69244 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 227 / Friday, November 26, 2004 / Proposed Rules 

ARCHITECTURAL AND 

TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS 

COMPLIANCE BOARD 

36 CFR Part 1195 

[Docket No. 2004–1] 

RIN 3014–AA11 

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) 

Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger 

Vessels; Large Vessels

AGENCY: Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board.

ACTION: Availability of draft guidelines; 

notice of hearing. 

SUMMARY: The Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board (Access Board) has placed in the 

docket and on its Web site for public 

review and comment draft guidelines 

which address accessibility to and in 

passenger vessels which are permitted 

to carry more than 150 passengers or 

more than 49 overnight passengers. 

Comments will be accepted on the draft 

guidelines and the Access Board will 

consider those comments prior to 

issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking.

DATES: Comments on the draft 

guidelines must be received by March 

28, 2005. Late comments will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

The Access Board will hold a hearing on 

January 10, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. until 

4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

the Office of Technical and Information 

Services, Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board, 1331 F Street NW., Suite 1000, 

Washington, DC 20004–1111. E-mail 

comments should be sent to 

pvag@access-board.gov. Comments sent 

by e-mail will be considered only if they 

contain the full name and address of the 

sender in the text. Comments will be 

available for inspection at the above 

address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on regular 

business days. The hearing on January 

10, 2005 will be held at the Marriott at 

Metro Center Hotel, 775 12th Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Beatty, Office of Technical and 

Information Services, Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance 

Board, 1331 F Street, NW., Suite 1000, 

Washington DC 20004–1111. Telephone 

number (202) 272–0012 (voice); (202) 

272–0082 (TTY); Electronic mail 

address: pvag@access-board.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1998, 

the Access Board established a 21-

member Federal advisory committee to 

provide recommendations to assist the 

Board in developing passenger vessel 

accessibility guidelines. The committee 

included disability organizations, 

industry trade groups, State and local 

government agencies, and passenger 

vessel operators. The Passenger Vessel 

Access Advisory Committee (PVAAC) 

met nine times between September 1998 

and September 2000 and submitted a 

final report ‘‘Recommendations for 

Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger 

Vessels’’ (http://www.access-board.gov/

pvaac/commrept/index.htm) to the 

Board in December 2000. The PVAAC 

report provided recommendations on 

access to elements, rooms, spaces, and 

facilities on passenger vessels and how 

to provide access on and off such 

vessels. 

The Access Board convened an ad hoc 

committee of Board members to review 

the PVAAC report. After reviewing the 

PVAAC report in detail, the Board’s ad 

hoc committee prepared draft guidelines 

addressing accessibility to and in 

passenger vessels which carry more 

than 150 passengers or more than 49 

overnight passengers. The Access Board 

is making the recommendations of the 

ad hoc committee available in the form 

of draft guidelines for public review and 

comment prior to issuing a notice of 

proposed rulemaking. The Board’s draft 

guidelines along with supplementary 

information have been placed in the 

rulemaking docket and on the Board’s 

Web site. The Board will issue a notice 

of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

following a review of comments 

received. 

In addition to welcoming written 

comments, the Board will hold a 

hearing on January 10, 2005 to give the 

public an additional opportunity to 

provide input on the Board’s draft 

guidelines. Interested members of the 

public are encouraged to contact the 

Access Board at (202) 272–0012 (voice) 

or (202) 272–0082 (TTY) to pre-register 

to attend the hearing. A second hearing 

may be held later in 2005. The location, 

date, and time of the second hearing 

will be announced in a subsequent 

Federal Register notice and on the 

Board’s Web site. The hearings will be 

accessible to persons with disabilities. 

Sign language interpreters and an 

assistive listening system will be 

available. Persons attending the 

hearings are requested to refrain from 

using perfume, cologne, and other 

fragrances for the comfort of other 

participants. 

The Board has also drafted a plan for 

conducting a regulatory assessment of 

the passenger vessels guidelines. The 

plan provides for evaluating the 

potential impacts of the guidelines on 

new construction of passenger vessels 

through case studies, and outlines some 

methods for examining the impacts of 

the guidelines on alterations to 

passenger vessels. The plan is available 

for public review and the Board invites 

comment on the plan. Also, today the 

Board published an advance notice of 

proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in the 

Federal Register to gather information 

on accessibility to and in smaller 

passenger vessels. This information will 

assist the Board in developing a 

proposed rule on accessibility 

guidelines for passenger vessels which 

carry 150 or fewer passengers or 49 or 

fewer overnight passengers. 

The Department of Transportation 

(DOT) is conducting a separate 

rulemaking to adopt the Access Board’s 

guidelines as accessibility standards for 

passenger vessels covered by the ADA. 

The DOT rulemaking will also address 

operational issues related to passenger 

vessels. DOT has issued a separate 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPRM) in today’s Federal Register

related to its rulemaking. 

Availability of Copies and Electronic 

Access 

Single copies of the passenger vessels 

rulemaking (Availability of Draft 

Guidelines, Draft Guidelines and 

Supplementary Information, Draft Plan 

for Regulatory Assessment, and ANPRM 

on Access to and in Smaller Passenger 

Vessels) may be obtained at no cost by 

calling the Access Board’s automated 

publications order line (202) 272–0080, 

by pressing 2 on the telephone keypad, 

then 1 and requesting publication S–45. 

Please record your name, address, 

telephone number and publication code 

S–45. Persons using a TTY should call 

(202) 272–0082. Documents are 

available in alternate formats upon 

request. Persons who want a publication 

in an alternate format should specify the 

type of format (cassette tape, Braille, 

large print, or ASCII disk). Documents 

are also available on the Board’s Web 

site (http://www.access-board.gov).

Emil H. Frankel, 

Chair, Architectural and Transportation 

Barriers Compliance Board.

[FR Doc. 04–26000 Filed 11–24–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8150–01–P