58174 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

Public Availability of Comments 

You may submit your comments and 

materials by one of the methods listed 

in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

Before including your name, return 

address, phone number, email address, 

or other personally identifiable 

information in your comment, you 

should be aware that your entire 

comment—including your personally 

identifiable information—may be made 

publicly available. In order for BOEM to 

withhold from disclosure your 

personally identifiable information, you 

must identify, in a cover letter, any 

information contained in the submittal 

of your comments that, if released, 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of your personal privacy. You 

must also briefly describe in such cover 

letter any possible harmful 

consequences of the disclosure of 

information, such as embarrassment, 

injury, or other harm. While you can ask 

us in your comment to withhold your 

personally identifiable information from 

public review, we cannot guarantee that 

we will be able to do so. Even if BOEM 

withholds your information in the 

context of this rulemaking, your 

submission is subject to the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) and any 

relevant court orders. If your submission 

is requested under the FOIA or such 

court order, your information will only 

be withheld if a determination is made 

that one of the FOIA’s exemptions to 

disclosure applies or if such court order 

is challenged. Such a determination will 

be made in accordance with the 

Department’s FOIA regulations and 

applicable law. 

Elizabeth Klein, 

Director, Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18370 Filed 8–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. USCG–2022–0520] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Mianus River, Greenwich, CT 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to 

modify the operating schedule that 

governs the Metro-North (Cos Cob) 

Bridge, across Mianus River, mile 1.0, at 

Greenwich, CT. The bridge owner, 

Metro-North Railroad (MNR), submitted 

a request on May 5, 2022 to modify the 

regulation to align with the Metro-North 

‘‘WALK’’ Bridge train schedule and 

avoid bridge openings during peak 

transit hours. It is expected that this 

change to the regulations will better 

serve the needs of the community while 

continuing to meet the reasonable needs 

of navigation. We invite your comments 

on this proposed rulemaking. The 

original notice of proposed rulemaking 

did not accurately reflect the owner’s 

request. As such, the Coast Guard is 

issuing a supplemenal notice of 

proposed rulemaking to accurately 

describe the owner’s request and 

proposed changes to the existing 

regulation. 

DATES: Comments and related material 

must reach the Coast Guard on or before 

September 25, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2022–0520 using Federal Decision 

Making Portal at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

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 proposed 

rule, call or email Ms. Stephanie E. 

Lopez, First Coast Guard District, 

Project Officer, telephone 212–514– 

4335, email Stephanie.E.Lopez@

uscg.mil. 

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 

SNPRM Supplemental Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

§ Section 

U.S.C. United States Code 

MNR Metro-North Railroad 

II. Background, Purpose and Legal 

Basis 

The Metro-North (Cos Cob) Bridge at 

mile 1.0, across Mianus River, 

Greenwich, CT, has a vertical clearance 

of 20 feet at mean high water and a 

horizontal clearance of approximately 

67 feet. Waterway users include 

recreational and commercial vessels, 

including fishing vessels. 

The existing drawbridge operating 

regulations are listed at 33 CFR 117.209. 

Under the current regulation, the draw 

shall open on signal from 5 a.m. to 9 

p.m. but no later than 20 minutes after 

the signal to open unless a train is 

scheduled to cross. Once the train 

scheduled to cross has passed the 

Greenwich or Riverside stations, the 

bridge will open once the train has 

made passage. From April 1 through 

October 31, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the 

bridge will open after at least a fourhour advance notice is given. From 

November 1 through March 30, from 9 

p.m. to 5 a.m., the bridge will open after 

at least a twenty-four-hour advance 

notice is given. 

MNR is requesting the modification of 

the requirements in 33 CFR part 117.209 

to align with the existing requirements 

for the Metro-North ‘‘WALK’’ Bridge, 

across the Norwalk River, at mile 0.1. 

The Cos Cob Bridge is located at one 

of the busiest rail segments in the 

United States and the Northeast 

Corridor. Openings at Cos Cob Bridge, 

between the calendar years of 2019 and 

2021, resulted in seventy-one (71) 

delays to MNR train service. A delay 

due to a bridge opening has cascading 

affects, resulting in multiple delayed 

and late trains. Delays due to the 

openings of Cos Cob Bridge were 

notably high among the drawbridges on 

MNR service territory. Aligning the Cos 

Cob Bridge regulation with the WALK 

Bridge regulation 33 CFR 117.217 (b) 

provides a balance between railroad 

operations and vessels interest in 

waterway passage. 

III. Discussion of Supplemental 

Proposed Rule 

The supplemental proposed rule 

provides the draw to open on signal 

between 4:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. after at 

least a two-hour advance notice is given 

via marine radio or telephone. The 

bridge will not open from 5:45 a.m. 

through 9:45 a.m. and from 4 p.m. 

through 8 p.m. From 9 p.m. through 

4:30 a.m. the draw shall open on signal 

after at least a four-hour advance notice 

is given via marine radio or telephone. 

A delay in opening the draw not to 

exceed 10 minutes may occur when a 

train scheduled to cross the bridge 

without stopping has entered the 

drawbridge lock. The reason for these 

changes is to minimize train delays 

while balancing the interests of vessels 

in the waterway. 

