Notice2022-06235
Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard published a notice of study and request for comments announcing a Port Access Route Study (PARS) for the Seacoast of North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. This notice announces the availability of a draft report for public review and comment. We seek your comments on the content, proposed routing measures, and development of the report. The recommendations of the study may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate international agreements.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16758-16759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06235]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket Number USCG-2020-0093]
Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of North Carolina Including
Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North
Carolina
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability of draft report; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard published a notice of study
and request for comments announcing a Port Access Route Study (PARS)
for the Seacoast of North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the
Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. This notice
announces the availability of a draft report for public review and
comment. We seek your comments on the content, proposed routing
measures, and development of the report. The recommendations of the
study may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate international
agreements.
DATES: Your comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on
or before April 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2020-0093 using the Federal 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
notice or study, call or email Mr. Matthew Creelman, Fifth Coast Guard
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone (757) 398-6225, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fcb19d888894998bd2b7d2bf8e999990919d92cebc898f9f9bd2919590"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a7eac6d3d3cfc2d089ec89e4d5c2c2cbcac6c995e7d2d4c4c089cacecb">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
AIS Automated Information System
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
PARS Port Access Route Study
ACPARS Atlantic Coast Ports Access Route Study
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background and Purpose
The Ports and Waterways Safety Act (46 U.S.C. 70003(c)) requires
the Coast Guard to conduct a PARS, i.e., a study of potential traffic
density and the need for safe access routes for vessels. Through the
study process, the Coast Guard coordinates with Federal, State, local,
tribal and foreign state agencies (as appropriate) to consider the
views of maritime community representatives, environmental groups, and
other interested stakeholders. The primary purpose of this coordination
is, to the extent practicable, to reconcile the need for safe access
routes with other reasonable waterway uses such as construction and
operation of renewable energy facilities and other uses of the Atlantic
Ocean in the study area.
In 2019, the Coast Guard announced a supplemental study of routes
used by all vessels to access ports on the Atlantic Coast of the United
States (84 FR 9541, March 15, 2019). This posting announced PARS for
specific port approaches and international transit areas along the
Atlantic Coast. The purpose of the supplemental studies is to align the
Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) (81 FR 13307, March 14,
2016) with port approaches. The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic Coast
waters seaward of existing port approaches within the U.S. Exclusive
Economic Zone and was finalized in 2017 (82 FR 16510, April 5, 2017).
The purpose of this notice is to announce the availability of the
draft PARS examining the seacoast of North Carolina and the offshore
approaches to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.
We encourage you to participate in the study process by submitting
comments in response to this notice. This PARS used Automated
Information System (AIS) data and information from stakeholders to
identify and verify customary navigation routes as well as potential
conflicts involving alternative activities, such as wind energy
generation and offshore mineral exploitation and exploration, off the
seacoast of North Carolina and in the offshore approaches to the Cape
Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.
The study area extends approximately 200 nautical miles seaward of
Cape Fear including the offshore area of North and South Carolina used
by commercial and public vessels transiting to and from these ports. An
illustration showing the study area is available in the docket where
indicated under ADDRESSES. Additionally, the study area is available
for viewing on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal at <a href="http://portal.midatlanticocean.org/visualize/">http://portal.midatlanticocean.org/visualize/</a>. See the ``Maritime'' portion of
the Data Layers section.
On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard published a Notice of Study;
request for comments entitled ``Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of
North Carolina Including Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear River and
Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina'' in the Federal Register (85 FR 15487).
The initial comment period closed on May 18, 2020.
III. Information Requested
PARS are the means by which the Coast Guard determines the need to
establish traffic routing measures or shipping safety fairways to
reduce the risk of collision, allision, and grounding, and their impact
on the environment; increase the efficiency and predictability of
vessel traffic; and preserve the paramount right of navigation while
continuing to allow for other reasonable waterway uses. The study
analyzes current routing measures around the approaches to the Cape
Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, and proposes an adequate
way to manage forecasted maritime traffic growth and to promote
navigation safety. The study also reviewed coastal port access from the
seacoasts of North and South Carolina within the study area and the co-
dependent use of the waters in support of future development.
The Coast Guard received two discrete comments in response to our
Federal Register notice and other outreach efforts. We received one
additional comment, which was a duplicate of a previously submitted
comment. All comments and supporting documents are available in a
public docket and can be viewed at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. To do
so, go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, type USCG-2020-0093 in the
``SEARCH'' box and click ``SEARCH.'' Next, look for this document in
the Search Results column, and click on it.
As a result of the data analysis within this study, and considering
the
[[Page 16759]]
comments received, the Coast Guard proposes four additional measures
for consideration by the public: One precautionary area and three
shipping safety fairways. We seek your input on these proposals and
welcome comment on any impact to vessel transit time, commercial
fishing activity, recreational activity, and/or navigation safety. All
comments received will be reviewed and considered before a final
version of the PARS is announced in the Federal Register. This notice
is published under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 70004 and 5 U.S.C.
552(a).
IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments to this notice of availability
through the Federal 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-2020-0093 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. In
your submission, please include the docket number for this notice of
availability and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. If your material cannot be submitted using <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions.
To view documents mentioned in this notice of inquiry 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 may choose not to post off-topic,
inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive.
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 in response to this
document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226,
March 11, 2020).
This document is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: March 8, 2022.
Richard E. Batson,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Commander, Fifth Coast Guard
District.
[FR Doc. 2022-06235 Filed 3-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 24, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.