Document ID: USCG-2020-0492-0011
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Rule
Title: Towing Vessel Firefighting Training
Posted Date: 2023-10-03T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 190 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67966-67984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21560]

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

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

46 CFR Part 11

[Docket No. USCG-2020-0492]
RIN 1625-AC64

Towing Vessel Firefighting Training

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is issuing this final rule to revise the 
training requirements for national Merchant Mariner Credential 
endorsements as master of towing vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of 
towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers routes. Consistent 
with recommendations from two Federal advisory committees, this rule 
gives mariners seeking these endorsements the option of taking a 
modified basic firefighting course. That course excludes training on 
equipment that is not required to be carried on towing vessels 
operating on inland waters or the Western Rivers. Applicants who take 
the modified basic firefighting course will reduce their costs because 
it is shorter and less expensive than the basic firefighting course.

DATES: This final rule is effective April 1, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being 
available in the docket, go to www.regulations.gov, type USCG-2020-0492 
in the search box, and click ``Search.'' Next, in the Document Type 
column, select ``Supporting & Related Material.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document, 
call or email Mr. James Cavo, Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1205, 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents for Preamble

I. Abbreviations
II. Basis and Purpose, and Regulatory History
III. Background
IV. Discussion of Comments
V. Discussion of the Rule
VI. Regulatory Analyses
    A. Regulatory Planning and Review
    B. Small Entities
    C. Assistance for Small Entities
    D. Collection of Information
    E. Federalism
    F. Unfunded Mandates
    G. Taking of Private Property
    H. Civil Justice Reform
    I. Protection of Children
    J. Indian Tribal Governments

[[Page 67967]]

    K. Energy Effects
    L. Technical Standards
    M. Environment

I. Abbreviations

BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CG-MMC Coast Guard Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing
DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
GS General Schedule
GRT Gross register tons
MERPAC Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee
MMC Merchant Mariner Credential
MMLD Merchant Mariner Licensing and Documentation
NAICS North American Industry Classification System
NMC National Maritime Center
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
NVIC Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular
OMB Office of Management and Budget
OPM Office of Personnel Management
RA Regulatory analysis
SMS Safety management system
Sec.  Section
SME Subject matter expert
STCW Convention International Convention on Standards of Training, 
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as Amended
STCW Code Seafarer's Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, 
as Amended
TSAC Towing Safety Advisory Committee
U.S.C. United States Code

II. Basis and Purpose, and Regulatory History

    The legal basis of this rule is Title 46 of the United States Code 
(U.S.C.) Section 7101, which authorizes the Secretary of the Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish the experience and professional 
qualifications required for the issuance of Merchant Mariner 
Credentials (MMCs) with officer endorsements. The DHS Secretary has 
delegated the rulemaking authority under 46 U.S.C. 7101 to the Coast 
Guard through DHS Delegation No. 00170.1(II)(92)(e), Revision No. 01.3. 
Additionally, 14 U.S.C. 102(3) grants the Coast Guard broad authority 
to promulgate and enforce regulations for the promotion of safety of 
life and property on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
States, which includes establishing the experience and professional 
qualifications required for the issuance of credentials.
    The purpose of this rule is to amend title 46 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR), section 11.201, paragraph (h)(3) by 
providing mariners seeking a national officer endorsement as master of 
towing vessels (limited) \1\ or mate (pilot) \2\ of towing vessels on 
inland waters or Western Rivers routes the option of taking a modified 
basic firefighting course instead of a basic firefighting course. The 
modified basic firefighting course eliminates training on equipment 
that is not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on 
inland waters or Western Rivers.\3\ Applicants who take the modified 
basic firefighting course would reduce their costs due to the course 
being shorter and less expensive than the basic firefighting course. 
Mariners who will not be working solely on Western Rivers or inland 
waters other than the Great Lakes will still be required to complete a 
basic firefighting course. The Coast Guard anticipates this modified 
basic firefighting course will have a total of 12 hours of classroom 
and practical training instead of a total of 16 hours for the basic 
firefighting course.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ An endorsement as a master of towing vessels (limited) 
authorizes service as a master (the person in command of the vessel) 
to work on a towing vessel in a limited local area within inland 
waters or Western Rivers (e.g., master of towing vessels (limited) 
restricted to the Lower Mississippi River mile marker 775.0 to mile 
marker 850.0).
    \2\ ``Mate'' means a qualified deck officer other than the 
master. On towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers, 
``pilot'' also refers to a qualified deck officer other than the 
master. The terms ``mate'' and ``pilot'' refer to the same position 
on the vessel and usage varies based on company and regional 
preference.
    \3\ Throughout this rule, the term modified basic firefighting 
course describes the basic firefighting course required by 46 CFR 
11.201(h)(3), modified to eliminate training on equipment that is 
not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on inland 
waters or Western Rivers routes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On September 1, 2021, the Coast Guard published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled ``Towing Vessel Firefighting 
Training'' (86 FR 48925), requesting comments on the proposal to revise 
the training requirements for national MMC endorsements as master of 
towing vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland 
waters or Western Rivers routes. A detailed description of the 
background and discussion of the proposed changes can be found in the 
NPRM.

III. Background

    Coast Guard regulations in 46 CFR part 11, subpart B, contain 
merchant mariner credentialing requirements for national and 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and 
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as Amended (STCW Convention) officer 
endorsements. Currently, the regulations in 46 CFR 11.201(h)(3)(ii) 
require mariners seeking national officer endorsements as master or 
mate (pilot) of towing vessels on routes other than oceans \4\ to 
complete a Coast Guard-approved firefighting course that meets the 
basic firefighting training requirements in Regulation VI/1 of the STCW 
Convention and Table A-VI/1-2 \5\ of the Seafarer's Training, 
Certification and Watchkeeping Code, as Amended (STCW Code). Basic 
firefighting training ensures that mariners have the skills to contain 
small fires before they can spread, leading to injury, death, property 
damage, or becoming a larger marine hazard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ For the purposes of this final rule, we refer to ``routes 
other than oceans'' as near-coastal, Great Lakes, inland waters, and 
Western Rivers.
    \5\ Regulation VI/1 of the STCW Convention and Table A-VI/1-2 of 
the STCW Code provides the competence requirements for basic 
firefighting.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Federal Advisory Committee Recommendations

    The Coast Guard received requests from industry to review the 
appropriateness of the basic firefighting training requirement for 
towing vessel endorsements. As a result, the Coast Guard tasked two 
Federal Advisory Committees, the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory 
Committee (MERPAC) \6\ and the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) 
\7\ with reviewing the basic firefighting training requirements, while 
taking into consideration the equipment carried on towing vessels 
operating on inland waters and Western Rivers routes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See ``Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC) 
Task Statement #95, Inland Firefighting, Draft Report,'' September 
14, 2016. This report is available at: https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/709/Enclosure%207%20Task%20Statement%2095%20%20Inland%20Firefighting.pdf.
 This report was last accessed on April 24, 2023.
    \7\ See ``Towing Safety Advisory Committee, Task 16-02, 
Recommendations Regarding Firefighting Training Requirements for 
Officer Endorsements for Master, Mate (Pilot) of Towing Vessels, 
Except Assistance Towing and Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing 
Vessels, Inland Service Final Report,'' March 21, 2018. This report 
is available at: https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/799/TSAC%20Task%2016-02%20Inland%20Firefighting%20Final-03212018.pdf. This report was last accessed on April 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In their recommendations to the Coast Guard, both MERPAC and TSAC 
commented that the basic firefighting requirements in Sec.  
11.201(h)(3)(ii) are based on equipment found on deep-sea vessels and 
not on vessels operating on inland waters or Western Rivers. In 
addition, TSAC identified equipment covered in the basic firefighting 
training requirements, contained in Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code, 
that is not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on 
inland waters or Western Rivers.\8\ They noted that nowhere in 46

[[Page 67968]]

CFR subchapter M, ``Towing Vessels,'' part 142, ``Fire Protection,'' is 
there a requirement for towing vessels operating on inland waters or 
Western Rivers to be equipped with firefighters' outfits or self-
contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Because the basic firefighting 
training in Sec.  11.201(h)(3)(ii) requires mariners seeking national 
officer endorsements for master or mate (pilot) of towing vessels to 
become proficient with equipment that is not required to be carried 
onboard the vessels they intend to operate, MERPAC and TSAC both 
recommended that the content of firefighting training be modified for 
these mariners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ Id. at 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Public Input

    In 2017, the Coast Guard sought comments on regulations, guidance 
documents, and interpretative documents that the public believed should 
be repealed, replaced, or modified.\9\ The Coast Guard received public 
input from a trade association representing the towing industry 
regarding the basic firefighting training for endorsements as master or 
mate (pilot) of towing vessels. The trade association suggested that 
the training requirement is excessive because the current towing vessel 
regulations in Sec. Sec.  27.209 and 142.245 require company provided 
firefighting instruction and drills. The trade association recommended 
that the Coast Guard eliminate the basic firefighting training 
requirement in Sec.  11.201(h)(3)(ii) for national officer endorsements 
as master or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters and 
Western Rivers. The Coast Guard agrees in part with the recommendation 
from this trade association. Approved firefighting training is 
necessary, but we agree that these mariners should not have to train 
using equipment that is not required to be carried aboard the towing 
vessels on which they will serve.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See Coast Guard Request for Information entitled, 
``Evaluation of Existing Coast Guard Regulations, Guidance 
Documents, Interpretative Documents, and Collections of 
Information'' (82 FR 26632, June 8, 2017). This document is 
available at: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCG-2017-0480-0001. This website was accessed on April 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With this final rule, applicants seeking national officer 
endorsements as master of towing vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of 
towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers will have the option 
of taking a modified basic firefighting course that excludes training 
on equipment that is not required to be carried on their vessels.
    This change applies to applicants for national MMC endorsements as 
master of towing vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels 
on inland waters or Western Rivers routes. Applicants seeking an 
endorsement as master of towing vessels must have completed 
firefighting training when they obtain one of the endorsements that are 
a prerequisite to qualifying for master of towing vessels. The modified 
basic firefighting training required by Sec.  11.201(h)(3) will have to 
be approved by the Coast Guard in accordance with the requirements of 
Sec. Sec.  10.402 and 10.403. This change will provide an opportunity 
for training providers to develop a Coast Guard-approved modified basic 
firefighting course for applicants for national MMC endorsements as 
master of towing vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels 
on inland waters or Western Rivers routes.

Delayed Effective Date

    The Coast Guard is delaying the effective date of this rule by 180 
days. This delay will allow time for training providers to develop a 
modified basic firefighting course, and for the Coast Guard to evaluate 
and approve the course.\10\ Training providers wishing to obtain 
approval for a modified basic firefighting course may develop and 
submit their course for approval before the effective date of this 
final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ Courses are evaluated and approved by the Coast Guard's 
National Maritime Center (NMC) Mariner Training & Assessment 
Division, which, from 2018 to 2022, reports a course approval 
average annual net processing time of approximately 76 days. Course 
approvals are valid for 5 years, as specified in 46 CFR 10.402(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule will result in a one-time cost to training providers for 
developing and submitting requests for original approval of a modified 
basic firefighting course, and a one-time cost to the Coast Guard for 
reviewing and approving these courses. Under existing Sec.  10.402(d) 
and (f), there will be ongoing costs to both the training providers and 
the Coast Guard every 5 years to request renewal of the course 
approval.\11\ Applicants who take a modified basic firefighting course 
will receive cost savings due to the course being shorter and less 
expensive than the basic firefighting course.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Approved courses are valid for 5 years from the date of 
Coast Guard approval. Before the course approval expires, the 
training provider must seek a course approval renewal to continue to 
offer the course.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

IV. Discussion of Comments

    The Coast Guard received eight submissions by the public in 
response to the NPRM published on September 1, 2021. Comments came from 
towing vessel operators, a national trade association, and individual 
mariners. The following discussion contains an analysis of comments 
received. The Coast Guard appreciates all comments on this matter.

