Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 90 / Thursday, May 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 26005 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 100 

[Docket No. USCG–2008–0277] 

RIN 1625–AA08 

Special Local Regulations; Delaware 

River, Philadelphia, PA 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing special local regulations 

during the ‘‘First Annual Safe Boating 

Day’’, a water safety demonstration to be 

held on the waters of the Delaware River 

adjacent to Penn’s Landing, 

Philadelphia, PA. These special local 

regulations are necessary to provide for 

the safety of life on navigable waters 

during the event. This action is 

intended to restrict vessel traffic 

between the Walt Whitman and 

Benjamin Franklin bridges in the 

Delaware River during the event. 

DATES: This rule is effective from 11 

a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 1, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Documents indicated in this 

preamble as being available in the 

docket are part of docket USCG–2008–

0277 and are available online at 

http://www.regulations.gov. They are 

also available for inspection or copying 

at two locations: the Docket 

Management Facility (M–30), U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays, and the Fifth 

Coast Guard District, 431 Crawford 

Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704 between 

10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this temporary 

rule, call Dennis Sens, Project Manager, 

Fifth Coast Guard District, Prevention 

Division, (757) 398–6204. If you have 

questions on viewing the docket, call 

Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 

Docket Operations, telephone 202–366–

9826. 

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 would be impracticable and 

contrary to public interest since 

immediate action is needed to minimize 

potential danger to the public during the 

event. The necessary information to 

determine whether the marine event 

poses a threat to persons and vessels 

was not provided with sufficient time to 

publish an NPRM. The danger posed by 

on the water fire and rescue 

demonstrations makes special local 

regulations necessary to provide for the 

safety of spectator craft and other 

vessels transiting the event area. For the 

safety concerns noted, it is in the public 

interest to have these regulations in 

effect during the event. The Coast Guard 

will issue broadcast notice to mariners 

to advise vessel operators of 

navigational restrictions. On scene Coast 

Guard and local law enforcement 

vessels will also provide actual notice to 

mariners. 

Background and Purpose 

On June 1, 2008, the Penn’s Landing 

Corporation will sponsor the ‘‘First 

Annual Safe Boating Day’’. Various on 

the water fire-rescue and tug boat 

demonstrations will be staged in close 

proximity to Penn’s Landing on the 

Delaware River. The demonstrations 

will generally take place in the vicinity 

between the shoreline and the 

navigational channel. A fleet of 

spectator vessels is expected to gather 

near the event site to view the on water 

activity. Due to the need for vessel 

control during the event, vessel traffic 

will be temporarily restricted to provide 

for the safety of participants, spectators 

and transiting vessels. 

Discussion of Rule 

The Coast Guard will establish 

temporary special local regulations on 

specified waters of the Delaware River. 

The temporary special local regulations 

will be in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

on June 1, 2008. The effect will be to 

restrict general navigation in the 

regulated area during the marine event. 

Except for persons or vessels authorized 

by the Coast Guard Patrol Commander, 

no person or vessel may enter or remain 

in the regulated area during the 

enforcement period. Notice will be 

provided to the public through a Local 

Notice to Mariners published before the 

event, as well as through Broadcast 

Notice to Mariners. The Patrol 

Commander will notify the public of 

specific enforcement times by marine 

radio safety broadcast VHF–FM marine 

band radio. These regulations are 

needed to control vessel traffic during 

the event to enhance the safety of 

spectators and transiting vessels. 

Regulatory Evaluation 

This rule is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Planning and Review, and does not 

require an assessment of potential costs 

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

Order. The Office of Management and 

Budget has not reviewed it under that 

Order. 

Although this regulation restricts 

vessel traffic from transiting a portion of 

the Delaware River during the event, the 

effect of this regulation will not be 

significant due to the limited duration 

that the regulated area will be in effect 

and the extensive advance notifications 

that will be made to the maritime 

community via marine information 

broadcasts and local area newspapers, 

radio and TV stations so mariners can 

adjust their plans accordingly. 

Small Entities 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(5 U.S.C. 601–612), we have considered 

whether this rule would have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

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 rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

This rule will affect the following 

entities, some of which may be small 

entities: the owners or operators of 

vessels intending to transit the Delaware 

River during the event. 

This temporary rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities for 

the following reasons. This rule will be 

in effect for only a short period, from 11 

a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 1, 2008. Although 

this regulation prevents traffic from 

transiting a small segment of the 

Delaware River during the event, this 

temporary rule would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities for 

the following reasons. This rule would 

be in effect for only a limited period. 

Vessel traffic may be able to transit 

around the regulated area or when event 

activity is halted, when the Coast Guard 

Patrol Commander deems it is safe to do 

so. Before the enforcement period, we 

will issue maritime advisories so 

mariners can adjust their plans 

accordingly. 


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26006 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 90 / Thursday, May 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

Assistance for Small Entities 

Under section 213(a) of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121), 

we offer to assist small entities in 

understanding the rule so that they can 

better evaluate its effects on them and 

participate in the rulemaking process. 

