44428 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 1997 / Proposed Rules

SRD has been reviewing the petition

and obtaining information from various

sources in order to determine the

present and potential use and impacts of

motorized personal watercraft in the

Sanctuary. In order to facilitate the

review of the petition, SRD is seeking

the following information: (1) The

number of motorized personal

watercraft being operated in the

Sanctuary; (2) possible future trends in

such numbers; (3) the customary

launching areas for motorized personal

watercraft in or near the Sanctuary; (4)

the areas of use of motorized personal

watercraft activity in the Sanctuary,

including areas of concentrated use; (5)

the periods (e.g., time of year) of use of

motorized personal watercraft in the

Sanctuary, including periods of high

incidence of use; (6) studies or technical

articles concerning the impacts of

motorized personal watercraft on

marine resources and other users; (7)

first person or documented accounts of

impacts of motorized personal

watercraft on marine resources and

other users; and (8) any other

information or other comments that may

be pertinent to this issue.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 922

Administrative practice and

procedure, Coastal zone, Education,

Environmental protection, Marine

resources, Natural resources, Penalties,

Recreation and recreation areas,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Research.

Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog

Number 11.429. Marine Sanctuary

Program.

Dated: August 14, 1997.

Nancy Foster,

Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services

and Coastal Zone Management.

[FR Doc. 97–22172 Filed 8–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 167

[CGD 97–044]

Port Access Routes; Approaches to

the Mississippi River via Southwest

Pass, South Pass, Tiger Pass Including

the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of study.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is

conducting a port access route study to

evaluate the need for vessel routing or

other traffic management measures in

the approaches to the Mississippi River.

Concerns for the safety of navigation in

these areas have been expressed by the

Associated Branch Pilots and the Coast

Guard Marine Safety Office in New

Orleans, LA. This port access route

study will determine what, if any, vessel

routing or other traffic management

measures are needed in the approaches

to the Mississippi River and the

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. As a

result of the study, vessel routing

measures or other vessel operating

requirements may be proposed in the

Federal Register.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before November 19, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to Commander (mov–1), Eighth

Coast Guard District, Hale Boggs Federal

Building, 501 Magazine Street, New

Orleans, LA 70130–3396. The comments

and other materials related to this notice

will be available for inspection and

copying at 501 Magazine Street, New

Orleans, LA, room 1341. Normal office

hours are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday, except holidays.

Comments may also be hand delivered

to this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Captain M.M. Ledet (504) 589–4686 or

M.Ledet/

D8m@mailgatehq.comdt.uscg.mil

(Internet), or Margie Hegy (202) 267–

0415 or MHegy@comdt.uscg.mil

(Internet).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard is interested in

receiving information and opinions

from persons who have an interest in

safe routing of ships in the study area.

Vessel owners and operators are

specifically invited to comment on any

safety concerns they may have when

operating in the study area. Negative

impacts that may result from the

establishment of a routing measure,

such as a traffic separation scheme

(TSS), or a regulated navigation area

(RNA) with vessel operating

requirements should be identified and

supported with documentation of any

costs or benefits.

Commenters should include their

names and addresses, identify this

notice (CGD 97–044), and give reasons

for each comment. Receipt of comments

will be acknowledged if a stamped, selfaddressed post card or envelope is

enclosed. In addition to the specific

questions asked herein, comments from

the maritime community, offshore

development concerns, environmental

groups and any other interested parties

are invited. All comments received

during the comment period will be

considered in the study and in

development of any regulatory

proposals.

The Coast Guard intends to hold at

least one public meeting to listen to the

users, both commercial and recreational,

of the waters in the study area. We are

particularly interested in the source of

delays that slow down commercial

vessels and the source of upsets that

interfere with the recreational boaters

enjoyment of the waterway. Details of

the meeting will be announced in a

separate notice as well as locally.

The Eighth Coast Guard District will

conduct the study and develop

recommendations. Captain M.M. Ledet,

Vessel Traffic Management Section,

Marine Safety Branch, Eighth Coast

Guard District (504) 589–4686 is the

project officer responsible for the study.

Background and Purpose

The 1978 amendments to the Ports

and Waterways Safety Act (PWSA), 33

U.S.C. 1223(c), require that a port access

route study be conducted prior to

establishing or adjusting fairways or

TSS’s. The Coast Guard is undertaking

a port access route study to determine

if a vessel routing system is needed in

the study area.

An internationally recognized vessel

routing system is one or more routes or

routing measures aimed at reducing the

risk of casualties. A system may include

TSS’s, two-way routes, recommended

tracks, areas to be avoided, inshore

traffic zones, roundabouts,

precautionary areas, and deep-water

routes.

A TSS is a routing measure which

minimizes the risk of collision by

separating vessels into opposing streams

of traffic through the establishment of

traffic lanes.

A two-way route is a route within

defined limits inside which two-way

traffic is established, aimed at providing

safe passage of ships through waters

where navigation is difficult or

dangerous.

A recommended track is a route

which has been specially examined to

ensure so far as possible that it is free

of dangers and along which ships are

advised to navigate.

An area to be avoided is a routing

measure comprising an area within

defined limits in which either

navigation is particularly hazardous or

it is exceptionally important to avoid

casualties and which should be avoided

by all ships, or certain classes of ships.

An inshore traffic zone comprises a

designated area between the landward

boundary of a TSS and the adjacent
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 162 / Thursday, August 21, 1997 / Proposed Rules 44429

coast and is used in accordance with

Rule 10(d) of the 72 COLREGS.