Comments in Support of the Proposal

    Five commenters agreed that mariners who will serve on towing 
vessels on inland waters and Western Rivers should not be required to 
receive training on equipment that is not required to be carried aboard 
the vessels upon which they will serve. The Coast Guard acknowledges 
these comments.

Comments Opposed to the Proposal

    One commenter opposed the proposed change because a mariner could 
possibly serve on a vessel that is carrying equipment not required 
aboard the vessel and would not have received the necessary training in 
its safe and proper use. To help reduce ``loopholes and lapses in 
training,'' the commenter believes the current firefighting training 
should not be reduced.
    The Coast Guard appreciates this concern but disagrees that 
firefighting training for towing vessels on inland waters or Western 
Rivers should include training on equipment that is not required to be 
carried aboard those vessels. Formal training provides mariners with a 
basic knowledge and understanding of firefighting. This will provide a 
foundation that can be supplemented with shipboard drills and 
familiarization to ensure mariners can safely and effectively use the 
firefighting equipment aboard their vessels. A modified basic 
firefighting course, supplemented by the familiarization requirements 
in 46 CFR 15.405 and the training and drill requirements in 46 CFR 
27.205 and 142.245, is sufficient to ensure that mariners serving on a 
vessel carrying equipment that is not required to be aboard the vessel 
would be able to use the equipment safely and effectively.

Duration of the Modified Basic Firefighting Course

    Two commenters agreed that the modified basic firefighting course 
should be 12 hours in length, or ``one full day.'' The Coast Guard 
agrees the course duration should be 12 hours but notes that it will 
not approve a course that provides 12 hours of training in a single 
day. A 12-hour modified basic firefighting course will have to be given 
over 2 days.
    Three commenters stated that the modified basic firefighting course 
should be 8 hours in duration. One commenter noted that a 12-hour 
course would not be cost effective when travel

[[Page 67969]]

costs and availability of training providers is considered. One of the 
commenters also stated that an 8-hour course would be adequate, as 
crewmembers have participated in ongoing firefighting instruction and 
drills throughout their careers.
    The Coast Guard disagrees with the assessment that an 8-hour course 
would be adequate. Eight hours is not sufficient to achieve the 
intended level of competence. In reaching this determination, we 
reviewed the curricula of several Coast Guard-approved basic 
firefighting courses, as well as the current edition of the 
International Maritime Organization's Model Course 1.20, Fire 
Prevention and Fire Fighting. These courses are each 16 hours in 
duration. We identified the time spent in these courses using equipment 
that is not required to be carried on towing vessels operating on 
inland waters or Western Rivers and determined that a course length of 
approximately 12 hours was appropriate. In addition, we disagree the 
duration can be shortened based on a subjective assumption that 
trainees have participated in drills and instruction during their 
careers. We do not consider drills to be equivalent to approved 
training involving live fire and other scenarios that cannot be safely 
conducted aboard a vessel.

Content of the Modified Basic Firefighting Course

    Two commenters stated that the content of the firefighting course 
should not include equipment that is not required on towing vessels 
operating on inland waters and Western Rivers (for example, SCBAs and 
fire suits). The commenters stated that the modified course should 
focus on fire principles, basic firefighting strategies and tactics, 
fire risks, use of portable and semi portable fire extinguishers, fire 
communication-general alarms and detectors, handling and operating fire 
pumps and hydrants, types and function of fixed firefighting systems, 
and significant focus on managing a team for handling a fire emergency.
    The Coast Guard agrees. The modified basic firefighting course will 
not include training on equipment that is not required to be carried 
aboard towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western Rivers. We 
agree that the training should focus on the use of equipment that is 
required to be carried, as well as the other factors cited by the 
commenters.

Alternatives to a Coast Guard-Approved Course

    Five commenters stated the Coast Guard should accept company 
provided training and drills under 46 CFR subchapter M in lieu of 
requiring completion of a Coast Guard-approved course. The commenters 
noted this training would be included in, and audited under, the 
company's safety management system (SMS).
    The Coast Guard disagrees. The inclusion of a company provided 
firefighting training in an SMS would not ensure an adequate review and 
oversight of the required training. A Coast Guard-approved course for 
firefighting will ensure the curriculum is reviewed by qualified 
subject matter experts (SMEs) and follows sound and accepted training 
methodology. Coast Guard-approved training also entails more focused 
audits and oversight than if training were provided as a small part of 
a much larger SMS.
    In addition, it is common for mariners to work on different vessels 
and for different companies. There is a need for the common 
foundational training that a Coast Guard-approved course provides. A 
company provided training may supplement, but not replace, approved 
firefighting training.

Company Provided Courses

    One commenter noted that companies should be able to assemble a 
curriculum and submit it for approval of the course. This curriculum 
may include in-house trainers or trainers from local fire departments 
familiar with onboard firefighting tactics and equipment. The Coast 
Guard agrees. A company may develop and obtain Coast Guard approval for 
a course that employs facilities and staff from local fire departments.
    The same commenter stated that a towing company should be able to 
assemble a curriculum that meets the expectations, needs, and standards 
for the course material and have that training curriculum audited as 
part of their SMS. The Coast Guard agrees in part. We agree that 
companies may develop their own course and obtain Coast Guard approval. 
However, we disagree with the suggestion that this training could be 
audited as part of the company's SMS. When reviewing training, an SMS 
audit will generally review whether crew members have completed their 
required training, not the content of the training or its efficacy.
    Three commenters suggested that documentation of the appropriate 
training by the company should be an acceptable proof of training, like 
what is used to prove sea service ``letters of designation'' for those 
who fuel towboats. The Coast Guard disagrees. The modified basic 
firefighting course should be and audited by or on behalf of the Coast 
Guard as specified in 46 CFR part 10, subpart D. The audit of approved 
training will ensure that previously reviewed and approved curricula 
are adhered to, and are consistent with, sound educational methodology 
and accepted industry standards and practices.

Firefighting Response by Crews of Towing Vessels on Inland Waters and 
Western Rivers

    Two commenters noted that, unless an onboard fire is readily 
containable, firefighting is left to trained emergency responders 
instead of the crew. If a boat's crew uses a fire extinguisher and the 
fire cannot be contained, they are instructed to get off the vessel 
once safe harbor is reached.
    The Coast Guard disagrees that this strategy is appropriate in all 
fire emergencies. There may be situations where it is not safe or 
feasible to secure and abandon the towing vessel awaiting response from 
shore-based firefighters. The best first response is that provided by 
the towing vessel's crew, under the direction of a trained officer. A 
Coast Guard-approved modified basic firefighting course will increase 
the likelihood that a towing vessel's crew can make an effective first 
response and extinguish or contain a fire.
    One commenter stated that many, if not most, towing vessels on 
inland waters and Western Rivers are ``dinner bucket'' boats, and on 
these vessels, only one officer is aboard, and that individual must 
remain at the helm to control the vessel. In the event of a fire 
emergency onboard, they must seek a safe harbor to secure the vessel so 
that the crew can escape.
    The Coast Guard disagrees that this is reason to not require 
completion of a modified basic firefighting course. The national 
officer endorsements of master of towing vessels, master of towing 
vessels (limited), and mate (pilot) of towing vessels do not restrict a 
mariner to working on a vessel day boat or ``dinner bucket'' boat that 
only operates 12 hours per day, and a mariner must be appropriately 
trained and qualified for all vessels their credential authorizes them 
to serve upon. In addition, we do not agree that the only response for 
a day boat or ``dinner bucket'' boat is to navigate the vessel to a 
location where the crew can abandon the vessel and call shore-based 
responders. Regardless of the crew size or the vessel's operating 
schedule, having officers complete a

[[Page 67970]]

Coast Guard-approved modified basic firefighting course will increase 
the likelihood that they can effectively respond in a fire emergency, 
and can direct the vessel's crew to make an effective first response 
and extinguish or contain a fire.

V. Discussion of the Rule

Amendments to 46 CFR 11.201(h), Firefighting Certificate

    The Coast Guard is amending Sec.  11.201(h), which requires 
mariners seeking national officer endorsements to present a certificate 
of completion from a Coast Guard-approved firefighting course.
    The Coast Guard amends paragraph (h)(1) by adding language stating 
that the firefighting certificate of completion must be ``relevant to 
the endorsement being sought.'' The Coast Guard is making this change 
to ensure that mariners are required to provide evidence of completing 
the appropriate firefighting training for the endorsement they are 
applying for.
    We are also making several changes to paragraph (h)(3), which 
contains a list of national officer endorsements that require 
completion of basic firefighting training in accordance with Regulation 
VI/1 of the STCW Convention and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code. We 
modify the start of paragraph (h)(3)(i) by adding ``all'' in front of 
``officers'' to make it consistent with the terminology used in 
paragraphs (h)(3)(ii) through (iv). We revise paragraph (h)(3)(ii) to 
specify the requirements for officer endorsements for master or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels, except apprentice mate (steersman) of towing 
vessels, for service on near-coastal waters. We add new paragraphs 
(h)(3)(iii) and (h)(3)(iv) to list the specific waters covered by the 
phrase, ``in all services except oceans.'' New paragraph (h)(3)(iii) 
specifies the requirements for officer endorsements for master or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels, except apprentice mate (steersman) of towing 
vessels, for service on the Great Lakes. New paragraph (h)(3)(iv) 
specifies the requirements for officer endorsements for master or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels, except apprentice mate (steersman) of towing 
vessels, for service on inland waters or Western Rivers.
    Mariners seeking a national officer endorsement as master or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels authorized for service on near-coastal waters 
or on the Great Lakes will still need to complete the basic 
firefighting training referenced in paragraph (h)(3). A modified basic 
firefighting course is not appropriate for mariners operating on towing 
vessels on near-coastal waters or on the Great Lakes for two reasons: 
(1) near-coastal waters and Great Lakes towing vessels may carry the 
equipment omitted from a modified towing vessel firefighting course, 
and (2) near-coastal waters and Great Lakes towing vessels operate 
farther from the shore, where firefighting assistance is not as readily 
available as it is on inland waters or Western Rivers.
    New paragraph (h)(3)(iv)(A) provides mariners the option of 
completing a modified basic firefighting course for a national officer 
endorsement as master or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland 
waters or Western Rivers. The course must be a Coast Guard-approved 
modified basic firefighting course that does not include training on 
equipment not required to be carried aboard towing vessels for service 
on inland waters or Western Rivers. When approving a modified course, 
the Coast Guard will consider the requirements of 46 CFR subchapter M, 
parts 140 and 142, in determining the content to achieve proficiency in 
firefighting consistent with the equipment available onboard towing 
vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers. The Coast Guard anticipates 
this modified basic firefighting course will have a total of 12 hours 
of classroom and practical training instead of a total of 16 hours for 
the basic firefighting course.
    Currently, national officer endorsements for towing vessels serving 
on the Great Lakes and inland waters are issued as one route. In new 
paragraph (h)(3)(iv)(A), language is added to allow separation of these 
routes so that a mariner who completes a modified basic firefighting 
course could be issued an endorsement restricted to inland waters or 
Western Rivers.
    New paragraph (h)(3)(iv)(B) specifies that a mariner who qualifies 
for an endorsement by completing a modified basic firefighting course 
will be required to complete the basic firefighting course required in 
paragraph (h)(3) for an increase in scope \12\ of the endorsement to 
add a Great Lakes or near-coastal waters route. For an increase in 
scope to add oceans routes, a mariner will need to complete both the 
basic firefighting course required in paragraph (h)(3) and the advanced 
firefighting course required in paragraph (h)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ Increase in scope means additional authority added to an 
existing credential, such as adding a new route or increasing the 
authorized horsepower or tonnage. (46 CFR 10.107).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Changes

    In the NPRM, we proposed to change the 46 CFR part 11 authority 
citation from 14 U.S.C. 503 to 14 U.S.C. 102(3). After publication of 
the NPRM in the Federal Register, the Coast Guard determined it is 
still appropriate to reference ``14 U.S.C. 503.'' Title 14 U.S.C. 503 
states: ``the [DHS] Secretary may promulgate such regulations and 
orders as he deems appropriate to carry out the provisions of this 
title or any other law applicable to the Coast Guard.'' We are only 
making one change to the authority citation for part 11 to refer to 
change 3 to DHS Delegation number 00170.1.
    Section 11.201(l) is revised to allow the Coast Guard to modify 
training in addition to the service or examination requirements for an 
endorsement. The change is needed in order to allow for the option of 
the modified basic firefighting course for a national officer 
endorsement as master or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland 
waters or Western Rivers routes.
    Additionally, we refined our amendatory instructions to the 
regulatory text that we proposed in the NPRM.