IV. Regulatory Analyses 

We developed this supplemental 

proposed rule after considering 

numerous statutes and Executive Orders 

related to rulemaking. A summary of 

our analysis based on these statutes and 

Executive Orders follows. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2023 / Proposed Rules 58175 

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 SNPRM has not been designated a 

‘‘significant regulatory action,’’ under 

Executive Order 12866, as amended by 

Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing 

Regulatory Review). Accordingly, the 

SNPRM has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). 

This regulatory action determination 

is based on the ability that vessels can 

still transit the bridge given advanced 

notice. 

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 certifies under 5 U.S.C. 

605(b) that this supplemental proposed 

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 

supplemental 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 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 

rule would affect your small business, 

organization, or governmental 

jurisdiction and you have questions 

concerning its provisions or options for 

compliance, please contact 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 

proposed rule or any policy or action of 

the Coast Guard. 

C. Collection of Information 

This proposed rule would call for no 

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 supplemental 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 supplemental 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 contact 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 

supplemental proposed rule will not 

result in such an expenditure, we do 

discuss the effects of this supplemental 

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 proposed 

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. 

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. 

We encourage you to submit 

comments through the Federal Decision 

Making Portal at https://

www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov, type 

USCG- 2022–0520 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 https://

www.regulations.gov, contact the person 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document for 

alternate instructions. 

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 https://

www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
58176 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

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 https://

www.regulations.gov 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). 

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 

■ 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. 

■ 2. Revise § 117.209 to read as follows: 

§ 117.209 Mianus 

The draw of the Metro-North (Cos 

Cob) bridge, mile 1.0 at Greenwich, will 

operate as follows: 

(a) The draw will open on signal 

between 4:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. after at 

least a two-hour advance notice is given; 

except that, from 5:45 a.m. through 9:45 

a.m. and from 4 p.m. through 8 p.m., 

Monday through Friday excluding 

holidays, the draw need not open for the 

passage of vessel traffic unless an 

emergency exists. 

(b) From 9 p.m. through 4:30 a.m. the 

draw will open on signal after at least 

a four-hour advance notice is given. 

(c) A delay in opening the draw not 

to exceed 10 minutes may occur when 

a train scheduled to cross the bridge 

without stopping has entered the 

drawbridge lock. 

(d) Requests for bridge openings may 

be made by calling the bridge via marine 

radio VHF FM Channel 13 or the 

telephone number posted at the bridge. 

Dated: August 20, 2023. 

J.W. Mauger, 

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, 

First Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18323 Filed 8–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 117 

[Docket No. USCG–2022–0854] 

RIN 1625–AA09 

Drawbridge Operation Regulation; 

Reynolds Channel, Atlantic Beach, NY 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to 

modify the operating schedule that 

governs the Atlantic Beach Bridge 

across the Reynolds Channel, mile 0.4, 

at Atlantic Beach, NY. The bridge 

owner, Nassau County Bridge Authority, 

submitted a request on September 22, 

2022 to modify the regulation to 

decrease the amount of openings on 

signal from October through May. It is 

expected that this change to the 

regulations will better serve the needs of 

the community while continuing to 

meet the reasonable needs of navigation. 

We invite your comments on this 

proposed rulemaking. 

DATES: Comments and relate material 

must reach the Coast Guard on or before 

September 25, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2022–0854 using Federal Decision 

Making Portal at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

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 proposed 

rule, call or email Ms. Stephanie E. 

Lopez, First Coast Guard District, 

Project Officer, telephone 212–514– 

4335, email Stephanie.E.Lopez@

uscg.mil. 

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 

(Advance, Supplemental) 

§ Section 

U.S.C. United States Code 

II. Background, Purpose and Legal 

Basis 

The Atlantic Beach Bridge at mile 0.4, 

across Reynolds Channel, Atlantic 

Beach, NY, has a vertical clearance of 25 

feet at mean high water and a horizontal 

clearance of 125 feet. Waterway users 

include recreational and commercial 

vessels, including fishing vessels. 

The existing drawbridge operating 

regulations are listed at 33 CFR 

117.799(e). Under the current 

regulation, the bridge shall open on 

signal from October 1 through May 14. 

Nassau County is requesting the bridge 

shall open on signal from 8 a.m. to 

midnight October 1 through May 14; 

and from midnight to 8 a.m. year-round 

the draw shall open on signal if at least 

eight hours advance notice is given. 

The Reynolds Channel is transited by 

recreational vessels and commercial 

vessels. In recent years, a significant 

amount of industrial and commercial 

business has closed along the 

waterfront. This change has caused a 

decrease in the amount of bridge 

opening requests from midnight to 8 

a.m. 

Nassau County Bridge Authority held 

two public meetings on August 18, 2022 

and August 25, 2022. No one from the 

public attended. 

III. Discussion of Proposed Rule 

The proposed rule provides the draw 

to open on signal from 8 a.m. to 

midnight October 1 through May 14; 

and from midnight to 8 a.m. year-round 

the draw shall open on signal if at least 

eight hours notice is given. The reason 

for these changes is to reduce openings 

on signal during off peak hours due to 

a significant reduction of commercial 

business on the waterway. 

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 we discuss 

First Amendment rights of protestors to 

the end of Executive order. 

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 ability that vessels can 

still transit the bridge given advanced 

notice. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1