Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 9201

add a new temporary paragraph (c) to

read as follows:

§ 117.291 Hillsborough River.

* * * * *

(c) (1) The draws of the bridges at

Platt Street, mile 0.0, and Brorein Street,

mile 0.16, may remain closed to

navigation.

(2) The draws of the bridges at

Kennedy Boulevard, mile 0.4, Cass

Street, mile 0.7, Laurel Street, mile 1.0,

West Columbus Drive, mile 2.3, and

West Hillsborough Avenue, mile 4.8,

shall open on signal if at least two hours

notice is given; except that, the draws

shall open on signal as soon as possible

after a request by a public vessel of the

United States, a vessel owned or

operated by the State, county or local

government and used for public safety

purposes, or a vessel in distress.

Dated: January 25, 2001.

T.W. Allen,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander,

Seventh Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 01–3108 Filed 2–6–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–00–193]

RIN 2115–AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations:

Kennebec River, ME

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is changing

the drawbridge operation regulations for

the Carlton (U.S. 1) highway-railroad

bridge, at mile 14.0, across the

Kennebec River between Bath and

Woolwich, Maine. This rule will remove

unnecessary operating restrictions from

the regulations and provide relief to the

bridge owner from the requirement to

crew the bridge during periods when

there have been few requests to open the

bridge.

DATES: This rule is effective March 9,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments and material

received from the public, as well as

documents indicated in this preamble as

being available in the docket, are part of

docket (CGD01–00–193) and are

available for inspection or copying at

the First Coast Guard District, Bridge

Branch Office, 408 Atlantic Avenue,

Boston, Massachusetts, 02110, 7 a.m. to

3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

John W. McDonald, Project Officer, First

Coast Guard District, (617) 223–8364.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory Information

On October 6, 2000, we published a

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)

entitled Drawbridge Operation

Regulations; Kennebec River, Maine, in

the Federal Register (65 FR 59780). We

received no comments in response to

the notice of proposed rulemaking. No

public hearing was requested and none

was held.

Background and Purpose

The Carlton (U.S. 1) highway-railroad

bridge, at mile 14.0, across the

Kennebec River has a vertical clearance

in the closed position of 10 feet at mean

high water and 16 feet at mean low

water. The existing drawbridge

operating regulations are listed at 33

CFR 117.525. Vehicular traffic no longer

travels over the Carlton Bridge because

a new fixed highway bridge has been

constructed upstream. The bridge will

continue to operate as a railroad bridge

only.

The bridge owner, Maine Department

of Transportation (MDOT), asked the

Coast Guard to remove the unnecessary

restrictions from the regulations and to

add several time periods during which

the bridge will open on an on call basis.

The bridge presently is allowed to

remain closed to navigation from 6 a.m.

to 7:30 a.m. and from 3:15 p.m. to 5:30

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

holidays. These closed periods were

added to the regulations to prevent

vehicular traffic congestion in Bath

during the shift changes at the Bath Iron

Works. These closed periods are no

longer necessary and will be removed

by this rule.

The bridge owner has also requested

relief from crewing the bridge from 5

p.m. to 8 a.m., daily, and all day on

Saturdays and Sundays from October 1

through May 14. The bridge opening log

data submitted by MDOT indicates a

relatively low number of requests to

open the bridge during the time periods

and the bridge owner has requested that

the bridge operate on an on call basis.

The greater amount of bridge openings

in 1999, are attributed to construction

vessel traffic during the building of the

new highway bridge upstream from the

Carlton Bridge.

BRIDGE OPENINGS BETWEEN 5 P.M. AND 8 A.M.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

1997 ......................................................... 0 0 0 0 9 6 7 13 5 12 0 0

1998 ......................................................... 0 2 1 2 1 6 4 6 3 10 7 6

1999 ......................................................... 2 7 2 4 21 24 36 5 10 20 29 12

2000 ......................................................... 0 0 4 0 12

BRIDGE OPENINGS SATURDAYS/SUNDAYS OCTOBER 1 THROUGH MAY 14

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

1997 ................................. 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

1998 ................................. 10 7 3 0 2 0 0 0

1999 ................................. 11 13 4 1 5 2 2 1

2000 ................................. 0 0 3 0 0

The Coast Guard believes that

operating the Carlton Bridge on an

advance notice basis from 5 p.m. to 8

a.m., daily, and all day on Saturdays

and Sundays, from October 1 through

May 14, is reasonable and will still meet

the needs of navigation. This conclusion

is based upon the low number of

opening requests received over the past

several years and the fact that the bridge

will still open on signal after the

advance notice is given.

