[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10075-10077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03729]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
46 CFR Part 298
[Docket Number MARAD-2014-0011]
Proposed Policy: ``Other Relevant Criteria'' for Consideration
When Evaluating the Economic Soundness of Applications Under the Title
XI Maritime Guaranteed Loan Program
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Proposed policy.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document provides interested parties with the opportunity
to comment on the proposed policy regarding the factors the Maritime
Administration (``MARAD'') will consider in its review of applications
for the Title XI Maritime Guaranteed Loan Program (``Title XI'').
MARAD's proposed policy is intended to further promote the
modernization of the U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. shipyards through
the construction or reconstruction (to include repowering) of vessels.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 26, 2014. MARAD
will consider comments filed after this date to the maximum extent
practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments identified by Department of Transportation
(``DOT'') Docket Number MARAD-2014-0011 may be submitted by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Search MARAD-2014-0011 and follow the instructions for submitting
comments.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590. If you would like to know that your comments
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard
or envelope.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management
Facility is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
on Federal holidays.
Note: If you fax, mail or hand deliver your input 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. If you
submit your inputs 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.
Special Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name and docket number. All comments received will be posted
without change to the docket at www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information on the process, see the section
entitled Public Participation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Owen Doherty, Acting Administrator for
Business and Finance Development, Maritime Administration, Telephone:
202-366-1883, Email: [email protected]. If you have questions on
viewing the Docket, call Barbara Hairston, Acting Program Manager,
Docket Operations, telephone: 202-366-9826. Additional background
information may be found at www.MARAD.dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The primary purpose of Title XI is to
promote the growth and modernization of the U.S. Merchant Marine and
U.S. shipyards. Title XI promotes such growth and modernization by
providing loan guarantees to sustain vessel construction and repair
capacity, create jobs, support development and utilization of emerging
technologies, as well as encouraging private investment in the maritime
industry. The legislative history of Title XI reflects the evolution of
the program over its 78 year history to respond to these contemporary
issues and national priorities.\1\ Additions over time have included
job creation, new vessel safety measures, small shipyard growth,
environmental technologies, increased efficiency in the maritime
industry through modernization and national defense.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For example, the Ship Financing Act of 1972 demonstrated
Congress' focus on new environmental technologies, among other
things, by making pollution treatment, abatement, or control vessels
eligible for Title XI guarantees, See Public Law 92-507, section 1,
86 Stat. 909, as amended, now codified at 46 U.S.C. 53701(14)(K). In
the 1990s, Congress amended Title XI to redevelop the U.S. maritime
industrial base and rebuild the nation's shipyards. See National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994, Public Law 103-160,
section 1352, 107 Stat. 1812. In recent years, Title XI's focus on
national security has grown with priorities focused on national
defense tank vessels and naval auxiliary vessels. See National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, Public Law 108-36,
section 3544, 117 Stat. 1392, as amended, now codified at 46 U.S.C.
53706(c)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under 46 U.S.C. 53702(a), Title XI is a discretionary program.
Chapter 537 of Title 46 of the United States Code and part 298 of title
46 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) detail the
[[Page 10076]]
factors MARAD must consider in processing Title XI loan guarantee
applications. These authorities require MARAD to consider economic
soundness, project feasibility and specifically enumerated priorities
for processing when evaluating whether to approve or deny a Title XI
application.
For the required economic soundness determination, 46 U.S.C.
53708(a) provides six mandatory factors to consider when evaluating
economic soundness.\2\ The accompanying regulation 46 CFR 298.14(b)
sets forth ``[b]asic feasibility factors'' but notes that ``all
relevant factors'' are required to be considered prior to a
determination of economic soundness.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See Reference 46 U.S.C. 53708(a)
\3\ See Reference 46 CFR 298.14(b)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both 46 U.S.C. 53708(a)(5) and 46 CFR 298.14(b)(6) expressly allow
MARAD to consider ``other relevant criteria'' in addition to those
enumerated in the statute and regulation when making findings of
economic soundness, provided it is reasonable in doing so. Although not
an exhaustive list, examples of ``other relevant criteria'' MARAD may
consider, as appropriate, when evaluating economic soundness include,
but are not limited to, availability of funding, sensitivity and
concentration of the agency loan guarantee portfolio, utilization of
America's Marine Highways and designated corridors, and synergy with
the DOT Strategic Plan; as well as any factors contained within 46 CFR
chapter 2, subpart D with a bearing on the economic soundness of a
Title XI loan guarantee application. Examples of such factors from
subpart D include, but are not limited to, guarantees for less than the
normal term for that class of vessel, degrees of risk involved with
different applications and influence on existing Title XI guarantees.
