Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 94 / Monday, May 15, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 30885

with Constitutionally Protected Property

Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

This rule meets applicable standards

in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of E.O.

12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize

litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and

reduce burden.

Protection of Children

We have analyzed this rule under E.O.

13045, Protection of Children from

Environmental Health Risks and Safety

Risks. This rule is not an economically

significant rule and does not concern an

environmental risk to health or risk to

safety that may disproportionately affect

children.

Environment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this final rule

and concluded that under Figure 2–1,

paragraph 34(g), of Commandant

Instruction M16475.1C, this rule is

categorically excluded from further

environmental documentation. A

Categorical Exclusion Determination is

available in the docket for inspection or

copying where indicated under

ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation

(water), Reporting and record keeping

requirements, Security measures,

Waterways.

For reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33

CFR Part 165 as follows:

PART 165— REGULATED

NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED

ACCESS AREAS

1. The authority citation for part 165

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191;

33 CFR 1.05–1(g), 6.04–1, 6.04–6, 160.5; 49

CFR 1.46.

2. Add temporary § 165.T00–123 to

read as follows:

§ 165.T00–123 Safety Zone: Chelsea Street

Bridge, Chelsea River, Chelsea, MA

(a) Location. The following area is a

safety zone: All waters of the Chelsea

River 100 yards upstream and 100 yards

downstream from the centerline of the

Chelsea Street Bridge.

(b) Effective Dates. This rule is

effective from Tuesday, May 30, 2000

through Saturday, June 3, 2000 between

9 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. and Monday, June

5, 2000 through Saturday, June 10, 2000

between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m.

(c) Regulations. (1) Entry into or

movement within this zone is

prohibited unless authorized by the

Captain of the Port, (COTP) Boston.

(2) All persons and vessels shall

comply with the instructions of the

COTP or the designated on-scene U.S.

Coast Guard patrol personnel. U.S.

Coast Guard patrol personnel include

commissioned, warrant, and petty

officers of the U.S. Coast Guard.

(3) The general regulations covering

safety zones in § 165.23 apply.

Dated: May 5, 2000.

J.R. Whitehead,

Captain, Coast Guard. Captain of the Port,

Boston, Massachusetts.

[FR Doc. 00–12148 Filed 5–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[COTP Western Alaska 00–002]

RIN 2115–AA97

Safety Zone; Port Graham, Cook Inlet,

AK

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT,

ACTION: Temporary final rule.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is

establishing a temporary 600-yard

radius safety zone Port Graham, Cook

Inlet, Alaska. The Heavy-lift vessel

SWAN will anchor in this position and

off-load equipment for the Exploratory

Drilling Structure ‘OSPREY’. This safety

zone is implemented to ensure the safe

and timely anchoring, loading, and

departure of vessels and a barge

operating in Port Graham, Cook Inlet,

Alaska.

DATES: This temporary final rule is

effective from 12:01 a.m. on June 12,

2000, until 11:59 p.m. on June 16, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lieutenant Commander Rick Rodriguez,

Chief of Port Operations, USCG Marine

Safety Office, Anchorage, at (907) 271–

6724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory Information

We did not publish a notice of

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for this

regulation. Under 5 U.S.C. 553 (b) (B),

the Coast Guard finds that good cause

exists for not publishing an NPRM.

Publishing an NPRM and delaying the

effective date would be contrary to

national safety interests since

immediate action is needed to minimize

potential danger to the public. The

OSPREY platform is a large structure

that is difficult to maneuver, and will be

towed in the strong currents of Cook

Inlet, Alaska. Publishing an NPRM and

delaying the effective date of the

regulation would be contrary to the

public interest, because immediate

action is necessary to protect

participants and other vessel traffic from

the potential hazards associated with

the operation.

Background and Purpose

The Coast Guard is establishing a

temporary 600-yard radius safety zone

on the navigable waters of the United

States around latitude 59°21′36′′ N,

longitude 151°50′40′′ W (NAD 1983).

The Heavy-lift vessel SWAN will anchor

in this position and off-load the tower,

tower legs, and associated equipment

for the Exploratory Drilling Structure

‘OSPREY’ in Port Graham, Cook Inlet,

Alaska. The safety zone is designed to

permit the safe and timely anchoring,

off-loading, and departure of this vessel

in the narrow timeframe in which this

can be safely done. The safety zone’s

600-yard standoff also aids the safety of

these evolutions by minimizing

conflicts and hazards that might

otherwise occur with other transiting

vessels. The limited size of the zone is

designed to minimize impact on other

mariners transiting through the area.

Regulatory Evaluation

This rule is not a significant

regulatory action under section 3(f) of

Executive Order 12866 and does not

require an assessment of potential cost

and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that

order. It has not been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget under

that order. It is not significant under the

regulatory policies and procedures of

the Department of Transportation (DOT)

(44 FR 11040; February 26, 1979). The

Coast Guard expects the economic

impact of this proposal to be so minimal

that a full Regulatory Evaluation under

paragraph 10(e) of the regulatory

policies and procedures of DOT is

unnecessary.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Coast Guard

considers whether this rule will have

significant economic impacts on a

substantial number of small entities.

