Document ID: USCG-2012-0642-0003
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Rule
Title: ITFR:  Safety Zones: Gilmerton Bridge Center Span Float-in, Elizabeth River; Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, VA (Federal Register Publication)
Posted Date: 2012-12-11T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 238 (Tuesday, December 11, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73541-73544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29828]

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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 238 / Tuesday, December 11, 2012 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 73541]]

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket No. USCG-2012-0642]
RIN 1625-AA00

Safety Zone: Gilmerton Bridge Center Span Float-in, Elizabeth 
River; Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, VA

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Interim Temporary Final Rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will establish a temporary safety zone on the 
navigable waters of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and 
Chesapeake, VA. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of 
life on navigable waters during the Gilmerton Bridge Center Span Float-
in and bridge construction of span placement. This action is intended 
to restrict vessel traffic movement to protect mariners from the 
hazards associated with the float-in and span placement.

DATES: This rule will be effective from January 7, 2013 through January 
16, 2013. The rule is scheduled to be enforced from 6:00 a.m. on 
January 7, 2013 through January 11, 2013, with inclement weather dates 
of January 12, 2013 through January 16, 2013. Comments and related 
material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before December 26, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number using 
any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail or Delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Deliveries 
accepted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329. See the 
``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for further instructions on 
submitting comments. To avoid duplication, please use only one of these 
three methods.

ADDRESSES: Documents indicated in this preamble as being available in 
the docket are part of docket USCG-2012-0642 and are available online 
by going to http://www.regulations.gov, inserting USCG-2012-0642 in the 
``Search'' box, and then clicking ``Search.'' They are also available 
for inspection or copying at the Docket Management Facility (M-30), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this 
temporary rule, call or email LCDR Hector Cintron, Waterways Management 
Division Chief, Sector Hampton Roads, Coast Guard; telephone 757-668-
5581, email Hector.L.Cintron@uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing 
the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, 
telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Acronyms

DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

A. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided.

1. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 
please use only one of these means. If you submit a comment online, it 
will be considered received by the Coast Guard when you successfully 
transmit the comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, 
it will be considered as having been received by the Coast Guard when 
it is received at the Docket Management Facility. We recommend that you 
include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a 
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact 
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number (USCG-2012-0426) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with 
this rulemaking.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period and may change the rule 
based on your comments.

2. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number (USCG-2012-0426) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with 
this rulemaking. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 
Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation 
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

3. Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of comments received into any 
of our dockets by the name of the

[[Page 73542]]

individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted 
on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may 
review a Privacy Act notice regarding our public dockets in the January 
17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

4. Public Meeting

    We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one, using one of the methods specified under ADDRESSES. 
Please explain why you believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If 
we determine that one would aid this rulemaking, we will hold one at a 
time and place announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

B. Regulatory History and Information

    On July 25, 2012, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) proposing a safety zone in the Gilmerton Bridge Area 
(77 FR 43557) on September 5-9, 2012. We received no comments on the 
proposed rule.
    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. Because of shifting construction 
schedules, the Coast Guard was unable to determine the precise date of 
the construction until recently. Therefore, waiting for a 30 day notice 
period to run would have been impracticable.

C. Basis and Purpose

    On January 7, 2013 through January 11, 2013, with inclement weather 
dates of January 12, 2013 through January 16, 2013, PCL Civil 
Construction, Inc. will facilitate removal of the existing bascule 
spans from the Gilmerton Bridge, transport of the new center span from 
the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River at the Campostella Bridge to 
the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth river at the Gilmerton Bridge in 
Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, VA and the placement of the center 
span at the Gilmerton Bridge in Chesapeake, VA. There is a danger of 
falling debris during the removal of the existing structures and 
installation of the new bridge span. Due to the need to protect 
mariners and the public transiting the Elizabeth River from hazards 
associated with the span move and construction of span placement, the 
Coast Guard has determined that a moving safety zone and an extended 
waterway closure at the Glimerton Bridge is necessary for public safety 
purposes.

