines and recommendations for 
shipping safety fairways.
    C. Need for a New Port Access Route Study: In 2019, the Coast Guard 
announced a new study of routes used by ships to access ports on the 
Atlantic Coast of the United States (84 FR 9541, March 15, 2019). This 
new study supplements and builds on the ACPARS. As part of the study, 
the Coast Guard will conduct several PARS to examine ports along the 
Atlantic Coast that are economically significant or support military or 
critical national defense operations and related international entry 
and departure transit areas that are integral to the safe and efficient 
and unimpeded flow of commerce to/from major international shipping 
lanes.

III. Information Requested

    The purpose of this notice is to announce commencement of this PARS 
to examine the seacoast of New Jersey and approaches to the Delaware 
Bay in conjunction with the implementation of recommendations of the 
ACPARS, and to solicit public comments. Similar to the ACPARS, this 
PARS will use AIS data and information from stakeholders to identify 
and verify customary navigation routes as well as potential conflicts 
involving alternative activities, such as Offshore Renewable Energy 
Installations. We encourage you to participate in the study process by 
submitting comments in response to this notice. Comments should address 
impacts to navigation along the seacoast of New Jersey and approaches 
to the Delaware Bay resulting from factors such as: Planned or 
potential offshore development including wind turbine placements and 
transmission corridors, current port capabilities and planned 
improvements, increased vessel traffic, changing vessel traffic 
patterns, weather conditions, potential conflicts or disruptions in 
uncharted or informal anchorage areas, or navigational difficulty.

IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this study 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.
    A. Submitting Comments: If you submit comments to the online public 
docket, please include the docket number for this notice (USCG-2020-
0172), 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-2020-0172'' in the ``search box.'' Click ``Search'' 
and then click ``Comment Now.'' We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period.
    B. Public Meetings: The Coast Guard may hold a public meeting(s) if 
there is sufficient public interest. You must submit a request for one 
on or before June 4, 2020. You may submit your request for a public 
meeting online via http://www.regulations.gov. Please explain why you 
believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If we determine that a 
public meeting would aid in the study, we will hold a meeting at a time 
and place announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.
    C. Viewing 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-2020-0172'' and click ``Search.'' Click the

[[Page 26697]]

``Open Docket Folder'' in the ``Actions'' column.
    D. Privacy Act: We accept anonymous comments. All comments received 
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov and will 
include any personal information you have provided. For more about 
privacy and submissions in response to this document, see DHS's 
Correspondence System of Records notice (84 FR 48645, September 26, 
2018). Documents mentioned in this notice as being available in the 
docket, and all public comments, will be in our online docket at 
https://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.

V. Seacoast of New Jersey Including Offshore Approaches to the Delaware 
Bay, Delaware PARS: Timeline, Study Area, and Process

    The Fifth Coast Guard District and Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay 
will conduct this PARS. The study will commence upon publication of 
this notice and may take 12 months or more to complete.
    The study area is described as an area bounded by a line connecting 
the following geographic positions:

 74[deg] W 40[deg]18' N
 71[deg]16' W 38[deg]57' N
 71[deg]16' W 38[deg]16' N
 75[deg]7' W 38[deg]16' N

thence along the coast line back to the origin.
    This area extends approximately 175 nautical miles seaward 
including the offshore area of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland used 
by private, commercial and public vessels transiting to and from these 
ports. An illustration showing the study area is available in the 
docket where indicated under ADDRESSES. Additionally, the study area is 
available for viewing on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal at http://portal.midatlanticocean.org/visualize/. See ``USCG Proposed Areas and 
Studies'' under the ``Maritime'' portion of the Data Layers section.
    This PARS will analyze navigation routes to/from the seacoast of 
New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland including approaches to the Delaware 
Bayconnecting to the proposed fairways outlined in the ACPARS including 
international routes to/from the United States. Current capabilities 
and planned improvements to handle maritime conveyances will be 
considered. Analyses will be conducted in accordance with COMDTINST 
16003.2B, Marine Planning to Operate and Maintain the Marine 
Transportation System (MTS) and Implement National Policy. Instruction 
available at https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/10/2002155400/-1/-1/0/CI_16003_2B.PDF.
    We will publish the results of the PARS in the Federal Register. It 
is possible that the study may validate the status quo (no additional 
fairways or routing measures) and conclude that no changes are 
necessary. It is also possible that the study may recommend one or more 
changes to address navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel 
traffic management. The recommendations may lead to future rulemakings 
or international agreements.
    This notice is published under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: Dated: April 28, 2020.
Keith M. Smith,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2020-09538 Filed 5-4-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P