Proposed Rule2021-17187
Safety Zone; M/V ZHEN HUA 24, Crane Delivery Operation, Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia
Primary source
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Published
August 12, 2021
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary moving safety zone around M/V ZHEN HUA 24 during its transit through certain waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters during the movement of the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 while it is transporting four new Super-Post Panamax container cranes to the Port of Baltimore, anticipated to arrive between September 4, 2021, and September 29, 2021. The Captain of the Port Virginia has determined that limited maneuverability and unique cargo of this vessel are potential hazardous to any person or vessel within the proposed safety zone. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Virginia or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 153 (Thursday, August 12, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 153 (Thursday, August 12, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44326-44329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17187]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 165
[Docket Number USCG-2021-0623]
RIN 1625-AA00
Safety Zone; M/V ZHEN HUA 24, Crane Delivery Operation,
Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a temporary moving
safety zone around M/V ZHEN HUA 24 during its transit through certain
waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia. This action is
necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters
during the movement of the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 while it is transporting
four new Super-Post Panamax container cranes to the Port of Baltimore,
anticipated to arrive between September 4, 2021, and September 29,
2021. The Captain of the Port Virginia has determined that limited
maneuverability and unique cargo of this vessel are potential hazardous
to any person or vessel within the proposed safety zone. This proposed
rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety
zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Virginia or a
designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed
rulemaking.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast
Guard on or before August 23, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2021-0623 using the Federal Decision Making Portal at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. See the ``Public Participation and Request for
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
proposed rulemaking, call or email Lieutenant Commander Ashley Holm,
Sector Virginia Waterways Management division, U.S. Coast Guard;
telephone 757-668-5581, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#396f504b5e505750586e584d5c4b4e58404a794c4a5a5e17545055"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f09362d383631363e083e2b3a2d283e262c1f2a2c3c3871323633">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
Sec. Section
U.S.C. United States Code
CBBT Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
COTP Captain of the Port
II. Background, Purpose, and Legal Basis
On June 28, 2021, Ports America Chesapeake, LLC notified the Coast
Guard that the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 will be transporting four new Super-Post
Panamax container cranes to the Port of Baltimore. The vessel transit
is taking place from Shanghai, China. The M/V ZHEN HUA 24 is
anticipated to arrive between September 4, 2021, and September 29,
2021. The current estimated arrival date is September 5, 2021, but is
subject to change. These cranes will be delivered to, and installed at,
the Seagirt Marine Terminal at Baltimore, MD.
The cranes exceed the beam of the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 on the port side
by approximately 129 feet and on the starboard side by approximately 40
feet. The total beam for the vessel with the cranes aboard is
approximately 300 feet. The maximum height of the cranes aboard the
vessel is approximately 326
[[Page 44327]]
feet. This beam width and cargo height will severely restrict the M/V
ZHEN HUA 24's ability to maneuver and create a hazard to navigation if
required to meet or pass other large vessels transiting the navigation
channels. Because of the size of the cargo and the width of the
navigation channels, vessels will not be able to transit safely around
the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 at close distances. During the inbound transit of
the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 the vessel will travel from sea into the Chesapeake
Bay, crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) and then
proceeding north toward Baltimore. During this time safety concerns
will be heightened due to the importance of CBBT and the Chesapeake's
sensitive estuary environment. Hazards associated with the movement of
a large freight vessel with an oversized cargo severely restricted in
its ability to maneuver while transiting confined shipping channels
include injury or loss of life and damage to property and the
environment resulting from collisions with other vessels. The COTP
Virginia has determined that potential hazards associated with the
crane delivery operation would be a safety concern for any vessel
required to transit the navigation channels in the Chesapeake Bay and
Coastal Virginia that would meet, pass, or overtake the M/V ZHEN HUA
24. These hazards can be mitigated with a 500 yard radius safety zone
around the vessel.
The Coast Guard is requesting that interested parties provide
comments within a shortened comment period of 10 days instead of the
typical 30 days for this notice of proposed rulemaking. The Coast Guard
believes the 10-day comment period still provides for a reasonable
amount of time for interested parties to review the proposal and
provide informed comments on it while also ensuring that the Coast
Guard has time to review and respond to any significant comments and
has a final rule in effect in time for the scheduled event in order to
protect against the identified hazards.
The Coast Guard is proposing this rulemaking under authority in 46
U.S.C. 70034 (previously 33 U.S.C. 1231).
III. Discussion of Proposed Rule
The COTP is proposing to establish a temporary moving safety zone
with a radius of 500 yards centered around the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 during
the inbound transit through the territorial sea and the Chesapeake Bay
to Baltimore, MD. The M/V ZHEN HUA 24 is currently anticipated to
arrive at Baltimore sometime between September 4, 2021, and September
29, 2021. The current estimated arrival date is September 4, 2021, but
is subject to change. The inbound transit is expected to last
approximately 15 hours.
Enforcement of the safety zone would begin when M/V ZHEN HUA 24
crosses the 12-mile line into the U.S.-Territorial Sea and end when the
vessel crosses the Virginia-Maryland state line. This enforcement
period would be broadcast to mariners via email, VHF-FM radio
notifications, and by COTP representatives on scene.
The duration of the zone is intended to ensure the safety of
vessels and protect the environment and critical national
infrastructure such as the Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel during the
vessels transit to Baltimore. No vessel or person would be permitted to
enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a
designated representative.
The regulatory text we are proposing appears at the end of this
document.
IV. Regulatory Analyses
We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes
and Executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our
analyses based on a number of these statutes and Executive orders, and
we discuss First Amendment rights of protestors.