9202 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Discussion of Comments and Changes

The Coast Guard received no

comments and no changes will be made

to this rule.

Collection of Information

This rule calls for no new collection

of information under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–

3520).

Federalism

We have analyzed this rule under

Executive Order 13132 and have

determined that this rule does not have

implications for federalism under that

Order.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–1538) governs

the issuance of Federal regulations that

require unfunded mandates. An

unfunded mandate is a regulation that

requires a State, local, or tribal

government or the private sector to

incur direct costs without the Federal

Government’s having first provided the

funds to pay those unfunded mandate

costs. This rule will not impose an

unfunded mandate.

Taking of Private Property

This rule will not effect a taking of

private property or otherwise have

taking implications under Executive

Order 12630, Governmental Actions and

Interference with Constitutionally

Protected Property Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

This rule meets applicable standards

in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to

minimize litigation, eliminate

ambiguity, and reduce burden.

Protection of Children

We have analyzed this rule under

Executive Order 13045, Protection of

Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not

an economically significant rule and

does not concern an environmental risk

to health or risk to safety that may

disproportionately affect children.

Environment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this rule and

concluded that under figure 2–1,

paragraph (32)(e) of Commandant

Instruction M16475.1C, this rule is

categorically excluded from further

environmental documentation because

promulgation of changes to drawbridge

regulations have been found to not have

a significant effect on the environment.

A written ‘‘Categorical Exclusion

Determination’’ is not required for this

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:

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. Section 117.525(a) is revised to

read as follows:

§ 117.525 Kennebec River.

(a) The draw of the Carlton Bridge,

mile 14.0, between Bath and Woolwich

shall operate as follows:

(1) From May 15 through September

30 the draw shall open on signal; except

that, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., the draw

shall open on signal if a two-hour notice

is given by calling the number posted at

the bridge.

(2) From October 1 through May 14

the draw shall open on signal; except

that, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., the draw

shall open on signal after a twenty-four

hours notice is given and from 8 a.m. to

5 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday, after

an eight-hour notice is given by calling

the number posted at the bridge.

* * * * *

Dated: January 25, 2001.

G.N. Naccara,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander,

First Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 01–3107 Filed 2–6–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 35 and 735

[FRL–694, 2–7]

RIN: 2030–AA55

Environmental Program Grants—State,

Interstate, and Local Government

Agencies: Delay of Effective Date

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency.

ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective

date.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

memorandum of January 20, 2001, from

the Assistant to the President and Chief

of Staff, entitled ‘‘Regulatory Review

Plan,’’ published in the Federal Register

on January 24, 2001, this action

temporarily delays for 60 days the

effective date of the rule entitled

Environmental Program Grants-State,

Interstate, and Local Government

Agencies, published in the Federal

Register on January 9, 2001, 66 FR 1725.

This regulation updates, clarifies, and

streamlines requirements governing

environmental program grants and

establishes requirements for the

Performance Partnership Grant (PPG)

program.

DATES: The effective date of the

Environmental Program Grants State,

Interstate, and Local Government

Agencies, amending 40 CFR parts 35

and 735, published in the Federal

Register on January 9, 2001, at 66 FR

1725, is delayed for 60 days, from

February 8, 2001, to a new effective date

of April 9, 2001. This regulation applies

to new grants awarded after April 9,

2001, and it may be applied to currently

active PPGs, if agreed to in writing by

the Regional Administrator and the

recipient.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: W.

Scott McMoran, Grants Administration

Division (3903R), United States

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200

Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington,

DC 20460, Telephone: (202) 564–5376,

McMoran.Scott@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

temporary 60-day delay in effective date

is necessary to give Agency officials the

opportunity for further review and

consideration of new regulations,

consistent with the Assistant to the

President’s memorandum of January 20,

2001. This action involves matters

relating to grants and under 5 U.S.C.

553(a)(2) is thus exempt from the notice

and comment requirements of the

Administrative Procedure Act.

Dated: January 29, 2001.

David J. O’Connor,

Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of

Administration and Resources Management.

[FR Doc. 01–3180 Filed 2–6–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P