[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 43782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19902]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary


Waiver of Compliance With Navigation Laws; Hurricanes Harvey and 
Irma

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    On September 8, 2017, I issued a limited waiver of the Jones Act 
upon the recommendation of the Department of Energy and at the request 
of the Department of Defense.\1\ Hurricane Harvey striking the U.S. 
Gulf Coast has resulted in severe disruptions in both the midstream and 
downstream sectors of the oil supply system. Some refineries and 
pipeline networks are shut-in or running at reduced rates. Thus, 
conditions exist for a continued shortage of energy supply in areas 
predicted to be affected by Hurricane Irma. In light of this, the 
Department of Energy has recommended that the Department of Homeland 
Security waive the requirements of the Jones Act in the interest of 
national defense to facilitate the transportation of the necessary 
volume of petroleum products through September 22, 2017. Furthermore, 
the Department of Defense has requested a waiver of the Jones Act in 
the interest of national defense through September 22, 2017, commencing 
immediately.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Published in the Federal Register at 82 FR 43248 (Sept. 14, 
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Jones Act, 46 United States Code (U.S.C.) 55102, states that a 
vessel may not provide any part of the transportation of merchandise by 
water, or by land and water, between points in the United States to 
which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a foreign port 
unless the vessel was built in and documented under the laws of the 
United States and is wholly owned by persons who are citizens of the 
United States. Such a vessel, after obtaining a coastwise endorsement 
from the U.S. Coast Guard, is ``coastwise-qualified.'' The coastwise 
laws generally apply to points in the territorial sea, which is defined 
as the belt, three nautical miles wide, seaward of the territorial sea 
baseline, and to points located in internal waters, landward of the 
territorial sea baseline.
    The navigation laws, including the coastwise laws, can be waived 
under the authority provided by 46 U.S.C. 501. The statute provides in 
relevant part that on request of the Secretary of Defense, the head of 
an agency responsible for the administration of the navigation or 
vessel-inspection laws shall waive compliance with those laws to the 
extent the Secretary considers necessary in the interest of national 
defense. 46 U.S.C. 501(a).
    For the reasons stated above, and in light of the request from the 
Department of Defense and the concurrence of the Department of Energy, 
I am exercising my authority to waive the Jones Act through September 
22, 2017, commencing immediately, to facilitate movement of refined 
petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, to be 
shipped from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas to 
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West 
Virginia, and Puerto Rico. This waiver applies to covered merchandise 
laded on board a vessel through and including September 22, 2017.
    Executed this 12th day of September, 2017.

Elaine C. Duke,
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2017-19902 Filed 9-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9111-14-P