A. Regulatory Planning and Review
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize
net benefits. This NPRM has not been designated a ``significant
regulatory action,'' under Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, the NPRM
has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
This regulatory action determination is based on the size and
duration of the safety zone, which would impact only vessel traffic
required to transit certain navigation channels of the Chesapeake Bay
and the Coastal Virginia for an expected total no more than 15
enforcement-hours. Although these waterways support both commercial and
recreational vessel traffic, small portions of the waterway would be
restricted for a small period of time as the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 transits
northward in the Chesapeake Bay. Moreover, the Coast Guard would issue
a Broadcast Notice to Mariners via VHF-FM marine channel 16 about the
zone.
B. Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as
amended, requires Federal agencies to consider the potential impact of
regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term ``small
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than
50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this
proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
While some owners or operators of vessels intending to transit the
safety zone may be small entities, for the reasons stated in section
IV.A above, this proposed rule would not have a significant economic
impact on any vessel owner or operator.
If you think that your business, organization, or governmental
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have
a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see
ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to what
degree this rule would economically affect it.
Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small
entities in understanding this proposed rule. If the rule would affect
your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you
have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance,
please call or email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small
entities that question or complain about this proposed rule or any
policy or action of the Coast Guard.
C. Collection of Information
This proposed rule would not call for a new collection of
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520).
D. Federalism and Indian Tribal Governments
A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132
(Federalism), if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on
the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels
of government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and
have determined that it is consistent
[[Page 44328]]
with the fundamental federalism principles and preemption requirements
described in Executive Order 13132.
Also, this proposed rule does not have tribal implications under
Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments) because it would not have a substantial direct effect on
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes. If
you believe this proposed rule has implications for federalism or
Indian tribes, please call or email the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538)
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this proposed rule would not
result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule
elsewhere in this preamble.
F. Environment
We have analyzed this proposed rule under Department of Homeland
Security Directive 023-01, Rev. 1, associated implementing
instructions, and Environmental Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series),
which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have made
a preliminary determination that this action is one of a category of
actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant
effect on the human environment. This proposed rule involves a
temporary safety zone that would prohibit entry within certain
navigable waters of the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia. Normally
such actions are categorically excluded from further review under
paragraph L60c of Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-
001-01, Rev. 1. A Memorandum for the Record supporting this
determination is available in the docket. For instructions on locating
the docket, see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble. We seek any
comments or information that may lead to the discovery of a significant
environmental impact from this proposed rule.
G. Protest Activities
The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters.
Protesters are asked to call or email the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so
that your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or
security of people, places, or vessels.
V. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We view public participation as essential to effective rulemaking,
and will consider all comments and material received during the comment
period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of this rulemaking. If
you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking, 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. To
do so, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, type USCG-2021-0623 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 you cannot submit your material by using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, call or email the person in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this proposed rule for alternate
instructions.
Viewing material in docket. To view documents mentioned in this
proposed rule 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> Frequently Asked
Questions web page. We review all comments received, but we will only
post comments that address the topic of the proposed rule. We may
choose not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or duplicate comments that
we receive.
Personal information. We accept anonymous comments. Comments we
post to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> will include any personal
information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions
to the docket in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking
System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020).
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165
Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard is
proposing to amend 33 CFR part 165 as follows:
PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS
0
1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-
6, and 160.5; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.
0
2. Add Sec. 165.T05-0623 to read as follows:
Sec. 165.T05-0623 Safety Zone; M/V ZHEN HUA 24, Crane Delivery
Operation, Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Virginia
(a) Regulated Area. The rule establishes the following regulated
area as a temporary moving safety zone: All waters within a 500 yards
radius of the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 during its inbound transit to Baltimore,
MD. Inbound transit will begin when the M/V ZHEN HUA enters the U.S.
Territorial Sea, as defined in 33 CFR 2.22(a)(1), and end when the
vessel crosses the Virginia- Maryland State Line in the Chesapeake Bay,
a line starting at a point 38[deg]01'36'' N latitude, 75[deg]14'34'' W
longitude, then south east to a point 37[deg]19'14'' N latitude,
72[deg]13'13'' W longitude. These coordinates are based on WGS 84.
(b) Definitions. As used in this section--
Captain of the Port (COTP) means the Commander, U.S. Coast Guard
Sector Virginia.
Designated representative means a Coast Guard Patrol Commander,
including a Coast Guard coxswain, petty officer, or other officer
operating a Coast Guard vessel and a Federal, State, and local officer
designated by or assisting the Captain of the Port Virginia (COTP) in
the enforcement of the safety zone.
(c) Regulations. (1) Under the general safety zone regulations in
subpart C of this part, you may not enter the safety zone described in
paragraph (a) of this section unless authorized by the COTP or the
COTP's designated representative.
(2) To seek permission to enter, contact the COTP or the COTP's
representative by telephone at (757) 483-8567 or on Marine Band Radio
VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz). Those in the safety zone must comply
with all lawful orders or directions given to them by the COTP or the
COTP's designated representative.
[[Page 44329]]
(3) The Coast Guard will provide notice of the regulated area by
Marine Safety Information Bulletins, Local Notice to Mariners,
Broadcast Notice to Mariners, and on-scene designated representatives.
(d) Enforcement officials. The U.S. Coast Guard may be assisted in
the patrol and enforcement of the safety zone by Federal, State, and
local agencies.
(e) Enforcement period. This section will be enforced during
inbound transit of the M/V ZHEN HUA 24 through Coastal Virginia and
Chesapeake Bay on the way to the Port of Baltimore.
Dated: August 6, 2021.
Jennifer A. Stockwell,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Alternate Captain of the Port Virginia.
[FR Doc. 2021-17187 Filed 8-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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