[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19406-19407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10307]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD05-98-017]
RIN 2115-AE47


Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Anacostia River, Washington, DC

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Temporary final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is temporarily changing the regulations that 
govern the operation of the Frederick Douglass Memorial (South Capitol 
Street) bridge across Anacostia River at mile 1.2 in Washington, D.C. 
Beginning at 8 a.m. on March 11 through 11 p.m. on August 31, 1998, 
this regulation authorizes the bridge to remain closed to navigation. 
This action is necessary to facilitate extensive mechanical and 
electrical rehabilitation and maintain the bridge's operational 
integrity.

DATES: This regulation is effective from April 2, 1998 to 11 p.m. on 
August 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Douments as indicated in this preamble are available for 
inspection or copying at the office of the Commander (Aowb), Fifth 
Coast Guard District, Federal Building, 4th Floor, 431 Crawford Street, 
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704-5004, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone number is (757) 
398-6222.


[[Page 19407]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann Deaton, Bridge Administrator, 
Fifth Coast Guard District, (757) 398-6222.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553, a notice of 
proposed rulemaking was not published for this regulation and good 
cause exists for making it effective in less than 30 days from the date 
of publication. Publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking and 
delay of effective dated would be contrary to the public interest 
because immediate action is necessary to address the bridge's present 
inability to open safely.

Discussion of Regulation

    The current regulation at 33 CFR 117.253(a) requires the draw to 
open on a signal if at least 24 hours notice is given. The draw is 
closed to the passage of vessels on each Presidential Inauguration Day 
and may occasionally be closed without advance notice to permit 
uninterrupted transit of dignitaries across the bridge.
    Necessary repairs consist of the mechanical and electrical 
rehabilitation of the swing span and modification and renovation of the 
bridge. Two sets of span drive motors are required to rotate the 
bridge's swing span for the passage of marine traffic. The work will 
involve removing and rehabilitating one set of motors at a time, 
requiring the swing span to be locked in the closed position for a 
period of approximately five and one-half months.
    The Coast Guard reviewed the bridge logs for 1997. According to the 
logs, the bridge opened 21 times: 16 times for public vessels of the 
United States (10 for the U.S. Navy; 4 for the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA); and 2 for the U.S. Coast Guard) and the remainder for 
tests. The U.S. Navy indicated that it will not require an opening 
until September 1998. The Coast Guard contacted EPA's Office of Water 
Programs and the local Coast Guard unit (USCG Station St. Inigoes) of 
the bridge's temporary inability to open for vessels, and they did not 
object. Vessels docked at a nearby marina can clear the bridge's 
closed-position vertical clearance, which is 42 feet at mean high 
water. Therefore, vessels are not expected to be negatively impacted by 
this regulation.

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 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 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. 
Due to the small number of requests for openings and the ability of 
nearby vessels to clear the bridge's closed-position vertical 
clearance, the impact on routine navigation is expected to be minimal.

Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Coast 
Guard must consider whether this temporary final rule will have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
``Small entities'' include 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).
    Based on the limited requests for vessel openings and the ability 
of nearby vessels to clear the bridge's closed-position vertical 
clearance, 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.

Collection of Information

    This rule contains no collection of information requirement under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

Federalism

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

Environment

    The Coast Guard considered the environmental impact of this rule 
and concluded that under section 2.B.2.b and item (32)(e) of Figure 2-1 
of Commandant Instruction M16475.1C dated 14 November 1997 this 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

    For the reasons discussed 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. Effective April 2, 1998, through August 31, 1998, Section 
117.253 is amended by suspending paragraph (a) and adding a new 
paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec. 117.253  Anacostia River.

* * * * *
    (c) From April 2, 1998 until 11 p.m. on August 31, 1998, the draw 
of the Frederick Douglass Memorial (South Capitol Street) bridge need 
not be opened for the passage of vessels.

    Dated: April 2, 1998.
Roger T. Rufe, Jr.,
Vice Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 98-10307 Filed 4-17-98; 8:45 am]
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