‘‘Small entities’’ include small

businesses, not-for-profit organizations

that are independently owned and

operated and are not dominant in their

fields, and governmental jurisdictions

with populations less than 50,000.

Because this safety zone is very small,

will only be in effect for five days, and

does not impede access to other

30886 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 94 / Monday, May 15, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

maritime facilities in the area, the Coast

Guard believes there will be no impact

to small entities. Therefore, the Coast

Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. § 605(b)

that this rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

Collection of Information

This rule does not provide for a

collection of information under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Federalism

The Coast Guard has analyzed this

rule under the principles and criteria

contained in Executive Order 13132 and

has determined that this rule does not

have implications for federalism under

that Order.

Environment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this rule and

concluded that, under Figure 2–1,

paragraph 34(g) of Commandant

Instruction M16475.1C, this rule is

categorically excluded from further

environmental documentation because

it establishes a safety zone.

Unfunded Mandates

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) and E.O.

12875, Enhancing the Intergovernmental

Partnership, (58 FR 58093; October 28,

1993) govern the issuance of Federal

regulations that require unfunded

mandates. An unfunded mandate is a

regulation that requires a State, local, or

tribal government or the private sector

to incur direct costs without the Federal

Government’s having first provided the

funds to pay those costs. This rule will

not impose an unfunded mandate.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation

(water), Reporting and record keeping

requirements, Security measures,

Waterways.

Temporary Final Regulation

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33

CFR Part 165 as follows:

PART 165—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 165

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191;

33 CFR 1.05–1(g), 6.04–1, 6.04–6, and 160.5;

49 CFR 1.46.

2. From 12:01 a.m. on June 12, 2000,

until 11:59 p.m. on June 16, 2000,

§ 165.T17–002 is temporarily added to

read as follows:

§ 165.T17–002 Safety Zone; Port Graham,

Cook Inlet, Alaska.

(a) Description. The following area is

a Safety Zone: All navigable waters

within a 600-yard radius of the Heavylift vessel SWAN, located in Port

Graham, Cook Inlet, Alaska.

(b) Effective dates. This section is

effective from 12:01 a.m. on June 12,

2000, until 11:59 p.m. on June 16, 2000.

(c) Regulations. (1) The Captain of the

Port means the Captain of the Port,

Western Alaska. The Captain of the Port

may authorize or designate any Coast

Guard commissioned, warrant, or petty

officer to act on his behalf as his

representative.

(2) The general regulations governing

safety zones contained in Title 33 Code

of Federal Regulations § 165.23 apply.

No person or vessel may enter, transit

through, anchor or remain in this safety

zone, with the exception of attending

vessels, without first obtaining

permission from the Captain of the Port,

Western Alaska, or his representative.

The Captain of the Port or his

representative may be contacted in the

vicinity of the SWAN via marine VHF

channel 16. The Captain of the Port’s

representative can also be contacted by

telephone at (907) 271–6700.

Dated: April 14, 2000.

W.J. Hutmacher,

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the

Port, Western Alaska.

[FR Doc. 00–12151 Filed 5–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 22, 117, 122, 123, 124,

125, 144, 270, and 271

[FRL–6561–5]

RIN 2040–AC70

Amendments to Streamline the

National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System Program

Regulations: Round Two

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is today revising the

National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES)

regulations. This revision is part of an

Agency-wide effort to respond to a

directive issued by the President on

February 21, 1995, which directed

Federal agencies to review their

regulatory programs to eliminate any

obsolete, ineffective, or unduly

burdensome regulations. In response to

that directive, EPA initiated a detailed

review of its regulations to determine

which provisions were obsolete,

duplicative, or unduly burdensome. On

June 29, 1995, EPA issued a rule (60 FR

33926) which removed some regulatory

provisions in the Office of Water

program regulations (including certain

NPDES provisions) that were clearly

obsolete. Today’s revision is intended to

further streamline NPDES, Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),

Prevention of Significant Deterioration

(PSD), and Underground Injection

Control (UIC) permitting procedures,

and CWA 301(h) variance request

procedures, by revising requirements to

eliminate redundant regulatory

language, provide clarification, and

remove or streamline unnecessary

procedures which do not provide any

environmental benefits. Conforming

changes to other requirements are also

made in today’s rule. These revisions

are identified and discussed in the

Supplementary Information section

below.

DATES: This rule becomes effective June

14, 2000. For judicial review purposes,

this final rule is promulgated as of 1:00

P.M. (eastern standard time) on May 30,

2000 as provided in.

ADDRESSES: The complete

administrative record for the final rule

have been established and includes

supporting documentation as well as

printed, paper versions of electronic

comments. Copies of information in the

record are available upon request. A

reasonable fee may be charged for

copying. The record is available for

inspection and copying from 9 a.m. to

4 p.m., Monday through Friday,

excluding legal holidays, at the Water

Docket, EPA, East Tower Basement, 401

M Street, SW, Washington, DC. For

access to docket materials, please call

(202) 260–3027.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Howard Rubin, Water Permits

Division(4203), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20460 (202) 260–2051

or Thomas Charlton, Water Permits

Division(4203), U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20460, (202) 260–

6960.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulated Entities

Entities potentially regulated by this

action are facilities that discharge

pollutants to waters of the United States

that are required to have National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System

(NPDES) permits.