[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 135 (Monday, July 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57389-57390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15356]


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U.S. COMMITTEE ON THE MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2024-0044]


Request for Information To Identify Barriers to Planning for 
Climate Resilience in U.S. Ports

AGENCY: U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System.

ACTION: Notice of request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) 
seeks information to identify what types of planning guidance, 
documents, datasets, and Federal funding opportunities are currently 
being utilized in planning for long-term environmental change in U.S. 
Ports; and to identify barriers to action. The information received 
from this RFI will be analyzed to assess whether the needs for this 
type of planning are being met and identify where improvements could be 
made. Information is requested from anyone who works in or adjacent to 
climate resilience planning and execution in ports (public and 
private).

DATES: Interested persons and organizations are invited to submit 
comments on or before August 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals and organizations should submit 
comments electronically via regulations.gov. Due to time constraints, 
mailed paper submissions will not be accepted, and electronic 
submissions received after the deadline may not be incorporated or 
taken into consideration.
    Instructions: Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov 
to submit your comments electronically. Information on how to use 
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, 
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site 
under ``FAQ'' (https://www.regulations.gov/faq).
    Privacy Note: CMTS's policy is to make all comments received from 
members of the public available for public viewing in their entirety on 
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore, 
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only 
information that they wish to make publicly available. CMTS requests 
that no proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally 
identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Gilbert, Senior Policy 
Advisor, U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System; telephone 
(202) 366-3612; email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Per the interagency sea level rise report 
``2022: Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United 
States: Updated Mean Projections and Extreme Water Level Probabilities 
Along U.S. Coastlines,'' sea level rise driven by global climate change 
is a clear and present risk to the United States today and for the 
coming decades and centuries. Sea levels will continue to rise due to 
the ocean's sustained response to the warming that has already 
occurred--even if climate change mitigation succeeds in limiting 
surface air temperatures in the coming decades. Tens of millions of 
people in the United States already live in areas at risk of coastal 
flooding, with more moving to the coasts every year. Rising sea levels 
and land subsidence are combining, and will continue to combine, with 
other coastal flood factors, such as storm surge, wave effects, rising 
coastal water tables, river flows, and rainfall, some of whose 
characteristics are also undergoing climate-related changes. The net 
result will be a dramatic increase in the exposure and vulnerability of 
this growing population, as well as the critical infrastructure related 
to transportation, water, energy, trade, military readiness, and 
coastal ecosystems and the supporting services they provide.

[[Page 57390]]

    By 2050, the expected relative sea level will cause tide and storm 
surge heights to increase and will lead to a shift in U.S. coastal 
flood regimes, with major and moderate high tide flood events occurring 
as frequently as moderate and minor high tide flood events occur today. 
Without additional risk-reduction measures, U.S. coastal 
infrastructure, communities, and ecosystems will face significant 
consequences. [https://aambpublicoceanservice.blob.core.windows.net/oceanserviceprod/hazards/sealevelrise/noaa-nos-techrpt01-global-regional-SLR-scenarios-US.pdf]
    In addition to the impacts of sea level rise and flood risk, it is 
reasonable to assess whether changes in precipitation intensity and 
frequency or increasing temperatures will have impacts on port 
infrastructure, intermodal connectivity, or workforce health and 
efficiency. Long range planning efforts might consider if changes in 
sea ice extent and other environmental factors may lead to shifts in 
global trade patterns and shipping routes. Ports may assess potential 
changes in preferred shipping routes and changes to cargo volume and 
types associated with these shifts.
    Various guidance documents have been published that can be used by 
ports for resiliency planning. The CMTS is looking to better understand 
how different threats impacting our ports--including increased storms, 
atmospheric rivers, changes in precipitation patterns are being 
perceived, planned for, and managed. What types of planning guidance, 
documents, datasets, and Federal funding opportunities are currently 
being utilized in planning for long-term environmental change on 
decadal or longer time scales?
    Guides, such as the CISA Marine Transportation System Resilience 
Assessment Guide and the FEMA National Resilience Guidance have been 
released to help address these issues, and the CMTS is seeking input on 
how ports, port users and stakeholders are planning for these 
anticipated long term environmental changes.

