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/Vol. 67, No. 166/Tuesday, August 27, 2002/Proposed Rules
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.3507
et seq.
).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department of the Interior hasdetermined that this rule will not havea significant economic impact on asubstantial number of small entitiesunder the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5U.S.C. 601
et seq.
). The State submittalwhich is the subject of this rule is basedupon counterpart Federal regulations forwhich an economic analysis wasprepared and certification made thatsuch regulations would not have asignificant economic effect upon asubstantial number of small entities.Therefore, this rule will ensure thatexisting requirements previouslypromulgated by OSM will beimplemented by the State. In making thedetermination as to whether this rulewould have a significant economicimpact, the Department relied upon thedata and assumptions for thecounterpart Federal regulations.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
This rule is not a major rule under 5U.S.C. 804(2), the Small BusinessRegulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.This rule:a. Does not have an annual effect onthe economy of $100 million. b. Will not cause a major increase incosts or prices for consumers,individual industries, federal, state, orlocal government agencies, orgeographic regions.c. Does not have significant adverseeffects on competition, employment,investment, productivity, innovation, orthe ability of U.S. based enterprises tocompete with foreign-based enterprises.This determination is based upon thefact that the State submittal which is thesubject of this rule is based uponcounterpart Federal regulations forwhich an analysis was prepared and adetermination made that the Federalregulation was not considered a majorrule.
Unfunded Mandates
This rule will not impose a cost of $100 million or more in any given yearon any governmental entity or theprivate sector.
List of Subjects in 30 CFR Part 936
Intergovernmental relations, Surfacemining, Underground mining.
Dated: July 26, 2002.
Ervin J. Barchenger,
Acting Regional Director, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinating Center.
[FR Doc. 02
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21743 Filed 8
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02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310
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05
–
P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONCoast Guard33 CFR Part 167
[USCG
–
2002
–
12702]RIN 2115
–
AG45
Traffic Separation Schemes: In theStrait of Juan de Fuca and ItsApproaches; in Puget Sound and ItsApproaches; and in Haro Strait,Boundary Pass, and the Strait ofGeorgia
AGENCY
:
Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION
:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
SUMMARY
:
The Coast Guard proposes toamend the existing traffic separationschemes (TSSs) in the Strait of Juan deFuca and its approaches, in PugetSound and its approaches, and in HaroStrait, Boundary Pass, and the Strait of Georgia. The proposed amendmentshave been approved by the InternationalMaritime Organization and have beenvalidated by a recent Port Access RouteStudy. Implementing these amendmentswould provide better routing order andpredictability, increase maritime safety,and reduce the potential for collisions,groundings, and hazardous cargo spills.This rulemaking would incorporatethese TSSs, as amended, into the Codeof Federal Regulations.
DATES
:
Comments and related materialmust reach the Docket ManagementFacility on or before October 28, 2002.
ADDRESSES
:
To make sure that yourcomments and related material are notentered more than once in the docket,please submit them by only one of thefollowing means:(1) By mail to the Docket ManagementFacility (USCG 2002
–
12702), U.S.Department of Transportation, room PL
–
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,Washington, DC 20590
–
0001.(2) By delivery to room PL
–
401 on thePlaza level of the Nassif Building, 400Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday, except Federal holidays.The telephone number is 202
–
366
–
9329.(3) By fax to the Docket ManagementFacility at 202
–
493
–
2251.(4) Electronically through the WebSite for the Docket Management Systemat
http://dms.dot.gov.
The Docket Management Facilitymaintains the public docket for thisrulemaking. Comments and materialreceived from the public, as well asdocuments mentioned in this preambleas being available in the docket, will become part of this docket and will beavailable for inspection or copying atroom PL
–
401 on the Plaza level of theNassif Building, 400 Seventh Street,SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,except Federal holidays. You may alsofind this docket on the Internet at
http:/ /dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
If you have questions on this proposedrule, call Lieutenant Commander Jane C.Wong, Thirteenth Coast Guard District,Seattle, WA, telephone 206
–
220
–
7224,e-mail
Jwong@PACNORWEST.uscg.mil;
or George Detweiler, Coast Guard, Officeof Vessel Traffic Management (G
–
MWV), at 202
–
267
–
0574, e-mail
Gdetweiler@comdt.uscg.mil.