In addition to the factors enumerated above, MARAD also proposes to
consider various environmental initiatives that are likely to increase
efficiency and lead to future cost savings as ``other relevant
criteria'' in its evaluation of Title XI loan guarantee applications.
The consideration of such initiatives is consistent not only with
previous Congressional priorities, but also with the programmatic
imperative to remain current with emerging standards, trends and
critical needs. Some of these initiatives may include alternative fuel
system designs, fuel cells, hybrid propulsion systems, air emissions
reduction technologies, ballast water treatment technologies, or other
environmentally-friendly designs.
Today, it is feasible to construct and/or repower vessels to
incorporate alternative energy technologies and fuels,\4\
environmentally-friendly designs and other technologies that improve
the environmental sustainability of vessel operations. The demand for
environmentally friendly designs, fuels and technologies is growing
rapidly throughout the maritime industry because, among other things,
they meet new air emissions and other discharge standards, and also
present the potential for greater efficiencies and cost savings. MARAD
seeks to promote, through Title XI, projects that provide more
environmentally sustainable marine transportation. Consideration of
these factors as ``other relevant criteria'' within an application's
economic soundness determination would complement the other such
criteria that MARAD already considers in the evaluation of an
application's economic soundness, which include but are not limited to
the factors identified above. MARAD notes, in particular, that many of
the economic benefits of environmentally friendly designs, fuels and
technologies take the form of public benefits that cannot be captured
by a vessel's owner and operator in the form of freight rates or
passenger fees, but which may be valuable to society because of
improved human health from air and water quality. Economists and
environmental experts can often quantify these benefits in monetary
terms or treat them qualitatively. Achieving these benefits is
consistent with the DOT Strategic Plan (under the goal of environmental
sustainability) and other Federal, State and local objectives. As such,
MARAD intends to include as a contributing factor to Federal decisions
to award Title XI loan guarantees whether approval will help a vessel
meet or exceed environmental standards. MARAD will consider the
comments received on this proposed policy in formulating a final notice
of policy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ MARAD defines alternative energy and fuels as energy derived
from non-traditional sources (including but not limited to liquefied
or compressed natural gas, bio-fuels, solar and wind).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Participation
Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket
number in your comments. MARAD encourages you to provide concise
comments. However, you may attach necessary additional documents to
your comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
Please submit your comments, including the attachments, following the
instructions provided under the above heading entitled ADDRESSES.
If you wish to submit any information under a claim of
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Department of Transportation, Maritime
Administration, Office of Legislation and Regulations, MAR-225, W24-
220, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. When you send
comments containing information claimed to be confidential information,
you should include a cover letter setting forth with specificity the
basis for any such claim.
MARAD will consider all comments received before the close of
business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To
the extent practicable, MARAD will also consider comments received
after that date. If a comment is received too late for MARAD to
consider in developing a final policy, MARAD will consider that comment
as an informal suggestion for future guidance.
For access to the docket to read background documents, or to submit
or read comments received, go to the Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Management
Facility is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
on Federal holidays. To review documents, read comments or to submit
comments, the docket is also available online at http://www.regulations.gov., keyword search MARAD-2014-0011.
Please note that even after the comment period has closed, MARAD
will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly,
MARAD recommends that you periodically check the Docket for new
material.
Privacy Act
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 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 the DOT
Privacy Act system of records notice for the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) in the Federal Register published on January 17, 2008,
(73 FR 3316) at http://
[[Page 10077]]
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.
Authority: 46 U.S.C. 53708
Dated: February 18, 2014.
By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Christine S. Gurland,
Acting Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-03729 Filed 2-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P