Document ID: USCG-2014-0200-0001
Agency: uscg
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: NPRM:  Special Local Regulations: Wrightsville Channel, Wrightsville Beach, NC (Federal Register Publication)
Posted Date: 2014-06-09T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 110 (Monday, June 9, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32886-32889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13269]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 100

[Docket Number USCG-2014-0200]
RIN 1625-AA08

Special Local Regulations for Marine Events, Wrightsville 
Channel; Wrightsville Beach, NC

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is proposing to establish a Special Local 
Regulation for the ``Swim the Loop/Motts Channel Sprint'' swim event, 
to be held on the waters adjacent to and surrounding Harbor Island in 
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. This Special Local Regulation is 
necessary to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waters 
during the event. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic on 
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway within 550 yards north and south of 
the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge crossing the Atlantic Intracoastal 
Waterway, mile 283.1, at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, during the 
swim event.

DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast 
Guard on or before July 9, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number using 
any one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    (2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
    (3) Mail or Delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Deliveries 
accepted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
federal holidays. The telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for further instructions 
on submitting comments. To avoid duplication, please use only one of 
these three methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, 
call or email LCDR Evelynn B. Samms, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, 
Coast Guard; telephone 910-772-2207, email Evelynn.B.Samms@uscg.mil. If 
you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
call Cheryl Collins, Program Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 
(202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Acronyms

DHS Department of Homeland Security
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

A. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting 
comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided.

1. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online at 
http://www.regulations.gov, or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 
please use only one of these means. If you submit a comment online, it 
will be considered received by the Coast Guard when you successfully 
transmit the comment. If you fax, hand deliver, or mail your comment, 
it will be considered as having been received by the Coast Guard when 
it is received at the Docket Management Facility. We recommend that you 
include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a 
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact 
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number (USCG-2014-0200) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with 
this rulemaking.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will consider all comments and 
material received during the comment period and may change the rule 
based on your comments.

2. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
type the docket number (USCG-2014-0200) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click 
``SEARCH.'' Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with 
this rulemaking. You may also visit the Docket Management Facility in 
Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation 
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

[[Page 32887]]

3. Privacy Act

    Anyone can search the electronic form of comments received into any 
of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act notice 
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the 
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

4. Public Meeting

    We do not plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a 
request for one, using one of the methods specified under ADDRESSES. 
Please explain why you believe a public meeting would be beneficial. If 
we determine that one would aid this rulemaking, we will hold one at a 
time and place announced by a later notice in the Federal Register.

B. Regulatory History and Information

    The ``Swim the Loop/Motts Channel Sprint'' and similar swim events 
have taken place at this location in previous years. On both June 13, 
2012, and March 29, 2013, we published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
entitled ``Special Local Regulations for Marine Events, Wrightsville 
Channel; Wrightsville Beach, NC'' in the Federal Register (77 FR 35321 
and 78 FR 19155). We received no comments on the proposed rules. No 
public meeting was requested, and none was held.

C. Basis and Purpose

    On October 11, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Without Limits Coaching 
will sponsor ``Swim the Loop'' and ``Motts Channel Sprint'' on the 
waters adjacent to and surrounding Harbor Island in Wrightsville Beach, 
North Carolina. The swim event will consist of up to 200 swimmers per 
event swimming a 1.3 mile course or a 3.5 mile course around Harbor 
Island in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. To provide for the safety 
of participants, spectators and other transiting vessels, the Coast 
Guard will temporarily restrict vessel traffic in the event area during 
this event.

D. Discussion of Proposed Rule

    The Coast Guard is proposing to restrict vessel access from the 
navigable waters of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway 550 yards north 
and south of the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge, mile 283.1, latitude 
34[deg]13'06'' North, longitude 077[deg]48'44'' West, at Wrightsville 
Beach, North Carolina. Participants will enter the Atlantic 
Intracoastal Waterway at the Dockside Marina on the west bank of the 
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway south of the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge 
at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and swim north and clockwise 
around Harbor Island returning to the Dockside Marina. To provide for 
the safety of participants, spectators and other transiting vessels, 
the Coast Guard will temporarily restrict vessel traffic in the event 
area during this event. Specifically, the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge at 
Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina will remain closed during the event 
on October 11, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition, during the 
event, general navigation within the regulated area will be restricted 
during the specified date and time with the exception of participants 
and vessels authorized by the Coast Guard Captain of the Port or his 
representative, no person or vessel may enter or remain in the 
regulated area.

E. Regulatory Analyses

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

1. Regulatory Planning and Review

    This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under 
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, 
as supplemented by Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and does not require an assessment of potential 
costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of Executive Order 12866 or 
under section 1 of Executive Order 13563. The Office of Management and 
Budget has not reviewed it under those Orders. Although this regulation 
will restrict access to the area, the effect of this rule will not be 
significant because the regulated area will be in effect for a limited 
time, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on October 11, 2014. The Coast Guard will 
provide advance notification via maritime advisories so mariners can 
adjust their plans accordingly. The regulated area will apply only to 
the section of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the immediate 
vicinity of the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge at Wrightsville Beach, North 
Carolina. Coast Guard vessels enforcing this regulated area can be 
contacted on marine band radio VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz).

2. Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as 
amended, requires federal agencies to consider the potential impact of 
regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term ``small 
entities'' comprises small businesses, not-for-profit organizations 
that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 
50,000. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this 
proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.
    This proposed rule will affect the following entities, some of 
which may be small entities: The owners or operators of recreational 
vessels intending to transit the specified portion of Atlantic 
Intracoastal Waterway from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on October 11, 2014.
    This proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities for the following reasons. This 
proposed rule will only be in effect for three hours from 10 a.m. to 1 
p.m. The regulated area applies only to the section of the Atlantic 
Intracoastal Waterway in the vicinity of the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge 
at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Vessel traffic may be allowed to 
pass through the regulated area with the permission of the Coast Guard 
Patrol Commander. In the case where the Patrol Commander authorizes 
passage through the regulated area, vessels shall proceed at the 
minimum speed necessary to maintain a safe course that minimizes wake 
near the swim course. The Patrol Commander will allow non-participating 
vessels to transit the event area once all swimmers are safely clear of 
navigation channels and vessel traffic areas. Before the enforcement 
period, we will issue maritime advisories so mariners can adjust their 
plans accordingly.
    If you think that your business, organization, or governmental 
jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have 
a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see 
ADDRESSES) explaining why you think it qualifies and how and to what 
degree this rule would economically affect it.

3. Assistance for Small Entities

    Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small 
entities in understanding this proposed rule. If the rule would affect 
your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you 
have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, 
please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT, above. The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small 
entities that question or complain about this

[[Page 32888]]

proposed rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard.

4. Collection of Information

    This proposed rule will not call for a new collection of 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520.).

5. Federalism

    A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, 
Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government. We have analyzed this proposed rule under that Order and 
determined that this rule does not have implications for federalism.

6. Protest Activities

    The Coast Guard respects the First Amendment rights of protesters. 
Protesters are asked to contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to coordinate protest activities so that 
your message can be received without jeopardizing the safety or 
security of people, places or vessels.

7. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for 
inflation) or more in any one year. Though this proposed rule would not 
result in such expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule 
elsewhere in this preamble.

8. Taking of Private Property

    This proposed rule would 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.

9. Civil Justice Reform

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

10. Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and would not 
create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might 
disproportionately affect children.

11. Indian Tribal Governments

    This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, because it would not have a substantial direct effect on 
one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes.

12. Energy Effects

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

13. Technical Standards

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

14. Environment

    We have analyzed this proposed rule under Department of Homeland 
Security Management Directive 023-01 and Commandant Instruction 
M16475.lD, which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and 
have made a preliminary determination that this action is one of a 
category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a 
significant effect on the human environment. This proposed rule 
involves implementation of regulations within 33 CFR Part 100 that 
apply to organized marine events on the navigable waters of the United 
States that may have potential for negative impact on the safety or 
other interest of waterway users and shore side activities in the event 
area. This special local regulation is necessary to provide for the 
safety of the general public and event participants from potential 
hazards associated with movement of vessels near the event area. This 
rule is categorically excluded from further review under paragraph 
34(h) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant Instruction. A preliminary 
environmental analysis checklist supporting this determination and a 
Categorical Exclusion Determination are available in the docket where 
indicated under ADDRESSES. We seek any comments or information that may 
lead to the discovery of a significant environmental impact from this 
proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 100

    Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Waterways.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes 
to amend 33 CFR part 100 as follows:

PART 100--SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 100 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 33 U. S. C. 1233

0
2. Add a temporary Sec.  100.35-T05-0200 to read as follows:

Sec.  100.35-T05-0200  Special Local Regulations for Marine Events, 
Wrightsville Channel; Wrightsville Beach, NC.

    (a) Regulated area: The following location is a regulated area: All 
waters of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway within 550 yards north and 
south of the U.S. 74/76 Bascule Bridge, mile 283.1, latitude 
34[deg]13'06'' North, longitude 077[deg]48'44'' West, at Wrightsville 
Beach, North Carolina. All coordinates reference Datum NAD 1983.
    (b) Definitions: (1) Coast Guard Patrol Commander means a 
commissioned, warrant, or petty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard who has 
been designated by the Commander, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina.
    (2) Official Patrol means any vessel assigned or approved by 
Commander, Coast Guard Sector North Carolina with a commissioned, 
warrant, or petty officer on board and displaying a Coast Guard ensign.
    (3) Participant means all participating in the ``Swim the Loop/
Motts Channel Sprint'' swim event under the auspices of the Marine 
Event Permit issued to the event sponsor and approved by Commander, 
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina.
    (4) Spectator means all persons and vessels not registered with the 
event sponsor as participants or official patrol.
    (c) Special local regulations: (1) The Coast Guard Patrol Commander 
will control the movement of all vessels in the vicinity of the 
regulated area. When hailed or signaled by an official patrol vessel, a 
vessel approaching the regulated area shall immediately comply with the 
directions given. Failure to do so may result in termination of voyage 
and citation for failure to comply.

[[Page 32889]]

    (2) The Coast Guard Patrol Commander may terminate the event, or 
the operation of any support vessel participating in the event, at any 
time it is deemed necessary for the protection of life or property. The 
Coast Guard may be assisted in the patrol and enforcement of the 
regulated area by other Federal, State, and local agencies.
    (3) Vessel traffic, not involved with the event, may be allowed to 
transit the regulated area with the permission of the Patrol Commander. 
Vessels that desire passage through the regulated area shall contact 
the Coast Guard Patrol Commander on VHF-FM marine band radio for 
direction. Only participants and official patrol vessels are allowed to 
enter the regulated area.
    (4) All Coast Guard vessels enforcing the regulated area can be 
contacted on marine band radio VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz) and 
channel 22 (157.1 MHz). The Coast Guard will issue marine information 
broadcast on VHF-FM marine band radio announcing specific event date 
and times.
    (d) Enforcement period: This section will be enforced from 10 a.m. 
to 1 p.m. on October 11, 2014.

    Dated: May 19, 2014.
S.R. Murtagh,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the Port.
[FR Doc. 2014-13269 Filed 6-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P