Proposed Rule2023-08554
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Rancocas Creek, Burlington County, NJ
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
April 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating schedule that governs the US Route 543 (Riverside-Delanco) Bridge across Rancocas Creek, mile 1.3, at Burlington County, NJ. The proposed rule allows the drawbridge to change its operating schedule to reduce the number of bridge openings during off-peak hours. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 78 (Monday, April 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 78 (Monday, April 24, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24739-24741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08554]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2022-0221]
RIN 1625-AA09
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Rancocas Creek, Burlington
County, NJ
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to modify the operating schedule that
governs the US Route 543 (Riverside-Delanco) Bridge across Rancocas
Creek, mile 1.3, at Burlington County, NJ. The proposed rule allows the
drawbridge to change its operating schedule to reduce the number of
bridge openings during off-peak hours. We invite your comments on this
proposed rulemaking.
DATES: Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before May 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2022-0221 using 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 SUPPLEMENTAR INFORMATION section below for
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed
rule, call or e-mail Mr. Mickey D. Sanders, Fifth Coast Guard District
(dpb); telephone (757) 398-6587, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2964404a424c50076d077a48474d4c5b5a1b695c5a4a4e07444045"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d09db9b3bbb5a9fe94fe83b1beb4b5a2a3e290a5a3b3b7febdb9bc">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
OMB Office of Management and Budget
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Sec. Section
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
On May 23, 2022, we published a Test Deviation (TD) entitled
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Rancocas Creek, Burlington County, NJ,
in the Federal Register (86 FR 16153). We received no comments on this
rule. The US Route 543 (Riverside-Delanco) Bridge across Rancocas
Creek, mile 1.3, at Burlington County, NJ, has a vertical clearance of
4 feet above mean high water in the closed-to-navigation position. The
bridge currently operates under 33 CFR 117.745(b).
The Rancocas Creek is used predominately by recreational vessels
and pleasure crafts. The three-year, monthly average number of bridge
openings from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 1
p.m., Saturday and Sunday, and from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., daily, as drawn
from the data contained in the bridge tender logs, is presented below.
[[Page 24740]]
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Average
April to October (2018, 2019 and 2020) monthly
openings
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Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m............................... 4
Saturday & Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m........................... 2
Daily, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m...................................... 7
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III. Discussion of Proposed Rule
The bridge owner requested to modify the operating regulation for
the bridge, due to the limited number of requested openings of the
bridge from April 1 to October 31, over a period of approximately three
years. The data presented in the table above demonstrates the requested
modification may be implemented with de minimis impact to navigation.
The modification will allow the drawbridge to open on signal from 3
p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Saturday and Sunday, from April 16 through October 15.
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 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 fact that an
average of only four bridge openings occurred Monday through Friday,
from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., two openings Saturday and Sunday, from 7 a.m. to
1 p.m., and seven openings daily, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., from April 1
to October 31, of 2018, 2019 and 2020.
B. Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 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 received no comments from the Small Business
Administration on this rule. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C.
605(b) that this 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 bridge 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 proposed 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 proposed 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
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 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 will not
result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the potential effects of
this proposed rule elsewhere in this preamble.
F. Environment
We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security
Management Directive 023-01, Rev.1, associated implementing
instructions, and Environmental Planning Policy COMDTINST 5090.1
(series), which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f). The
Coast Guard has determined 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 rule promulgates the operating
regulations or procedures for drawbridges. Normally such actions are
categorically excluded from further review, under paragraph L49, of
Chapter 3, Table 3-1 of the U.S. Coast Guard Environmental Planning
Implementation Procedures.
Neither a Record of Environmental Consideration nor a Memorandum
for the Record are required for this rule. 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 contact 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.
[[Page 24741]]
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-2022-0221 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. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and sign up
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted or a
final rule is published of any posting or updates to the docket.
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 117
Bridges.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes
to amend 33 CFR part 117 as follows:
PART 117--DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 117 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 33 CFR 1.05-1; and DHS Delegation No.
00170.1, Revision No. 01.3.
0
2. Revise Sec. 117.745 paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:
Sec. 117.745 Rancocas Creek.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) From April 16 through October 15, open on signal from 3 p.m. to
8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and
Sunday.
* * * * *
Dated: April 6, 2023.
S.N. Gilreath,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2023-08554 Filed 4-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 24, 2023.
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.