Small businesses may send comments 

on the actions of Federal employees 

who enforce, or otherwise determine 

compliance with, Federal regulations to 

the Small Business and Agriculture 

Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman 

and the Regional Small Business 

Regulatory Fairness Boards. The 

Ombudsman evaluates these actions 

annually and rates each agency’s 

responsiveness to small business. If you 

wish to comment on actions by 

employees of the Coast Guard, call 1–

888–REG–FAIR (1–888–734–3247). The 

Coast Guard will not retaliate against 

small entities that question or complain 

about this rule or any policy or action 

of the Coast Guard. 

Collection of Information 

This rule calls for no new collection 

of information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520). 

Federalism 

A rule has implications for federalism 

under Executive Order 13132, 

Federalism, if it has a substantial direct 

effect on State or local governments and 

would either preempt State law or 

impose a substantial direct cost of 

compliance on them. We have analyzed 

this rule under that Order and have 

determined that it does not have 

implications for federalism. 

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 or more in any one year. 

Though this rule will not result in such 

an expenditure, we do discuss the 

effects of this rule elsewhere in this 

preamble. 

Taking of Private Property 

This rule will not affect a taking of 

private property or otherwise have 

taking implications under Executive 

Order 12630, Governmental Actions and 

Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights. 

Civil Justice Reform 

This rule meets applicable standards 

in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to 

minimize litigation, eliminate 

ambiguity, and reduce burden. 

Protection of Children 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13045, Protection of 

Children from Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not 

an economically significant rule and 

does not create an environmental risk to 

health or risk to safety that may 

disproportionately affect children. 

Indian Tribal Governments 

This rule does not have tribal 

implications under Executive Order 

13175, Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal Governments, 

because it does 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. 

Energy Effects 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Executive Order 13211, Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use. We have 

determined that it is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ under that order because 

it is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’

under Executive Order 12866 and is not 

likely to have a significant adverse effect 

on the supply, distribution, or use of 

energy. The Administrator of the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

has not designated it as a significant 

energy action. Therefore, it does not 

require a Statement of Energy Effects 

under Executive Order 13211. 

Technical Standards 

The National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15 

U.S.C. 272 note) directs agencies to use 

voluntary consensus standards in their 

regulatory activities unless the agency 

provides Congress, through the Office of 

Management and Budget, with an 

explanation of why using these 

standards would be inconsistent with 

applicable law or otherwise impractical. 

Voluntary consensus standards are 

technical standards (e.g., specifications 

of materials, performance, design, or 

operation; test methods; sampling 

procedures; and related management 

systems practices) that are developed or 

adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies. 

This rule does not use technical 

standards. Therefore, we did not 

consider the use of voluntary consensus 

standards. 

Environment 

We have analyzed this rule under 

Commandant Instruction M16475.lD 

which guides the Coast Guard in 

complying with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and 

have concluded that there are no factors 

in this case that would limit the use of 

a categorical exclusion under section 

2.B.2 of the Instruction. Therefore, this 

rule is categorically excluded, under 

figure 2–1, paragraph (34)(h), of the 

Instruction, from further environmental 

documentation. 

A final ‘‘Environmental Analysis 

Check List’’ and a final ‘‘Categorical 

Exclusion Determination’’ are available 

in the docket where indicated under 

ADDRESSES. 

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 100 

Marine safety, Navigation (water), 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, and Waterways. 

Words of Issuance and Regulatory Text 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 

CFR part 100 as follows: 

PART 100—REGATTAS AND MARINE 

PARADES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 100 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1233. 

■ 2. Add a temporary § 100.35–T05–

0277 to read as follows: 

§ 100.35–T05–0277 Delaware River, 

Philadelphia, PA. 

(a) Regulated area includes all waters 

of the Delaware River bounded from 

shore to shore, bounded to the south by 

the Walt Whitman Bridge and bounded 

to the north by the Benjamin Franklin 

Bridge. 

(b) Definitions: (1) Coast Guard Patrol 

Commander means a commissioned, 

warrant, or petty officer of the Coast 

Guard who has been designated by the 

Commander, Coast Guard Sector 

Delaware Bay. 

(2) Official Patrol means any vessel 

assigned or approved by Commander, 

Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay with 

a commissioned, warrant, or petty 

officer on board and displaying a Coast 

Guard ensign. 

(3) Participant includes all vessels 

participating in the First Annual Safe 

Boating Day under the auspices of the 

Marine Event Permit issued to the event 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 90 / Thursday, May 8, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 26007 

sponsor and approved by Commander, 

Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. 

(c) Special local regulations: (1) 

Except for event participants and 

persons or vessels authorized by the 

Coast Guard Patrol Commander, no 

person or vessel may enter or remain in 

the regulated area. 

(2) The operator of any vessel in the 

regulated area must: (i) Stop the vessel 

immediately when directed to do so by 

any Official Patrol. 

(ii) Proceed as directed by any Official 

Patrol. 

