Rule2023-17222
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart, FL
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
August 11, 2023
Effective
August 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentCoast Guard
Abstract
The Coast Guard is issuing a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge, across the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW), mile 7.41, at Stuart, Florida. In anticipation of a significant increase in railway activity across the FEC Railroad Bridge, the Coast Guard is considering changing the operating regulation for the FEC Railroad Bridge to allow the drawbridge to operate on a more predictable schedule. This temporary deviation will test a drawbridge operating schedule to determine whether a permanent change to the schedule is needed. The Coast Guard is seeking comments from the public regarding this deviation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 154 (Friday, August 11, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54487-54488]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17222]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2022-0222]
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart, FL
AGENCY: Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
ACTION: Notification of temporary deviation from regulations; request
for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is issuing a temporary deviation from the
operating schedule that governs the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad
Bridge, across the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW), mile 7.41, at Stuart,
Florida. In anticipation of a significant increase in railway activity
across the FEC Railroad Bridge, the Coast Guard is considering changing
the operating regulation for the FEC Railroad Bridge to allow the
drawbridge to operate on a more predictable schedule. This temporary
deviation will test a drawbridge operating schedule to determine
whether a permanent change to the schedule is needed. The Coast Guard
is seeking comments from the public regarding this deviation.
DATES: This deviation is effective from 12:01 a.m. on August 15, 2023,
through 11:59 p.m. on December 17, 2023.
Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before October 15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2022-0222 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 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this
temporary deviation, call or email Ms. Jennifer Zercher, Bridge
Management Specialist, Seventh Coast Guard District; telephone 305-415-
6740, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#baf0dfd4d4d3dcdfc894f494e0dfc8d9d2dfc8facfc9d9dd94d7d3d6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c58fa0ababaca3a0b7eb8beb9fa0b7a6ada0b785b0b6a6a2eba8aca9">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
The Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad Bridge across the Okeechobee
Waterway (OWW), mile 7.4, at Stuart, Florida, is a single-leaf bascule
bridge with a six-foot vertical clearance at mean high water in the
closed position. The normal operating schedule for the bridge is found
in 33 CFR 117.317(c).
In anticipation of a significant increase in railway activity
across the FEC Railroad Bridge, the Coast Guard is considering changing
the operating regulation for the FEC Railroad Bridge to allow the
drawbridge to operate on a more predictable schedule, to be open for
navigation at least 50 percent of the time during daytime operations (6
a.m. to 10 p.m.) and to allow for reasonable usage of competing modes
of transportation.
On May 3, 2022, the Coast Guard published a Notification of Inquiry
entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway,
Stuart, FL'' in the Federal Register (87 FR 26145). On June 10, 2022, a
Supplemental Notification of Inquiry entitled ``Drawbridge Operation
Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart, FL'' was published in the
Federal Register (87 FR 35472). We received a total 2,358 comments on
those publications. Those comments
[[Page 54488]]
were taken into consideration when developing this test deviation.
On June 8, 2023, the Coast Guard published a Temporary Deviation
entitled ``Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Okeechobee Waterway,
Stuart, FL'' in the Federal Register (88 FR 37470). The comment period
ended on August 4, 2023, with 342 comments received. While those
comments were taken into consideration while making this modification,
comments from all Notices of Inquiry and Temporary Deviations will be
addressed further if a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is
published. The NW Dixie Hwy Bridge has been removed from this docket to
allow the Coast Guard to commence a separate rulemaking for the highway
bridge to operate on demand.
Under this temporary deviation, the FEC Railroad Bridge will be
maintained in the fully open-to-navigation position, except during
periods when it is closed for the passage of train traffic, to conduct
inspections, and to perform maintenance and repairs authorized by the
Coast Guard. However, the bridge will not be closed for more than 50
consecutive minutes in any given hour during daytime operations (6 a.m.
to 10 p.m.) and for more than 8 total hours during daytime operations
(6 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
Notwithstanding the above paragraph, the drawbridge will open and
remain open to navigation for a fixed 10-minute period at the top of
each hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. In addition, the drawbridge will open
and remain open to navigation for a fixed 15-minute period as outlined
in the table below:
Table 1
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Monday through Friday
8:55 a.m. through 9:10 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday
8:55 a.m. through 9:10 a.m.
9:55 a.m. through 10:10 a.m.
10:55 a.m. through 11:10 a.m.
12:55 p.m. through 1:10 p.m.
4:55 p.m. through 5:10 p.m.
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From 10:01 p.m. until 5:59 a.m. daily, the drawbridge will remain
in the fully open-to-navigation position, except during periods when it
is closed for the passage of train traffic, to conduct inspections, and
to perform maintenance and repairs authorized by the Coast Guard. The
drawbridge will not be closed more than 60 consecutive minutes.
If a train is in the track circuit at the start of a fixed opening
period, the opening may be delayed up to, but not more than, five
minutes. Once the train has cleared the circuit, the bridge must open
immediately for navigation to begin the fixed opening period.
In the event of a drawbridge operational failure, or other
emergency circumstances impacting normal drawbridge operations, the
drawbridge owner will immediately notify the Coast Guard Captain of the
Port Miami and provide an estimated time of repair and return to normal
operations.
The drawbridge will be tended from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily. The
bridge tender will monitor VHF-FM channels 9 and 16 and will provide
estimated times of drawbridge openings and closures, or any operational
information requested. Operational information will be provided 24
hours a day by telephone at (772) 403-1005.
The drawbridge owner will maintain a mobile application. The
drawbridge owner will publish drawbridge opening times, and the
drawbridge owner will provide timely updates to schedules, including
but not limited to, impacts due to emergency circumstances,
inspections, maintenance, and repairs authorized by the Coast Guard.
Signs will be posted and visible to marine traffic, displaying VHF
radio contact information, application information, and the telephone
number for the bridge tender.
A drawbridge logbook will be maintained including the date and time
of each closing and opening of the draw. The drawbridge logbook will
also include all maintenance opening, closings, malfunctions, or other
comments. During the temporary deviation, a copy of the drawbridge
logbook for the previous week will be provided to the Seventh Coast
Guard District Bridge Manager by 4 p.m. each Monday.
In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), the drawbridge must return to
its regular operating schedules immediately at the end of the effective
period of this temporary deviation. This deviation from the operating
regulation is authorized pursuant to 33 CFR 117.35(a).
II. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We view public participation as essential to determining the needs
of the public and will consider all comments and material received
during the comment period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of
future actions. If you submit a comment, please include the docket
number for this test deviation, 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-2022-0222, 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 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.
View material in the docket. To view documents mentioned in this
deviation 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. Also, if you go to the online docket and sign up
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments, future actions or
updates are posted to the docket.
We review all comments received, but we will only post comments
that address the topic of this deviation. 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).
Dated: August 7, 2023.
Douglas M. Schofield,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Coast Guard Seventh
District.
[FR Doc. 2023-17222 Filed 8-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P
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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.