Document ID: USCG-2013-0320-0001
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: NPRM:  Safety Zones: Chicago Harbor, Navy Pier Southeast, Chicago, IL (Federal Register Publication)
Posted Date: 2013-05-21T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 21, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29680-29683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12030]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[Docket No. USCG-2013-0320]
RIN 1625-AA00

Safety Zone; Chicago Harbor, Navy Pier Southeast, Chicago, IL

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes to amend the Safety Zone for Chicago 
Harbor, Navy Pier Southeast, Chicago, IL. This Zone is intended to 
restrict vessels from a portion of Chicago Harbor during fireworks 
displays, races, and other marine events that occur throughout each 
calendar year. The safety zone established by this proposed rule is 
necessary to protect spectators, participants, and vessels from the 
hazards associated with these fireworks displays, boat races, and other 
events.

DATES: Comments and related materials must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before June 20, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2013-0320 using any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) 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.
    (4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this proposed 
rule, call or email Petty Officer Joseph McCollum, U.S. Coast Guard 
Sector Lake Michigan; telephone 414-747-7148, email 
Joseph.P.McCollum@uscg.mil. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, call Barbara Hairston, 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
CFR Code of Federal Regulations

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-2012-0320) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click

[[Page 29681]]

``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-2012-0320) 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 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 four 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. Basis and Purpose

    Each year dozens of fireworks displays are launched from barges in 
positions just south of the Navy Pier in Chicago. These fireworks 
displays, along with other marine events, take place on a monthly and 
sometimes weekly basis. The Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan, has 
determined that these fireworks displays and other events such as races 
or air shows pose a significant risk to public safety and property. 
Such hazards include falling debris and collisions among spectator 
vessels. To address these hazards, the Coast Guard established a 
permanent safety zone for the protection of spectators during these 
displays and events in 33 CFR 165.931. This year, however, the Coast 
Guard was informed by Melrose Pyrotechnics that a new launch position 
will be used for some of the fireworks displays. This new position 
launches a display from a break wall south of the Navy Pier and would 
impact portions of Chicago Harbor hundreds of feet beyond the 
boundaries of the zone as it is currently listed. To address this new 
launch position, and to ensure safety of spectators and vessels, this 
rule proposes to extend the boundaries of the safety zone within 33 CFR 
165.931.

C. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan, has determined that a 
safety zone is necessary to mitigate the aforementioned safety risks. 
Thus, this rule proposes to amend 33 CFR 165.931 to establish the 
following area as a safety zone: The waters of Lake Michigan within 
Chicago Harbor bounded by coordinates beginning at 41[deg]53'26.5'' N, 
087[deg]35'26.5'' W; then south to 41[deg]53'7.6'' N, 087[deg]35'26.3'' 
W; then west to 41[deg]53'7.6'' N, 087[deg]36'23.2'' W; then north to 
41[deg]53'26.5'' N, 087[deg]36'24.6'' W; then east back to the point of 
origin (NAD 83).
    This proposed rule will amend 33 CFR 165.931 and update the 
permanent safety zone on Lake Michigan within Chicago harbor. The 
Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan will notify the public when the 
safety zone in this proposed rule will be enforced. Consistent with 33 
CFR 165.7(a), such means may include, among other things, publication 
in the Federal Register, Broadcast Notice to Mariners, Local Notice to 
Mariners, or, upon request, by facsimile (fax). Also, the Captain of 
the Port will issue a Broadcast Notice to Mariners notifying the public 
if enforcement these safety zones in this section are cancelled 
prematurely.
    Entry into, transiting, or anchoring within the proposed safety 
zone during the period of enforcement is prohibited unless authorized 
by the Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan, or his designated 
representative. The Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan, or his 
designated representative may be contacted via VHF Channel 16.

D. Regulatory Analyses

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

1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
and does not require an assessment of potential costs and benefits 
under section 6(a)(3) of that Order. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under that Order. It is not ``significant'' 
under the regulatory policies and procedures of the Department of 
Homeland Security. We conclude that this proposed rule is not a 
significant regulatory action because we anticipate that it will have 
minimal impact on the economy, will not interfere with other agencies, 
will not adversely alter the budget of any grant or loan recipients, 
and will not raise any novel legal or policy issues. The safety zone 
established by this proposed rule will be enforced in short periods 
immediately before, during, and after the time the displays and events 
occur. Also, the safety zone is designed to minimize its impact on 
navigable waters and has been designed to allow vessels to transit 
unrestricted to portions of the waterways not affected by the safety 
zones. Thus, restrictions on vessel movements within any particular 
area are expected to be minimal. Under certain conditions, moreover, 
vessels may still transit through the safety zone when permitted by the 
Captain of the Port. On the whole, the Coast Guard expects 
insignificant adverse impact to mariners from the enforcement of this 
safety zone.

2. Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as 
amended, requires federal agencies to consider the potential impact of 
regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term ``small 
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations 
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 
50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this 
proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    This proposed rule would affect the following entities, some of 
which might be small entities: the owners and

[[Page 29682]]

operators of vessels intending to transit or anchor in portions of 
Chicago Harbor when this safety zone is being enforced.
    This proposed safety zone will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities for the following 
reasons discussed in the above Regulatory Planning and Review section. 
If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this proposed rule 
would have a 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. 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 the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT, above. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small 
entities that question or complain about this proposed rule or any 
policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. Collection of Information

    This proposed rule would 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 the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and 
determined that this rule 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 proposed rule would not 
result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this 
proposed rule elsewhere in this preamble.

8. Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would not affect 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 proposed 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 From Environmental Health Risks

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This proposed 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 proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it does 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

    This proposed rule is not a ``significant energy action'' under 
Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.

13. Technical Standards

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

14. Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed 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 proposed rule 
involves the establishment of safety zones and thus, is categorically 
excluded under paragraph (34)(g) of the Instruction. An environmental 
analysis checklist supporting this determination is available in the 
docket where indicated under ADDRESSES. We seek any comments or 
information that may lead to the discovery of a significant 
environmental impact from this proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165

    Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and record 
keeping 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. Chapters 701, 3306, 3703; 
50 U.S.C. 191, 195; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Pub. 
L. 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064; Department of Homeland Security 
Delegation No. 0170.1.
0
2. Revise Sec.  165.931 to read as follows:

Sec.  165.931  Safety Zone; Chicago Harbor, Navy Pier Southeast, 
Chicago, IL.

    (a) Location. The following area is a safety zone: The waters of 
Lake Michigan within Chicago Harbor bounded by coordinates beginning at 
41[deg]53'26.5'' N, 087[deg]35'26.5'' W; then south to 41[deg]53'7.6'' 
N, 087[deg]35'26.3'' W; then west to 41[deg]53'7.6'' N, 
087[deg]36'23.2'' W; then north to 41[deg]53'26.5'' N, 
087[deg]36'24.6'' W then east back to the point of origin (NAD 83).
    (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section:
    (1) ``Designated representative'' means any Coast Guard 
Commissioned, warrant, or petty officer designated by the Captain of 
the Port, Lake Michigan to monitor a safety zone, permit entry

[[Page 29683]]

into the zone, give legally enforceable orders to persons or vessels 
within the zone, and take other actions authorized by the Captain of 
the Port.
    (2) ``Public vessel'' means vessels owned, chartered, or operated 
by the United States, or by a State or political subdivision thereof.
    (c) Regulations. (1) In accordance with the general regulations in 
33 CFR 165.23 of this part, entry into, transiting, or anchoring within 
this safety zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the 
Port, Lake Michigan, or his designated representative.
    (2) This safety zone is closed to all vessel traffic, excepted as 
may be permitted by the Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan or his 
designated representative. All persons and vessels must comply with the 
instructions of the Coast Guard Captain of the Port or his designated 
representative. Upon being hailed by the U.S. Coast Guard by siren, 
radio, flashing light or other means, the operator of a vessel shall 
proceed as directed.
    (3) All vessels must obtain permission from the Captain of the Port 
or his designated representative to enter, move within, or exit the 
safety zone established in this section when this safety zone is 
enforced. Vessels and persons granted permission to enter the safety 
zone must obey all lawful orders or directions of the Captain of the 
Port or a designated representative. While within a safety zone, all 
vessels must operate at the minimum speed necessary to maintain a safe 
course.
    (d) Notice of enforcement or suspension of enforcement. The safety 
zone established by this section will be enforced only upon notice of 
the Captain of the Port. The Captain of the Port will cause notice of 
enforcement of the safety zone established by this section to be made 
by all appropriate means to the affected segments of the public 
including publication in the Federal Register as practicable, in 
accordance with 33 CFR 165.7(a). Such means of notification may also 
include, but are not limited to Broadcast Notice to Mariners or Local 
Notice to Mariners.
    (e) Exemption. Public vessels, as defined in paragraph (b) of this 
section, are exempt from the requirements in this section.
    (f) Waiver. For any vessel, the Captain of the Port Lake Michigan 
or his designated representative may waive any of the requirements of 
this section, upon finding that operational conditions or other 
circumstances are such that application of this section is unnecessary 
or impractical for the purposes of public or environmental safety.

    Dated: May 3, 2013.
M.W. Sibley,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port, Lake Michigan.
[FR Doc. 2013-12030 Filed 5-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P