[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54487-54488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17222]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[Docket No. USCG-2022-0222]


Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart, FL

AGENCY: Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: Notification of temporary deviation from regulations; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is issuing a temporary deviation from the 
operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad 
Bridge, across the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW), mile 7.41, at Stuart, 
Florida. In anticipation of a significant increase in railway activity 
across the FEC Railroad Bridge, the Coast Guard is considering changing 
the operating regulation for the FEC Railroad Bridge to allow the 
drawbridge to operate on a more predictable schedule. This temporary 
deviation will test a drawbridge operating schedule to determine 
whether a permanent change to the schedule is needed. The Coast Guard 
is seeking comments from the public regarding this deviation.

DATES: This deviation is effective from 12:01 a.m. on August 15, 2023, 
through 11:59 p.m. on December 17, 2023.
    Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or 
before October 15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2022-0222 using Federal Decision Making Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.
    See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this 
temporary deviation, call or email Ms. Jennifer Zercher, Bridge 
Management Specialist, Seventh Coast Guard District; telephone 305-415-
6740, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis

    The Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge across the Okeechobee 
Waterway (OWW), mile 7.4, at Stuart, Florida, is a single-leaf bascule 
bridge with a six-foot vertical clearance at mean high water in the 
closed position. The normal operating schedule for the bridge is found 
in 33 CFR 117.317(c).
    In anticipation of a significant increase in railway activity 
across the FEC Railroad Bridge, the Coast Guard is considering changing 
the operating regulation for the FEC Railroad Bridge to allow the 
drawbridge to operate on a more predictable schedule, to be open for 
navigation at least 50 percent of the time during daytime operations (6 
a.m. to 10 p.m.) and to allow for reasonable usage of competing modes 
of transportation.
    On May 3, 2022, the Coast Guard published a Notification of Inquiry 
entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, 
Stuart, FL'' in the Federal Register (87 FR 26145). On June 10, 2022, a 
Supplemental Notification of Inquiry entitled ``Drawbridge Operation 
Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart, FL'' was published in the 
Federal Register (87 FR 35472). We received a total 2,358 comments on 
those publications. Those comments

[[Page 54488]]

were taken into consideration when developing this test deviation.
    On June 8, 2023, the Coast Guard published a Temporary Deviation 
entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, 
Stuart, FL'' in the Federal Register (88 FR 37470). The comment period 
ended on August 4, 2023, with 342 comments received. While those 
comments were taken into consideration while making this modification, 
comments from all Notices of Inquiry and Temporary Deviations will be 
addressed further if a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is 
published. The NW Dixie Hwy Bridge has been removed from this docket to 
allow the Coast Guard to commence a separate rulemaking for the highway 
bridge to operate on demand.
    Under this temporary deviation, the FEC Railroad Bridge will be 
maintained in the fully open-to-navigation position, except during 
periods when it is closed for the passage of train traffic, to conduct 
inspections, and to perform maintenance and repairs authorized by the 
Coast Guard. However, the bridge will not be closed for more than 50 
consecutive minutes in any given hour during daytime operations (6 a.m. 
to 10 p.m.) and for more than 8 total hours during daytime operations 
(6 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
    Notwithstanding the above paragraph, the drawbridge will open and 
remain open to navigation for a fixed 10-minute period at the top of 
each hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition, the drawbridge will open 
and remain open to navigation for a fixed 15-minute period as outlined 
in the table below:

                                 Table 1
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Monday through Friday
    8:55 a.m. through 9:10 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday
    8:55 a.m. through 9:10 a.m.
    9:55 a.m. through 10:10 a.m.
    10:55 a.m. through 11:10 a.m.
    12:55 p.m. through 1:10 p.m.
    4:55 p.m. through 5:10 p.m.
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    From 10:01 p.m. until 5:59 a.m. daily, the drawbridge will remain 
in the fully open-to-navigation position, except during periods when it 
is closed for the passage of train traffic, to conduct inspections, and 
to perform maintenance and repairs authorized by the Coast Guard. The 
drawbridge will not be closed more than 60 consecutive minutes.
    If a train is in the track circuit at the start of a fixed opening 
period, the opening may be delayed up to, but not more than, five 
minutes. Once the train has cleared the circuit, the bridge must open 
immediately for navigation to begin the fixed opening period.
    In the event of a drawbridge operational failure, or other 
emergency circumstances impacting normal drawbridge operations, the 
drawbridge owner will immediately notify the Coast Guard Captain of the 
Port Miami and provide an estimated time of repair and return to normal 
operations.
    The drawbridge will be tended from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily. The 
bridge tender will monitor VHF-FM channels 9 and 16 and will provide 
estimated times of drawbridge openings and closures, or any operational 
information requested. Operational information will be provided 24 
hours a day by telephone at (772) 403-1005.
    The drawbridge owner will maintain a mobile application. The 
drawbridge owner will publish drawbridge opening times, and the 
drawbridge owner will provide timely updates to schedules, including 
but not limited to, impacts due to emergency circumstances, 
inspections, maintenance, and repairs authorized by the Coast Guard.
    Signs will be posted and visible to marine traffic, displaying VHF 
radio contact information, application information, and the telephone 
number for the bridge tender.
    A drawbridge logbook will be maintained including the date and time 
of each closing and opening of the draw. The drawbridge logbook will 
also include all maintenance opening, closings, malfunctions, or other 
comments. During the temporary deviation, a copy of the drawbridge 
logbook for the previous week will be provided to the Seventh Coast 
Guard District Bridge Manager by 4 p.m. each Monday.
    In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), the drawbridge must return to 
its regular operating schedules immediately at the end of the effective 
period of this temporary deviation. This deviation from the operating 
regulation is authorized pursuant to 33 CFR 117.35(a).

II. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We view public participation as essential to determining the needs 
of the public and will consider all comments and material received 
during the comment period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of 
future actions. If you submit a comment, please include the docket 
number for this test deviation, indicate the specific section of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation.
    Submitting comments. We encourage you to submit comments through 
the Federal Decision Making Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. To 
do so, go to https://www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2022-0222, 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. 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.
    View material in the docket. To view documents mentioned in this 
deviation 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. Also, if you go to the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments, future actions or 
updates are posted to the docket.
    We review all comments received, but we will only post comments 
that address the topic of this deviation. 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).

    Dated: August 7, 2023.
Douglas M. Schofield,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Coast Guard Seventh 
District.
[FR Doc. 2023-17222 Filed 8-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P