16758 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 57 / Thursday, March 24, 2022 / Notices 

Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 

Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive, 

Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Pauline Cupit, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 

20892, (301) 827–3275, cupitcunninghpm@

mail.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine; 

93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333, 

93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844, 

93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: March 18, 2022. 

Tyeshia M. Roberson-Curtis, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06215 Filed 3–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

[Docket Number USCG–2020–0093] 

Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of 

North Carolina Including Offshore 

Approaches to the Cape Fear River 

and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft 

report; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: On March 18, 2020, the Coast 

Guard published a notice of study and 

request for comments announcing a Port 

Access Route Study (PARS) for the 

Seacoast of North Carolina Including 

Offshore Approaches to the Cape Fear 

River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. 

This notice announces the availability 

of a draft report for public review and 

comment. We seek your comments on 

the content, proposed routing measures, 

and development of the report. The 

recommendations of the study may lead 

to future rulemakings or appropriate 

international agreements. 

DATES: Your comments and related 

material must reach the Coast Guard on 

or before April 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number USCG– 

2020–0093 using the Federal portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov. See the 

‘‘Public Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

further instructions on submitting 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions about this notice or 

study, call or email Mr. Matthew 

Creelman, Fifth Coast Guard District 

(dpw), U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 

(757) 398–6225, email 

Matthew.K.Creelman2@uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations 

AIS Automated Information System 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

FR Federal Register 

PARS Port Access Route Study 

ACPARS Atlantic Coast Ports Access Route 

Study 

U.S.C. United States Code 

II. Background and Purpose 

The Ports and Waterways Safety Act 

(46 U.S.C. 70003(c)) requires the Coast 

Guard to conduct a PARS, i.e., a study 

of potential traffic density and the need 

for safe access routes for vessels. 

Through the study process, the Coast 

Guard coordinates with Federal, State, 

local, tribal and foreign state agencies 

(as appropriate) to consider the views of 

maritime community representatives, 

environmental groups, and other 

interested stakeholders. The primary 

purpose of this coordination is, to the 

extent practicable, to reconcile the need 

for safe access routes with other 

reasonable waterway uses such as 

construction and operation of renewable 

energy facilities and other uses of the 

Atlantic Ocean in the study area. 

In 2019, the Coast Guard announced 

a supplemental study of routes used by 

all vessels to access ports on the 

Atlantic Coast of the United States (84 

FR 9541, March 15, 2019). This posting 

announced PARS for specific port 

approaches and international transit 

areas along the Atlantic Coast. The 

purpose of the supplemental studies is 

to align the Atlantic Coast Port Access 

Route Study (ACPARS) (81 FR 13307, 

March 14, 2016) with port approaches. 

The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic 

Coast waters seaward of existing port 

approaches within the U.S. Exclusive 

Economic Zone and was finalized in 

2017 (82 FR 16510, April 5, 2017). 

The purpose of this notice is to 

announce the availability of the draft 

PARS examining the seacoast of North 

Carolina and the offshore approaches to 

the Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, 

North Carolina. We encourage you to 

participate in the study process by 

submitting comments in response to this 

notice. This PARS used Automated 

Information System (AIS) data and 

information from stakeholders to 

identify and verify customary 

navigation routes as well as potential 

conflicts involving alternative activities, 

such as wind energy generation and 

offshore mineral exploitation and 

exploration, off the seacoast of North 

Carolina and in the offshore approaches 

to the Cape Fear River and Beaufort 

Inlet, North Carolina. 

The study area extends approximately 

200 nautical miles seaward of Cape Fear 

including the offshore area of North and 

South Carolina used by commercial and 

public vessels transiting to and from 

these ports. An illustration showing the 

study area is available in the docket 

where indicated under ADDRESSES. 

Additionally, the study area is available 

for viewing on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean 

Data Portal at http://portal.midatlantic

ocean.org/visualize/. See the 

‘‘Maritime’’ portion of the Data Layers 

section. 

On March 18, 2020, the Coast Guard 

published a Notice of Study; request for 

comments entitled ‘‘Port Access Route 

Study: Seacoast of North Carolina 

Including Offshore Approaches to the 

Cape Fear River and Beaufort Inlet, 

North Carolina’’ in the Federal Register 

(85 FR 15487). The initial comment 

period closed on May 18, 2020. 

III. Information Requested 

PARS are the means by which the 

Coast Guard determines the need to 

establish traffic routing measures or 

shipping safety fairways to reduce the 

risk of collision, allision, and 

grounding, and their impact on the 

environment; increase the efficiency 

and predictability of vessel traffic; and 

preserve the paramount right of 

navigation while continuing to allow for 

other reasonable waterway uses. The 

study analyzes current routing measures 

around the approaches to the Cape Fear 

River and Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, 

and proposes an adequate way to 

manage forecasted maritime traffic 

growth and to promote navigation 

safety. The study also reviewed coastal 

port access from the seacoasts of North 

and South Carolina within the study 

area and the co-dependent use of the 

waters in support of future 

development. 

The Coast Guard received two 

discrete comments in response to our 

Federal Register notice and other 

outreach efforts. We received one 

additional comment, which was a 

duplicate of a previously submitted 

comment. All comments and supporting 

documents are available in a public 

docket and can be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov, type 

USCG–2020–0093 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ 

box and click ‘‘SEARCH.’’ Next, look for 

this document in the Search Results 

column, and click on it. 