VI. Regulatory Analyses

    The Coast Guard received eight comment submissions during the 60-
day comment period that ended on November 1, 2021. We received one 
public comment regarding the travel cost savings associated with the 
12-hour modified basic firefighting course implemented by this final 
rule which we did not analyze for the NPRM. We have since analyzed the 
travel cost savings associated with the implementation of the 12-hour 
course and revised the total estimated cost savings for this final 
rule. Beyond this, the methodology employed in the regulatory analysis 
is unchanged.
    We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and 
Executive orders related to rulemaking. Below, we summarize our 
analyses based on these statutes or Executive orders.

[[Page 67971]]

A. Regulatory Planning and Review

    Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and 13563 
(Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review) direct agencies to assess 
the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive 
Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and 
benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting 
flexibility.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not designated this 
rule a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive 
Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing 
Regulatory Review). Accordingly, OMB has not reviewed it. A regulatory 
analysis (RA) follows.
    As discussed earlier in the preamble, this rule provides applicants 
for an MMC endorsement as master of towing vessels (limited) or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers routes the 
option to take a modified basic firefighting course instead of the 
basic firefighting course. Specifically, this firefighting course 
eliminates training on firefighting equipment that is not required to 
be carried on towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western 
Rivers routes. Because the modified firefighting course is expected to 
be shorter in duration and lower in cost than a basic firefighting 
course, we anticipate eligible mariners will take the modified course.
    We estimate that this rule will result in a 10-year net cost 
savings of $1,301,133, or $185,252 annualized, in 2021 dollars, 
discounted at 7 percent. The annualized cost savings for mariners is 
approximately $189,869 in 2021 dollars, discounted at 7 percent. The 
savings stem from reduced hours spent in training and reduced tuition 
for firefighting training necessary for an endorsement as master 
(limited) or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters or Western 
Rivers routes.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ Operating on the Great Lakes is treated separately from 
operating on inland waters or Western Rivers. Routes on the Great 
Lakes would require the same firefighting training as near-coastal 
routes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We estimate that this rule will result in a one-time cost to 
training providers to develop a modified basic firefighting course and 
submit the course to the Coast Guard for approval. There will also be a 
one-time cost to the Government resulting from Coast Guard employees 
reviewing and approving these new courses. Under existing 46 CFR 
10.402(d) and (f), there will be ongoing costs to both the training 
providers and the Government every 5 years to renew the modified basic 
firefighting course. We anticipate training providers that offer the 
modified basic firefighting course to also continue to provide a basic 
firefighting course, because these courses would serve additional 
markets.
    In the first year, we estimate the costs (in 2021 dollars) to 
training providers will be $8,738, and the cost to the Government will 
be $16,669. These costs will not recur after the first year, but there 
will be ongoing costs for renewal of course approvals every 5 years, 
resulting in costs to training providers of $1,047 and costs to the 
Government of $11,981. The 10-year net cost savings will be $1,301,133, 
or $185,252 annualized, in 2021 dollars, discounted at 7 percent. We do 
not estimate that there will be any reduction in safety or benefits 
between the current basic firefighting training and a modified 
firefighting training, as the modified training would be better suited 
for the equipment common to the relevant towing vessels. Table 1 
summarizes these results. In the following subsections, we describe the 
changes, the affected population, the potential costs, the potential 
cost savings, and the qualitative benefits in further detail.

                Table 1--Summary of the Rulemaking Impact
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Category                             Summary
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Applicability........................  Update title 46 CFR part 11 to
                                        permit a modified basic
                                        firefighting course for national
                                        endorsements as master and mate
                                        (pilot) of towing vessels on
                                        inland waters or Western Rivers
                                        routes.
Affected Population..................  An estimated 23 training
                                        providers and 485 applicants for
                                        master (limited) or mate (pilot)
                                        towing vessels will take a
                                        modified firefighting course to
                                        qualify for their endorsement.
                                        This is a one-time training
                                        requirement for mariners.
Costs to Training Providers ($, 7%     One-time costs: $8,738 (first
 discount rate).                        year).
                                       Recurring costs: $1,047 every 5
                                        years.
Costs to the Government ($, 7%         One-time costs: $16,669 (first
 discount rate).                        year).
                                       Recurring costs: $11,981 every 5
                                        years.
Cost Savings for Applicants ($, 7%     10-year: $1,333,558.
 discount rate).                       Annualized: $189,869.
Qualitative Benefits.................  Firefighting courses that are
                                        more tailored to the credential
                                        endorsement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Changes From NPRM to Final Rule
    In addition to population data updates that create small increases 
in the cost savings reported in the final rule, the Coast Guard also 
identified previously unrealized cost savings in the NPRM that are now 
being realized in the final rule. We derive our newly realized cost 
savings from an analysis of travel costs associated with the 12-hour 
modified basic firefighting course. One commenter to the NPRM believes 
that a 12-hour course would not be cost effective when travel costs are 
considered. In an examination of travel cost savings, we determined 
that the 12-hour course established by this rule will also create 
travel cost savings that were previously unrealized in the NPRM. See 
Appendix A: Analysis of Cost Savings Associated with Public Comment 
Alternatives (section 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4) in the docket for a detailed 
analysis of these additional cost savings, as well as an examination of 
the cost savings associated with an 8-hour modified course as proposed 
by public commenters.
    Furthermore, the Coast Guard is delaying the effective date of the 
final rule by 180 days to allow time for training providers to develop, 
and the Coast Guard to approve, the new modified basic firefighting 
course. Table 2 summarizes this and other changes from the NPRM to the 
final rule.

[[Page 67972]]

                               Table 2--Summary of Changes From NPRM to Final Rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Element of the analysis                   NPRM                  Final rule         Resulting change in RA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Master (Limited) and Mate (Pilot)      Calculated 440 inland    Calculated 485 inland    This increase in number
 Applicant Data.                        and Western Rivers       and Western Rivers       of affected applicants
                                        master (limited) and     master (limited) and     will lead to increased
                                        mate (pilot)             mate (pilot)             total and annualized
                                        applicants on average    applicants on average    cost savings.
                                        from 2016-2019 data.     from updated 2016-2019
                                                                 data \14\.
Inland Waters and Western Rivers       1,265 total towing       5,013 total towing       This does not create a
 Towing Vessel Data.                    vessels. 900 of 1,265    vessels. 3,552 of        change in the number
                                        towing vessels           5,013 towing vessels     of affected master
                                        operating on the Great   operating on the Great   (limited) and mate
                                        Lakes, inland waters,    Lakes, inland waters,    (pilot) applicants
                                        or Western Rivers. 5     or Western Rivers. 5     each year due to a
                                        percent, or 45           percent, or 169          consistent percentage
                                        vessels, listed as       vessels, listed as       of inland waters and
                                        operating on the Great   operating on the Great   Western Rivers towing
                                        Lakes, meaning 95        Lakes, meaning 95        vessels from the total
                                        percent, or 855          percent, or 3,383        population.
                                        vessels, employ          vessels, employ
                                        mariners eligible to     mariners eligible to
                                        take the modified        take the modified
                                        basic firefighting       basic firefighting
                                        course.                  course \15\.
Cost Savings Associated with a 12-     Cost savings resulting   Cost savings resulting   We report additional
 hour Modified Basic Firefighting       from reduced tuition     from reduced tuition,    annualized
 Training Course.                       and course time.         course time, and a       undiscounted cost
                                                                 reduction in travel      savings by including
                                                                 expenses for             previously unrealized
                                                                 applicants driving to    cost savings for
                                                                 and lodging near a       applicants who would
                                                                 training provider.       drive and lodge near a
                                                                                          training provider.\16\
Delayed Effective Date of Rule.......  No delay in effective    Effective date of rule   This change does not
                                        date of rule.            delayed by 180 days to   impact our cost
                                                                 allow time for           savings estimates. In
                                                                 training providers to    this final rule, we
                                                                 develop and Coast        are delaying the rule
                                                                 Guard to approve new     by 180 days to help
                                                                 modified basic           accommodate the time
                                                                 firefighting courses.    needed to develop and
                                                                                          approve the courses,
                                                                                          but we do not
                                                                                          anticipate courses
                                                                                          will be readily
                                                                                          available for the
                                                                                          affected population of
                                                                                          mariners within the
                                                                                          first year of
                                                                                          analysis, which is
                                                                                          consistent with our
                                                                                          assumption in the
                                                                                          NPRM.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description of Regulatory Changes
    This rule results in two changes that have potential costs and 
potential cost savings. First, training providers will have the 
opportunity to develop a modified firefighting course and submit the 
course to the Coast Guard for approval. Consequently, this rule will 
initially result in costs to training providers for developing the 
course, and to the Federal Government for reviewing and approving the 
modified basic firefighting course. Second, applicants will likely 
experience cost savings by taking a shorter and less costly modified 
basic firefighting course rather than the longer basic firefighting 
course.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ This increase in the number of inland waters and Western 
Rivers master (limited) and mate (pilot) applicants was caused by 
historical data changes within the Merchant Mariner Licensing and 
Documentation (MMLD) database. These changes are often attributed to 
an issued credential being postdated, or a credential being 
withdrawn or voided. Such changes cause credentials to be included 
or not included in historical counts, leading to variations in data 
when being examined at different times.
    \15\ On June 20, 2016, the Coast Guard published the 
``Inspection of Towing Vessels'' final rule. (81 FR 40003) That rule 
had an effective date of July 20, 2016. See https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/20/2016-12857/inspection-of-towing-vessels. This final rule document was last accessed on 
April 24, 2023. The rule required towing vessels to be inspected 
under subchapter M and gave a 5-year implementation period. When we 
obtained data on inspected towing vessels for the NPRM, many of the 
towing vessels were not inspected. Now almost all towing vessels are 
inspected, making our 1,265 total inspected towing vessels from the 
NPRM an underestimate. We are now including the full population of 
inspected subchapter M vessels.
    \16\ See Appendix A for a detailed analysis of the cost savings 
from reduced travel expenses associated with the 12-hour modified 
basic firefighting course.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 3 lists and describes the changes to 46 CFR part 11, subpart 
B. The changes contain costs and cost savings, as described above. Text 
that has been added is italicized, and text that has been deleted is 
stricken through.

