Proposed Rule2023-15652
Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY
Primary source
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Published
July 25, 2023
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard is withdrawing the advance notice of proposed rulemaking titled "Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY" published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2016. After a review of comments, the Coast Guard suspended rulemaking action in 2017 to allow for further study and analysis of the need, impact, and appropriateness of the requested anchorage grounds. Among other reasons, while examining whether there was a need for a proposed rule, section 8437 of the Elijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 suspended the establishment of new anchorage grounds on the Hudson River between Yonkers, NY and Kingston, NY. Consequently, the Coast Guard currently lacks authority to establish new anchorages in this region. Accordingly, we have determined withdrawal of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking titled "Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY" published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2016, is appropriate at this time. The Coast Guard will continue to enforce current regulations and may undertake future rulemaking actions as required and authorized to protect the waterway, the users of the waterway, and the marine transportation system.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47837-47839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15652]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 110
[Docket Number USCG-2016-0132]
RIN 1625-AA01
Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is withdrawing the advance notice of proposed
rulemaking titled ``Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to
Kingston, NY'' published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2016. After
a review of comments, the Coast Guard suspended rulemaking action in
2017 to allow for further study and analysis of the need, impact, and
appropriateness of the requested anchorage grounds. Among other
reasons, while examining whether there was a need for a proposed rule,
section 8437 of the Elijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of
2020 suspended the establishment of new anchorage grounds on the Hudson
River between Yonkers, NY and Kingston, NY. Consequently, the Coast
Guard currently lacks authority to establish new anchorages in this
region. Accordingly, we have determined withdrawal of this advance
notice of proposed rulemaking titled ``Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River;
Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY'' published in the Federal Register on June
9, 2016, is appropriate at this time. The Coast Guard will continue to
enforce current regulations and may undertake future rulemaking actions
as required and authorized to protect the waterway, the users of the
waterway, and the marine transportation system.
DATES: The advance notice of proposed rulemaking published on June 9,
2016 (81 FR 37168) and the comment period extended on September 7,
2016, (81 FR 61639) are withdrawn as of July 25, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The docket for the withdrawn advance notice of proposed
rulemaking is available at the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Please search for docket number USCG-2016-0132.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
notice, call or email Mr. Craig Lapiejko, First Coast Guard District
(dpw), U.S. Coast Guard: telephone 617-603-8592, email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5c3f2e3d353b723872303d2c35393637331c292f3f3b72313530"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="83e0f1e2eae4ade7adefe2f3eae6e9e8ecc3f6f0e0e4adeeeaef">[email protected]</span></a>.
[[Page 47838]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
ANPRM Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
MSIB Marine Safety Information Bulletin
NY New York
PANYNJ Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
PAWSA Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment
Sec. Section
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background
The Hudson River historically has been and will remain a vital
corridor for maritime commerce. The river also serves as a source of
drinking water, recreation, tourism, and economic prosperity. The Coast
Guard's role includes promoting navigational safety and protecting the
environment. These are complementary objectives, as safer navigation
inherently improves environmental protection. It is for these
stewardship reasons that we published an Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRM) in June 2016 to better understand the need for and
potential locations of anchorages that could help improve navigation
safety and environmental protection. In examining whether there is a
need for a proposed rule, we selected the ANPRM from many possible
tools because it provided public participation at the earliest possible
opportunity.
The Coast Guard published two documents related to the 2016 ANPRM.
On June 9, 2016, the Coast Guard published the ANPRM itself, titled
``Anchorage Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY'' in the
Federal Register and then extended the comment period on September 7,
2016 (81 FR 61639). Again, the intent of the ANPRM was to initiate the
early stage of a methodical and public rulemaking process to learn all
possible navigational, environmental, terrestrial, and other effects of
adding anchorages on the Hudson River. Establishing new anchorage
grounds in the Hudson River from Yonkers, NY, to Kingston, NY, were
being contemplated after we received a request suggesting that
anchorage grounds may improve navigational safety along an extended
portion of the Hudson River.
When the ANPRM comment period closed on December 6, 2016, the Coast
Guard had received 10,212 public submissions with comments on the
subject from many diverse stakeholders. A memorandum summarizing the
comments is included in this docket.
