Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules 66039

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD05–97–080]

Drawbridge Operation Regulation;

Beaufort Channel, Beaufort, North

Carolina

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: At the request of the North

Carolina Department of Transportation,

the Coast Guard is proposing a change

to the regulations that govern the

operation of the Greydon Paul

Drawbridge on US 70 across Beaufort

Channel, (also known as Gallant’s

Channel) mile 0.1, located in Beaufort,

North Carolina eliminating drawbridge

openings at 7:40 a.m., 8:40 a.m., 4:40

p.m., and 5:40 p.m., on weekdays only.

All other provisions of the existing

regulation for this bridge would remain

the same. This proposed rule is

intended to reduce motor vehicle traffic

delays and congestion related to

commuter traffic going to and from work

in the mornings and evenings, while

still providing for the reasonable needs

of navigation.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before February 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to Commander (Aowb), USCG

Atlantic Area, Federal Building, 4th

Floor, 431 Crawford Street, Portsmouth,

Virginia 23704–5004, or may be handdelivered to the same address between

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays. The

telephone number is (757) 398–6222.

Comments will become a part of this

docket and will be available for

inspection and copying at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann

B. Deaton, Bridge Administrator, USCG

Atlantic Area, at (757) 398–6222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages

interested persons to participate in this

rulemaking by submitting written data,

comments, or arguments, including the

reason for each comment. Persons

responding to this proposal should

include their names and addresses and

should identify this rulemaking

(CGD05–97–080) and the specific

section of this proposal to which each

comment applies. The Coast Guard

requests that all comments and

attachments be submitted in an

unbound format suitable for copying

and electronic filing. If not practical, a

second copy of any bound material is

requested. Persons wanting

acknowledgment of receipt of comments

should enclose a stamped self-addressed

postcard or envelope.

The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment

period and may change this proposal in

view of the comments. The Coast Guard

plans no public hearing. Persons may

request a public hearing by writing to

the Commander (Aowb) at the address

under ADDRESSES. The request should

include reasons why a hearing would be

beneficial. If it determines that the

opportunity for oral presentations will

aid this rulemaking, the Coast Guard

will hold a public hearing at a time and

place announced by a notice in the

Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

The Greydon Paul Drawbridge, mile

0.1, across Beaufort Channel is currently

required to open on signal except that

from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the draw shall

open on signal for all vessels waiting to

pass every hour on the hour, twenty

minutes past the hour and forty minutes

past the hour.

The North Carolina Department of

Transportation (NCDOT) has requested

that openings of the Greydon Paul

Drawbridge be further restricted during

rush hours. This request to change the

current regulation is based on heavy

vehicular traffic traveling to and from

the town of Beaufort during peak rush

hour periods. The Greydon Paul

Drawbridge is located on US Highway

70, which is the only corridor entering

and exiting the town of Beaufort from

Morehead City, North Carolina. During

rush hour periods, drawbridge openings

create long traffic backups often

extending for 6 to 7 miles. The heavy

congestion often results in vehicular

accidents. NCDOT proposes that by

eliminating one opening per hour

during rush hours, vehicular traffic

congestion on US Highway 70 will be

reduced and highway safety will be

increased. NCDOT provided statistical

data which shows the number of

openings and vessels passing through

the Beaufort Bridge at 7:40 a.m., 8:40

a.m., 4:40 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., during

August, 1997, which is one of the peak

summer months for boating traffic for

this area. The data revealed that only 42

out of a possible 120 drawbridge

openings were required and a total of 65

vessels passed through the bridge.

NCDOT contends that since the bridge

was only required to open 35% of the

time during these openings periods and

there was minimal vessel traffic at these

times, a reduction in the number of

openings will not substantially impact

navigational traffic. Overall, the Coast

Guard believes that this proposed rule

will reduce motor vehicle traffic delays

and congestion related to rush hour

traffic entering and exiting the town of

Beaufort, North Carolina, while still

providing for the reasonable needs of

navigation.

Discussion of Proposed Amendments

The Coast Guard proposes to amend

the regulations governing the Greydon

Paul Drawbridge, across Beaufort

Channel, mile 0.1, located in Beaufort

North Carolina, by eliminating

drawbridge openings at 7:40 a.m., 8:40

a.m., 4:40 p.m. and 5:40 p.m. on

weekdays only, year-round. The

regulation would state that from 6 a.m.

to 10 p.m., the draw need only open

every hour on the hour, twenty minutes

past the hour and forty minutes past the

hour; except that on weekdays the

bridge need not open at 7:40 a.m., 8:40

a.m., 4:40 p.m., and 5:40 p.m. From 10

p.m. to 6 a.m. the bridge shall open on

signal.

Regulatory Evaluation

This proposed 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 been exempted from review

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

reached this conclusion based on the

fact that the proposed changes will not

prevent mariners from transiting the

bridge, but merely require mariners to

plan their transits in accordance with

the scheduled bridge openings.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the U.S. Coast

Guard must consider whether this

proposed rule, if adopted, will have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

‘‘Small entities’’ include small

independently owned and operated

small businesses that are not dominant

in their field and that otherwise qualify

as ‘‘small business concerns’’ under

section 3 of the Small Business Act (15

U.S.C. 632). Because it expects the

impact of this proposal to be minimal,

the Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C.