If you havequestions on viewing or submittingmaterial to the docket, call DorothyBeard, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone 202
–
366
–
5149.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Request for Comments
We encourage you to participate inthis rulemaking by submittingcomments and related material. If youdo so, please include your name andaddress, identify the docket number forthis rulemaking (USCG
–
2002
–
12702),indicate the specific section of thisdocument to which each commentapplies, and give the reason for eachcomment. You may submit yourcomments and material by mail, handdelivery, fax, or electronic means to theDocket Management Facility at theaddress under
ADDRESSES
;
but pleasesubmit your comments and material byonly one means. If you submit them bymail or hand delivery, submit them inan unbound format, no larger than 8
1
⁄
2
by 11 inches, suitable for copying andelectronic filing. If you submit them bymail and would like to know that theyreached the Facility, please enclose astamped, self-addressed postcard orenvelope. We will consider allcomments and material received duringthe comment period. We may changethis proposed rule in view of them.
Public Meeting
We do not now plan to hold a publicmeeting. But you may submit a requestfor one to the Docket ManagementFacility at the address under
ADDRESSES
explaining why one would be beneficial. If we determine that onewould aid this rulemaking, we will holdone at a time and place announced bya later notice in the
Federal Register
.
Background and Purpose
Under the Ports and Waterways SafetyAct (33 U.S.C. 1221–1232) (PWSA), the
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Coast Guard establishes trafficseparation schemes (TSSs), wherenecessary, to provide safe access routesfor vessels proceeding to or from U.S.ports. Before implementing new TSSs ormodifying existing ones, we conduct aPort Access Route Study (PARS).Through the PARS process, weconsulted with affected parties toreconcile the need for safe access routeswith the need to accommodate otherreasonable uses of the waterway, suchas oil and gas exploration, deepwaterport construction, establishment of marine sanctuaries, and recreational andcommercial fishing. If a PARSrecommends a new or modified TSS, wemust initiate a rulemaking to implementthe TSS. Once a TSS is established, theright of navigation is consideredparamount within the TSS.Approximately 11,000 vessels of greater than 300 gross tons (GT) movedthrough the Strait of Juan de Fuca in1999. It is anticipated that this numberwill increase to approximately 17,000 by the year 2025. In the PARS, it wasestimated that approximately 15.1 billion gallons of crude oil, refinedproducts, and bunker fuel oil would bemoved through the Strait in 2000. By2025, the volume is expected to increaseto approximately 19.2 billion gallons.About 7.6 billion gallons of this totalvolume will be crude oil imported torefineries in the Puget Sound area.Additional crude oil is exported fromCanada
’
s Port of Vancouver and 2.8 billion gallons of refined products will be exported from Puget Sound.Other indicators of increasingmaritime activity in the area include thefollowing:1. Expansion of the Port of Vancouver
’
s Delta Port, just north of theinternational border on the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia. Someexperts in the field predict that thisfacility will become one of the foremostcontainer terminals on the west coast.2. The proposed gateway terminalnear Cherry Point on the Strait of Georgia in Washington State. Whenconstructed, it will create anopportunity for increased vessel transitsin the Strait of Georgia.3. Potential Pacific-Rim tradeexpansion resulting from Chinareceiving most favored nation tradingstatus. Pacific Northwest ports are closerto the Orient via great-circle routingthan are other U.S mainland ports.The 1999 Marine Cargo Forecast bythe Washington Public PortsAssociation
’
s projected that the totalwaterborne tonnage through PugetSound ports will increase by 42 per centto nearly 121.6 million tons in 2020,compared with 85.6 million tons in1997. The report further projected thatthe total container traffic through thePuget Sound ports of Seattle andTacoma is expected to grow by 131 percent, from 2.6 million TEUs (twenty-footequivalent units) in 1997 to 6 millionTEUs in 2020.Other vessel traffic indicatorspertaining to the study area suggest thatthe greater Puget Sound area constitutesthe third largest naval port complex inthe United States and supports one of the nation
’
s highest per capitarecreational boat ownershippopulations.
Existing TSSs.
There areinternationally approved TSSs in theStrait of Juan de Fuca and itsapproaches and in Puget Sound and itsapproaches. The TSSs in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and its approaches wereadopted by the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO) on April 3, 1981,and implemented on January 1, 1982.The TSSs in Puget Sound and itsapproaches were adopted by IMO inDecember 1992 and implemented on June 10, 1993. These TSSs are reflectedon NOAA chart 18400 and in
‘‘
ShipsRouteing,
’’
Seventh Edition 1999,International Maritime Organization.
Port Access Route Study (PARS).
