Document ID: USCG-1998-3786-0196
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Commercial Diving Operations: Reopening of Comment Period
Posted Date: 2015-08-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51173-51174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20825]

[[Page 51173]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Parts 8 and 197

[Docket No. USCG-1998-3786]
RIN 1625-AA21

Commercial Diving Operations--Reopening of Comment Period

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is reopening for 60 days the comment period 
for the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Commercial Diving 
Operations,'' published on February 19, 2015. Reopening the comment 
period will allow time for the public to review and submit comments on 
changes to the applicability of this proposed rule, and on the draft 
regulatory analysis documentation that was not available in the docket 
during the original comment period. This notice of proposed rulemaking 
also provides corrected contact information for those persons 
interested in the proposed regulatory incorporation of certain material 
by reference, and the reopened comment period facilitates public 
comment on the proposed incorporation. Finally, although we are making 
no changes to the collection of information proposed in the February 
notice of proposed rulemaking, during the reopened comment period the 
public may continue to submit additional comments on that proposed 
collection. Specific instructions for commenting on the proposed 
collection are printed in the ADDRESSES section that follows.

DATES: The comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking 
published on February 19, 2015 (80 FR 9152), is reopened. Comments and 
related material must be submitted to the docket by October 23, 2015. 
Comments sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on 
collection of information must reach OMB on or before October 23, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments using one of the listed methods, and see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information on public comments.
     Online--http://www.regulations.gov following Web site 
instructions.
     Fax--202-493-2251.
     Mail--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.
     Hand deliver--mail address, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays (telephone 202-366-9329).
    Collection of information. You must submit comments on the 
collection of information discussed in the notice of proposed 
rulemaking at 80 FR 9173 both to the Coast Guard's docket and to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House 
Office of Management and Budget. OIRA submissions can be made using one 
of the listed methods.
     Email (preferred)_oira_submission@omb.eop.gov (include 
the docket number and ``Attention: Desk Officer for Coast Guard, DHS'' 
in the subject line of the email).
     Fax--202-395-6566.
     Mail--Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 
ATTN: Desk Officer, U.S. Coast Guard.
    Viewing material proposed for incorporation by reference. To make 
arrangements to view this material, please call or email Mr. Ken Smith 
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice 
of proposed rulemaking, call or email Mr. Ken Smith, Project Manager, 
U.S. Coast Guard, Headquarters, Vessel and Facility Operating Standards 
Division, Commandant (CG-OES-2); telephone 202-372-1413, email 
Ken.A.Smith@uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Cheryl Collins, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Public Participation and Comments

    We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on this 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). We will consider all submissions 
and may adjust our final action based on your comments. Comments should 
be marked with docket number USCG-1998-3786, and should provide a 
reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may provide personal 
contact information so that we can contact you if we have questions 
regarding your comments, but please note that all comments will be 
posted to the online docket without change and any personal information 
you include will be searchable online (see the Federal Register Privacy 
Act notice regarding our public dockets, 73 FR 3316, Jan. 17, 2008).
    Mailed or hand-delivered comments should be in an unbound 8\1/2\ x 
11 inch format suitable for reproduction. The Docket Management 
Facility will acknowledge receipt of mailed comments if you enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope with your submission.
    Documents mentioned in this NPRM and all public comments are 
available in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be 
viewed by following the instructions on that Web site. You can also 
view the docket online at the Docket Management Facility (see the 
address under ADDRESSES) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Regulatory History and Information

    On February 19, 2015, we published an NPRM entitled ``Commercial 
Diving Operations'' (80 FR 9152) that proposed amendments to our 
regulations for commercial diving conducted from deepwater ports or 
deepwater port safety zones, or in connection with Outer Continental 
Shelf (OCS) activities, or from vessels that are required to have a 
Coast Guard certificate of inspection. The NPRM would revise and update 
current regulations to improve safety and to reflect current industry 
best practices. The NPRM would also allow the Coast Guard to approve 
independent third-party organizations to assist in ensuring compliance 
with commercial diving regulations. All comments on the NPRM, including 
comments on the proposed collection of information, were due by May 20, 
2015. In the course of reviewing comments on the NPRM, we became aware 
of several errors on our part.
    First, on page 9175 of the NPRM, our proposed regulatory text for 
46 CFR 197.200 contained two unintended changes in the applicability of 
subpart B. We do not intend, despite the proposed language for Sec.  
197.200(a)(3), to extend applicability to commercial diving operations 
involving any vessel operating on the navigable waters of the United 
States. Nor do we intend, despite the proposed language for Sec.  
197.200(a)(5), to remove from applicability those U.S. vessels engaged 
in an OCS activity as defined in 33 CFR part 140, or connected to a 
deepwater port as defined in 33 CFR part 150. In a final rule, in Sec.  
197.200, we would remove paragraph (a)(3), remove the words ``foreign 
flagged'' from paragraph (a)(5), and renumber paragraphs in accordance 
with this change. As we stated in Table 2 on page 9156 of the NPRM, our 
intentions for Sec.  197.200 are only to add paragraph (d) concerning

[[Page 51174]]

foreign vessels, and to improve the clarity of our existing provisions, 
without making any other changes to the substance of the applicability 
provisions of subpart B.
    Second, we provided incorrect telephone and email contact 
information for those wishing to view material proposed for 
incorporation by reference on pages 9158 and 9159 of the NPRM. To make 
arrangements to view that material, please contact Mr. Ken Smith (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    Third, throughout the NPRM comment period that ended May 20, 2015, 
the Preliminary Regulatory Analysis and Interim Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis document for the NPRM was unavailable in the rulemaking 
docket. We corrected that omission in June 2015, and that document is 
currently available at http://www.regulations.gov as docket number 
USCG-1998-3786-0195.
    This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: August 18, 2015.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2015-20825 Filed 8-21-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P