[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 187 (Friday, September 26, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50508-50510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25601]


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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.

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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.

[[Page 50509]]

during June, July and August 1996. Thirty-five additional openings 
during these hours were logged for September, 1996. The MBTA submitted 
a letter indicating an additional operating cost of $41,459 for the 
period May 30 to September 30, 1996. On April 11, 1997, the Coast Guard 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (62 FR 17762) to permanently 
change the operating hours for the Manchester MBTA Bridge to 7 a.m. to 
11 p.m. Memorial Day to the end of September. No additional comments 
have been received in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking.

Discussion of Comments and Changes

    Upon review of the comments from all the test periods, the Coast 
Guard believes that the operating hours for the bridge should be 
permanently changed. The mariners specifically requested, after several 
alternative schedules, that the bridge be crewed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
each day during the prime boating season, Memorial Day through the end 
of September. The bridge logs also indicated that there were 
significant additional openings as a result of the longer operating 
hours for the bridge; therefore, the Coast Guard is changing the 
operating hours for the Manchester MBTA Bridge. This final rule change 
will amend section 117.603 to require the Manchester MBTA Bridge to 
open on signal between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from Memorial Day through 
September 30 each year. The hours that the bridge is crewed from April 
1 to Memorial Day and from October 1 through November 1 would remain 9 
a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
    It is the Coast Guard's policy in the interest of protecting the 
needs of navigation to assure that drawbridges are operated in such a 
manner that they are a minimum obstruction to waterway traffic while at 
the same time still providing for the reasonable needs of land traffic. 
Under that policy drawbridges shall be operated in a manner and under 
operating rules and regulations that are in the overall public best 
interest by pursuing balanced operating schedules. Under the existing 
operating rules for the Manchester MBTA Bridge, the needs of navigation 
were clearly not being satisfied as evidenced by the comments from the 
mariners and the documented increased openings as a result of the 1996 
temporary final rule. The Coast Guard responded to all the MBTA's 
submissions, but believes the increase in the operating hours for a 
four month period each year will allow the mariners to enjoy the prime 
boating season and best serve the public interest by balancing the 
needs of the boating public against the needs of rail traffic and 
operating costs. The expanded operating schedule will allow the 
mariners to depart earlier and return later each day during the prime 
boating season. The previous hours clearly did not meet the needs of 
navigation as a result of the bridge not opening until 9 a.m. and 
closing at 6 p.m. during the boating season.
    The Coast Guard has also changed the advance notice requirements of 
the Manchester MBTA Bridge by establishing a four hour advance notice 
requirement for openings during all periods when the bridge is not 
scheduled to be crewed.
    The Coast Guard determined that clearance gauges should be 
installed and maintained for the safety of navigation to assist 
mariners in determining whether they can safely pass under the bridge 
without an opening during periods when the bridge is not crewed. The 
final rule requires the bridge owner to post the operating regulations 
to assist mariners interested in transiting under the bridge by posting 
the operating schedule of the bridge.

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. This conclusion is based on the fact that bridges must 
operate in accordance with the needs of navigation while providing for 
the reasonable needs of land transportation. This rule adopts the 
operating hours which the Coast Guard believes to be appropriate based 
on the results of previous test periods and public comments. The Coast 
Guard believes this rule achieves the requirement of balancing the 
navigational rights of recreational boaters and the needs of land based 
transportation.

Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the 
Coast Guard considered whether this proposal will have a significant 
economic impact 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. For the reasons discussed in the Regulatory Evaluation section 
above, the Coast Guard certifies under section 605(b) of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act that this rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. If, however, you 
think that your business or organization qualifies as a small entity 
and that this rule will have a significant economic impact on your 
business or organization, please submit a comment (see ADDRESSES) 
explaining why you think it qualifies and in what way and to what 
degree this rule will economically affect it.

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 in accordance with the 
principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 and has 
determined that this rule does not have sufficient federalism 
implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Environment

    The Coast Guard considered the environmental impact of this rule 
and concluded that, under section 2.B.2.e.(32)(e) of Commandant 
Instruction M16475.1B, 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 117

    Bridges.

Regulation

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 
CFR part 117 as follows:

PART 117--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 117 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g); section 
117.255 also issued under the authority of Pub. L. 102-587, 106 
Stat. 5039.

    2. Revise Sec. 117.603 to read as follows:

[[Page 50510]]

Sec. 117.603  Manchester Harbor.

    The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Bridge at mile 1.0 
in Manchester, shall operate as follows:
    (a) The draw shall open on signal--
    (1) From Memorial Day through September 30 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.;
    (2) From April 1 to Memorial Day and from October 1 to November 1 
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
    (b) At all other times, the draw shall open on signal with at least 
four hours notice.
    (c) The owner of this bridge shall provide and keep in good legible 
condition, clearance gauges for each draw with figures not less than 
twelve (12) inches high designed, installed and maintained in 
accordance with the provisions of section 118.160 of this chapter.


Sec. 117.604  [Removed]

    3. Section 117.604 is removed.

    Dated: August 17, 1997.
R.M. Larrabee,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 97-25601 Filed 9-25-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-14-M