D. Discussion of Final Rule

    The Captain of the Port Hampton Roads is establishing a temporary 
moving safety zone around the Gilmerton Bridge center span barge, 
restricting vessels operating in the navigable waters on the Elizabeth 
River from the Campostella Bridge located in the Eastern Branch of the 
Elizabeth River to the Gilmerton Bridge. The purpose of this rule is to 
protect mariners and the public transiting the Elizabeth River from 
hazards associated with the span move, construction and placement. This 
movement is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. on January 7, 2013, weather 
permitting. Because of the size of the barge and the width of the 
waterway, vessels will not be able to transit around the barge, 
necessitating closure of the entire waterway from the Campostella 
Bridge to the Gilmerton Bridge. Transit is expected to take 
approximately seven hours. This action is necessary to ensure the 
safety of PCL Construction and vessels immediately prior to, during, 
and following the transit of the span.
    In addition to the moving safety zone, the Coast Guard will 
establish a temporary safety zone and extended waterway closure at the 
Gilmerton Bridge starting at 6 a.m. on January 7, 2013, weather 
permitting, until January 11, 2013. This safety zone will be 
established in the interest of public safety during span placement at 
the Gilmerton Bridge. The inclement weather dates are January 8, 2013 
through January 12, 2013. This temporary safety zone will encompass the 
waters directly under and 200 feet on either side of the Gilmerton 
Bridge, crossing the Elizabeth River. Except for vessels authorized by 
the Captain of the Port or his Representative, no person or vessel may 
enter or remain in the safety zone during the time frame listed. Coast 
Guard Captain of the Port will give notice of the enforcement of the 
safety zone by all appropriate means to provide the widest 
dissemination of notice among the affected segments of the public. This 
will include publication in the Local Notice to Mariners and Marine 
Information Broadcasts. Marine information and facsimile broadcasts may 
also be made for these events, beginning 24 to 48 hours before the 
event.
    While this construction was originally scheduled to commence in 
September, 2012, construction has been delayed due to scheduling 
concerns and other logistical issues. For these reasons, the effective 
date in this final rule has been rescheduled to January 7, 2013.

E. Regulatory Analyses

    We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and 
executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses 
based on 13 of these statutes or executive orders.

1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This rule is not a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) 
of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, as 
supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and does not require an assessment of potential 
costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of Executive Order 12866 or 
under section 1 of Executive Order 13563. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under those Orders. The primary impact of 
these regulations will be on vessels wishing to transit the affected 
waterways during the moving safety zone accompanying the Glimerton 
Bridge Span Barge and the safety zone at the Gilmerton Bridge beginning 
at 6 a.m. on January 3, 2013 through January 7, 2013 with inclement 
weather dates of January 8, 2013 through January 12, 2013. Although 
these regulations prevent traffic from transiting a portion of the 
Elizabeth River during these events, that restriction is limited in 
duration, affects only a limited area, and will be well publicized to 
allow mariners to make alternative plans for transiting the affected 
area. This regulation is designed to ensure such transit is conducted 
in a safe and orderly fashion.

2. Impact Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we have 
considered the impact of this rule on small entities. 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 rule will affect the following entities, some of which might be 
small entities: The owners or operators of vessels intending to operate 
or anchor in portions of the Elizabeth River, in Virginia. The 
regulations would not have a significant impact on a substantial number 
of small entities for the following reasons: The restrictions are 
limited in duration, it affects only limited areas, and will be well 
publicized to allow mariners to make alternative plans for transiting 
the affected areas.
    If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have 
a

[[Page 73543]]

significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see 
ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to what 
degree this rule would economically affect it.

3. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule so that they can better 
evaluate its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. If the 
rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or 
options for compliance, please contact LCDR Hector Cintron, Waterways 
Management Division Chief, Sector Hampton Roads, Coast Guard; telephone 
757-668-5581, email Hector.L.Cintron@uscg.mil. The Coast Guard will not 
retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this 
temporary rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. Collection of Information

    This rule will call for no new collection of information under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).

5. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on State or local 
governments and would either preempt State law or impose a substantial 
direct cost of compliance on them. We have analyzed this proposed rule 
under that Order and have determined that it does not have implications 
for federalism.