Wepublished a notice of study in the
Federal Register
on January 20, 1999(64 FR 3145). The study was to reviewand evaluate the need for modificationsto current vessel routing and trafficmanagement measures for the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Haro Strait, BoundaryPass, the Strait of Georgia, RosarioStrait, and adjacent waters. The studyarea also included both U.S. andCanadian TSSs and the Area to beAvoided (ATBA)
‘‘
Off the WashingtonCoast
’’
. United States and CanadianCoast Guards manage portions of thestudy area jointly. Joint waterwaymanagement is accomplished primarilythrough the Cooperative Vessel TrafficSystem (CVTS). Under the CVTSAgreement, vessel traffic transiting thestudy area is managed by vessel trafficcenters located at Tofino and Victoria,British Columbia, Canada, and Seattle,Washington, irrespective of the boundary between the two countries.The PARS was developed based onseveral related vessel traffic studies,Waterways Analysis and ManagementSystem (WAMS) reports, and extensiveconsultations between the governmentsof the United States and Canada. Inaddition, the officials of bothgovernments embarked on a vigorousoutreach program to presentrecommended changes in the study areaand request commentary from a widegroup of waterway users and otherpotentially affected and interestedgroups. These included members of thepublic, such as representatives of theshipping industry, master mariners,ports, pilots, environmental interests,and U.S. Federal, State, local, and tribalgovernments. The concerns raised weretaken into account, including the costsand benefits to industry and theenvironment. The recommendedchanges also took into account the burden on, and the practical navigationaspects for, the shipping industry. Wepublished the study results in the
Federal Register
on January 22, 2001(66 FR 6514).The PARS concluded that the currentTSSs should be modified by
—
1. Reconfiguring and extendingseaward the TSS at the entrance to theStrait of Juan de Fuca;2. Modifying the location, orientation,and dimensions of the Strait of Juan deFuca TSS;3. Relocating the Pilot Area andreconfiguring the traffic lanes andprecautionary area off Port Angeles,Washington, to improve traffic flow andreduce risks;4. Moving the vessel traffic lanessoutheast of Victoria, British Columbia,farther off shore;5. Establishing precautionary areas off of Discovery Island and around theVictoria Pilot Station;6. Creating a new two-way route inHaro Strait and Boundary Pass andestablishing a precautionary area off of Turn Point;7. Expanding precautionary area
‘‘
RB
’’
at the south end of Rosario Strait;8. Revising and aligning the existingTSS in Georgia Strait with the existingTSS north of Rosario Strait and linkingthem with a new precautionary area off of East Point; and9. Creating a new precautionary areain Georgia Strait west of Delta Port andthe Tsawwassen Ferry terminal.
Discussion of Proposed Rule
This rulemaking would amend theexisting TSSs in the Strait of Juan deFuca and its approaches; in PugetSound and its approaches; and in HaroStrait, Boundary Pass, and the Strait of Georgia. The existing TSSs aredelineated in
‘‘
Ships Routeing,
’’
Seventh Edition 1999, InternationalMaritime Organization, but not yetcodified in the Code of FederalRegulations (CFR). The amendments are based on the recommendations of thePARS study published in the
FederalRegister
on January 22, 2001 (66 FR6514). We propose the followingchanges to the existing TSSs:1.
Reconfiguring and extending seaward the TSS at the entrance to theStrait of Juan de Fuca.
All traffic
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entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca ispresently funneled into the Straitthrough one of two short traffic lanes.The inbound traffic lane originatingfrom the southwest may bring trafficwithin 1 mile of Duntze Rock. Thisconvergence near Buoy Juliet is close tothe rocky shoreline of Cape Flattery, lieswithin the Olympic Coast NationalMarine Sanctuary, and funnels inboundsouthern traffic along the northern andwestern borders of an existing Area ToBe Avoided (ATBA).It is customary for a large percentageof the slower moving traffic, often tugsand barges and small fishing vessels, totransit inbound and outbound south of the designated traffic lanes when oncoastwise voyages to and from thesouth. This practice eliminates the needfor slower moving southbound traffic tocross the traffic lanes and the numerousovertaking situations arising fromdisparate transit speeds. However,under the present configuration, thistraffic is forced to transit extremelyclose to Duntze Rock and may end upinfringing on either the ATBA or theinbound traffic lane.Traditional commercial and sportsfishing areas are in and adjacent to thetraffic lanes at the entrance to the Strait.Occasionally, fishing vessels in the areacreate a conflict for vessels followingthe TSS, particularly during periods of reduced visibility.This rulemaking would extend theTSS at the entrance of the Strait of Juande Fuca approximately 10 miles fartheroffshore and would center theseparation zone on the international border at the entrance. Both of theseactions would create a
‘‘
buffer zone
’’
between the southernmost TSS lane andDuntze Rock and the nearby ATBA.This relocation provides significant searoom for resolving conflicting routes asvessels converge toward the entrance of the Strait, thereby improving order andpredictability for all entry and exitlanes. These changes, along withchanges being proposed for the ATBA boundary, would allow sufficient roomfor slower moving vessels to transitwithout conflicting with inbound trafficsteering for the southern approach to theTSS. It would also provide a greatermargin of safety around the hazards of Duntze Rock and Tatoosh Island.Finally, it would create the spacenecessary to accommodate therecommended routes proposed to IMO.In developing these proposed changesto the TSS, we considered the locationof the traditional fishing grounds off theentrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.Although it was not possible tocompletely segregate the TSS from thefishing grounds, the recommendedchanges would minimize potentialconflicts and improve the existingconfiguration. These recommendationswould provide routing order andpredictability farther offshore, therebyreducing conflicts between vesselsfollowing the TSS and vessels fishing atthe entrance to the Strait.2.
