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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 86 (Thursday, May 3, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26229-26231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10606]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334

Meloy Channel, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, FL; Restricted 
Area

AGENCY: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to amend 
its regulations to establish a new restricted area in the waters 
surrounding the U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida (Base Miami 
Beach). Base Miami Beach is composed of multiple U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) units, both land and waterside. The facility has one of the 
highest operational tempos in the USCG for both routine and emergency 
operations. The amendment to the regulations is necessary to enhance 
the USCG's ability to secure their shoreline to counter postulated 
threats against their personnel, equipment, cutters and facilities by 
providing stand-off corridors encompassing the waters immediately 
contiguous to Base Miami Beach. The amendment will also serve to 
protect the general public from injury or property damage during 
routine and emergency USCG operations and provide an explosive safety 
arc buffer during periodic transfer of ammunitions between units, 
including cutters.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 4, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2012-0009, by any of the following methods:

[[Page 26230]]

    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: david.b.olson@usace.army.mil. Include the docket number, 
COE-2012-0009, in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David B. Olson), 
441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot 
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2012-0009. 
All comments received will be included in the public docket without 
change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the commenter 
indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or 
email. The regulations.gov web site is an anonymous access system, 
which means we will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email 
directly to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your 
comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, we may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov. All documents in the 
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Mr. Jon M. Griffin, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Jacksonville District, Regulatory Division, at 904-232-1680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary

    The purpose of this regulatory action is to establish a restricted 
area in the waters surrounding the U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, 
Florida to counter postulated threats against their personnel, 
equipment, cutters and facilities by providing stand-off corridors 
encompassing the waters immediately contiguous to Base Miami Beach.
    The Corps authority to establish this restricted area is Section 7 
of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and 
Chapter XIX of the Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat. 892; 33 
U.S.C. 3).

Background

    Pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act of 1917 (40 Stat 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of the Army 
Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat 892; 33 U.S.C. 3) the Corps is 
proposing to amend the regulations at 33 CFR part 334 by establishing a 
new restricted area in the waters near Meloy Channel, Government Cut 
Channel, and Miami Main Channel surrounding Base Miami Beach. The 
proposed amendment to this regulation will allow the Base Commander, 
U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach to restrict passage of persons, 
watercraft, and vessels in waters contiguous to this Command, thereby 
providing greater security to the personnel, equipment, cutters, and 
facilities housed at the site.

Procedural Requirements

    a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. The proposed rule is issued 
with respect to a military function of the Department of Defense and 
the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
    b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The proposed rule 
has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354) 
which requires the preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis for 
any regulation that will have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small 
governments). Unless information is obtained to the contrary during the 
comment period, the Corps expects that the proposed rule would have 
practically no economic impact on the public, or result in no 
anticipated navigational hazard or interference with existing waterway 
traffic. This proposed rule, if adopted, will have no significant 
economic impact on small entities.
    c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. Due to the 
administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended 
change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation, 
if adopted, will not have a significant impact on the quality of the 
human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental 
impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will 
be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments 
have been received and considered.
    d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This proposed rule does not contain a 
Federal mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more 
for State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the 
private sector in any one year. Therefore, this proposed rule is not 
subject to the requirements of Sections 202 and 205 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The proposed rule contains no regulatory 
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments. Therefore, the proposed rule is not subject to the 
requirements of Section 203 of UMRA.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, Waterways.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps proposes to 
amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:

PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33 
U.S.C. 3).

    2. Add Sec.  334.605 to read as follows:

Sec.  334.605  Meloy Channel, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, 
Florida; restricted area.

    (a) The area. The restricted area shall encompass all navigable 
waters of the United States as defined at 33 CFR part 329, within the 
area bounded by a line connecting the following coordinates: Commencing 
from the shoreline at latitude 25[deg]46'20.07'' N, longitude 
080[deg]08'50.94'' W; thence to latitude 25[deg]46'22.69'' N, longitude 
080[deg]08'44.01'' W; thence to latitude 25[deg]46'22.02'' N, longitude 
080[deg]08'42.14'' W; thence to latitude 25[deg]46'12.23'' N, longitude 
080[deg]08'35.33'' W; thence to latitude

[[Page 26231]]

25[deg]46'09.13'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'40.74'' W; thence to latitude 
25[deg]46'11.63'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'43.36'' W; thence to latitude 
25[deg]46'17.22'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'47.17'' W; thence to latitude 
25[deg]46'17.15'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'47.62'' W; thence to latitude 
25[deg]46'17.63'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'49.33'' W; thence to latitude 
25[deg]46'18.91'' N, longitude 080[deg]08'50.24'' W; thence proceed 
directly to a point on the shoreline at latitude 25[deg]46'18.76'' N, 
longitude 080[deg]08'50.71'' W thence following the mean high water 
line to the point of beginning.
    (b) The regulations. (1) The restricted area described in paragraph 
(a) of this section is only open to U.S. Government vessels. U.S. 
Government vessels include, but are not limited to, U.S. Coast Guard 
and Coast Guard Auxiliary vessels, Department of Defense vessels, state 
and local law enforcement and emergency services vessels, and vessels 
under contract with the U.S. Government. Warning signs notifying 
individuals of the restricted area boundary and prohibiting all 
unauthorized entry into the area will be posted along the property 
boundary and, as appropriate, on the piers of the MacArthur Causeway 
Bridge adjacent to the restricted area.
    (2) All persons, vessels, and other craft are prohibited from 
entering, transiting, drifting, dredging, or anchoring within the 
restricted area described in paragraph (a) of this section without 
prior approval from the Base Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami 
Beach or his/her designated representative.
    (3) Fishing, trawling, net-fishing, and other aquatic activities 
are prohibited in the restricted area without prior approval from the 
Base Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach or his/her designated 
representative.
    (4) The restrictions described in paragraph (b) of this section are 
in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
    (c) Enforcement. The regulations in this section shall be enforced 
by the Base Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach and/or such 
persons or agencies as he/she may designate.

    Dated: April 25, 2012.
Richard C. Lockwood,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2012-10606 Filed 5-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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