Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 64891

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–00–223]

RIN 2115–AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations:

Harlem River, Newtown Creek, NY

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Temporary final rule.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is

establishing a temporary final rule

governing the operation of the Willis

Avenue Bridge, mile 1.5, and the

Madison Avenue Bridge, mile 2.3, both

across the Harlem River, and the Pulaski

Bridge, mile 0.6, across Newtown Creek

in New York City, New York. This

temporary final rule allows the bridge

owner to close the above three bridges

on November 5, 2000, for public safety

and to facilitate a public function, the

running of the New York City Marathon.

DATES: This temporary final rule is

effective on November 5, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Documents as indicated in

this preamble are available for

inspection or copying at the First Coast

Guard District Office, 408 Atlantic

Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, 7

a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. The telephone

number is (617) 223–8364.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe

Arca, Supervisory Bridge Management

Specialist, at (212) 668–7165.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory History

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, a notice of

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was not

published for this regulation. Good

cause exists for not publishing a NPRM

and for making this regulation effective

in less than 30 days after publication in

the Federal Register. Information about

the New York City Marathon was not

provided to the Coast Guard until

September 20, 2000, making it

impossible to draft or publish a NPRM.

Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast

Guard finds that good cause exists for

making this rule effective less than 30

days after publication in the Federal

Register. Any delay encountered in this

regulation’s effective date would be

unnecessary and contrary to the public

interest since immediate action is

needed to close the bridge in order to

provide for public safety and the safety

of marathon participants. This closure is

not expected to have a significant

impact on navigation because vessel

traffic on the Harlem River and

Newtown Creek is mostly commercial

vessels that normally pass under the

draws without openings. The

commercial vessels that do require

openings are work barges that do not

operate on Sundays.

Background and Purpose

The Willis Avenue Bridge, mile 1.5,

across the Harlem River has a vertical

clearance of 24 feet at mean high water

(MHW) and 30 feet at mean low water

(MLW) in the closed position. The

Madison Avenue Bridge, mile 2.3,

across the Harlem River has a vertical

clearance of 25 feet at MHW and 29 feet

at MLW in the closed position. The

Pulaski Bridge across Newtown Creek,

mile 0.6, has a vertical clearance of 39

feet at MHW and 43 feet at MLW in the

closed position.

The current operating regulations for

the Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue

bridges, listed at 33 CFR 117.789(c),

require the bridges to open on signal

from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., if at least fourhours notice is given. The current

operating regulations for the Pulaski

Bridge listed at 117.801(g) require it to

open on signal if at least a two-hour

advance notice is given.

The bridge owner, New York City

Department of Transportation

(NYCDOT), requested a temporary

change to the operating regulations

governing the Willis Avenue Bridge, the

Madison Avenue Bridge, and the

Pulaski Bridge, to allow the bridges to

remain in the closed position as follows:

Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue

bridges from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Pulaski

Bridge from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This

action is necessary on November 5,

2000, to facilitate the running of the

New York City Marathon. Vessels that

can pass under the bridges without

bridge openings may do so at all times

during these bridge closures.

Regulatory Evaluation

This temporary final 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; Feb. 26, 1979). The Coast

Guard expects the economic impact of

this temporary final 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 the requested

closures are of short duration and on

Sunday when there have been few

requests to open these bridges.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. 601–612) we considered

whether this temporary final rule would

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

‘‘Small entities’’ comprises 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.

The Coast Guard certifies under 5

U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

This conclusion is based on the fact that

the bridge closures are of short duration

and on Sunday when there have been

few requests to open these bridges.

Collection of Information

This temporary final 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

temporary final rule in accordance with

the principles and criteria contained in

Executive Order 12612 and has

determined that this temporary final

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 temporary

final rule and concluded that, under

Section 2.B.2., Figure 2–1, paragraph

(32)(e), of Commandant Instruction

M16475.1C, this temporary final rule is

categorically excluded from further

environmental documentation because

promulgation of changes to drawbridge

regulations have been found not to have

a significant effect on the environment.

A written ‘‘Categorical Exclusion

Determination’’ is not required for this

temporary final rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117

Bridges.

Regulations

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33

CFR part 117 as follows:

PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE

OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 117

continues to read as follows:

64892 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

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. On November 5, 2000, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m., in § 117.789, paragraph(c) is

temporarily suspended and a new

paragraph(g) is temporarily added to

read as follows:

§ 117.789 Harlem River

* * * * *

(g) The draws of the bridges at 103rd

Street, mile 0.0, 3rd Avenue, mile 1.9,

145th Street, mile 2.8, Macombs Dam,

mile 3.2, 207th Street, mile 6.0, and the

two Broadway Bridges, mile 6.8, shall

open on signal if at least four-hours

notice is given to the New York City

Highway Radio (Hotline) Room. The

Willis Avenue Bridge, mile 1.5, and

Madison Avenue Bridge, mile 2.3, need

not open for vessel traffic from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m.

