Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 50507

Participants are those persons and

vessels identified by the sponsor as

taking part in the event. The official

patrol consists of any Coast Guard,

public, state, or local law enforcement

and sponsor provided vessel assigned to

patrol the event. The Coast Guard Patrol

Commander is a Coast Guard

commissioned, warrant, or petty officer

who has been designated by

Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard

Group Galveston.

(1) No spectator shall anchor, block,

loiter in or impede the through transit

of participants or official patrol vessels

in the regulated area during the effective

dates and times, unless cleared for entry

by or through an official patrol vessel.

(2) When hailed and signaled, by an

official patrol vessel, a spectator shall

come to an immediate stop. Vessels

shall comply with all directions given;

failure to do so may result in a citation.

(3) The patrol commander is

empowered to forbid and control the

movement of all vessels in the regulated

area. He may terminate the event at any

time it is deemed necessary for the

protection of life or property. He may be

reached on VHF–FM Channel 16, when

required by the call sign PATCOM.

(c) Effective Dates: This section is

effective from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

on October 11, 1997 and from 9:30 a.m.

until 6:30 p.m. on October 12, 1997.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

T.W. Josiah,

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

Eighth Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 97–25602 Filed 9–25–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–14–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 100

[CGD08–97–039]

RIN 2115–AE46

Special Local Regulations; Head of the

Licking Regatta, Licking River Mile

0.0–3.5, Newport, KY

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Temporary final rule.

SUMMARY: Special local regulations are

being adopted for the Head of the

Licking Regatta. This event will be held

on September 27, 1997 from 8 a.m. until

5 p.m. at Newport, Kentucky. These

regulations are needed to provide for the

safety of life on navigable waters during

the event.

DATES: These regulations are effective

from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., on September

27, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lt. Jeffrey W. Johnson, Chief, Port

Operations Department, USCG Marine

Safety Office, Louisville, Kentucky at

(502) 582–5194, ext. 39.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553, a

notice of proposed rulemaking for these

regulations has not been published, and

good cause exists for making them

effective in less than 30 days from the

date of publication. Following normal

rule making procedures would be

impracticable. The details of the event

were not finalized in sufficient time to

publish proposed rules in advance of

the event or to provide for a delayed

effective date.

Background and Purpose

The marine event requiring this

regulation is a rowing regatta to benefit

a non-profit rowing organization. The

event is sponsored by Kendle of

Cincinnati, Ohio. Rowing races will

utilize the Licking River at

approximately miles 0.0 to 3.5,

midchannel. Commercial vessels will be

permitted to transit the area every three

hours.

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 costs

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 rule to be so minimal that

a full Regulatory Evaluation under

paragraph 10e of the regulatory policies

and procedures of DOT is unnecessary

because of the event’s short duration.

Small Entities

The Coast Guard finds that the impact

on small entities, if any, is not

substantial. Therefore, the Coast Guard

certifies under section 605(b) of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

et seq.) that this temporary rule will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because of the event’s short duration.

Collection of Information

This rule contains no information

collection requirements under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq).

Federalism Assessment

The Coast Guard has analyzed this

action in accordance with the principles

and criteria of Executive Order 12612

and has determined that this rule does

not raise sufficient federalism

implications to warrant the preparation

of a Federalism Assessment.

Environmental Assessment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this rule and

concluded that under section 2.B.2.e

(34) (h) of Commandant Instruction

M16475.1B, (as revised by 61 FR 13563;

March 27, 1996) this rule is excluded

from further environmental

documentation.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 100

Marine safety, Navigation (water),

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Waterways

Temporary Regulations

In consideration of the foregoing, Part

100 of Title 33, Code of Federal

Regulations, is amended as follows:

PART 100—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 100

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1233; 49 CFR 1.46 and

33 CFR 100.35.

2. A temporary section 100.35–T08–

039 is added to read as follows:

§ 100.35–T08–039 Licking River at

Newport, Kentucky

(a) Regulated Area: Licking River Mile

0.0–3.5.

(b) Special Local Regulation: All

persons and vessels not registered with

the sponsors as participants or official

patrol vessels are considered spectators.

Paticipants are those persons and

vessels identified by the sponsor as

taking part in the event. The official

patrol consists of any Coast Guard,

public, state or local law enforcement

and sponsor-provided vessel assigned to

patrol the event. The Coast Guard Patrol

Commander is a Coast Guard

commissioned, warrant, or petty officer

who has been designated by

Commanding Officer, Coast Guard

Marine Safety Office Louisville.

(1) No vessel shall anchor, block,

loiter in, or impede the through transit

of participants or official patrol vessels

in the regulated area during effective

dates and times, unless cleared for such

entry by or through an official patrol

vessel.

(2) When hailed and/or signaled by an

official patrol vessel, a spectator shall

come to an immediate stop. Vessels
50508 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 187 / Friday, September 26, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

shall comply with all directions given;

failure to do so may result in a citation.

(3) The Patrol Commander is

empowered to forbid and control the

movement of all vessels in the regulated

area. The Patrol Commander may

terminate the event at any time it is

deemed necessary for the protection of

life and/or property and can be reached

on VHF–FM Channel 16 by using the

call sign PATCOM.

