[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 153 (Friday, August 7, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47936-47937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16522]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 110

[Docket Number USCG-2020-0312]


Request To Modify Thames River Special Anchorage Area No. 4

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notification of inquiry; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are requesting your comments on a submission we received 
from a company to modify the coordinates of Thames River Special 
Anchorage Area No. 4 as they begin the permitting process for a new 
waterfront facility in New London, CT. The facility will be located on 
the Thames River between the Gold Star Bridge and the Coast Guard 
Academy, and the current pier design would intersect the current Thames 
River Special Anchorage Area No. 4. We seek your comments on how the 
Thames River Special Anchorage Area No. 4 is currently used and how any 
modifications to the anchorage may impact you.

DATES: Your comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on 
or before October 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2020-0312 using the Federal portal at https://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 
notification of inquiry, call or email LT Jennifer Sheehy, Waterways 
Management Division, Sector Long Island Sound; telephone (203) 468-
4432; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Table of Abbreviations

CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
Sec.  Section
U.S.C. United States Code

II. Background and Purpose

    In May 2020, Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound was notified that 
Mohawk Northeast, Inc. was developing plans to construct a new 
waterfront facility in New London, CT on the Thames River between the 
Gold Star Bridge (I-95) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The plans for 
this new facility included a pier which would intersect the southern 
half of the existing Thames River Special Anchorage Area No. 4, a 
special anchorage area cited in 33 CFR 110.52.
    Under authority in 33 U.S.C. 2071, the Coast Guard establishes 
special anchorage areas in order to facilitate use of inland navigable 
waterways by both recreational and commercial vessels. Special 
anchorage areas allow vessels less than 65 feet in length to safely 
anchor without requiring an anchor light or sound signal.
    In late 2019, Mohawk Northeast, Inc. purchased three acres of 
property providing direct access to the waterfront on the Thames River, 
which included

[[Page 47937]]

Riparian rights in the river. Mohawk intends to develop their New 
London property to include a marine terminal capable of handling heavy 
civil and industrial materials with direct rail access.
    Due to safety concerns with unlit, anchored vessel in close 
proximity to an active marine terminal, Mohawk requested a modification 
to the anchorage boundaries to exclude the southern half of the 
anchorage which intersects the proposed marine terminal. This would 
remove the southern half of the anchorage area, but leave the northern 
half available for anchoring.

III. Information Requested

    We encourage you to submit comments on the requested modification 
to Thames River Special Anchorage Area No. 4. Specifically, do you use 
the anchorage area? If so, do you typically anchor in the northern or 
southern half? How often do you anchor there and for how long? Do you 
see other vessels anchoring in Area No. 4? Do you agree or disagree 
with modifying the special anchorage area?

IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal portal at 
https://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using 
https://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions. In your submission, please include the docket number for 
this notice of inquiry and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation.
    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 eRulemaking System 
of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).
    Documents mentioned in this notice of inquiry 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.

    Dated: July 27, 2020.
E.J. Van Camp,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port Long Island Sound.
[FR Doc. 2020-16522 Filed 8-6-20; 8:45 am]
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