Document ID: USCG-2012-0720-0001
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Notice
Title: Meetings: International Maritime Organization; Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters; Environmental Topics
Posted Date: 2012-08-03T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 150 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46445-46446]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19005]

[[Page 46445]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2012-0720]

Environmental Topics Related to the International Maritime 
Organization's Development of a Mandatory Code for Ships Operating in 
Polar Waters; Meeting

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Coast Guard will hold a public meeting in 
Washington, DC on environmental topics related to the development of a 
mandatory code for ships operating in polar waters by the International 
Maritime Organization (IMO Polar Code).

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 from 
9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., EST, to provide an opportunity for oral comments. 
Written comments and related material may also be submitted to Coast 
Guard personnel specified at that meeting. All comments and related 
material submitted after the meeting must either be submitted to our 
online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before Friday, 
September 7, 2012 or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the United States Coast 
Guard Headquarters Transpoint Building, Room 2501, 2100 Second Street 
Southwest, Washington, DC 20593, approximately 1 mile from the 
Waterfront-SEU Metro Station. Due to building security requirements, 
each visitor must present two forms of government-issued photo 
identification in order to gain entrance to the building.
    You may submit written comments identified by docket number USCG-
2012-0720 before or after the meeting using any one of the following 
methods:
    (1) 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. 
Our online docket is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2012-0720.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning the 
meeting, please call or email Lieutenant Andrew Gibbons, U.S. Coast 
Guard; telephone 202-372-1485, email Andrew.T.Gibbons@uscg.mil. If you 
have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call 
Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-
366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this matter 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.

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (USCG-2012-0720) and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or by 
fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. We 
recommend that you include your name and a mailing address, an email 
address, or a phone 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 and 
insert ``USCG-2012-0720'' in the ``Search'' box. Click ``Search,'' find 
this notice in the list of Results, and then click on the corresponding 
``Comment Now'' box. 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.

B. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this notice as 
being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov and 
insert ``USCG-2012-0720'' in the ``Search'' box. Click ``Search'' and 
use the filters on the left side of the page to highlight ``Public 
Submissions'' or other document types. If you do not have access to the 
Internet, you may view the docket online by visiting 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. We have an agreement with the Department of 
Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.

C. 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).

Public Meeting

    The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting regarding environmental 
topics related to the development of the IMO Polar Code. The public 
meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., EST at the United States Coast Guard Headquarters Transpoint 
Building, Room 2501, 2100 Second Street Southwest, Washington, DC 
20593, approximately 1 mile from the Waterfront-SEU Metro Station. Due 
to building security requirements, each visitor must present two forms 
of government-issued photo identification in order to gain entrance to 
the building.
    The purpose of this public meeting is to discuss relevant topics 
for consideration in development of environmental sections of the IMO 
Polar Code. The public meeting will address additional risks and 
hazards unique to the Arctic and Antarctic regions and any additional 
safeguards to be considered in the environmental sections of the IMO 
Polar Code. The primary topics that will be considered at the public 
meeting include:
     International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution 
from Ships (MARPOL Annexes I-VI);
     International Convention for the Control and Management of 
Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments;
     International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-
fouling Systems on Ships; and
     Other considerations including voyage planning, greywater, 
underwater noise, marine mammals, heavy grade fuel oil (HFO), and 
pollution response.

Procedural

    Please note that the public meeting has a limited number of seats 
and may close early if all business is finished. Also, teleconferencing 
will be available. Those interested in teleconferencing

[[Page 46446]]

should contact Lieutenant Andrew Gibbons at the telephone number or 
email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this notice. Summaries of comments made, materials 
presented, and lists of attendees will be available for viewing in the 
docket after the meeting.
    Members of the public may attend this meeting up to the seating 
capacity of the room. To facilitate the security process related to 
building access, or to request reasonable accommodation, those who plan 
to attend should contact the meeting coordinator, Lieutenant Andrew 
Gibbons, at the telephone number or email address indicated under the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice, or in writing 
at Commandant (CG-ENG-3), U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 Second Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20593-7126, not later than Friday, August 17, 2012. We 
may not be able to accommodate requests made after August 17, 2012. 
Please note that due to building security requirements, each visitor 
must present two valid, government-issued photo identifications in 
order to gain entrance to the Coast Guard Headquarters building. The 
Coast Guard Headquarters building is accessible by taxi and privately 
owned conveyance (public transportation is not generally available). 
However, public parking in the vicinity of the building is extremely 
limited.
    Members of the public are encouraged to participate and join in 
discussions, subject to the discretion of the moderator. If you bring 
written comments to the meeting, you may submit them to Coast Guard 
personnel specified at the meeting to receive written comments. These 
comments will be submitted to our online public docket. All comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov 
and will include any personal information you have provided.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
Lieutenant Andrew Gibbons at the telephone number or email address 
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
notice.

    Dated: July 27, 2012.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2012-19005 Filed 8-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P