[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18568-18569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06473]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

 Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2023-0244]


Recertification of Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' 
Advisory Council

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of recertification.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the recertification of the Prince 
William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) as an 
alternative voluntary advisory group for Prince William Sound, Alaska. 
This certification allows the PWSRCAC to monitor the activities of 
terminal facilities and crude oil tankers under an alternative 
composition, other than prescribed, the Prince William Sound Program 
established by the Oil Terminal and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight 
and Monitoring Act of 1990.

DATES: This recertification is effective for the period from March 1, 
2023 through February 29, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document, 
call or

[[Page 18569]]

email LT Ben Bauman, Seventeenth Coast Guard District (dpi), by phone 
at (907) 463-2809 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    The Coast Guard published guidelines on December 31, 1992 (57 FR 
62600), to assist groups seeking recertification under the Oil Terminal 
and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight and Monitoring Act of 1990 (33 
U.S.C. 2732) (the Act). The Coast Guard issued a policy statement on 
July 7, 1993 (58 FR 36504), to clarify the factors that the Coast Guard 
would be considering in making its determination as to whether advisory 
groups should be certified in accordance with the Act, and the 
procedures which the Coast Guard would follow in meeting its 
certification responsibilities under the Act. Most recently, on 
September 16, 2002 (67 FR 58440), the Coast Guard changed its policy on 
recertification procedures for regional citizen's advisory council by 
requiring applicants to provide comprehensive information every three 
years. For each of the two years between the triennial application 
procedures, applicants submit a letter requesting recertification that 
includes a description of any substantive changes to the information 
provided at the previous triennial recertification. Further, public 
comment is only solicited during the triennial comprehensive review.
    The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company pays the PWSRCAC $3.7 million 
annually in the form of a long-term contract. In return for this 
funding, the PWSRCAC must annually show that it ``fosters the goals and 
purposes'' of OPA 90 and is ``broadly representative of the communities 
and interests in the vicinity of the terminal facilities and Prince 
William Sound.'' The PWSRCAC is an independent, nonprofit organization 
founded in 1989. Though it receives federal oversight like many 
independent, nonprofit organizations, it is not a federal agency. The 
PWSRCAC is a local organization that predates the passage of OPA 90. 
The existence of the PWSRCAC was specifically recognized in OPA 90 
where it is defined as an ``alternative voluntary advisory group.'' 
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company funds the PWSRCAC, and the Coast Guard 
ensures the PWSRCAC operates in a fashion that is broadly consistent 
with OPA 90.

Discussion of Comments

    On December 22, 2022, the Coast Guard published a Notice; Request 
for comments titled ``Application for Recertification of Prince William 
Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council'' in the Federal Register (87 
FR 78701). We received 76 comments, all in support of the PWSRCAC 
recertification. No public meeting was requested. The comments 
consistently cited PWSRCAC's collaborative partnerships in furthering 
the respective communities' interest to promote safety, to maintain 
effective prevention and response efforts regarding oil pollution, and 
to protect the sensitive marine environment along Alaska's coastline.

Recertification

    By letter dated February 25, 2023, the Commander, Seventeenth Coast 
Guard District, certified that the PWSRCAC qualifies as an alternative 
voluntary advisory group under 33 U.S.C. 2732(o). This recertification 
terminates on February 29, 2024.

    Dated: March 6, 2023.
Nathan A. Moore,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard 
District.
[FR Doc. 2023-06473 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
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