[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16758-16759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06235]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket Number USCG-2020-0093]


Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of North Carolina Including 
Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North 
Carolina

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft report; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard published a notice of study 
and request for comments announcing a Port Access Route Study (PARS) 
for the Seacoast of North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the 
Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. This notice 
announces the availability of a draft report for public review and 
comment. We seek your comments on the content, proposed routing 
measures, and development of the report. The recommendations of the 
study may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate international 
agreements.

DATES: Your comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on 
or before April 25, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2020-0093 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 
notice or study, call or email Mr. Matthew Creelman, Fifth Coast Guard 
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (757) 398-6225, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Table of Abbreviations

AIS Automated Information System
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
PARS Port Access Route Study
ACPARS Atlantic Coast Ports Access Route Study
U.S.C. United States Code

II. Background and Purpose

    The Ports and Waterways Safety Act (46 U.S.C. 70003(c)) requires 
the Coast Guard to 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 coordinates with Federal, State, local, 
tribal and foreign state agencies (as appropriate) to 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 construction and 
operation of renewable energy facilities and other uses of the Atlantic 
Ocean in the study area.
    In 2019, the Coast Guard announced a supplemental study of routes 
used by all vessels to access ports on the Atlantic Coast of the United 
States (84 FR 9541, March 15, 2019). This posting announced PARS for 
specific port approaches and international transit areas along the 
Atlantic Coast. The purpose of the supplemental studies is to align the 
Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) (81 FR 13307, March 14, 
2016) with port approaches. The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic Coast 
waters seaward of existing port approaches within the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone and was finalized in 2017 (82 FR 16510, April 5, 2017).
    The purpose of this notice is to announce the availability of the 
draft PARS examining the seacoast of North Carolina and the offshore 
approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. 
We encourage you to participate in the study process by submitting 
comments in response to this notice. This PARS used Automated 
Information System (AIS) data and information from stakeholders to 
identify and verify customary navigation routes as well as potential 
conflicts involving alternative activities, such as wind energy 
generation and offshore mineral exploitation and exploration, off the 
seacoast of North Carolina and in the offshore approaches to the Cape 
Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.
    The study area extends approximately 200 nautical miles seaward of 
Cape Fear including the offshore area of North and South Carolina used 
by 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 the ``Maritime'' portion of 
the Data Layers section.
    On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard published a Notice of Study; 
request for comments entitled ``Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of 
North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and 
Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina'' in the Federal Register (85 FR 15487). 
The initial comment period closed on May 18, 2020.

III. Information Requested

    PARS are the means by which the Coast Guard determines the need to 
establish traffic routing measures or shipping safety fairways to 
reduce the risk of collision, allision, and grounding, and their impact 
on the environment; increase the efficiency and predictability of 
vessel traffic; and preserve the paramount right of navigation while 
continuing to allow for other reasonable waterway uses. The study 
analyzes current routing measures around the approaches to the Cape 
Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, and proposes an adequate 
way to manage forecasted maritime traffic growth and to promote 
navigation safety. The study also reviewed coastal port access from the 
seacoasts of North and South Carolina within the study area and the co-
dependent use of the waters in support of future development.
    The Coast Guard received two discrete comments in response to our 
Federal Register notice and other outreach efforts. We received one 
additional comment, which was a duplicate of a previously submitted 
comment. All comments and supporting documents are available in a 
public docket and can be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. To do 
so, go to https://www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2020-0093 in the 
``SEARCH'' box and click ``SEARCH.'' Next, look for this document in 
the Search Results column, and click on it.
    As a result of the data analysis within this study, and considering 
the

[[Page 16759]]

comments received, the Coast Guard proposes four additional measures 
for consideration by the public: One precautionary area and three 
shipping safety fairways. We seek your input on these proposals and 
welcome comment on any impact to vessel transit time, commercial 
fishing activity, recreational activity, and/or navigation safety. All 
comments received will be reviewed and considered before a final 
version of the PARS is announced in the Federal Register. This notice 
is published under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 70004 and 5 U.S.C. 
552(a).

IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments to this notice of availability 
through the Federal portal at https://www.regulations.gov. To do so, go 
to https://www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2020-0093 in the ``SEARCH'' 
box and click ``SEARCH.'' Next, look for this document in the Search 
Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. In 
your submission, please include the docket number for this notice of 
availability and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. 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.
    To view documents mentioned in this notice of inquiry as being 
available in the docket, find the docket as described in the previous 
paragraph, and then select ``Supporting & Related Material'' in the 
Document Type column. Public comments will also be placed in our online 
docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the https://www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked Questions web page. We review all 
comments received, but we may choose not to post off-topic, 
inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive.
    We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to https://www.regulations.gov 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).
    This document is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: March 8, 2022.
Richard E. Batson,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Commander, Fifth Coast Guard 
District.
[FR Doc. 2022-06235 Filed 3-23-22; 8:45 am]
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