[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 134 (Thursday, July 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42263-42264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15006]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration


Marine Highway Project Designation Open Season and Renewal of 
Project Designations

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of Open Season for Marine Highway Project Designation 
and Renewal of Project Designations.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) and 
Maritime Administration (MARAD) announce that the open season for the 
America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP) Marine Highway Project 
Designation application submissions is being extended to September 30, 
2025 (Open Season). The purpose of this notice is to invite eligible 
applicants to submit Marine Highway Project Designation applications to 
DOT for review and consideration during this extended open season, in 
addition to outlining the process for renewing Project Designations 
once they have reached four years or older.

DATES: There will be eleven Project Designation application review 
sessions during the extended Marine Highway Project Designation Open 
Season. Table 1 contains the application due dates and review periods 
for each review session. Projects qualified for designation will be 
announced shortly after the completion of each review session. 
Applications can be submitted at any time but will only be reviewed 
during the next upcoming review session after submittal.

   Table 1--Open Season Project Designation Application Submission and
                             Review Timeline
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Project
                                    application due     Project review
         Review session            date (11:59 p.m.         period
                                       pacific)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................  September 30, 2022  October 1, 2022-
                                                       December 30,
                                                       2022.
2...............................  January 31, 2023..  February 1, 2023-
                                                       April 30, 2023.
3...............................  May 31, 2023......  June 1, 2023-
                                                       August 31, 2023.
4...............................  September 30, 2023  October 1, 2023-
                                                       December 30,
                                                       2023.
5...............................  January 31, 2024..  February 1, 2024-
                                                       April 30, 2024.
6...............................  May 31, 2024......  June 1, 2024-
                                                       August 31, 2024.
7...............................  September 30, 2024  October 1, 2024-
                                                       December 30,
                                                       2024.
8...............................  January 31, 2025..  February 1, 2025-
                                                       April 30, 2025.
9...............................  May 31, 2025......  June 1, 2025-
                                                       August 31, 2025.
10..............................  September 30, 2025  October 1, 2025-
                                                       December 30,
                                                       2025.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


ADDRESSES: Applicants can submit applications for new Project 
Designations or to renew current Project Designations via hardcopy to 
the AMHP, Office of Ports & Waterways Planning, W21-233, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, or via email to [email protected]. Electronic 
applications are preferred. Telephone (202) 366-0704; Fax (202) 366-
5904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Pickering, Office of Ports & 
Waterways Planning, W21-312, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone (202) 366-0704; Fax (202) 366-5904; or email Mr. 
Pickering at [email protected]. You may also visit MARAD's America's Marine 
Highway web page at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/grants/marine-highways/marine-highway. MARAD's Gateway Offices can also respond to 
questions about the AMHP, including questions about Route Designations, 
the Project Designation Open Season, or grant funding. The Gateway 
Offices' contact information is available on the MARAD website at 
https://www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us/gateway-offices/gateway-offices.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The AMHP was established by Section 1121 of 
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reduce landside 
congestion through the designation of Marine Highway Routes. Section 
405 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 further 
expanded the scope of the program to increase the utilization and 
efficiency of domestic freight transportation on Marine Highway Routes 
between U.S. ports by including routes that do not have parallel 
landside routes. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2016 expanded the definition of short sea shipping (now referred to as 
marine highway transportation) to include freight vehicles carried 
aboard commuter ferry boats and cargo shipped in discrete units--or 
packages that are handled individually, palletized, or unitized 
specifically for transport. In addition, the revised final rule at 46 
CFR part 393, which outlines the scope of the AMHP, became effective on 
January 2, 2018.
    The Department's objective through this program is to reduce 
landside congestion and increase the use of domestic marine highway 
transportation by supporting the development of transportation options 
for shippers. These services provide economic and environmental 
benefits to the U.S. public at large. Marine Highway Designated 
Projects can improve safety and system resilience, and serve to reduce 
transportation-related air emissions, transportation costs for 
shippers, energy consumption, and costs associated with landside 
transportation infrastructure. Currently, the AMHP includes Marine 
Highway Routes in the continental U.S. in addition to the non-
contiguous states of Hawaii and Alaska as well as the U.S. territories 
of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The AMHP includes 
projects that move freight along America's coastlines or waterways. For 
example, the change in definition to add freight vehicles carried on 
commuter passenger ferries allowed the AMHP to provide Federal support 
to several existing ferry services. The addition of

[[Page 42264]]

palletized and unitized cargoes has allowed the AMHP to work with steel 
manufacturers, as well as less-than-container/less-than-truckload 
services.