After a review of the comments, the Coast Guard suspended future
rulemaking decisions and directed a formal risk identification and
evaluation of the Hudson River, known as a Ports and Waterways Safety
Assessment (PAWSA). The results of this assessment process identifying
major waterway safety hazards, estimated risk levels, existing risk
mitigations, additional risk intervention strategies, and participant
comments and observations are outlined in the report. The 2017 Hudson
River PAWSA report is included in this docket.
As recommended by the 2017 Hudson River PAWSA, and responding to
other requests, to provide clarity on the term ``Port of New York'' we
studied its usage within federal anchorage regulations, as well as its
current and historic usage by the agencies charged with administering
those regulations. At the time Coast Guard Sector New York released
Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB)--(2015-014), which can be
found in this docket, the ``Port of New York'' was viewed as synonymous
with ``Sector New York Captain of the Port Zone,'' so the anchoring
prohibition within the ``Port of New York'' was seen as applicable on
the Hudson River to Albany, NY. We have now determined, based on
historical research, that the term ``Port of New York'' encompasses the
navigable waters within approximately a 25-mile radius from the Statue
of the Liberty. Which is to say, the ``Port of New York'' only extends
up the Hudson River to just south of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
and not the entire Hudson River to Albany, NY. The specific boundary
points for the ``Port of New York'' are the same as the ``Port of New
York District'' created by a 1921 inter-state compact between New York
and New Jersey and now referred to as the ``Port of New York and New
Jersey''. Consequently, mariners operating outside the Port of New York
are not subject to the anchoring prohibition cited in 33 CFR
110.155(l)(2), and must comply with the Inland Navigation Rules, which
are codified in 33 CFR part 83, when anchoring in the Hudson River. The
complete ``Port of New York'' report detailing the Coast Guards
historical research supporting this determination is included in this
docket.
A provision related to the Hudson River was included in the Elijah
E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020, which is included in
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.\1\ In
section 8437, Congress suspended the establishment of new anchorage
grounds on the Hudson River between Yonkers, NY and Kingston, NY.
Consequently, the Coast Guard has no legal authority to establish any
new anchorages in this region without a change to current legislation.
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\1\ Public Law 116-283; JAN. 1, 2021; 134 STAT. 3388, 4633. Sec.
8437 may be found at 134 Stat. 4736.
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Additionally, section 8437(d), directed the Coast Guard, in
consultation with the Hudson River Safety, Navigation, and Operations
Committee (HRSNOC), to conduct a study of the Hudson River north of
Tarrytown, New York. This study was to examine--(1) the nature of
vessel traffic including vessel types, sizes, cargoes, and frequency of
transits; (2) the risks and benefits of historic practices for
commercial vessels anchoring; and (3) the risks and benefits of
establishing anchorage grounds on the Hudson River. The Coast Guard's
report submitted to Congress on February 28, 2023, containing the
findings, conclusions, and recommendations titled ``Establishing
Anchorage Grounds on the Hudson River'' is available in this docket.
III. Withdrawal
The Coast Guard is withdrawing the ANPRM published on June 9, 2016.
As discussed in the background section above, after reviewing the
10,212 comments provided during the 2016 ANPRM, after considering the
results of the 2017 Hudson River PAWSA, after our research of the
regulatory history of the Port of New York, after Congress suspended
our legal authority to establish any new anchorage grounds in this
region, and after conducting a study and providing a report to
Congress, we no longer are considering creating 10 new anchorage
grounds on the Hudson River from Yonkers, NY, to Kingston, NY.
The Coast Guard's role on the river will continue to include
promoting navigational safety and protecting the environment. These are
complementary objectives, as safer navigation inherently improves
environmental protection. We will also continue to monitor the river
and identify any regulatory gaps that allow unacceptable risk to the
environment, the marine transportation system, or the users of the
waterway. If regulatory gaps are identified, the Coast Guard is
committed to engaging in an open, public process that allows all
stakeholders to educate the agency and assist in developing the best
regulatory solution possible.
[[Page 47839]]
As of publication of this notice, the ANPRM entitled ``Anchorage
Grounds, Hudson River; Yonkers, NY to Kingston, NY'' published in the
Federal Register on June 9, 2016, will be withdrawn.
This document is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: July 13, 2023.
J.W. Mauger,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2023-15652 Filed 7-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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