3. On November 5, 2000, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m., in § 117.801, paragraph (g) is

temporarily suspended and a new

paragraph (h) is added to read as

follows:

§ 117.801 Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills,

English Kills, and their tributaries.

* * * * *

(h) The draw of the Pulaski Bridge,

mile 0.6, across Newtown Creek, need

not open for vessel traffic, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. The Greenpoint Avenue

Bridge, mile 1.3, across Newtown Creek

between Brooklyn and Queens, shall

open on signal if at least a two-hour

advance notice is given to the New York

City Department of Transportation

(NYCDOT) Radio Hotline or NYCDOT

Bridge Operations Office.

Dated: October 18, 2000.

G.N. Naccara,

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

First Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 00–27942 Filed 10–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 69

[CC Docket No. 99–316; FCC 00–384]

Shortening Notice Period for Changes

in Participation in NECA’s Access

Tariffs

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the

Commission’s rules to change the date

by which carriers must notify the

National Exchange Carrier Association,

Inc. (NECA) of any changes in their

participation in the association’s access

tariff filing. Previously, incumbent local

exchange carriers were required to

notify NECA of any change in their

participation in the association’s access

tariff by December 31 of the year

preceding the tariff filing. The

Commission is amending its rules to

extend that notification deadline to

March 1 of the tariff year. This change

will provide carriers with additional

time in which to make their access tariff

participation decisions.

DATES: Effective November 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer McKee, (202) 418–1520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 47

CFR 69.3, NECA is responsible for filing

an access service tariff as agent for all

telephone companies that participate in

the association tariff. The association

tariff is to be filed with a scheduled

effective date of July 1. To provide

NECA with sufficient notice, carriers

were required to notify NECA of any

change in their association tariff

participation by December 31 of the year

preceding the filing of the tariff.

In 1997 the Commission streamlined

its tariff filing rules, allowing carriers to

file their annual access tariffs on 15

days notice for filings that include rate

increases, or on 7 days notice for filings

that include only rate decreases, rather

than on 90 days notice. 63 FR 13132,

March 18, 1998. The streamlined notice

requirement applies to NECA’s

association access service tariff,

allowing NECA to file the tariff on June

16 or June 24, rather than on April 2, for

an effective date of July 1. In addition

to the streamlined notice period, NECA

now employs electronic data collection

and processing routines that were not in

use when 47 CFR 69.3 was adopted.

These more efficient data collection

techniques significantly reduce the time

required to assemble and analyze data

for NECA’s tariff filing. According to

NECA, the tariff streamlining rules and

improvements in data collection

management eliminate the need for

carriers to provide six months advance

notice to NECA of planned tariff

participation changes. Therefore, NECA

filed a petition for rulemaking seeking

to change the carrier notification date

from December 31 of the previous year

to March 1 of the tariff year. We granted

NECA’s petition and sought comment

on the proposal. 65 FR 51572, August

24, 2000.

We agree with NECA that changes in

tariff notification periods and

advancements in data collection and

processing methods warrant a shorter

timeframe for carriers to provide notice

of tariff participation changes. In

addition, as NECA noted in its petition,

shorter notice periods will not

disadvantage NECA and may help

smaller companies make betterinformed decisions regarding tariff

participation. For instance, because the

deadline by which NECA must file

proposed revisions to its average

schedule formulas is December 31,

companies that rely on these formulas to

compute interstate access compensation

will have more time to analyze the

proposed revisions before deciding

whether to participate in NECA’s access

tariff.

Therefore, we amend 47 CFR part 69

to allow carriers until March 1 of each

tariff year to notify NECA of any

changes in tariff participation.

Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

The action contained herein has been

analyzed with respect to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 and found not to

impose new or modified reporting and

recordkeeping requirements or burdens

on the public. Therefore

implementation of the amended rule

extending the date by which carriers

must notify NECA of changes in their

association access tariff participation

will not be subject to approval by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act

Analysis

As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 603, an

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(IRFA) was incorporated in the NPRM.

The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq., has been

amended by the Contract With America

Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law

104–121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996)

(CWAAA). Title II of the CWAAA is the

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The

Commission sought written public

comment on the proposals in the NPRM,

including comment on the IRFA. This

present Final Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis (FRFA) conforms to the RFA,

as amended. See 5 U.S.C. 604.

Need for and Objectives of This

Order. As discussed above, NECA has

asserted that changes in tariff

notification periods and advancements

in data collection and processing

methods have facilitated NECA’s ability

to prepare association tariffs. Therefore,

NECA can receive notifications from

carriers changing the status of their