[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 27, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58452-58453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20856]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334

[COE-2021-0006]


Eagle River From Bravo Bridge to Eagle Bay in Knik Arm, 
Richardson Training Area on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; 
Restricted Area

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense (DoD).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is amending its 
restricted area regulations to establish a restricted area within the 
Richardson Training Area on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), at 
Eagle River. The restricted area is located in the area of navigable 
waters extending from the span of Bravo Bridge across Eagle River to 
the mouth of Eagle River at Knik Arm (Eagle River channel). 
Establishment of the restricted area will prevent all vessels, 
watercraft, and individuals from entering an active military range 
munitions impact area at all times, except for authorized vessels, 
watercraft, and individuals engaged in support of military training and 
management activities. The restricted area will avoid inadvertent entry 
into the impact area during live-fire weapons training, exposure to 
hazardous noise, and inadvertent encounters with unexploded ordnance.

DATES: Effective date: October 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David Olson), 
441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20314-1000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Division, at [email protected] or 
202-761-4922.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to a request by the United 
States Army Alaska (USARAK) G3/5/7 Training and Support Activity-Alaska 
(TSA-AK), and pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of the Rivers 
and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat. 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of 
the Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat. 892; 33 U.S.C. 3), the 
Corps is amending its restricted area regulations to establish a 
permanent restricted area in the Eagle River on JBER, Alaska. The 
restricted area will allow the USARAK Commander to prevent all vessels, 
watercraft, and individuals from entering the munitions impact area of 
an active military range (i.e., Richardson Training Area, JBER) at all 
times, except for authorized vessels, watercraft, and individuals 
engaged in support of military training and management activities. This 
restricted area is established as a precautionary measure to protect 
the public from inadvertently entering the impact area during live-fire 
weapons training, encountering hazardous noise in the vicinity of the 
impact area, and encountering unexploded ordnance.
    The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on January 
21, 2022 (87 FR 3257). The regulations.gov docket number was COE-2021-
0006. Concurrently, the Alaska District issued a local public notice 
for the proposed restricted area. No comments were received in response 
to the proposed rule or the local public notice.

Procedural Requirements

    a. Regulatory Planning and Review. This final rule is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993) and it was not submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review.
    b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This final rule has 
been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354). 
The Regulatory Flexibility Act generally requires an agency to prepare 
a regulatory flexibility analysis for any rule subject to notice-and-
comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act 
or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities (i.e., small businesses and small governments).
    The Corps certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The restricted area is necessary to protect public safety. 
The restricted area will prevent all vessels, watercraft, and 
individuals from entering the munitions impact area of an activity 
military range at all times, except for authorized vessels, watercraft, 
and individuals engaged in support of military training and management 
activities. Small entities can continue to utilize navigable waters 
outside of the restricted area. The Corps has determined that the 
restricted area would have practically no economic impact on the 
public, any anticipated navigational hazard, or interference with 
existing waterway traffic. After considering the economic impacts of 
this restricted area regulation on small entities, I certify that this 
final rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial number 
of small entities.
    c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. An 
environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared for the establishment 
of this restricted area. The Corps has concluded that the establishment 
of the restricted area will not have a significant impact to the 
quality of the human environment and, therefore, preparation of an 
environmental impact statement is not required. The final EA and 
Finding of No Significant Impact may be reviewed at the Alaska District 
Office, 2204 3\rd\ Street, JBER, Alaska 99506.
    d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This final rule does not impose an 
enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, it is not a 
Federal private sector mandate and it is not subject to the 
requirements of either Section 202 or Section 205 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Act. The Corps has also found under Section 203 of the Act 
that small governments will not be significantly and uniquely affected 
by this final rule.
    e. Congressional Review Act. The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 
801 et seq., generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the 
agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes 
a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. The Corps will submit a 
report containing the final rule and other required information to the 
U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller 
General of the United States. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 
days after it is published in the Federal Register. This final rule is 
not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

[[Page 58453]]

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, 
Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Corps amends 33 CFR 
part 334 as follows:

PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33 
U.S.C. 3).

0
2. Add Sec.  334.1305 to read as follows:


Sec.  334.1305   Eagle River from Bravo Bridge to its mouth at Eagle 
Bay in Knik Arm, Richardson Training Area on Joint Base Elmendorf-
Richardson, Alaska; restricted area.

    (a) Restricted area. The restricted area consists of navigable 
waters within an area defined as beginning a point on shore at latitude 
61[deg]19'40.1'' N, longitude 149[deg]44'20.336'' W; thence easterly to 
latitude 61[deg]19'41.59'' N, longitude 149[deg]44'6.825'' W; 3.06 
nautical miles southerly along the river to latitude 61[deg]18'40.13'' 
N, longitude 149[deg]41'16.12'' W; thence southerly to latitude 
61[deg]18'38.404'' N, to longitude 149[deg]41'14.73'' W. The datum for 
these coordinates is North American Datum of 1983 (NAD-83).
    (b) The regulation. The restricted area is permanently closed for 
public use at all times. No persons, watercraft, or vessels shall enter 
or remain in the area except for those authorized by the enforcing 
agency.
    (c) Enforcement. The regulations in this section will be enforced 
by the Commander, United States Army-Alaska.

Thomas P. Smith,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-20856 Filed 9-26-22; 8:45 am]
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