605(b) that this proposed rule, if

adopted, will not have a significant
66040 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

Collection of Information

This proposal does not provide for a

collection of information requirement

under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Federalism

This action has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612, and it has been determined that

this proposed rule does not raise

sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment.

Environment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this proposal

and concluded that under section

2.B.2.e(32)(e) of Commandant

Instruction M16475.1B (as amended, 59

FR 38654, 29 July 1994), this proposed

rule is categorically excluded from

further environmental documentation.

A Categorical Exclusion Determination

statement has been prepared and placed

in the rulemaking docket.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117

Bridges.

Regulations

In consideration of the foregoing, the

Coast Guard proposes to amend part 117

of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations,

as follows:

PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE

OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 117

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 449; 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. Section 117.822 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 117.822 Beaufort Channel, NC.

The draw of the US 70 bridge, mile

0.1., at Beaufort, shall open as follows:

(a) From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the draw

need only open every hour on the hour,

twenty minutes past the hour and forty

minutes past the hour; except that on

weekdays the bridge need not open at

7:40 a.m., 8:40 a.m., 4:40 p.m. and 5:40

p.m.

(b) From 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., the bridge

shall open on signal.

Dated: December 8, 1997.

Roger Rufe, Jr.,

Vice Admiral, U.S. Coast-Guard, Commander,

Fifth Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 97–32886 Filed 12–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–14–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[AZ017–0006; FRL–5935–4]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans; Arizona State

Implementation Plan Revision,

Maricopa County

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing a limited

approval and limited disapproval of a

revision to the Arizona State

Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning

the control of volatile organic

compound (VOC) emissions from

surface coating operations, Rule 336.

The intended effect of proposing limited

approval and limited disapproval of this

rule is to regulate VOC emissions

according to the requirements of the

Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990

(CAA or the Act). EPA’s final action on

this proposal will incorporate this rule

into the federally approved SIP. Using

CAA provisions regarding EPA actions

on SIP submittals and general

rulemaking authority, EPA has

evaluated this rule and is proposing a

simultaneous limited approval and

limited disapproval because, while

strengthening the SIP, this revision does

not fully meet the CAA provisions and

regulatory Control Technique

Guidelines regarding regulatory

requirements for nonattainment areas.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before January 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed

to: Andrew Steckel, Rulemaking Office,

(AIR–4), Air Division, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San

Francisco, CA, 94105–3901.

Copies of Rule 336 and EPA’s

evaluation report of the rule are

available for public inspection at EPA’s

Region 9 office during normal business

hours. Copies of the submitted rule are

also available for inspection at the

following locations:

Arizona Department of Environmental

Quality, 3003 North Central Avenue,

Phoenix, AZ 85012

Maricopa County Environmental Services

Department, 2406 S. 24th Street, Suite E–

214, Phoenix, AZ 85034

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jerald S. Wamsley, Rulemaking Office

(AIR–4), Air Division, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San

Francisco, CA 94105–3901, (415) 744–

1226.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Applicability

The rule being proposed for limited

approval (and limited disapproval) into

the Arizona SIP is Maricopa County

Rule 336, Surface Coating Operations.

This rule was submitted by the Arizona

Department of Environmental Quality

(ADEQ) to EPA on February 26, 1997.

II. Background

On March 3, 1978, EPA promulgated

a list of ozone nonattainment areas

under the provisions of the Clean Air

Act, as amended in 1977 (1977 CAA or

pre-amended Act), that included

Maricopa County (see 43 FR 8964; 40

CFR 81.305). On March 19, 1979, EPA

changed the name and modified the

geographic boundaries of the ozone

nonattainment area to the Maricopa

Association of Governments (MAG)

Urban Planning Area (see 44 FR 16391,

40 CFR 81.303). On February 24, 1984,

EPA notified the Governor of Arizona,

pursuant to section 110(a)(2)(H) of the

pre-amended Act, that MAG’s portion of

the Arizona SIP was inadequate to attain

and maintain the ozone standard and

requested that deficiencies in the

existing SIP be corrected (EPA’s SIPCall, see 49 FR 18827, May 3, 1984). On

May 26, 1988, again EPA notified the

Governor of Arizona that MAG’s portion

of the SIP was inadequate to attain and

maintain the ozone standard and

requested that deficiencies relating to

VOC controls and the application of

reasonably available control technology

(RACT) in the existing SIP be corrected

(EPA’s second SIP-Call, see 53 FR

34500, September 7, 1988). On

November 15, 1990, the Clean Air Act

Amendments of 1990 were enacted (see

Public Law 101–549, 104 Stat. 2399,

codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401–7671q.) In

amended section 182(a)(2)(A) of the

CAA, Congress adopted statutorily the

requirement that nonattainment areas

fix their deficient RACT rules for ozone

and established a deadline of May 15,

1991 for states to submit corrections of

those deficiencies.

Section 182(a)(2)(A) applies to areas

designated as nonattainment prior to

enactment of the amendments and

classified as marginal or above as of the