                       Table 3--Summary of Changes to 46 CFR Part 11 Subpart B and Impacts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Changes in regulatory
              Section                          text             Description of  change            Impact
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.201(h)(1).......................  Applicants for an         This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      original officer          makes it clear that the   will not have any
                                      endorsement in the        required firefighting     substantive impact and
                                      following categories      training should be        therefore will not
                                      must present a            based on the operating    impose any costs or
                                      certificate of            route of the              cost savings.
                                      completion from a         endorsement sought.
                                      firefighting course of
                                      instruction relevant to
                                      the endorsement being
                                      sought that has been
                                      approved by the Coast
                                      Guard. The firefighting
                                      course must have been
                                      completed within the
                                      past 5 years, or if it
                                      was completed more than
                                      5 years before the date
                                      of application, the
                                      applicant must provide
                                      evidence of maintaining
                                      the standard of
                                      competence in
                                      accordance with the
                                      firefighting
                                      requirements for the
                                      credential sought.
11.201(h)(2)(i)....................  All national officer      This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      endorsements as master    makes the text easier     will not have any
                                      or mate on seagoing       to read and makes it      substantive impact and
                                      vessels of 200 gross      consistent with other     therefore will not
                                      register tons (GRT) or    lines in this section.    impose any costs or
                                      more.                                               cost savings.
11.201(h)(3)(i)....................  All officer endorsements  This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      as master on vessels of   makes the text easier     will not have any
                                      less than 500 gross       to read and makes it      substantive impact and
                                      tonnage (GT) in ocean     consistent with other     therefore will not
                                      service.                  lines in this section.    impose any costs or
                                                                                          cost savings.

[[Page 67973]]

 
11.201(h)(3)(ii)...................  All officer endorsements  This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      for master or mate        makes it clear that       will not have any
                                      (pilot) of towing         applicants for master     substantive impact
                                      vessels for service on    or mate (pilot) of        because these
                                      near-coastal waters,      towing vessel             applicants were
                                      except apprentice mate    endorsements on near-     already required to
                                      (steersman) of towing     coastal waters must       take a basic
                                      vessels.                  take a basic              firefighting course.
                                                                firefighting course.
11.201(h)(3)(iii)..................  (iii) All officer         This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      endorsements for master   makes it clear that       will not have any
                                      or mate (pilot) of        applicants for master     substantive impact
                                      towing vessels for        or mate (pilot) of        because these
                                      service on Great Lakes,   towing vessel             applicants were
                                      except apprentice mate    endorsements on Great     already required to
                                      (steersman) of towing     Lakes must take a basic   take a basic
                                      vessels.                  firefighting course.      firefighting course.
11.201(h)(3)(iv)...................  (iv) All officer          This editorial change     This editorial change
                                      endorsements as master    makes it clear that       will not have any
                                      or mate (pilot) of        applicants for master     substantive impact
                                      towing vessels for        or mate (pilot) of        because these
                                      service on inland         towing vessel             applicants were
                                      waters or Western         endorsements on inland    already required to
                                      Rivers, except            waters or Western         take a basic
                                      apprentice mate           Rivers routes must take   firefighting course.
                                      (steersman) of towing     a basic firefighting
                                      vessels.                  course.
11.201(h)(3)(iv)(A)................  (A) The Coast Guard will  These changes permit      This will lead to costs
                                      accept a Coast Guard-     master or mate (pilot)    and costs savings.
                                      approved modified basic   applicants operating      Costs result from
                                      firefighting course,      exclusively on inland     training providers
                                      which is the basic        waters or Western         developing a modified
                                      firefighting training     Rivers routes, other      firefighting course
                                      described in paragraph    than the Great Lakes,     and submitting the
                                      (h)(3) of this section    to take a modified        course to the Coast
                                      modified to only cover    basic inland waters and   Guard for approval,
                                      the equipment, fire       Western Rivers towing     which will cost an
                                      prevention procedures,    vessel firefighting       estimated $8,738 to
                                      and firefighting          course as opposed to      the training providers
                                      operations required on    basic firefighting        and an estimated
                                      towing vessels on         course when they apply    $16,669 to the
                                      inland waters or          for endorsements on       government for review
                                      Western Rivers routes     inland waters or          and approval of the
                                      required in 46 CFR        Western Rivers.           course in the first
                                      parts 140 and 142. A                                year. Training
                                      mariner who completes                               providers will need to
                                      this modified course                                seek a renewal of
                                      will be issued an                                   their course approval
                                      endorsement that is                                 in year 6, resulting
                                      restricted to inland                                in $1,047 in costs to
                                      waters or Western                                   training providers and
                                      Rivers.                                             $11,981 in costs to
                                                                                          the Coast Guard.
                                                                                          Estimated cost savings
                                                                                          will come from
                                                                                          applicants for towing
                                                                                          vessel master
                                                                                          (limited) or mate
                                                                                          (pilot) endorsements
                                                                                          spending fewer hours
                                                                                          in training and less
                                                                                          money on tuition and
                                                                                          travel, resulting in
                                                                                          an estimated $189,869
                                                                                          in annual cost savings
                                                                                          discounted at 7% in
                                                                                          2021 dollars.
11.201(h)(3)(iv)(B)................  (B) To increase in scope  This change is a          While this new clause
                                      to Great Lakes, near-     rewording of existing     is a restatement of
                                      coastal or oceans, the    Sec.   11.201(h)(4) to    the requirements
                                      applicant will be         make the text of Sec.     currently existing in
                                      required to complete      11.201(h) easier to       Sec.   11.201(h)(4),
                                      the firefighting course   read.                     there could be a cost
                                      appropriate to the                                  impact because
                                      route sought.                                       mariners could apply
                                                                                          for an endorsement for
                                                                                          inland waters or
                                                                                          Western Rivers with a
                                                                                          modified basic inland
                                                                                          waters and Western
                                                                                          Rivers towing vessel
                                                                                          firefighting course
                                                                                          approved under
                                                                                          11.201(h)(3)(iv)(A),
                                                                                          and later request an
                                                                                          increase in scope to
                                                                                          Great Lakes requiring
                                                                                          the mariner to
                                                                                          complete a basic
                                                                                          firefighting course.
                                                                                          Because the mariner
                                                                                          would need to take the
                                                                                          basic firefighting
                                                                                          course, they would
                                                                                          spend approximately
                                                                                          $552.54 on the tuition
                                                                                          for the course.
                                                                                          Additionally, they
                                                                                          would spend 16 hours
                                                                                          taking the course, and
                                                                                          the travel time to get
                                                                                          to and from the
                                                                                          course. However, the
                                                                                          Coast Guard cannot
                                                                                          forecast who would
                                                                                          seek an increase in
                                                                                          scope or how
                                                                                          frequently this would
                                                                                          occur.\17\
11.201(l)..........................  (l) Restrictions. The     The addition of the word  Without the addition of
                                      Coast Guard may modify    ``training'' in this      the word ``training'',
                                      the service, training,    paragraph allows the      the Coast Guard will
                                      and examination           Coast Guard to modify     not be able to modify
                                      requirements in this      the training              training requirements
                                      part to satisfy the       requirements based on     for specific groups of
                                      unique qualification      the unique                mariners based on
                                      requirements of an        qualification             their unique
                                      applicant or distinct     requirements of a group   qualifications, and
                                      group of mariners. The    of mariners, which we     the cost savings will
                                      Coast Guard may also      have not previously       not be attainable. The
                                      lower the age             done.                     addition also permits
                                      requirement for OUPV                                the Coast Guard, in
                                      applicants. The                                     the future, to modify
                                      authority granted by an                             training requirements
                                      officer endorsement                                 for other specific
                                      will be restricted to                               groups of mariners. We
                                      reflect any                                         do not intend to
                                      modifications made                                  modify other training
                                      under the authority of                              requirements at this
                                      this paragraph.                                     time. As such, we do
                                                                                          not estimate any costs
                                                                                          or cost savings from
                                                                                          this change.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Affected Population
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ Coast Guard does not have data to forecast the number of 
mariners who will seek an increase in scope in the future. 
Additionally, we did not receive any additional information from the 
public comments that would aid in our ability to forecast.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule has two affected populations: (1) training providers who 
would offer a modified basic firefighting course; and (2) applicants 
for MMC endorsements as a master of towing vessels (limited) or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers routes. We 
first estimate the number of training providers who may submit a 
modified basic firefighting course to the Coast Guard for approval, and 
then estimate the number of applicants who may apply for an

[[Page 67974]]

endorsement as master of towing vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of 
towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western Rivers.
    The Coast Guard does not know how many training providers will 
request approval for a modified basic firefighting course. However, 
since this course will be a modified form of the basic firefighting 
course, we assume that only training providers who already teach a 
basic firefighting course will take advantage of the opportunity 
provided by this proposal. Currently, there are 91 training providers 
approved to offer a basic firefighting course.\18\ Historically, the 
number of training providers does not significantly change on an annual 
basis. Therefore, we expect that the training providers who will offer 
a modified firefighting course will be from these 91 training 
providers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/NMC/pdfs/courses/courses.pdf lists all courses approved by the Coast Guard. There are 
91 training providers approved to offer basic firefighting courses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An SME from the Coast Guard's Office of Merchant Mariner 
Credentialing (CG-MMC) with extensive experience, involving regular 
contact with maritime training providers and towing vessel operating 
companies, reviewed publicly available materials from these 91 
providers and rated each on how likely they would be to request 
approval of a modified basic firefighting course. The SME considered 
the types of courses offered by each provider, their facilities, 
geographic location(s), and the segment of the industry their clientele 
work in. The SME then rated each training provider as either 0 percent, 
25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent, or 100 percent likely to request 
approval of a modified basic firefighting course. Across the 91 
training providers with an approved basic firefighting course, 56 of 
them were rated as having no likelihood of requesting approval to offer 
a modified firefighting course because the SME's review indicated that 
they are unlikely to serve the inland towing population. Among the 
remaining 35 providers, the SME estimated that the average likelihood 
to request approval and offer a modified basic firefighting course 
would be 65 percent. Multiplying 35 by 65 percent yields 23, rounded, 
or our estimate for the number of training providers likely to offer a 
modified firefighting course.
    Applicants for a national officer endorsement as master of towing 
vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland water or 
Western Rivers who take a modified course will realize a cost savings 
by taking a shorter, less expensive firefighting course. As discussed 
in Section IV, Background, of the published NPRM associated with this 
final rule,\19\ the Coast Guard issued a final rule in 2013 requiring 
mariners seeking national officer endorsements as master or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels on routes other than oceans to complete a 
Coast Guard-approved basic firefighting course.\20\ Prior to the 2013 
final rule, only masters and mates (pilots) of towing vessels serving 
on an ocean route were required to complete firefighting training.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ See Section IV, Background, of the NPRM titled, ``Towing 
Vessel Firefighting Training'' (86 FR 48925, September 1, 2021. To 
view the NPRM, go to www.regulations.gov, type USCG 2020-0492 in the 
search box, and click ``Search.'' Next click on the ``Browse 
Documents'' tab. Then, click on proposed rule document. This website 
was last accessed on April 6, 2023.
    \20\ See final rule titled, ``Implementation of the Amendments 
to the International Convention on Standards of Training, 
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to 
National Endorsements'' (78 FR 77796, December 24, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grandfathered Population
    This rule will affect applicants for endorsements of inland master 
of towing vessels (limited) if they do not have a prior endorsement as 
a mate (pilot) that required a firefighting course. The 2013 final rule 
established grandfathering provisions for which the Coast Guard 
provided guidance in Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 
03-16, titled ``Guidelines for Credentialing Officers of Towing 
Vessels.'' \21\ As described in Enclosure 10 of NVIC 03-16, the Coast 
Guard grandfathered mariners applying for an original MMC endorsed as 
master or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on non-oceans routes who began 
sea service prior to March 24, 2014 and submitted an application prior 
to March 24, 2019. The grandfathering provisions established that 
applicants for original master or mate (pilot) endorsements on non-
oceans routes prior to March 24, 2019, were not required to take a 
firefighting course.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ Current Coast Guard NVICs can be found at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/NVIC/Year/2010/. (On this site 
``click on ``NVIC 03-16.'' This website was last accessed on April 
24, 2023.) NVIC 03-16 was updated in September 2020, and the 
discussion about grandfathering was removed because the 
grandfathering period had expired. The original NVIC was published 
June 23, 2016, and can be found here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/USCG-2016-0611-0001. This website was last accessed on 
April 24, 2023.
    \22\ Coast Guard SMEs estimate that nearly all master or mate 
(pilot) applicants would have begun sea service prior to March 24, 
2014.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Mariners raising the grade of their MMC endorsement from mate 
(pilot) to master of towing vessels were also grandfathered in under 
NVIC 03-16 and were not required to take a firefighting course. As a 
result of the grandfathering provisions, this rule will be applicable 
to new applicants for master of towing vessels (limited) or mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels endorsements.
    In order to qualify for an MMC endorsement as master of towing 
vessels, other than master of towing vessels (limited), an applicant 
must have prior sea service experience as either a mate (pilot) of 
towing vessels or a master of vessels greater than 200 GRT. Holding the 
endorsement authorizing service in either of these capacities would 
have required the applicant to either take a firefighting course or be 
grandfathered in under NVIC 03-16. As a result, this rule does not 
impact applicants for an endorsement as master of towing vessels other 
than master of towing vessels (limited).
    Masters of towing vessels (limited) do not require prior sea 
service as a master or mate of vessels greater than 200 GRT. Therefore, 
this rule will affect applicants for endorsements of inland master of 
towing vessels (limited) if they do not have a prior endorsement as a 
mate (pilot) that required a firefighting course. Two towing vessel 
endorsement applicant groups are thus affected by this rule: (1) mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels, and (2) master of towing vessels (limited) 
with no prior endorsement as a mate (pilot).
Affected Population of New Applicants
    The Coast Guard's National Maritime Center (NMC) issues MMCs to 
applicants who meet the regulatory requirements for endorsements 
described in 46 CFR parts 11, 12, and 13. Applicants for endorsements 
as master and mate (pilot) of towing vessels may be endorsed to operate 
on oceans, near coastal, Great Lakes and inland waters, or Western 
Rivers routes.
    The MMLD database is used by the NMC to issue MMCs and maintain 
records of U.S. merchant mariners. Data was obtained from the MMLD, for 
the period between 2015-2022, on each issuance of an original master or 
mate (pilot) of towing vessel endorsement, including when the 
endorsement was issued, and the authorized routes of operation. We 
excluded applicants for Great Lakes, near-coastal, or oceans routes, 
because applicants for endorsements on those routes are required to 
complete basic firefighting and will not be affected by the rule. 
Currently, Great Lakes and inland waters are issued as one route for 
towing vessel endorsements. With this rule, language is added to allow 
the separation of these two routes so that a mariner who completes the 
modified

