Document ID: USCG-2016-1059-0001
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Notice
Title: Towing Safety Advisory Committee; January 2017 Teleconference
Posted Date: 2016-12-23T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94398-94399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30952]

[[Page 94398]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2016-1059]

Towing Safety Advisory Committee; January 2017 Teleconference

AGENCY: Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Notice of teleconference meeting.

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

SUMMARY: The Towing Safety Advisory Committee will meet, via 
teleconference, to discuss the five current tasks of the Committee. The 
Committee is expected to receive the final report from the subcommittee 
on Electronic Charting Systems and an interim final report from the 
subcommittee on Implementation of Subchapter M. The subcommittee on 
Implementation of Subchapter M will also receive additional tasking to 
review a Towing Safety Management System Option Compliance Guidebook. 
The subcommittees on Towing of Liquefied Natural Gas Barges, Inland 
Firefighting Training, and Articulated Tug-Barge Operations are 
expected to provide progress reports. This meeting will be open to the 
public.

DATES: The full Committee will meet by teleconference on Wednesday, 
January 18, 2017, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. 
Please note that this meeting may close early if the Committee has 
completed its business.

ADDRESSES: To join the teleconference, contact the individual listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section no later than 1 p.m. on 
January 11, 2017, to obtain the needed information. The number of 
teleconference lines is limited and will be available on a first-come, 
first-served basis. If you prefer to join in person at U.S. Coast Guard 
Headquarters, it will be hosted in Room 3R14-01, 2703 Martin Luther 
King Jr Ave SE., Washington, DC 20593. Foreign national attendees will 
be required to preregister no later than 5 p.m. on January 5, 2017, to 
be admitted to the meeting. U.S. citizen attendees will be required to 
pre-register no later than 5 p.m. on January 11, 2017, to be admitted 
to the meeting. To pre-register, contact Mr. William J. Abernathy at 
William.J.Abernathy@uscg.mil, with TSAC in the subject line and provide 
your name, company and telephone number; if a foreign national, also 
provide your country of citizenship, and passport number and expiration 
date. All attendees will be required to provide a government-issued 
picture identification card in order to gain admittance to the 
building.
    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as 
possible.
    Instructions: To facilitate public participation, written comments 
on the issues to be considered by the Committee as listed in the 
``Agenda'' section below must be submitted no later than January 11, 
2017, if you want the Committee members to review your comments prior 
the meeting. You must include the words ``Department of Homeland 
Security'' and the docket number [USCG-2016-1059]. Written comments may 
be submitted using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If you encounter technical difficulties, contact 
the individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
notice. Comments received will be posted without alteration at http://regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. You may 
review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal Docket Management 
system in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal Register (70 FR 
15086).
    Docket Search: For access to the docket to read documents or 
comments related to this notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov, type 
USCG-2016-1059 in the Search box, press Enter, and then click on the 
item you wish to view.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William J. Abernathy, Alternate 
Designated Federal Officer of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee, 
2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE., Stop 7509, Washington, DC 20593-
7509, telephone 202-372-1363, fax 202-372-8382 or 
william.j.abernathy@uscg.mil.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting is in compliance with 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, (Title 5, U.S.C. Appendix). As 
stated in 33 U.S.C. 1231a, the Towing Safety Advisory Committee 
provides advice and recommendations to the Department of Homeland 
Security on matters related to shallow-draft inland and coastal 
waterway navigation and towing safety.

Agenda of Meeting

    The agenda for the January 18, 2017, teleconference is as follows:
    (1) Final report from the subcommittee on ``Recommendations on 
Electronic Charting Systems (ECS) Carriage on Towing Vessels (Task 15-
03).''
    (2) An interim final report and discussion of additional tasking 
for the subcommittee working on ``Recommendations on the Implementation 
of 46 Code of Federal Regulations Subchapter M--Inspection of Towing 
Vessels (Task 16-01).''
    (3) Progress reports from the other three active subcommittees on 
``Recommendations Regarding New and Updated Policy for Articulated Tug 
and Barge (ATB) Combinations Currently Contained in NVIC 2-81, Change 1 
(Task No. 15-02)'', ``Recommendations Regarding Firefighting Training 
Requirements for Officer Endorsements for Master or Mate (Pilot) of 
Towing Vessels, Except Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels in 
Inland Service (Task No. 16-02)'', and ``Recommendations Regarding 
Operational Risks Associated With Towing Liquefied Natural Gas Barges 
Astern (Task 16-03).''
    (4) TSAC Member and Public Comment periods. A copy of the task 
statements, draft final reports, and the agenda will be available at 
https://homeport.uscg.mil/tsac.
    Public comments or questions will be taken throughout the 
teleconference as the Committee discusses the issues and prior to 
deliberations and voting. There will also be a public comment period at 
the end of the teleconference. Speakers are requested to limit their 
comments to three minutes. Please note that this public comment period 
may start before 2:45 p.m. if all other agenda items have been covered 
and may end before 3 p.m. if all of those wishing to comment have done 
so. Please contact Mr. William Abernathy listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to register as a speaker.

Notice of Future 2017 Towing Safety Advisory Committee Meetings

    To receive automatic email notices of future Towing Safety Advisory 
Committee meetings in 2017, go to the online docket, USCG-2016-1059 
(http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=USCG-2016-1059), and 
select the sign-up-for-email-alerts option. We plan to use the same 
docket number for all Towing Safety Advisory Committee meeting notices 
in 2017, so when the next meeting notice is published you will receive 
an email alert from http://www.regulations.gov when the notice appears 
in this docket, in addition to notices of other items being added to 
the docket.

[[Page 94399]]

    Dated: December 19, 2016
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2016-30952 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P