[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20289-20290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07733]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR 101,104,105,106
[Docket No. USCG-2007-28915]
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader
Requirements
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting on proposed rulemaking; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces a public meeting to take place on
April 25, 2013, in Houston, Texas to receive comments on a notice of
proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 22,
2013, under the title ``Transportation Worker Identification Credential
(TWIC)--Reader Requirements.'' The Coast Guard encourages members of
the public to attend this meeting and provide oral comments on the
notice of proposed rulemaking on TWIC reader requirements.
DATES: A public meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2013, from
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to provide an opportunity for oral comments.
Coast Guard personnel will accept written comments and related
materials at the public meeting as well. Written comments may also be
submitted in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking referenced
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. The comment period for the
notice of proposed rulemaking will close on May 21, 2013. All written
comments and related materials submitted before or after the meeting
must either be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before May 21, 2013, or reach the Docket
Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Houston Marriott
North, 255 N. Sam Houston Parkway East, Houston, Texas 77060. The
building is accessible by taxi, public transit, and privately-owned
conveyance.
This meeting is open to the public. Please note that the session
may adjourn early if all business, concerns, and questions are
addressed. You may submit written comments identified by docket number
USCG-2007-28915 before or after the meeting using any one of the
following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3)Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
Our online docket for this notice is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2007-28915.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning the
meeting, please call or email LCDR Gregory Callaghan, Commandant (CG-
FAC-2), Coast Guard; telephone 202-372-1168, email
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or
submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Barbara Hairston, Program
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
On March 22, 2013, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register (78 FR 17781), in which we
proposed to require owners and operators of certain vessels and
facilities regulated by the Coast Guard to use electronic readers
designed to work with the Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC) as an access control measure. The NPRM also proposed
additional requirements associated with electronic TWIC readers,
including recordkeeping requirements for those owners and operators
required to use an electronic TWIC reader, and security plan amendments
to incorporate TWIC reader requirements. The TWIC program, including
the TWIC reader requirements proposed in the NPRM, is an important
component of the Coast Guard's multi-layered system of access control
requirements and other measures designed to enhance maritime security.
As authorized by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002
\1\ (MTSA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
established the TWIC program to address identity management
shortcomings and vulnerabilities identified in the nation's
transportation system and to comply with the MTSA statutory
requirements. On January 25, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), through the Coast Guard and TSA, promulgated regulations that
require mariners and other individuals granted unescorted access to
secure areas of MTSA-regulated vessels or facilities to undergo a
security threat assessment by TSA and obtain a TWIC.\2\
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\1\ Public Law 107-295, 116 Stat. 2064 (Nov. 2, 2002).
\2\ Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
Implementation in the Maritime Sector; Hazardous Materials
Endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License, 72 FR 3492 (Jan. 25,
2007).
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This NPRM that is the subject of this public meeting, which would
require owners and operators of certain types of vessels and facilities
to use electronic TWIC readers, would advance the goals of the TWIC
program. In crafting the proposals in the NPRM, the Coast Guard
conducted a risk-based analysis of MTSA-regulated vessels and
facilities to categorize them into one of three risk groups, labeled A,
B, and C. Risk Group A is comprised of vessels and facilities that
present the highest risk of being involved in a transportation security
incident (TSI).\3\ The NPRM proposes TWIC reader requirements for
vessels and facilities in Risk Group A. Under the NPRM, vessels and
facilities in Risk Groups B and C present progressively lower risks,
and would continue to follow existing regulatory requirements for
visual TWIC inspection.
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\3\ A transportation security incident is a security incident
resulting in a significant loss of life, environmental damage,
transportation system disruption, or economic disruption in a
particular area, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 70101 (49 CFR 1572.103).
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The Coast Guard believes that in addition to receiving written
comments on the NPRM, a public meeting would benefit the impacted
community by providing another forum to raise relevant issues. Also,
the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 \4\
requires the Coast Guard to hold at least one public hearing before
promulgating final TWIC reader regulations (see 46 U.S.C. 70105(k)(3)).
This public meeting will further enable the Coast Guard to craft policy
informed by the public.
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\4\ Public Law 109-347, 120 Stat. 1884 (Oct. 13, 2006).
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We may hold one or more additional public meetings regarding the
proposals
[[Page 20290]]
in the NPRM on TWIC reader requirements. We will notify the public of
the date(s), time(s), location(s), and other details of any such
meeting(s) by publishing a separate notice in the Federal Register as
soon as we have information available.
You may view the NPRM, written comments, and supporting documents
in the online docket by going to http://www.regulations.gov and using
``USCG-2007-28915'' as your search term. Locate the NPRM among the
search results and use the filters on the left side of the page to
search for specific types of documents. If you do not have access to
the Internet, you may view the docket online by visiting the Docket
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the
Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Coast Guard has an agreement with
the Department of Transportation to use its Docket Management Facility.
We encourage you to participate by submitting comments either
orally at the meeting or in writing. If you bring written comments to
the meeting, you may submit them to Coast Guard personnel specified at
the meeting to receive written comments. These comments will be
submitted to our online public docket. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include
any personal information you have provided.
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, or other entity). You may review a Privacy Act
notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of
the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting,
contact LCDR Gregory Callaghan at the telephone number or email address
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice.
Public Meeting
The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting regarding the
``Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader
Requirements'' NPRM (78 FR 17781) on Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 1:00
p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Houston Marriott North, 255 N Sam Houston
Parkway East, Houston, Texas 77060. The building is accessible by taxi,
public transit, and privately-owned conveyance. Please note that the
session may adjourn early if all business, concerns, and questions are
addressed. We will post a written summary of the meeting and oral
comments in the docket.
Authority
This notice is issued under the authority of 46 U.S.C. 70105(k)(3)
and 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: March 29, 2013.
J.R. Morgan,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Cargo and Facility Division (CG-
FAC-2).
[FR Doc. 2013-07733 Filed 4-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P