(iii) When authorized to transit the 

regulated area, all vessels shall proceed 

at the minimum speed necessary to 

maintain a safe course that minimizes 

wake near the event area. 

(d) Enforcement period. This section 

will be enforced from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

on June 1, 2008. A notice of 

enforcement of this section will be 

disseminated through the Fifth Coast 

Guard District Local Notice to Mariners 

announcing the specific event date and 

times. Notice will also be made via 

broadcast notice to mariners on VHF–

FM marine band radio. 

Dated: April 16, 2008. 

Neil O. Buschman, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Fifth 

Coast Guard District, Acting. 

[FR Doc. E8–10228 Filed 5–7–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

33 CFR Part 100 

[Docket No. USCG–2007–0147] 

RIN 1625–AA08 

Special Local Regulations; Recurring 

Marine Events in the Fifth Coast Guard 

District 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is 

establishing special local regulations to 

regulate recurring marine events in the 

Fifth Coast Guard District. These 

regulations apply to all permitted events 

listed in the table attached to the 

regulation, and include events such as 

regattas, and marine parades. These 

regulations reduce the Coast Guard’s 

administrative workload and expedite 

public notification of events. 

DATES: This rule is effective June 9, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments and material 

received from the public, as well as 

documents mentioned in this preamble 

as being available in the docket, are part 

of docket USCG–2007–0147 and are 

available online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. This material is 

also available for inspection or copying 

at two locations: the Docket 

Management Facility (M–30), U.S. 

Department of Transportation, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays and the Fifth 

Coast Guard District Office, 431 

Crawford Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704 

between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions on this rule, call 

Dennis Sens, Project Manager, Fifth 

Coast Guard District, Prevention 

Division, at 757–398–6204 or e-mail at 

Dennis.M.Sens@uscg.mil. If you have 

questions on viewing the docket, call 

Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, 

Docket Operations, telephone 202–366–

9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulatory Information 

On March 10, 2008, we published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

entitled Special Local Regulations; 

Recurring Marine Events in the Fifth 

Coast Guard District in the Federal 

Register (73 FR 12669). We received no 

letters commenting on the proposed 

rule. No public meeting was requested, 

and none was held. 

Background and Purpose 

Marine events are frequently held on 

the navigable waters within the 

boundary of the Fifth Coast Guard 

District. For a description of the 

geographical area of each Coast Guard 

Sector—Captain of the Port Zone, please 

see 33 CFR 3.25. 

This regulation includes events such 

as sailing regattas, power boat races, 

swim races and holiday parades. 

Currently, there are 57 annually 

recurring marine events and many other 

non-recurring events within the district. 

In the past, the Coast Guard regulated 

these events by creating individual 

special local regulations on a case by 

case basis. Most of these events required 

only the establishment of a regulated 

area and assignment of a patrol 

commander to ensure safety. Issuing 

individual, annual special local 

regulations has created a significant 

administrative burden on the Coast 

Guard. From 2005 to 2007 the Coast 

Guard created over 100 temporary 

regulations for marine events in the 

Fifth District. The numbers are expected 

to increase in 2008 with the growing 

popularity of water sports activities. 

Additionally, for the majority of these 

events, the Coast Guard does not receive 

notification of the event, or important 

details of the event are not finalized by 

event organizers, with sufficient time to 

publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 

and final rule before the event date. The 

Coast Guard must therefore create 

temporary final rules that sometimes are 

not completed until only days before the 

event. This results in delayed 

notification to the public, potentially 

placing the public and event 

participants at risk. 

This rule significantly reduces the 

administrative burden on the Coast 

Guard, and at the same time allows the 

sponsor of the event and the Coast 

Guard to notify the public of these 

events in a timely manner. The public 

will be provided with notice of events 

through the table attached to this 

regulation. This table lists each 

recurring event that may be regulated by 

the Coast Guard, and indicates the 

sponsor, as well as the date and location 

of the event. Because the dates and 

location of these events may change 

slightly from year to year, the specific 

information on each event, including 

the exact dates, specific areas, and 

description of the regulated area, would 

be provided to the public through a 

Local Notice to Mariners published 

before the event, as well as through 

Broadcast Notice to Mariners. This table 

will also be updated by the Coast Guard 

periodically to add new recurring 

events, remove events that no longer 

occur, and update listed events to 

ensure accurate information is provided. 

The public will also be notified about 

many of the listed marine events by 

local newspapers, radio and television 

stations. The various methods of 

notification provided by the Coast 

Guard and local community media 

outlets will facilitate informing mariners 

so they can adjust their plans 

accordingly. 

Discussion of Comments and Changes 

The Coast Guard has made some 

minor technical revisions to this rule. 

Revisions to the regulatory text include 

the following items. 

In the Table to § 100.501, marine 

event No. 3 was deleted. In its place 

‘‘Night in Venice’’ Great Egg Harbor Bay, 

Ocean City, New Jersey was added as 

marine event No. 3. This event was 

previously regulated by 33 CFR 100.504 

for the same location. This revision does 

not impose any additional restrictions 

on vessel traffic. 


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