Modifying the location, orientation,and dimensions of the existing TSS inthe Strait of Juan de Fuca.
In its currentconfiguration, over two-thirds of theTSS is located on the United States sideof the International Boundary. Theseparation zone flares to a maximumwidth of approximately four nauticalmiles, of which three nautical miles arein U.S. waters. This alignment of theTSS reduces the amount of navigablewater available to vessels transiting,outbound or inbound, south of the TSSand places inbound traffic following thelanes closer to land than vesselstransiting in the outbound lanes.In the western segment of the TSS, theproposed rule would shift the TSS ahalf-mile to the north and reduce thewidth of the entire separation zone to amaximum of 3 nautical miles. Theminimum width of the separation zoneand the width of the traffic lanes wouldremain one nautical mile. Doing sowould reduce the potential for poweredgroundings on the U.S. shoreline bycreating a larger buffer between the TSSand shore. It also would createadditional space for the existing in-shore traffic that transits south of theTSS and would accommodate therecommended routes proposed to IMO.We have considered the impact of theproposed changes on the existingCanadian Practice Firing Range(Exercise Area WH). Exercises willcontinue to be conducted in a mannernot to conflict with commercial trafficfollowing the TSS.3.
Relocating the Pilot Area and reconfiguring the traffic lanes and precautionary area off Port Angeles toimprove traffic flow and reduce risks.
Five TSSs converge at the precautionaryareas (
‘‘
PA
’’
and
‘‘
ND
’’
) located to thenorth and east of Port Angeles. Ferries,recreational vessels, piloted deep draftvessels, non-piloted deep draft vessels,tugs and tows, naval vessels, and largeand small commercial fishing vessels allinteract and compete for space at thisconvergence point in the traffic scheme.The present traffic configuration wasdesigned primarily to deliver inboundvessels to the pilot stations located atPort Angeles and Victoria. The impacton vessel safety or other waterway usersmay have been overshadowed. Forexample, the present configuration doesnot separate the Port Angeles pilots boarding area from either the throughtraffic following the TSS or the trafficchoosing to follow the informal inshoretraffic lanes. The current TSS routingleading to the Port Angeles pilot stationhas been identified through casualtyhistories as a substantial cause forconcern. Vessels bound for the PortAngeles pilots station are required bythe TSS to steer almost directly on EdizHook. To pick up a pilot, a vessel mustfirst execute a 60-degree turn, then slowto varying speeds, which createsdifferent impacts on steerage. At thispoint, a vessel may be particularlyvulnerable to currents and seas. If anengineering failure occurred during thisoperation, the vessel would be at risk of a drift or powered grounding on EdizHook. By changing the traffic laneleading to the pilot station and byrelocating the station itself, the need foran incoming deep draft vessel to steerdirectly toward shoal water as itapproaches the pilot station would beeliminated. The addition of a new east/west TSS leading east fromprecautionary area
‘‘
PA
’’
establishes apredictable route for those vessels thatdo not require pilotage thus reducingthe risk of collision with vessels that aremaneuvering to pick up a pilot.4.
Moving the vessel traffic lanessoutheast of Victoria, British Columbia, farther off shore.
On the Canadian sideof the international boundary, outboundtugs and barges exit the TSS atDiscovery Island and head directly forthe inshore routes south of Race Rocks,cutting across the inbound andoutbound TSS lanes south of Victoria.Outbound fishing vessels exiting BaynesChannel or passing east of DiscoveryIsland attempt to stay north of the TSS but often infringe upon the lanes nearTrial Island, Discovery Island, and thepilot station. This behavior createsunnecessary and potentially dangerousinteractions between deep draft vesselsfollowing the TSS and smaller vesselsthat choose to skirt the TSS or cutdiagonally across the TSS.The proposed change would create aninshore buffer by decreasing the widthof the TSS leading from the VictoriaPilot Station to the turn south of Discovery Island while maintaining thesame southern boundary on the inboundlane. This buffer zone would allowfishing vessels and other small, slowmoving vessels to transit directly between Discovery Island and RaceRocks, then inshore north of the TSS,while avoiding the deep-draft TSS.5.
Establishing precautionary areas off Discovery Island and around theVictoria Pilot Station.
The Victoria PilotStation is at the convergence of twoTSSs where there is significant trafficcongestion as vessels transit to and from
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