[[Page 67975]]

basic firefighting course could be issued an endorsement valid for 
inland waters or Western Rivers. Because towing vessel endorsements are 
currently issued for Great Lakes and inland routes, the Coast Guard 
cannot directly estimate from the MMLD data the number of masters and 
mates (pilots) of towing vessels operating exclusively on inland 
waters. However, we can estimate the number of towing vessels that 
operate on these waters based on data from towing vessel inspection 
records.
    As of 2023, 5,013 towing vessels have been inspected under 46 CFR 
subchapter M.\23\ When vessels are inspected, they must declare their 
operating route, which may include the Great Lakes, inland waters and 
Western Rivers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ These data were retrieved from the Coast Guard's Marine 
Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) database in 
February 2023. Title 46 CFR subchapter M requires all towing vessels 
greater than 26 feet and those that transport hazardous materials to 
be inspected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In order to isolate the vessels operating on the Great Lakes, we 
first reviewed the number of vessels that operate on the Great Lakes, 
inland waters, or Western Rivers, and then examined the number of 
vessels that list the Great Lakes as at least one of their routes. 
Specifically, out of the 5,013 total towing vessels inspected under 46 
CFR subchapter M, 3,552 are recorded as one or more of the following 
routes: Great Lakes, inland waters, or Western Rivers. Of the 3,552 
vessels, 169, or 5 percent, rounded (169 / 3,552 = 0.048), include the 
Great Lakes as one of their listed routes and, therefore, will require 
basic firefighting training, since they may operate on the Great Lakes. 
The remaining 95 percent, or 3,383 vessels, do not include the Great 
Lakes as one of their listed routes and, therefore, mariners serving on 
these vessels are eligible to take the modified basic firefighting 
course.
    Table 4 shows the number of endorsements issued from 2016-2019 for 
master of towing vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels, 
respectively, endorsed to operate on the Great Lakes, inland waters, or 
Western Rivers routes.\24\ While we have data on the number of 
endorsements issued in 2020 and 2021, we intentionally exclude 2020 and 
2021 when calculating the average number of master (limited) and mate 
(pilot) towing vessel endorsements each year because of the impact of 
the COVID-19 pandemic on all facets of the U.S. economy. Therefore, we 
do not believe the number of endorsements issued in 2020 and 2021 
represents a typical year, and many individuals who might ordinarily 
have pursued an endorsement did not because of the general slowdown in 
business associated with the pandemic. On average, between 2016 and 
2019, the Coast Guard issued 16 master of towing vessels (limited) and 
495 mate (pilot) of towing vessels endorsements per year, for a total 
of 511 new endorsements per year on Great Lakes, inland waters, and/or 
Western Rivers routes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ Endorsement data for 2022 are currently incomplete; 
therefore, they are not included in our analysis.

  Table 4--Estimated Number of New Great Lakes, Western Rivers, and/or
Inland Waters Mate (Pilot) and Masters (Limited) Endorsements Issued per
                               Year * \25\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Master
                                                             (limited)
                  Year                     Mate (pilot)    with no mate
                                            applicants        (pilot)
                                                            endorsement
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016....................................             615              19
2017....................................             530              17
2018....................................             423              15
2019....................................             410              11
Average.................................             495              16
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Numbers may not add due to rounding.

    As seen in table 4, the number of individuals applying for an 
endorsement as mate (pilot) of towing vessels has been declining. The 
Coast Guard does not know specifically why fewer individuals have 
applied for an endorsement as mate (pilot) of towing vessels. It may be 
associated with grandfathering provisions provided in the 2013 final 
rule, which established grandfathering provisions for master and mate 
(pilot) of towing vessels. The 2013 final rule could have caused 
applicants for master of towing vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of 
towing vessels endorsements to seek an MMC earlier than they may have 
otherwise, in order to be grandfathered under the existing regulations. 
Additionally, the introduction of subchapter M in 2016 may have led to 
a contraction in the industry. In either case, the Coast Guard believes 
that the current decline has been more severe than fundamentals would 
suggest, and, carrying forward, we expect the number of applicants to 
level off. The Coast Guard therefore utilized the 4-year average of the 
number of new towing vessel mate (pilot) applicants, or 495, and the 4-
year average of the number of master (limited), or 16, to estimate that 
511 mariners apply to the Coast Guard for endorsements to operate on 
the Great Lakes, Western Rivers, or inland waters each year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ Please see footnote 14 for more information about the why 
the numbers of inland waters and Western Rivers master (limited) and 
mate (pilot) applicants have increased from the NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applying the percentage of vessels that do not operate on the Great 
Lakes (95 percent) to the estimated 511 annual new endorsements yields 
an estimated 485 new endorsements as mate (pilot) of towing vessels or 
master of towing vessels (limited) operating in inland waters or 
Western Rivers per year, rounded (511 x 0.95 = 485).
Costs
    The modified basic firefighting course for towing vessels on inland 
waters and Western Rivers will be a modified version of the basic 
firefighting course. Mariners are required to take a basic firefighting 
course, and this final rule permits some mariners to take the modified 
basic firefighting course in lieu of the basic firefighting course. As 
such, this rule presents no additional costs to mariners who will 
continue to operate on inland waters and Western Rivers.
    Before mariners could save hours spent in training and tuition for 
a basic firefighting course, by taking a modified

[[Page 67976]]

basic firefighting course, training providers will first need to obtain 
Coast Guard approval for the modified basic firefighting course. 
training providers submit course approval requests to the NMC in 
accordance with the requirements of 46 CFR, part 10, subpart D. The NMC 
then evaluates the course to ensure the content demonstrates 
comprehensive coverage of the firefighting knowledge and competency 
requirements of the training. If the course submission does not require 
edits or revisions, and is approved as submitted, the Coast Guard 
estimates that it would take a training specialist at a training 
provider 6 hours to develop and submit a request for course approval of 
a modified basic firefighting course.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ Information provided by an SME from the Coast Guard's NMC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We used the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Occupational 
Employment Statistics National-Industry-Specific Occupational 
Employment and Wage Estimates for May 2021 ``Training and Development 
Specialists'' category to estimate the wages for the employees who 
would prepare and submit the course for Coast Guard approval, as these 
employees ``design and conduct training and development programs to 
improve individual and organization performance.'' \27\ The BLS 
estimates a training and development specialist's mean hourly wages at 
$32.51. We apply a load factor to account for non-wage compensation and 
benefits, resulting in a fully loaded hourly wage of $45.51.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes131151.htm. This 
website was accessed on April 24, 2023.
    \28\ Data on the employer cost of compensation was sourced from 
the ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' one screen data 
search. We searched for both the total compensation and the wages 
and salaries of private industry workers in the ``Educational 
Services Industry'' yielding BLS series CMU2016100000000D for total 
compensation and series CMU2026100000000D for wages. To derive the 
cost of compensation per hour worked, the Coast Guard first took the 
average of the four quarters of total compensation or $49.86 and the 
average of the four quarters of wages and salaries of $36.01, 
rounded. We then divided the total compensation amount of $49.86 by 
the wage and salary amount of $36.01 to obtain the load factor of 
about 1.4 for ``Educational Services'' occupations, rounded (49.86 
divided by 36.01 equals 1.4, rounded). To load the wage, the Coast 
Guard multiplied the estimated hourly wage of $32.51 by the loaded 
wage factor of 1.4 yielding $45.51, rounded, which accounts for the 
total cost of compensation per hour of work (32.51 multiplied by 1.4 
equals 45.51).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If the submission does not require a request for additional 
information to supplement the course approval request, the Coast Guard 
estimates that a federal government employee, at a grade level of a 
General Schedule (GS)-7, will require 1 hour to process the receipt of 
the course approval submission. One federal employee, at a grade level 
of a GS-13, will spend 4 hours evaluating the course approval request; 
another federal employee, at a grade level of GS-13, will spend 0.5 
hours reviewing the course; and a fourth federal employee, also at a 
grade level of GS-13, will spend 0.5 hours conducting a final review of 
the course. In total, the Coast Guard will spend 1 hour of GS-7 time 
and 5 hours of GS-13 time per course approval request if the submission 
does not require a request for additional information to supplement the 
course approval request.
    The impacted employees work in the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, 
DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, area. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lists 
the hourly pay for federal employees in the Washington, DC area 
according to the Washington, DC GS pay tables.\29\ We estimate that the 
impacted employees will, on average, be at a step 5 pay, because that 
is the midpoint of the pay band. The OPM records the hourly pay of GS-
7, step 5 employees as $26.69, and records the hourly pay of GS-13, 
step 5 employees as $56.31. These wages are not fully loaded, meaning 
they do not account for associated benefits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/21Tables/html/DCB_h.aspx. This website 
was last accessed on April 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To account for the value of benefits to government employees, we 
first calculate the share of total compensation of federal employees 
accounted for by wages. The Congressional Budget Office (2017) reports 
total compensation to federal employees as $64.80 per hour and wages as 
$38.30.\30\ This implies that total compensation is 1.69 times the 
average wages ($64.80 / $38.30 = 1.69). We can, therefore, calculate 
the fully loaded wage rate for the GS-7 and GS-13 hourly wage rates by 
multiplying by 1.69, yielding $45.11 and $95.16, respectively.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ Congressional Budget Office (2017), ``Comparing the 
Compensation of Federal and Private-Sector Employees, 2011 to 
2015,'' https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/reports/52637-federalprivatepay.pdf. This document was last accessed 
on April 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    All 23 training providers that may offer a modified basic 
firefighting course must submit a course approval request to the Coast 
Guard for evaluation. We estimate the costs of this initial submission 
to industry and the Coast Guard as shown in table 5.

