Notice2023-06473
Recertification of Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council
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 29, 2023
Effective
March 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard announces the recertification of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) as an alternative voluntary advisory group for Prince William Sound, Alaska. This certification allows the PWSRCAC to monitor the activities of terminal facilities and crude oil tankers under an alternative composition, other than prescribed, the Prince William Sound Program established by the Oil Terminal and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight and Monitoring Act of 1990.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18568-18569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06473]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2023-0244]
Recertification of Prince William Sound Regional Citizens'
Advisory Council
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of recertification.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the recertification of the Prince
William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) as an
alternative voluntary advisory group for Prince William Sound, Alaska.
This certification allows the PWSRCAC to monitor the activities of
terminal facilities and crude oil tankers under an alternative
composition, other than prescribed, the Prince William Sound Program
established by the Oil Terminal and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight
and Monitoring Act of 1990.
DATES: This recertification is effective for the period from March 1,
2023 through February 29, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document,
call or
[[Page 18569]]
email LT Ben Bauman, Seventeenth Coast Guard District (dpi), by phone
at (907) 463-2809 or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c2e0902060d010502422d422e0d19010d022c191f0f0b42010500"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0e4c6b60646f636760204f204c6f7b636f604e7b7d6d6920636762">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
The Coast Guard published guidelines on December 31, 1992 (57 FR
62600), to assist groups seeking recertification under the Oil Terminal
and Oil Tanker Environmental Oversight and Monitoring Act of 1990 (33
U.S.C. 2732) (the Act). The Coast Guard issued a policy statement on
July 7, 1993 (58 FR 36504), to clarify the factors that the Coast Guard
would be considering in making its determination as to whether advisory
groups should be certified in accordance with the Act, and the
procedures which the Coast Guard would follow in meeting its
certification responsibilities under the Act. Most recently, on
September 16, 2002 (67 FR 58440), the Coast Guard changed its policy on
recertification procedures for regional citizen's advisory council by
requiring applicants to provide comprehensive information every three
years. For each of the two years between the triennial application
procedures, applicants submit a letter requesting recertification that
includes a description of any substantive changes to the information
provided at the previous triennial recertification. Further, public
comment is only solicited during the triennial comprehensive review.
The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company pays the PWSRCAC $3.7 million
annually in the form of a long-term contract. In return for this
funding, the PWSRCAC must annually show that it ``fosters the goals and
purposes'' of OPA 90 and is ``broadly representative of the communities
and interests in the vicinity of the terminal facilities and Prince
William Sound.'' The PWSRCAC is an independent, nonprofit organization
founded in 1989. Though it receives federal oversight like many
independent, nonprofit organizations, it is not a federal agency. The
PWSRCAC is a local organization that predates the passage of OPA 90.
The existence of the PWSRCAC was specifically recognized in OPA 90
where it is defined as an ``alternative voluntary advisory group.''
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company funds the PWSRCAC, and the Coast Guard
ensures the PWSRCAC operates in a fashion that is broadly consistent
with OPA 90.
Discussion of Comments
On December 22, 2022, the Coast Guard published a Notice; Request
for comments titled ``Application for Recertification of Prince William
Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council'' in the Federal Register (87
FR 78701). We received 76 comments, all in support of the PWSRCAC
recertification. No public meeting was requested. The comments
consistently cited PWSRCAC's collaborative partnerships in furthering
the respective communities' interest to promote safety, to maintain
effective prevention and response efforts regarding oil pollution, and
to protect the sensitive marine environment along Alaska's coastline.
Recertification
By letter dated February 25, 2023, the Commander, Seventeenth Coast
Guard District, certified that the PWSRCAC qualifies as an alternative
voluntary advisory group under 33 U.S.C. 2732(o). This recertification
terminates on February 29, 2024.
Dated: March 6, 2023.
Nathan A. Moore,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard
District.
[FR Doc. 2023-06473 Filed 3-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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