As a result of the data analysis within 

this study, and considering the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 57 / Thursday, March 24, 2022 / Notices 16759 

comments received, the Coast Guard 

proposes four additional measures for 

consideration by the public: One 

precautionary area and three shipping 

safety fairways. We seek your input on 

these proposals and welcome comment 

on any impact to vessel transit time, 

commercial fishing activity, recreational 

activity, and/or navigation safety. All 

comments received will be reviewed 

and considered before a final version of 

the PARS is announced in the Federal 

Register. This notice is published under 

the authority of 46 U.S.C. 70004 and 5 

U.S.C. 552(a). 

IV. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

We encourage you to submit 

comments to this notice of availability 

through the Federal portal at https://

www.regulations.gov. To do so, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov, type 

USCG–2020–0093 in the ‘‘SEARCH’’ 

box and click ‘‘SEARCH.’’ Next, look for 

this document in the Search Results 

column, and click on it. Then click on 

the Comment option. In your 

submission, please include the docket 

number for this notice of availability 

and provide a reason for each suggestion 

or recommendation. If your material 

cannot be submitted using https://

www.regulations.gov, contact the person 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document for 

alternate instructions. 

To view documents mentioned in this 

notice of inquiry as being available in 

the docket, find the docket as described 

in the previous paragraph, and then 

select ‘‘Supporting & Related Material’’ 

in the Document Type column. Public 

comments will also be placed in our 

online docket and can be viewed by 

following instructions on the https://

www.regulations.gov Frequently Asked 

Questions web page. We review all 

comments received, but we may choose 

not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or 

duplicate comments that we receive. 

We accept anonymous comments. 

Comments we post to https://

www.regulations.gov will include any 

personal information you have 

provided. For more about privacy and 

submissions in response to this 

document, see DHS’s eRulemaking 

System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, 

March 11, 2020). 

This document is issued under 

authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a). 

Dated: March 8, 2022. 

Richard E. Batson, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting 

Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06235 Filed 3–23–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Coast Guard 

[Docket Number USCG–2020–0172] 

Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of 

New Jersey Including Offshore 

Approaches to the Delaware Bay, 

Delaware 

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces 

the completion of the Port Access Route 

Study for the Seacoast of New Jersey 

Including Offshore Approaches to the 

Delaware Bay, Delaware. The study 

examined existing shipping routes and 

waterway uses, to include the potential 

for offshore energy development, in the 

study area to evaluate the need for 

establishing or changing existing vessel 

routing measures. This notice 

summarizes the study’s 

recommendation. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If 

you have questions about this notice or 

study, call or email Mr. Matthew 

Creelman, Marine Planner at Fifth Coast 

Guard District, telephone (757) 398– 

6225, email Matthew.K.Creelman2@

uscg.mil. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations 

ACPARS Atlantic Coast Ports Access Route 

Study 

BOEM Bureau of Ocean Energy 

Management 

DHS Department of Homeland Security 

FR Federal Register 

IMO International Maritime Organization 

NEPA National Environmental Policy Act 

OREI Offshore Renewable Energy 

Installation 

PARS Port Access Route Study 

SAR Search and Rescue 

USCG United States Coast Guard 

II. Background and Purpose 

We conducted this Port Access Route 

Study (PARS) following a Notice of 

Study, published in the Federal 

Register on May 5, 2020. There was a 

60-day public comment period, as well 

as other outreach efforts identified in 

Section C of the study. During the 

comment period the USCG received 32 

comments in response to the notice. 

We conducted two (2) public 

meetings, as published in the Federal 

Register (85 FR 64507), on September 

13, 2020. Audio recordings of both 

meetings are contained in the public 

docket as annotated in Section C of the 

study. 

On September 24, 2021, we published 

a Notice of Availability of the draft 

study in the Federal Register (86 FR 

53089) with a 30-day public comment 

period and a request for public 

comment. 

During the 30-day public comment 

period, the USCG received 15 comments 

in response to our draft study. All 

comments and supporting documents 

are available in the public docket and 

can be viewed at https://

www.regulations.gov. To view 

documents, in the ‘‘Search’’ box insert 

‘‘USCG–2020–0172’’ and click 

‘‘Search’’. 

The goal of the study is to enhance 

navigational safety in the study area by 

examining existing shipping routes and 

waterway uses. We have undertaken 

measures to (1) determine what, if any, 

navigational safety concerns exist with 

vessel transits in the study area; (2) 

determine whether to recommend 

changes to enhance navigational safety 

by examining existing shipping routes 

and all other waterway uses; and (3) 

reconcile any other proposed changes 

with other reasonable waterway uses. 

III. Study Recommendations 

The recommendations of this PARS 

are based on the data analysis for 

historical vessel traffic patterns, 

comments received to the docket, public 

outreach, and consultation with other 

government agencies and stakeholders. 

Recommendations in the study include: 

1. Submit proposals to the IMO to 

create precautionary areas offshore from 

the entrance to the Delaware River 

where shipping safety fairways and 

traffic separation schemes intersect. 

2. Submit proposals to the IMO to 

extend the Traffic Separation Schemes 

in the approach to the Delaware River 

beyond any OREI lease areas adjacent to 

the approaches. 

3. Submit a proposal to the IMO to 

extend the two-way route along the New 

Jersey coast across the entrance of the 

Delaware Bay and along the Delaware 

coast. 

4. Amend the proposed Shipping 

Safety Fairways along the Atlantic Coast 

to separate the Cape Charles to Montauk 

Point Fairway into a Cape Charles to 

Delaware Bay Fairway and a Barnegat to 

Narragansett Fairway. 

5. Create a New Jersey to New York 

Fairway and include this in the 

Shipping Safety Fairways along the 

Atlantic Coast. 

6. Establish a Fairway Anchorage 

adjacent to the Southeastern Traffic 

Separation Scheme to accommodate 

future needs for safe anchorage around 

OREI. 


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