                           Table 5--Costs Due to Initial Course Approval Applications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of
                                 Employee type     Fully loaded      training          Hours        Total cost
                                                       wage          providers
                                                             [A]             [B]             [C]     [A * B * C]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training Provider Cost.......  Training                    45.51              23               6          $6,280
                                Specialist.
Government Cost..............  GS-7............            45.11              23               1           1,038
Government Cost..............  GS-13...........            95.16              23               5          10,943
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Government Cost....  ................  ...............  ..............  ..............          11,981
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
        Total Cost...........  ................  ...............  ..............  ..............          18,261
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is common for training providers to submit insufficient 
supporting information with a course approval request to the Coast 
Guard. When this occurs, the Coast Guard requests additional 
information from the training provider. We reviewed NMC data on new 
course approval submissions over 5 years (2018-2022) to determine how 
likely it is for a training provider to submit a course approval 
request without the Coast Guard requesting additional information. We 
reviewed NMC data on the total number of course approval applications 
received and the number of course approval applications that require 
additional information such as edits and revisions (see table 6). We

[[Page 67977]]

estimate that training providers provide incomplete information in 
their application packet 38 percent of the time.

                    Table 6--Course Approval Requests Received With Insufficient Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Course approval requests     Percent of course approval
              Year                 Course approval     received with insufficient    requests with insufficient
                                  requests received           information                   information
                                                 [A]                          [B]                        [B / A]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018...........................                  944                          362                             38
2019...........................                  768                          335                             44
2020...........................                  699                          199                             28
2021...........................                  751                          182                             24
2022...........................                  655                          362                             55
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................                3,817                        1,440                             38
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When training providers submit a course approval request with 
incomplete information, the Coast Guard will request that the training 
providers revise their course request and resubmit. The Coast Guard 
estimates that both the training provider and the Coast Guard will 
spend an equal number of hours on each resubmittal as they would on the 
initial submission. In other words, the training provider will spend 6 
hours on an initial approval request and 6 hours on the resubmittal, 
for 12 hours total, and the Coast Guard will spend 1 GS-7 hour and 5 
GS-13 hours on the initial request, and 1 GS-7 hour and 5 GS-13 hours 
on the resubmittal, for 2 GS-7 hours and 10 GS-13 hours total.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ Information provided by an SME from the Coast Guard's NMC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Thus, the Coast Guard estimates that 38 percent of the training 
providers, or 9 training providers (23 x 0.38 = 9), will submit the 
request for course approval with incomplete information, requiring a 
second submission taking 6 hours to prepare for submission to the Coast 
Guard. Similarly, the Federal Government will spend an additional 1 
hour at grade level GS-7 and 5 hours at grade level GS-13 to review the 
information resubmitted for the course approval request. We estimate 
the costs of modified firefighting course approvals resubmissions as 
shown in table 7.

                Table 7--Summary of Resubmission Costs for Modified Firefighting Training Courses
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Number of
                                Employee type   Hourly burdened     training      Average hours  Total cost \32\
                                                      wage          providers
                                                            [A]             [B]             [C]      [A * B * C]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training Provider Cost.......  Training                  $45.51               9               6           $2,458
                                Specialist.
Government Cost..............  GS-7...........            45.11               9               1              406
Government Cost..............  GS-13..........            95.16               9               5            4,282
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Government Cost....  ...............  ...............  ..............  ..............            4,688
                                               -----------------------------------------------------------------
        Total Cost...........  ...............  ...............  ..............  ..............           $7,146
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We estimate the total costs to training providers from initial 
applications and any resubmissions to be approximately $8,738 ($6,280 + 
$2,458), and the total costs to government to be approximately $16,669 
($11,981 + $4,688). Together, we estimate the one-time costs of 
evaluating approval requests for the modified basic firefighting 
courses to be $8,738 + $16,669, or $25,407 during the first year of 
implementation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ Numbers may not add due to rounding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed above, Coast Guard course approvals are valid for 5 
years, and training providers must seek a renewal every 5 years to 
continue to offer the course. This course renewal will include a 
submission similar to that initially provided to and approved by the 
Coast Guard. Since the Coast Guard will have previously reviewed and 
approved the course submission, the Coast Guard estimates that it would 
take training providers less time to prepare all materials for the 
Coast Guard. Specifically, we estimate that the same training 
specialist who spent 6 hours on an initial course approval request will 
spend 1 hour on a renewal request, and the renewal request will be 
submitted without any revisions.\33\ We further estimate that all 23 
providers will submit a request for renewal of a course approval, 
because, based on a review of previous course approval renewals, we do 
not expect a turnover in training providers. The Coast Guard, however, 
will spend the same amount of time reviewing the renewal requests as it 
spent with the initial approval request to ensure that the course still 
meets regulatory requirements, or 1 hour of GS-7 time and 5 hours of 
GS-13 time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ According to SMEs from the Coast Guard's Office of Merchant 
Mariner Credentialing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These costs will occur 5 years after each approval, or in year 6. 
We estimate the course renewal costs as shown in table 8. The 10-year 
distribution of undiscounted and discounted costs from both the initial 
and renewal requests are recorded in table 9.

[[Page 67978]]

                                     Table 8--Course Renewal Submission Cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     Number of
                                 Employee type    Burdened wage      training          Hours        Total cost
                                                                     providers
                                                             [A]             [B]             [C]     [A * B * C]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Training Provider Cost.......  Training                    45.51              23               1          $1,047
                                Specialist.
Government Cost..............  GS-7............            45.11              23               1           1,038
Government Cost..............  GS-13...........            95.16              23               5          10,943
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Government Cost....  ................  ...............  ..............  ..............          11,981
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
        Total Cost...........  ................  ...............  ..............  ..............          13,028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       Table 9--Discounted Costs Over a 10-Year Period of Analysis in 2021 Dollars Discounted at 7% and 3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Discounted costs
                              Year                                 Undiscounted  -------------------------------
                                                                       costs            7%              3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................................         $25,407         $23,745         $24,667
2...............................................................               0               0               0
3...............................................................               0               0               0
4...............................................................               0               0               0
5...............................................................               0               0               0
6...............................................................          13,028           8,681          10,911
7...............................................................               0               0               0
8...............................................................               0               0               0
9...............................................................               0               0               0
10..............................................................               0               0               0
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          38,435          32,426          35,577
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Annualized..............................................  ..............           4,617           4,171
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Benefits
    The primary benefits of the rule come from the cost savings to 
mariners in terms of reduced time spent in training and in reduced 
tuition. The modified course content will eliminate the requirement for 
training using certain firefighting equipment that is not required to 
be carried on towing vessels operating on inland waters or Western 
Rivers. Therefore, the modified basic firefighting course will be 
shorter, and likely less expensive, than the basic firefighting course. 
Thus, a mariner will likely prefer to take a modified basic 
firefighting course instead of a basic firefighting course. Some 
mariners may prefer to take the basic firefighting course if they are 
considering the possibility of working on the Great Lakes, near coastal 
waters, or ocean routes in the future. However, we do not have data to 
forecast how many of these mariners might opt, in the future, to take 
the basic firefighting course when they apply for the endorsement as 
master (limited) of towing vessels or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on 
inland waters or Western Rivers. Because the modified basic 
firefighting course will be shorter, less expensive, and located in the 
same area as the basic firefighting course, and because only a small 
portion of mariners operate in the Great Lakes (5 percent), and we 
already account for them, we assume all mariners eligible to take a 
modified basic firefighting course will do so.
    The basic firefighting training costs $552.54, on average, and 
lasts 16 hours.\34\ The Coast Guard estimates that the modified basic 
firefighting course will be 4 hours shorter than the current 16-hour 
basic firefighting course. For the purposes of our analysis, we assume 
the modified basic firefighting course will be less expensive than the 
basic firefighting course, because it will require fewer resources to 
host, result in less wear and tear on the facility, and require fewer 
hours of an instructor's time. As a result, we assume that tuition will 
decline proportionally with course length.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ Data on the price of firefighting training was only 
publicly available for 24 of the 91 approved training providers. 
Some of the training providers are private companies that train 
their own employees, some are in schools like the U.S. Merchant 
Marine Academy that teach basic firefighting to their own midshipmen 
but do not separate out the training, and others do not appear to 
offer basic firefighting training despite having an approval 
permitting them to teach it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the affected population section, we estimate that 485 
individuals will apply for an MMC endorsement as master of towing 
vessels (limited) or mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters or 
Western Rivers each year and will be eligible to take the modified 
basic firefighting course in lieu of the basic firefighting course. 
Therefore, these applicants will save 4 hours of their time and the 
difference in costs between the basic firefighting tuition and the 
modified basic firefighting course tuition.
    The Coast Guard estimates that these 485 applicants will be 
mariners who hold an MMC endorsement as apprentice mate (steersman), 
which is a position between ordinary seaman and mate. The BLS does not 
have a labor category for apprentice mate (steersman); however, the BLS 
Occupational Employment Statistics National-Industry-Specific 
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for May 2021 lists the mean 
hourly wages for both ``Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels'' 
and ``Sailors and Marine Oilers.'' \35\ As an

