[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 125 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38907-38910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13901]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2020-0278]
Port Access Route Study: Northern New York Bight
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of study and public meetings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS)
to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and
determine whether additional vessel routing measures are necessary for
port approaches to New York and New Jersey and international and
domestic transit areas in the First District area of responsibility.
The Northern New York Bight PARS (NNYBPARS) 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, effects of weather, or navigational
difficulty. Vessel routing measures, which include traffic separation
schemes, two-way routes, recommended tracks, deep-water routes,
precautionary areas, and areas to be avoided, are implemented to reduce
the risk of marine casualties. The recommendations of the study may
subsequently be implemented through rulemakings or in accordance with
international agreements.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received on or before
August 28, 2020. Although the Coast Guard prefers and highly encourages
all comments and related material be submitted directly to the
electronic docket, two virtual public meetings will be held via webinar
and teleconference to provide an opportunity for oral comments about
the NNYBPARS on Thursday, July 30, 2020, beginning at 9 a.m. EST, and
on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, beginning at 6 p.m. EST. All comments and
related material submitted must be received by the Coast Guard on or
before August 28, 2020.
[[Page 38908]]
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-
2020-0278 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.
The virtual public meeting on Thursday, July 30, 2020, beginning at
9 a.m. EST, will be held via webinar and teleconference.
The virtual public meeting on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, beginning
at 6 p.m. EST, will be held via webinar and teleconference.
Access information for these virtual public meetings will be posted
at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=PARS by July 23, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
notice of study, call or email Mr. Craig Lapiejko, First Coast Guard
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (617) 223-8351, email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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
IMO International Maritime Organization
MTS Marine Transportation System
NAD83 North American Datum of 1983
NNYB Northern New York Bight
PARS Port Access Route Study
PWSA Ports and Waterways Safety Act
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 U.S. 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 (where 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, marine sanctuary operations,
commercial and recreational activities, 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 within this Study Area: The
original precautionary area and TSSs within this study area were first
established in May, 1967, and were approved by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO).
In 1987 the Coast Guard conducted a PARS prior to establishing two
parallel shipping safety fairways off New York entitled ``Ambrose to
Nantucket Safety Fairway'' and ``Nantucket to Ambrose Safety Fairway''
and published the final results in the Federal Register (52 FR 33589;
September 4, 1987).
In 2016, the Coast Guard published a notice of its Atlantic Coast
Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) in the Federal Register (81 FR 13307;
March 14, 2016) and announced the study report as final in the Federal
Register (82 FR 16510; April 5, 2017). The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic
Coast waters seaward of existing port approaches within the U.S.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 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=PARSReports. 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.
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 in the Federal Register (84 FR
9541; March 15, 2019). This new study supplements and builds upon the
ACPARS by conducting a series of 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. The NNYBPARS is just one of these several new studies being
conducted.
III. Information Requested
The New York Bight encompasses a very large area starting along the
coasts of New York and New Jersey, from Montauk Point, NY, to Cape May,
NJ, and then offshore to the outer edge of the Continental Shelf. The
purpose of this notice is to announce the commencement of this PARS to
examine the First District's portion of the New York Bight which
includes the port approaches to New York and New Jersey and the
international and domestic entry and departure transit areas in
conjunction with the implementation of recommendations of the ACPARS,
and to solicit public comments. Similar to the ACPARS, this PARS will
focus on and use AIS data and information from stakeholders to identify
and verify customary navigation routes as well as routes between port
approaches and international entry and departure transit areas. The
Coast Guard encourages participation in the study process by submitting
comments in response to this notice. Comments should address impacts to
navigation within the study area resulting from factors such as:
Planned or potential offshore development, current port capabilities
and planned improvements, increased vessel traffic, changing vessel
traffic patterns, effects of weather, potential conflicts or
disruptions in uncharted or informal anchorage areas, or navigational
difficulties or concerns in general.
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 https://www.regulations.gov and will
[[Page 38909]]
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-
0278), 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 https://www.regulations.gov,
and insert ``USCG-2020-0278'' 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: We plan to hold two virtual public meetings to
receive oral comments on this notice. Again, as stated earlier, the
Coast Guard prefers and highly encourages all comments and related
material be submitted directly to the online public docket, but two
virtual public meetings will be held via webinar and teleconference to
provide an opportunity for oral comments about the NNYBPARS. If you
want to provide a written version of your oral comments made at the
virtual public meeting, you may submit them directly to Mr. Craig
Lapiejko. 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 virtual public meeting is not required. We will
provide a written summary of the oral comments received and will place
that summary in the online public docket.
The first virtual public meeting on Thursday, July 30, 2020,
beginning at 9 a.m. EST, will be held via webinar and teleconference.
Access information for this virtual public meetings will be posted
at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=PARS by July 23, 2020.
The second virtual public meeting on Tuesday, August 11, 2020,
beginning 6 p.m. EST, will be held via webinar and teleconference.
Access information for this virtual public meetings will be posted
at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=PARS by July 23, 2020.
C. Viewing Comments and Documents: To view the comments and
documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the online
public 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-2020-02782'' and click ``Search.'' Click
the ``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. Northern New York Bight PARS: Timeline, Study Area, and Process
The First Coast Guard District, Coast Guard Sector New York, and
Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound 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:
40 18'00.0'' N 074 00'00.0'' W
38 57'00.0'' N 071 16'00.0'' W
39 47'24.0'' N 069 40'01.2'' W
41 07'12.0'' N 071 34'33.6'' W
41 04'15.6'' N 071 51'25.2'' W
thence along the coast line back to the origin. All geographic points
are based on North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
This area extends approximately 150 nautical miles seaward and
covers approximately 25,000 square nautical miles including the
offshore area of New Jersey and New York used by private, commercial,
and public vessels transiting to and from these ports. An illustration
showing the study area is below with additional illustrations available
in the online public docket where indicated under ADDRESSES.
[[Page 38910]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29JN20.000
This PARS will identify and analyze the customary navigation routes
between the port approaches of New York and New Jersey and the
international and domestic transit areas and connecting them to the
potential fairways identified in the ACPARS final report.
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 is 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: June 23, 2020.
T.G. Allan Jr.,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2020-13901 Filed 6-26-20; 8:45 am]
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