Information Requested

    Response to this RFI is voluntary. Each responding entity 
(individual or organization) is requested to submit only one response. 
The CMTS welcomes any responses to inform and guide the work of the 
request for information. Please feel free to respond to as many 
questions as you choose, indicating the question number being 
addressed. Responses are encouraged to include the name of the 
person(s) or organization(s) filing the comment, and may also include 
the respondent type (e.g., academic, non-profit, professional society, 
community-based organization, industry, trainee/student, member of the 
public, government, other). Respondent's role in the organization may 
also be provided (e.g., port professional, researcher, faculty, or 
program manager) on a voluntary basis. Additionally, please include the 
Docket ID at the top of your comments.
    Comments containing references, studies, research, and other 
empirical data that are not widely published should include copies or 
electronic links to the referenced materials. Please note that the U.S. 
Government will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any 
information contained in the response. A response to this RFI will not 
be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or 
ideas discussed. Respondents may provide information on as many 
questions below as they choose. Input is welcome from stakeholders and 
members of the public representing all backgrounds and perspectives.
    For this RFI, ``port'' means any waterways, shoreside 
infrastructure, and/or intermodal connections that work together as a 
transportation system. `User' includes port authorities, officials, 
employees, consultants, and/or anyone that uses a port. To support this 
information gathering, CMTS seeks information on the types of planning 
guidance, documents, datasets, and Federal funding opportunities 
currently being utilized in planning for long-term environmental change 
in and adjacent to ports. If effective planning is not being 
undertaken, what are the barriers to action? To guide your input, 
please respond to any or all of the following questions:
    1. Demographics. What is the type of organization you represent, 
the size of port, and the region you are located in?
    2. Use of Guidance and/or information products Documents to Support 
Long-term (e.g., decades or longer) Port Resilience Planning. Have you 
used any of the documents listed below, or other similar, federally 
produced documents to plan for resilient port infrastructure in the 
face of a changing climate? If yes, please describe your experiences 
using them. If you have not used them, why not? Did you utilize other 
planning documents? Did you encounter any barriers or difficulties 
using these documents?

 National Resilience Framework--The White House
 National Climate Resilience Framework--USGCRP
 DOT Climate Action Plan for Resilience--DOT
 Inland Port Community Resilience Roadmap (2018)--EPA
 Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation--DOI, NOAA
 Marine Transportation Resilience Assessment Guide--CISA
 Digital Coast--NOAA
 Federal Funding Handbook for the Marine Transportation System 
Sixth Edition (resource)--CMTS

    3. Access to Port Resilience Data. How/where do you obtain 
environmental data and decision support for your port resilience 
planning needs? Do these data include future projections of 
environmental conditions, such as sea level rise? Are the data you 
obtain sufficient to meet your requirements?
    4. Long-term Port Resilience Planning Process. How do you approach 
port resilience planning for climate change? Is it done in-house or 
contracted? Who in your organization does your port resilience 
planning?
    5. Have you engaged in port-to-port sharing? Are you open to 
engaging in port-to-port sharing to learn best practices from other 
ports?
    6. Grants and Other Funding Opportunities. Do you have an awareness 
of the availability of Federal or State funding opportunities to 
support port resilience and infrastructure planning? If so, have you 
applied to and/or been awarded any funding specifically to support 
long-term port resilience and infrastructure planning? Do you know 
where to find funding opportunities?
    a. Is funding available to do the planning work?
    b. What gaps or challenges have you encountered related to 
obtaining grants/funding/etc.? (Information on applying; planning 
documents; etc.)
    7. Additional Needs. What more (in addition to funding, existing 
guidance, and existing data) do you need to improve your long-term 
resilience planning? (e.g., authoritative guidance documents, technical 
qualifications, data, incentives to plan for longer time frames, a 
central location for accessing all the information in one place, better 
planning tools, certification or leadership programs for port 
employees)
    8. Other. Is there anything else you would like to share related to 
this request for information?
    Authority: 46 U.S.C. 50401.

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Brian James Tetreault,
Acting Director, U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System.
[FR Doc. 2024-15356 Filed 7-12-24; 8:45 am]
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