[[Page 67979]]

apprentice mate (steersman) is a position between ordinary seaman and 
mate, we derive their wages by taking a weighted average mean hourly 
wage of both ``Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels'' and 
``Sailors and Marine Oilers'' operating in the ``Inland Water 
Transportation'' industry. We take a weighted average because the 
duties and responsibilities of an apprentice mate (steersman) are more 
like that of sailor than of a mate. Consequently, we rate the sailor's 
wage more heavily than we weight the mate's wage. Specifically, we 
estimate the mean hourly wage of an apprentice mate (steersman) by 
taking one-third of the average mate's mean hourly wage ($55.32) and 
two-thirds of the average sailor's mean hourly wage ($26.44), yielding 
$36.07 per hour, rounded.\36\ We then apply a load factor to account 
for non-wage compensation and benefits, which results in a fully loaded 
mean hourly wage of $54.11.\37\ Therefore, we estimate the annual 
undiscounted cost savings for taking shorter courses to be 
approximately $104,973 [(485 endorsements x 4 (the number of hours 
saved) x $54.11 (the burdened wage)].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ Master and mate rates were accessed on February 8, 2023 
from: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes535021.htm#ind. This 
website was last accessed on April 24, 2023. Sailor and Oiler rates 
were accessed on February 8, 2023 from: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes535011.htm. This website was last accessed on April 24, 
2023. For both rates the hourly mean wage for the ``Inland Water 
Transportation'' industry was used as this best approximates the 
wages of towing vessel masters, mates, and deckhands. The reader can 
find this wage rate under the ``Industry Profile'' section of each 
web page.
    \36\ More specifically, [($55.32 divided by 3) plus ($26.44 
multiplied by \2/3\)] which equals $36.07.
    \37\ Data on the employer cost of compensation was sourced from 
the ``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' one screen data 
search. We searched for both the total compensation and the wages 
and salaries of private industry workers in the ``Transportation and 
Warehousing Industry'' yielding BLS series CMU2014300000000D for 
total compensation and series CMU2024300000000D for wages. To derive 
the cost of compensation per hour worked, the Coast Guard first took 
the average of the four quarters of total compensation or $40.79 and 
the average of the four quarters of wages and salaries of $26.98, 
rounded. We then divided the total compensation amount of $40.79 by 
the wage and salary amount of $26.98 to obtain the load factor of 
about 1.5 for ``Transportation and Warehousing'' occupations, 
rounded ($40.79 divided by $26.98 equals 1.5, rounded). To load the 
wage, the Coast Guard multiplied the estimated hourly wage of $36.07 
by the loaded wage factor of 1.5 yielding $54.11, rounded, which 
accounts for the total cost of compensation per hour of work ($36.07 
multiplied by 1.5 equals $54.11).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Applicants for MMC endorsements as master of towing vessel 
(limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels will also save the 
difference between the tuition for the less expensive, modified basic 
firefighting course and the basic firefighting course. If we use the 
tuition for the basic firefighting course, $552.54, as the cost of 16 
hours of firefighting instruction, then 12 hours of instruction would 
be $414.41, rounded [($552.54 x (12 / 16) = $414.41)]. The cost savings 
for the modified basic firefighting course due to reduced tuition would 
be $138.13 ($552.54-$414.41 = $138.13) or $66,993 total ($138.13 x 485 
= $66,993), rounded.
    In addition, applicants for MMC endorsements as master of towing 
vessel (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels who drive and lodge 
near the closest training provider offering a modified basic 
firefighting training course will save on travel expenses due to the 
shortened class time on the second day of training. Because the second 
day of training only involves a half day or 4 hours of training, we 
assume that applicants who would drive and lodge would be able to use 
the remainder of the day to travel home, rather than lodge for an 
additional night and return home the following day. As a result, we 
estimate a total savings of $47,045 in travel expenses from the removal 
of 1 day of lodging and reduced meals and incidentals. See Appendix A 
in the docket for an in-depth analysis of the cost savings associated 
with reduced travel expenses. In total, applicants for master of towing 
vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels on inland waters 
or Western Rivers routes will save an average of $219,011 per year--
$104,973 from reduced hours spent in courses, $66,993 from reduced 
tuition, and $47,045 from reduced travel expenses.
    Because courses must be Coast Guard-approved before they can be 
offered to mariners, and developing a new course and obtaining approval 
from the Coast Guard can be a lengthy process, we are delaying the 
effective date of the rule by 180 days. This will allow time both for 
training providers to develop a modified basic firefighting course and 
the Coast Guard to evaluate and approve the courses prior to the 
effective date. However, we assume that a modified firefighting course 
will not be widely available until the second year of analysis. We show 
the 10-year distribution of cost savings in table 10.

        Table 10--Discounted Cost Savings Over a 10-Year Period of Analysis in 2021 Dollars at 7% and 3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Discounted cost savings
                              Year                                 Undiscounted  -------------------------------
                                                                   cost savings         7%              3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................................  ..............  ..............  ..............
2...............................................................        $219,011        $191,293        $206,439
3...............................................................         219,011         178,778         200,426
4...............................................................         219,011         167,082         194,588
5...............................................................         219,011         156,152         188,921
6...............................................................         219,011         145,936         183,418
7...............................................................         219,011         136,389         178,076
8...............................................................         219,011         127,466         172,889
9...............................................................         219,011         119,127         167,854
10..............................................................         219,011         111,334         162,965
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................       1,971,099       1,333,558      1,6558,576
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Annualized..............................................  ..............         189,869         194,084
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unquantified Benefits of the Rule
    There is no data to quantify any additional benefits beyond the 
cost savings estimated and noted above. However, a qualitative benefit 
of this rule is that there will be firefighting courses that are more 
tailored to the credential endorsement.
Analysis of Alternatives
    In addition to our preferred alternative, which is discussed 
throughout the remainder of this RA, we considered three additional 
alternatives:
    (1) No action, or maintaining the requirement that masters and 
mates (pilots) of towing vessels be required to take a basic 
firefighting course. With

[[Page 67980]]

this alternative, applicants would not benefit from a shorter, modified 
basic firefighting course. Therefore, there would be no cost savings. 
We rejected the no-action alternative because it would not create cost 
savings for mariners seeking an endorsement for master or mate (pilot) 
of towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers.
    (2) We also considered an alternative from a comment submitted 
during our request for feedback. This commenter recommended that the 
Coast Guard eliminate the approved training requirement and rely 
instead on drills required by existing regulations to ensure mariner 
competence in firefighting. Proponents of this alternative are likely 
to argue that the absence of a training requirement could lead to cost 
savings from: (1) no longer traveling to, paying for, or spending time 
in the training. However, the Coast Guard believes this alternative has 
serious drawbacks. First, as noted earlier, firefighting training 
ensures that mariners have fundamental firefighting and emergency 
skills that allow for effective fire prevention and the quick 
extinguishment of small fires that could otherwise spread and lead to 
property damage and personnel injury or death. Without the training, 
the Coast Guard cannot be sure that mariners would have the necessary 
skills to combat fires should they occur on vessels. Second, 
instructors in courses that are approved by the Coast Guard are 
required to have experience or training in effectively delivering 
course material. Third, the content of company managed training and 
drills would likely be less intensive and exhaustive than what training 
providers will offer. Firefighting courses include live fire exercises 
and practical experience identifying potential fire hazards and 
extinguishing live fires. As part of approved training, these types of 
activities take place in a controlled environment, allowing students to 
meet learning objectives while keeping them safe from the associated 
hazards. These practical exercises cannot be carried out on an 
operational vessel. Fourth, it is common for mariners to work on 
different vessels and for different companies. There is a need for the 
common foundational training that a Coast Guard-approved course 
provides. While individuals no longer being required to take a 
firefighting course may view this as a benefit via cost savings, the 
Coast Guard views this as unacceptably decreasing the quality of 
firefighting skills and decreasing the safety of the inland waters and 
Western Rivers towing vessel fleet.
    Taken together, these four findings would lower the safety and 
preparedness of the inland waters and Western Rivers towing vessel 
fleet substantially. Therefore, the Coast Guard rejected this 
alternative.
    (3) The third alternative we considered was permitting firefighting 
training specific to inland waters and Western Rivers towing vessels 
but requiring the new training to have the same 16 hours of coursework 
and cover additional topics and situations common to inland waters and 
Western Rivers towing vessels not previously required by regulation. 
While the addition of topics for training could be beneficial, the 
Coast Guard has no data or feedback to support its impact on safety. 
Additionally, the Coast Guard believes training providers will have 
little incentive to undergo the expense of developing a firefighting 
course that will not provide cost savings to mariners.
    Both courses would occur over 2 days. In the 16-hour course 
suggested by this alternative, the mariner would likely experience a 
cost savings from reduced tuition because there would be fewer 
equipment needs used for the training; however, we do not have a way to 
estimate the size of this reduction in fees. This reduction in fees 
would almost certainly be less than the reduction in fees for a 12-hour 
course instead of a 16-hour course, because the instructors would spend 
more hours in class under the 16-hour course. Additionally, a 16-hour 
course would not result in the cost savings from the 4-hour reduced 
training duration, estimated at $104,973 annually. As a result, the 
Coast Guard rejected this alternative because it did not lead to the 
highest cost savings.
Net Cost Savings
    As documented above, there will be costs to training providers and 
the Coast Guard, and cost savings to mariners who will have the option 
to complete a modified basic firefighting course. Table 11 presents the 
net cost savings to mariners and the Government over a 10-year period 
of analysis, in 2021 dollars.

      Table 11--Discounted Net Cost Savings Over a 10-Year Period of Analysis in 2021 Dollars at 7% and 3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Discounted cost savings
                              Year                                 Undiscounted  -------------------------------
                                                                   cost savings         7%              3%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1...............................................................        -$25,407        -$23,745        -$24,667
2...............................................................         219,011         191,293         206,439
3...............................................................         219,011         178,778         200,426
4...............................................................         219,011         167,082         194,588
5...............................................................         219,011         156,152         188,921
6...............................................................         205,983         137,255         172,508
7...............................................................         219,011         136,389         178,076
8...............................................................         219,011         127,466         172,889
9...............................................................         219,011         119,127         167,854
10..............................................................         219,011         111,334         162,965
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................       1,932,664       1,301,133       1,619,999
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
        Annualized..............................................  ..............         185,252         189,913
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Small Entities

    Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, we have 
considered whether this rule will have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities. 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.
    As described in section VI. A., Regulatory Planning and Review, 
there will be two affected populations: (1) training providers who 
develop and submit a course to the Coast Guard for approval, and (2) 
applicants for master

[[Page 67981]]

of towing vessels (limited) and mate (pilot) of towing vessels 
operating on inland waters or Western Rivers. Applicants are 
individuals and not entities; as such, the second affected population 
does not contain any small entities.
    Of the 91 training providers approved to offer a basic firefighting 
course, the Coast Guard identified 35 training providers who might 
submit requests for course approval to teach a modified firefighting 
course.\38\ Of these 35 providers:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ In the Affected Population section, we estimated that 23 
providers will most likely be impacted by this rule based on their 
location and other factors. While we estimated that 23 providers 
will be most likely impacted, we identified 35 providers that might 
offer a modified basic firefighting course. For the purposes of the 
regulatory flexibility analysis, and because we did not know with 
certainty which of the 35 training providers will be impacted, we 
reviewed the potential costs to any of 35 entities to see if this 
rule will be likely to have a substantial impact on small entities. 
These 35 training providers are available in the docket where 
indicated under the ADDRESSES portion of the preamble (See Table A1: 
Basic Firefighting Training Providers, Course Cost, and Likelihood 
to Offer a Modified Basic Firefighting Course).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     13 are public agencies, none of which are classified as 
small entities;
     4 are non-profit organizations, and all 4 are classified 
as small entities;
     18 are private companies. Of these, 4 are not classified 
as small businesses, 8 are classified as small businesses, and 6 could 
not be classified because information could not be found on those 6 
businesses. We classify those 6 businesses, where information could not 
be found, as small entities.
    In total, we classified 18 of 35 entities as small entities. Table 
12 lists the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 
codes and size standards used to determine whether entities are small 
and the numbers of small entities.