6. Protest Activities

    The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. 
Protesters are asked to contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that 
your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or 
security of people, places or vessels.

7. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this rule will not result in 
such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere 
in this preamble.

8. Taking of Private Property

    This rule will not cause a taking of private property or otherwise 
have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, Governmental 
Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property 
Rights.

9. 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.

10. 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 would not create an 
environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

11. Indian Tribal Governments

    This rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 
13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, 
because it would not have a substantial direct effect on one or more 
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and 
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities 
between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

12. Energy Effects

    We have analyzed this rule under Executive Order 13211, Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use. We have determined that it is not a ``significant 
energy action'' under that order because it is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' under Executive Order 12866 and is not likely to 
have a significant adverse effect on the supply, distribution, or use 
of energy. The Administrator of the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs has not designated it as a significant energy 
action. Therefore, it does not require a Statement of Energy Effects 
under Executive Order 13211.

13. Technical Standards

    This rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we did not 
consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

14. Environment

    We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security 
Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction M16475.lD, which 
guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have made a 
preliminary determination that this action is one of a category of 
actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant 
effect on the human environment. This rule is categorically excluded 
from further review under paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the 
Commandant Instruction. Upon receipt of consultation comments all 
documentation will be made available in the docket where indicated 
under ADDRESSES. This rule involves establishing a temporary safety 
zone. An environmental analysis checklist and a categorical exclusion 
determination will be available in the docket where indicated under 
ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

    Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 165 as follows:

PART 165--REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

0
1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 46 U.S.C. Chapter 701, 3306, 3703; 50 
U.S.C. 191, 195; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, 160.5; Pub. L. 107-
295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 
0170.1.

0
2. Add temporary Sec.  165.T05-0642 to read as follows:

Sec.  165.T05-0642  Safety Zone; Gilmerton Bridge Center Span Float-in, 
Elizabeth River; Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, Virginia.

    (a) Regulated Area. The following area is a safety zone: Regulated 
Area 1: All waters of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River 
starting 400 feet behind the Gilmerton Bridge center span barge and 
extending to the entrance of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River 
and continuing south in the Southern Branch of Elizabeth River to the 
Gilmerton Bridge in the vicinity of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake, 
VA. As the Gilmerton Bridge center span barge transits through the 
waterway, the northern portions of the waterway will reopen. Regulated 
Area 2: All waters of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River 
directly under and 200 feet on either side of the Gilmerton

[[Page 73544]]

Bridge in the vicinity of Chesapeake, VA.
    (b) Definition. For the purposes of this part, Captain of the Port 
Representative means any U.S. Coast Guard commissioned, warrant or 
petty officer who has been authorized by the Captain of the Port, 
Hampton Roads, Virginia to act on his behalf.
    (c) Regulations. (1) In accordance with the general regulations in 
165.23 of this part, entry into this zone is prohibited unless 
authorized by the Captain of the Port, Hampton Roads or his designated 
representatives.
    (2) The operator of any vessel in the immediate vicinity of this 
safety zone shall:
    (i) Stop the vessel immediately upon being directed to do so by any 
commissioned, warrant or petty officer on shore or on board a vessel 
that is displaying a U.S. Coast Guard Ensign.
    (ii) Proceed as directed by any commissioned, warrant or petty 
officer on shore or on board a vessel that is displaying a U.S. Coast 
Guard Ensign.
    (3) The Captain of the Port, Hampton Roads can be reached through 
the Sector Duty Officer at Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth, Virginia 
at telephone Number (757) 668-5555.
    (4) The Coast Guard Representatives enforcing the safety zone can 
be contacted on VHF-FM marine band radio channel 13 (165.65Mhz) and 
channel 16 (156.8 Mhz).
    (d) Enforcement Period This regulation will be enforced starting at 
6 a.m. on January 3, 2013 through January 7, 2013 with inclement 
weather dates of January 8, 2013 through January 12, 2013.

    Dated: November 29, 2012.
John K. Little,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port Hampton Roads.
[FR Doc. 2012-29828 Filed 12-10-12; 8:45 am]
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