A roundabout is a routing measure

comprising a separation point or

circular separation zone and a circular

traffic lane within defined limits. Traffic

within the roundabout is separated by

moving in a counterclockwise direction

around the separation point or zone.

A precautionary area is a defined area

where ships must navigate with

particular caution and within which the

direction of traffic flow may be

recommended.

A deep-water route is a route within

defined limits which has been

accurately surveyed for clearance of sea

bottom and submerged obstacles as

indicated on nautical charts.

The approaches to the Mississippi

River and the Mississippi River Gulf

Outlet were last studied in 1984. The

study concluded that there was a need

for the establishment of the existing

shipping safety fairways.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’

Waterborne Commerce of The United

States reports that, from 1984 to 1993,

volume of traffic increased from 397.1

million tons to 520.3 million tons.

Channel depths were increased to 45

feet in 1994.

The Associated Branch Pilots

Association and the Coast Guard’s

Marine Safety Office in New Orleans

have expressed concern about the safety

of navigation due to the frequency of

collisions that have the potential to

close one of the busiest ports in the

United States. In addition to safety

concerns, several collisions in the past

few years have demonstrated the

potential for far reaching economic

impact. The most recent collision

involving the M/V FORMOSA SIX and

the M/V FLORA partially closed the

waterway with an estimated cost of over

one million dollars per day.

Study Area

The study area is bounded by a line

connecting the following geographic

positions:

Latitude Longitude

29°02′20′′ N ....................... 89°40′15′′ W

29°33′00′′ N ....................... 89°02′39′′ W

29°32′45′′ N ....................... 88°42′40′′ W

29°03′30′′ N ....................... 88°45′12′′ W

28°36′30′′ N ....................... 89°18′09′′ W

28°26′15′′ N ....................... 89°41′15′′ W

The study area encompasses the

approaches to the Mississippi River, the

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet as well as

the area offshore of southeast Louisiana

used by commercial vessels transiting to

and between these ports.

Issues

The Coast Guard is trying to

determine the scope of any safety

problems associated with vessel transit

in the study area. It is expected that

information will be gathered during the

study that will identify the problems

and appropriate solutions.

In addition to information that you

wish to provide, the Coast Guard is

particularly interested in your responses

to the following questions:

1. What is the nature of your work

that causes you to navigate in the study

area?

2. How many trips do you make in the

study area in a 24-hour period?

3. What route do you take? Please

specify point of origin and destination?

4. Considering all the passes leading

to the Gulf of Mexico, which would be

the most direct to your destination?

5. Are there passes that you do not

use? Why not?

6. If the U.S. Corps of Engineers

maintained each pass to a

predetermined depth, would you use all

the passes?

7. What should be the maintained

depth of each pass?

8. Have you had an accident or near

miss when transiting the mouth of the

Mississippi River? If so, where? Please

describe the incident.

9. Would a traffic separation scheme

to separate opposing streams of traffic

help in preventing accidents or near

misses?

10. Would improved aids to

navigation help in preventing accidents

or near misses? What improvements

would you suggest?

11. Would mandatory vessel transit

restrictions or operating requirements in

the passes and near shore waters help?

12. Do you have other suggestions to

improve navigational safety in the study

area?

The study may recommend the

following:

1. No vessel routing measures are

needed.

2. Establish one or more of the

following vessel routing measures:

(a) TSS in the approach to Southwest

Pass of the Mississippi River;

(b) TSS in the approach to the

Mississippi River Gulf Outlet;

(c) Precautionary area(s) near either or

both approaches; or,

(d) Inshore traffic zone(s) near either

or both approaches; and,

3. Establish a regulated navigation

area with specific vessel operating

requirements to ensure safe navigation.

Procedural Requirements

In order to provide safe access routes

for movement of vessel traffic

proceeding to and from U.S. ports, the

PWSA directs that the Secretary

designate necessary fairways and TSS’s

in which the paramount right of

navigation over all other uses shall be

recognized. Before a designation can be

made, the Coast Guard is required to

undertake a study of potential traffic

density and the need for safe access

routes.

During the study, the Coast Guard is

directed to consult with federal and

state agencies and to consider the views

of representatives of the maritime

community, port and harbor authorities

or associations, environmental groups,

and other parties who may be affected

by the proposed action.

In accordance with 33 U.S.C. 1223(c),

the Coast Guard will, to the extent

practicable, reconcile the need for safe

access routes with the needs of all other

reasonable uses of the area involved.

The Coast Guard will also consider

previous studies and experience in the

areas of vessel traffic management,

navigation, shiphandling, the effects of

weather, and prior analysis of the traffic

density in certain regions.

Data needed to gain a clear

understanding of the waterway and its

uses will be gathered by a contractor.

The Coast Guard will focus on

interaction with waterway users and

stakeholders to scope out safety

concerns and determine an appropriate

solution.

The results of this study will be

published in the Federal Register. If the

Coast Guard determines that new

routing or other regulatory measures are

needed, a notice of proposed

rulemaking will be published. It is

anticipated that the study will be

concluded by 30 January 1998.

Dated: August 7, 1997.

R.C. North,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant

Commandant for Marine Safety and

Environmental Protection.

[FR Doc. 97–22136 Filed 8–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–14–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[PA4051b; FRL–5865–7]

Approval and Promulgation of Air

Quality Implementation Plans;

Pennsylvania; Approval of VOC and

NOX RACT Determinations for

Individual Sources

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).