                               Table 12--Size Standards and the Affected Entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Number of
         NAICS U.S. industry title             NAICS             Size standard           Number of      small
                                                code                                      entities     entities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Government Jurisdiction..............        N/A  ``governments of cities,                 13            0
                                                         counties, towns, townships,
                                                         villages, school districts,
                                                         or special districts with a
                                                         population of less than
                                                         50,000''.
Small Organization.........................        N/A  ``any not-for-profit                      4            4
                                                         enterprise that is
                                                         independently owned and
                                                         operated and not dominant in
                                                         its field''.
Crude Petroleum Extraction.................     211120  1,250 employees...............            1            0
Inland Water Freight Transportation........     483211  750 employees.................            1            1
Inland Water Passenger Transportation......     483212  500 employees.................            1            0
Navigational Services to Shipping..........     488330  $41.5 million in revenue......            2            1
Human Resources Consulting Services........     541612  $16.5 million in revenue......            1            1
Business and Secretarial Schools...........     611410  $8 million in revenue.........            1            1
Other Technical and Trade Schools..........     611519  $16.5 million in revenue......            3            3
Sports and Recreation Instruction..........     611620  $8 million in revenue.........            1            1
Ambulance Services.........................     621910  $16.5 million in revenue......            1            0
Firms Where the Industry Could not be              N/A  N/A...........................            6            6
 Identified.
                                                                                       -------------------------
    Total..................................  .........  ..............................           35           18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As shown in the Costs section of this RA, we estimate that it takes 
either 6 hours to prepare and submit a course approval request for a 
modified basic firefighting course or 12 hours if the course approval 
request requires additional information and resubmission. A training 
and development specialist's time is valued at a burdened rate of 
$45.51, for a total cost of either $273.06, or $546.12.\39\ For this 
rule to impose a significant impact on a small entity, the impact would 
have to be greater than 1 percent (.01) of a small entity's annual 
revenue. That is, for this rule to have a significant economic impact 
on an entity, the entity's annual revenue has to be less than $54,612 
($546.12 / 0.01 = $54,612). Out of the 8 small entities for which we 
had revenue information, none had annual revenue under $54,612. Table 
13 indicates the distribution of revenue impacts for the small entities 
for which we were able to identify revenue information.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ See footnote 26 for a calculation of the burdened wage rate 
for training and development specialists. 6 hours x $45.51 per hour 
is $273.06, while 12 hours x $45.51 per hour is $546.12.
    \40\ We were not able to identify revenue information for the 4 
nonprofit small entities and for 6 firms we identified as small 
businesses.

                                    Table 13--Distribution of Revenue Impacts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             Small entities    Portion of small
                Percent of revenue impact                   Average annual     with known        entities with
                                                                impact           revenue         known revenue
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<1%......................................................          $546.12                 8                 100
1-3%.....................................................           546.12                 0                   0

[[Page 67982]]

 
>3%......................................................           546.12                 0                   0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, based on this analysis, 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.

C. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996, Public Law 104-121, we offer to assist small 
entities in understanding this rule so that they can better evaluate 
its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. The Coast Guard 
will not retaliate against small entities that question or complain 
about this rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.
    Small businesses may send comments on the actions of federal 
employees who enforce, or otherwise determine compliance with, federal 
regulations to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory 
Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory 
Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these actions annually and 
rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to 
comment on actions by employees of the Coast Guard, call 1-888-REG-FAIR 
(1-888-734-3247).

D. Collection of Information

    This rule calls for a change to the existing information collection 
(OMB Control Number 1625-0028) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. As defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(c), ``collection 
of information'' comprises reporting, recordkeeping, monitoring, 
posting, labeling, and other similar actions. The title and description 
of the information collections, a description of those who must collect 
the information, and an estimate of the total annual burden follow. The 
estimate covers the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing 
sources of data, gathering, and maintaining the data needed, and 
completing and reviewing the collection.
    Title: Course Approval and Records for Merchant Mariner Training 
Schools.
    OMB Control Number: 1625-0028.
    Summary of the Modification to the Collection of Information: This 
rule permits training providers to offer a new course, approved under 
46 CFR 10.402 and 10.403, by permitting inland waters and Western 
Rivers towing vessel master and mate (pilot) applicants to take a 
modified basic course in lieu of a basic firefighting course.
    Need for Information: The Coast Guard will need to receive a course 
approval submission from training providers who will offer a modified 
basic inland waters and Western Rivers towing vessel firefighting 
course.
    Proposed Use of the Information: The collection of information is 
intended to ensure that training providers meet the regulatory 
requirements for the courses that they offer.
    Description of the Respondents: The respondents are training 
providers wishing to offer a modified basic inland waters and Western 
Rivers towing vessel firefighting course.
    Number of Respondents: The Coast Guard estimates that there will 
not be any additional respondents, because the training providers 
requesting approval of a modified basic inland waters and Western 
Rivers towing vessel firefighting course already have other courses 
approved by the Coast Guard. As such, the Coast Guard expects there 
will be no additional respondents because the respondents are already 
included in the collection of information. Out of the 315 current 
annual respondents for OMB Control Number 1625-0028, 91 are currently 
approved to offer a basic firefighting course. Based on information 
provided by an SME from the Coast Guard's Office of Merchant Mariner 
Credentialing, we estimate that 23 of the 91 training providers 
offering a basic firefighting course will likely request approval of a 
modified basic inland waters and Western Rivers towing vessel 
firefighting course.
    Frequency of Response: We expect that 62 percent of the training 
providers will request course approval and not need to provide 
additional information, and the other 38 percent will request course 
approval and need to provide additional information. The Coast Guard 
expects these requests to happen in the first year. Therefore, we 
estimate that there will be 32 additional responses from this rule (23 
initial submissions, plus 9 submissions of additional information).
    Burden of Response: Out of the 32 responses, the Coast Guard 
estimates that 23 will take 6 hours to request approval of a modified 
basic inland waters and Western Rivers towing vessel firefighting 
course because the training provider's submission complies with Coast 
Guard policies and regulations. Another 9 responses will take an 
additional 6 hours because the course package will need to be revised 
and resubmitted.
    Estimate of Total Annual Burden: All 32 responses will take 6 hours 
to complete. Consequently, the Coast Guard estimates that 32 x 6, or 
192 hours, will be incurred by training providers in requesting new 
modified basic firefighting course approvals.
    As required by 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), we will submit a copy of this 
rule to OMB for its review of the collection of information.
    You are not required to respond to a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has not 
yet completed its review of this collection. Once OMB completes action 
on our information collection request, we will publish a Federal 
Register notice describing OMB's action.

E. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132 
(Federalism) if it has a substantial direct effect on 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 rule under Executive Order 13132 and 
have determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism 
principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 
13132. Our analysis follows.
    It is well settled that States may not regulate in categories 
reserved for regulation by the Coast Guard. It is also well settled 
that all of the categories covered in 46 U.S.C. 7101 (personnel 
qualifications of officers serving on board merchant vessels), and any 
other category in which Congress intended the Coast Guard to be the 
sole source of a vessel's obligations, are within the field foreclosed 
from regulation by the States. See, e.g., United States v. Locke,

[[Page 67983]]

529 U.S. 89 (2000) (finding that the states are foreclosed from 
regulating tanker vessels) see also Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 435 
U.S. 151, 157 (1978) (state regulation is preempted where ``the scheme 
of federal regulation may be so pervasive as to make reasonable the 
inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it 
[or where] the Act of Congress may touch a field in which the federal 
interest is so dominant that the federal system will be assumed to 
preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject.'' (citations 
omitted)). Because this rule involves the credentialing of merchant 
mariner officers under 46 U.S.C. 7101, it relates to personnel 
qualifications for vessels subject to a pervasive scheme of federal 
regulation and is therefore foreclosed from regulation by the States. 
Because the States may not regulate within this category, this rule is 
consistent with the principles of federalism and preemption 
requirements in Executive Order 13132.
    While it is well settled that States may not regulate in categories 
in which Congress intended the Coast Guard to be the sole source of a 
vessel's obligations, the Coast Guard recognizes the key role that 
State and local governments may have in making regulatory 
determinations. Additionally, for rules with federalism implications 
and preemptive effect, Executive Order 13132 specifically directs 
agencies to consult with State and local governments during the 
rulemaking process. If you believe this proposed rule would have 
implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, please call or 
email the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this 
preamble.
    Therefore, because the States may not regulate within these 
categories, this rule is consistent with the fundamental federalism 
principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 
13132.

F. Unfunded Mandates

    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. Although this rule will not result 
in such expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere 
in this preamble.

G. 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).

H. 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.

I. 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 will not create an 
environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

J. Indian Tribal Governments

    This rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 
13175 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments), 
because it will 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.

K. 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.

L. Technical Standards

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, codified as a 
note to 15 U.S.C. 272, directs agencies to use voluntary consensus 
standards in their regulatory activities unless the agency provides 
Congress, through OMB, with an explanation of why using these standards 
would be inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical. 
Voluntary consensus standards are technical standards (e.g., 
specifications of materials, performance, design, or operation; test 
methods; sampling procedures; and related management systems practices) 
that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies.
    This rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we did not 
consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.

M. Environment

    We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security 
Management Directive 023-01, Rev. 1,\41\ associated implementing 
instructions, and Environmental Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series), 
which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have made 
a determination that this action is one of a category of actions that 
do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the 
human environment. A Record of Environmental Consideration supporting 
this determination is available in the docket. For instructions on 
locating the docket, see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble. This 
rule is categorically excluded under paragraphs L52 and L56 of Appendix 
A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Rev.1. Paragraph 
L52 pertains to regulations concerning vessel operation safety 
standards and paragraph L56 pertains to regulations concerning the 
training, qualifying, and credentialing of maritime personnel.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/DHS_Instruction%20Manual%20023-01-001-01%20Rev%2001_508%20Admin%20Rev.pdf. This document was last accessed 
on April 24, 2023.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule revises the existing merchant mariner credentialing 
training requirements for national endorsements as master and mate 
(pilot) for towing vessels. The changes apply to mariners working on 
towing vessels inspected under 46 CFR subchapter M when operating on 
inland waters or Western Rivers routes. Under the rule, these mariners 
will only be required to complete training that is relevant to the 
firefighting equipment that is available on their vessels. This change 
promotes marine safety by focusing attention on the resources actually 
available to affected mariners.

List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 11

    Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Schools, 
Seamen.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 
46 CFR part 11 as follows:

0
1. The authority citation for part 11 is revised to read as follows:

[[Page 67984]]

    Authority: 14 U.S.C. 503; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 46 U.S.C. 2101, 2103, 
and 2110; 46 U.S.C. chapter 71; 46 U.S.C. 7502, 7505, 7701, 8906, 
and 70105; E.O. 10173; DHS Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 
01.3. Section 11.107 is also issued under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 
3507.

0
2. Amend Sec.  11.201 by:
0
a. Revising the first sentence of paragraph (h)(1) introductory text;
0
b. Revising paragraphs (h)(2)(i), (h)(3)(i) and (ii);
0
c. Adding paragraphs (h)(3)(iii) and (iv); and
0
d. In paragraph (l), after the word ``service'' and before the words 
``and examination'' adding the text ``, training''.
    The revisions and additions read as follows:

Sec.  11.201  General requirements for national and STCW officer 
endorsements.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (1) Applicants for an original officer endorsement in the following 
categories must present a certificate of completion from a firefighting 
course of instruction relevant to the endorsement being sought that has 
been approved by the Coast Guard. * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) All national officer endorsements as master or mate on seagoing 
vessels of 200 GRT or more.
* * * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) All officer endorsements as master on vessels of less than 500 
GT in ocean service.
    (ii) All officer endorsements for master or mate (pilot) of towing 
vessels for service on near-coastal waters, except apprentice mate 
(steersman) of towing vessels.
    (iii) All officer endorsements for master or mate (pilot) of towing 
vessels for service on Great Lakes, except apprentice mate (steersman) 
of towing vessels.
    (iv) All officer endorsements as master or mate (pilot) of towing 
vessels for service on inland waters or Western Rivers, except 
apprentice mate (steersman) of towing vessels.
    (A) The Coast Guard will accept a Coast Guard-approved modified 
basic firefighting course, which is the basic firefighting training 
described in paragraph (h)(3) of this section modified to only cover 
the equipment, fire prevention procedures, and firefighting operations 
required on towing vessels on inland waters or Western Rivers routes 
required in 46 CFR parts 140 and 142. A mariner who completes this 
modified basic firefighting course will be issued an endorsement that 
is restricted to inland waters or Western Rivers.
    (B) To increase in scope to Great Lakes, near-coastal or oceans, 
the applicant will be required to complete the firefighting course 
appropriate to the route sought.
* * * * *

    Dated: September 21, 2023.
W.R. Arguin,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Prevention 
Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-21560 Filed 10-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P