(c) Effective Date: This section is

effective from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

September 27, 1997.

Dated: September 19, 1997.

T.W. Josiah,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander,

Eighth Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 97–25598 Filed 9–25–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–14–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–97–022]

RIN 2115–AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations;

Manchester Harbor, MA

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has changed

the operating rules for the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation

Authority (MBTA) Bridge over

Manchester Harbor in Manchester,

Massachusetts. The mariners located in

the vicinity of the MBTA Bridge and the

Manchester Harbormaster requested

longer operating hours for the bridge

during the summer boating season. This

change to the regulations will require

the bridge owner to crew the bridge for

eight additional hours each day from

Memorial Day through the end of

September, to install clearance gauges

and to post the regulations for the

operation of the bridge.

DATES: This final rule is effective

October 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Unless otherwise indicated,

documents referred to in this preamble

are available for inspection or copying

at the office of Commander (obr), First

Coast Guard District, 408 Atlantic

Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110,

between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday

through Friday, except Federal holidays.

The telephone number is (617) 223–

8364.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John McDonald, Project Manager, First

Coast Guard District, (617) 223–8364.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

On June 14, 1994, the Coast Guard

published a temporary 90 day deviation

(59 FR 30524) from the effective

operating regulations to evaluate

changes to the operating rules during

the 1994 boating season. The Coast

Guard received one letter opposing the

proposal and nine letters in favor of

increasing the operating hours for the

bridge during the boating season. On

July 17, 1995, the Coast Guard

published a temporary final rule with a

request for comments (60 FR 36357)

which tested an alternate operating

schedule for the bridge. The Coast

Guard received 20 letters from mariners.

Three petitions with a total of 40

signatures, a letter from Manchester

Harbor Marina, and a letter from the

Manchester Harbor Boat Club with 200

members were also received. All

comments requested that the operating

rules be changed to require the bridge to

open on signal from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

each day, Memorial Day through the

end of September. On April 11, 1997,

the Coast Guard published a notice of

proposed rulemaking with a request for

comments (62 FR 17762) to permanently

change the operating hours to 7 a.m. to

11 p.m. Memorial Day to the end of

September. No additional comments

were received as a result of the April

1997, proposal.

Background and Purpose

The Manchester MBTA Bridge was

formerly owned and operated by the

Boston and Maine Railroad. The present

owner of the bridge is the MBTA. The

existing operating regulations are

published at 33 CFR 117.603 and

require that the bridge be crewed from

1 April through 1 November from 9 a.m.

to 6 p.m., with a one hour lunch closure

between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. daily.

The Coast Guard received a request in

May 1994, from the Manchester

Harbormaster/Chief of Police and

several mariners located upstream of the

bridge to extend the hours that the

Manchester MBTA Bridge is crewed

during the boating season. The June

1994 temporary deviation extended the

hours that the bridge was crewed by an

additional five hours a day during the

boating season. It required the bridge to

be crewed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

and eliminated the one hour lunch hour

closure from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

The Coast Guard asked for comments at

the close of the 90 day deviation period.

The Coast Guard received only one

letter during the comment period that

closed October 31, 1994. The MBTA, the

bridge owner, opposed the proposal to

extend the operating hours of the bridge.

Their objection was based upon the

additional cost of $16,000 to crew the

bridge during the deviation period. The

Coast Guard requested additional data

and actual copies of the bridge logs to

analyze the impact of the deviation. The

data was never provided.

Several comments were received after

the comment period closed. The

comments included seven petition

letters, one letter representing forty-five

boat owners located upstream of the

bridge at the Manchester Harbor Marina,

and one letter from the Manchester

Harbormaster/Chief of Police. All the

letters were strongly in favor of

increasing the operating hours for the

bridge.

The July 1995, temporary final rule

increased the period that the bridge

opened on signal by three hours, from

6 p.m. to 9 p.m., each day during the

boating season. As noted in the

Regulatory History section above, all the

letters received in response to the rule

were in favor of permanently changing

the operating regulations to require that

the bridge be crewed from 7 a.m. to 11

p.m. each day from Memorial Day

through the end of September. The

mariners requested the extended bridge

operating hours so that they could get

underway earlier in the summer

mornings and return to their moorings

after a day trip or their evening racing

and sailing.

One letter from the bridge owner, the

MBTA, opposed the proposal requesting

that the hours remain unchanged. The

MBTA objected to the extra operating

hours based upon a claim that there was

a $27,000 additional cost to crew the

bridge during the 1995 test period.

Copies of the bridge logs were not

submitted as requested.

On April 30, 1996, the Coast Guard

implemented another temporary final

rule with a request for comments (61 FR

18946) requiring the bridge to be crewed

from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day

Memorial Day through the end of

September. On May 7, 1996, the Coast

guard sent a letter to the MBTA

requiring them to post a sign

summarizing the temporary regulations

and maintain a bridge log for the 1996

test period. The MBTA was asked to

provide bridge logs and operating cost

data to the Coast Guard no later than

October 31, 1996, for consideration of

impacts upon the MBTA. The Coast

Guard received one letter from a

mariner in favor the temporary

regulation. A review of the bridge logs

provided by MBTA for the 1996 test

period indicated that there was an

average of 247 additional openings per

month for the hours 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.