New Project Designations

    The purpose of the open season call for Project Designation 
applications is to seek eligible Marine Highway Projects that will 
establish new or expand existing marine highway services. Eligible 
projects may be designated as Marine Highway Projects by the Secretary 
of Transportation. Designation as a Marine Highway Project allows the 
Project Applicant or an eligible substitute applicant to become 
eligible for funding from the AMHP. MARAD will accept and review 
Project Designation applications that propose to operate a new service 
or expand an existing service on a designated Marine Highway Route, use 
U.S. documented vessels, and mitigate landside congestion or promote 
marine highway transportation.

New Project Designation Application Process

    The Marine Highway Project Designation application process is 
detailed in 46 CFR 393.3, Marine Highway Projects (found at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-II/subchapter-K/part-393/subpart-B/section-393.3).
    Although Marine Highway Project Designations often involve private 
entities, such as vessel operators, the Project Designation 
applications must be submitted to MARAD by a public entity, such as a 
State government (including State departments of transportation), 
metropolitan planning organization, port authority, or a Federally 
recognized tribal government. Public/private partnerships, however, are 
encouraged.
    To be eligible for designation, the proposed Marine Highway Project 
must: (1) use U.S. vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121; (2) 
mitigate landside congestion or promote marine highway transportation; 
(3) involve the carriage of cargo in marine highway transportation as 
defined in 46 U.S.C. 55605; (4) involve new or expand existing services 
for the carriage of cargo; and (5) operate on a designated Marine 
Highway Route.
    Refer to 46 U.S.C. 55601 & 55605 and 46 CFR part 393 for further 
information on project eligibility and application requirements. For 
more information on recommending that a navigable waterway be 
designated as a Marine Highway Route, please contact your regional 
Gateway Office (https://www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us/gateway-offices/gateway-offices). Designating a Marine Highway Project does not 
obligate the Department to provide future funding to support the 
project; however, the designation is necessary for projects to be 
eligible for funding from the AMHP.

Renewal of Project Designations

    As outlined in 46 CFR 393.3(i), Marine Highway Project Designations 
are effective for a period of five years. Original Project Applicants 
wishing to renew a Marine Highway Project Designation must submit an 
updated application no later than six months before their Project's 
five-year designation period ends. To meet that requirement, Project 
Applicants with Designated Projects more than four years old must 
submit an updated application by June 30th of the year prior to their 
expiration period. The year the Project was designated will constitute 
the Project's starting period. For example, projects designated in 2018 
(or earlier) must submit an updated application by June 30, 2022; 
projects designated in 2019 must submit an updated application by June 
30, 2023, and so forth. If approved for renewal by the Maritime 
Administrator, the Project Designation will be effective for another 
five years after its expiration period. Project Applicants can 
determine the year their Project was designated, and, therefore, their 
Project's expiration period, by referring to the latest list of current 
Marine Highway Project descriptions document, found at https://www.maritime.dot.gov/grants/marine-highways/marine-highway, or by 
contacting the AMHP Office.
    The updated application should follow the format and contain the 
information outlined in 46 CFR 393.3(c) and must include any changed or 
new information that is relevant to the Project. The updated 
application affords Project Applicants the opportunity to make changes 
to or update the original Project Designation. Examples of such changes 
may include a change in operator, addition or removal of a port or 
facility, addition or change to the commodity moved, or a change to the 
public benefits associated with the project. If still applicable, 
Project Applicants may use information submitted in their original 
Project Designation application; however, applicants should make sure 
their application for renewal addresses any AMHP requirements that may 
have changed since submittal of their original application.
    Project Applicants are required to submit their renewal 
applications by June 30th of the year prior to their Project's 
expiration period. If the Project Applicant notifies MARAD that they no 
longer wish to maintain their Project Designation or if the Project 
Applicant does not apply for a Project Designation renewal by the 
applicable deadline, those projects will no longer be designated Marine 
Highway Projects.

(Authority: 46 U.S.C. 55601 and 55605, 46 CFR part 393, 49 CFR 1.92 
and 1.93)

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022-15006 Filed 7-13-22; 8:45 am]
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