[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52559-52561]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20986]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 147
[Docket Number USCG-2013-0874]
RIN 1625-AA00
Safety Zones, Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf in the
Gulf of Mexico
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing safety zones around four
Chevron North America (Chevron) facilities located on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The facilities are
listed in the Supplementary Information.The purpose of these safety
zones is to protect each facility from vessels operating outside the
normal shipping channels and fairways. Placing a safety zone around
each facility will significantly reduce the threat of allisions, oil
spills, and releases of natural gas, and thereby protect the safety of
life, property, and the environment.
DATES: This rule is effective October 6, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Documents mentioned in this preamble are part of docket
USCG-2013-0874. To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being
available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, type the
docket number 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule,
call or email Mr. Rusty Wright, U.S. Coast Guard, District Eight
Waterways Management Branch; telephone 504-671-2138,
[email protected]. If you have questions on the docket, call
Cheryl F. 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
OCS Outer Continental Shelf
USCG United States Coast Guard
A. Regulatory History and Information
On April 9, 2014 we published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) with a request for comments entitled, ``Safety Zones, Facilities
on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico'' in the Federal
Register (79 FR 19569). We received no comments on the NPRM.
B. Basis and Purpose
Under the authority provided in 14 U.S.C. 85, 43 U.S.C. 1333, and
Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1, Title 33, CFR
Part 147 permits the establishment of safety zones for facilities
located on the OCS for the purpose of protecting life, property and the
marine environment. Chevron requested that the Coast Guard establish
safety zones around four of its facilities located in the deepwater
area of the Gulf of Mexico on the OCS. Placing a safety zone around
each of these four facilities significantly reduces the threat of
allisions, oil spills, and releases of natural gas, and thereby
protects the safety of life, property, and the environment. The
facilities are as follows:
(1) The Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub Facility located in Walker Ridge
Block 718;
(2) The Petronius Compliant Tower Facility located in Viosca Knoll
Block 786;
(3) The Blind Faith Semi-Sub Facility located in Mississippi Canyon
Block 650; and
(4) The Tahiti SPAR Facility located in Green Canyon Block 641.
For the purpose of safety zones established under 33 CFR part 147,
the deepwater area is considered to be waters of 304.8 meters (1,000
feet) or greater depth extending to the limits of the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) contiguous to the territorial sea of the United
States and extending to a distance up to 200 nautical miles from the
baseline from which the breadth of the sea is measured. Navigation in
the vicinity of each safety zone consists of large commercial shipping
vessels, fishing vessels, cruise ships, tugs with tows and the
occasional recreational vessel. The deepwater area also includes an
extensive system of fairways.
C. Discussion of Comments, Changes and the Final Rule
We received no comments in response to the proposed rule. There is
one technical amendment to the final rule regarding the name of one of
the facilities. In the NPRM, the first listed facility requesting a
safety zone was listed as ``The Jack & St Malo Semi-Sub Facility.'' The
Coast Guard was notified by Chevron that the facility name should be
``The Jack St. Malo.'' In this final rule the Coast Guard has corrected
the name throughout the rulemaking and regulatory text. Otherwise, this
rule is publishing as proposed without change.
D. Regulatory Analyses
We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and
executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses
based on these statutes and executive orders.
[[Page 52560]]
1. Regulatory Planning and Review
This 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. This rule is not a
significant regulatory action due to the location of the safety zones
on the OCS and the distance between each facility and both land and
safety fairways. Vessel traffic can pass safely around each safety zone
using alternate routes. Exceptions to this rule include vessels
measuring less than 100 feet in length overall and not engaged in
towing. Deviation to transit through each safety zone may be requested.
Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and may be
authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District or a
designated representative.
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 received zero comments from the Small Business
Administration on this rule. 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.
This rule will affect the following entities, some of which might
be small entities: The owners or operators of vessels intending to
transit or anchor in; Walker Ridge Block 718; Viosca Knoll Block 786;
Mississippi Canyon Block 650; and Green Canyon Block 641, where these
safety zones are now established.
These safety zones will not have a significant economic impact or a
substantial number of small entities for the following reasons: Vessel
traffic can pass safely around each safety zone using alternate routes.
Use of alternate routes may cause minimal delay in reaching a final
destination, depending on other traffic in the area and vessel speed.
Additionally, exceptions to this rule include vessels measuring less
than 100 feet in length overall and not engaged in towing. Also,
vessels may request deviation from this rule to transit through each
safety zone. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis
and may be authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District or
a designated representative. Therefore, the Coast Guard expects any
impact of this rulemaking establishing safety zones around OCS
facilities to be minimal, with no significant economic impact on small
entities.
3. Collection of Information
This rule will not call for a new collection of information under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).
4. 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 rule under that Order and determined
that this rule does not have implications for federalism.
5. 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.
6. 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 rule will not result in
such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere
in this preamble.
7. Taking of Private Property
This 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.
8. 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.
9. Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks
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 does not create an
environmental risk to health or risk to safety that may
disproportionately affect children.
10. Indian Tribal Governments
This rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order
13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments,
because it does 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.
11. Energy Effects
This action is not a ``significant energy action'' under Executive
Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.
12. Technical Standards
This rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we did not
consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.
13. Environment
We have analyzed this 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 rule involves the establishment
of safety zones around OCS Facilities to protect life, property and the
marine environment. This rule is categorically excluded from further
review under paragraph 34(g) of Figure 2-1 of the Commandant
Instruction. The environmental analysis checklists supporting this
determination and Categorical Exclusion Determinations
[[Page 52561]]
are available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 147
Continental shelf, Marine safety, Navigation (water).
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends
33 CFR part 147 as follows:
PART 147--SAFETY ZONES
0
1. The authority citation for part 147 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 14 U.S.C. 85; 43 U.S.C. 1333; and Department of
Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.
0
2. Add Sec. 147.851, Sec. 147.853, Sec. 147.855, and Sec. 147.857
to read as follows:
Sec. 147.851 Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub Facility Safety Zone.
(a) Description. The Jack St. Malo Semi-Sub facility is in the
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Walker Ridge block 718. The
facility is located at 26[deg]14'5.94'' N, 91[deg]15'39.99'' W and the
area within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility
structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
(b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone
except the following:
(1) An attending vessel;
(2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in
towing; or
(3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard
District or a designated representative.
Sec. 147.853 Petronius Compliant Tower Facility Safety Zone.
(a) Description. The Petronius Compliant Tower facility is in the
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Viosca Knoll Block 786. The
facility is located at 28[deg]13'44'' N/-87[deg]47'51'' W and the area
within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility
structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
(b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone
except the following:
(1) An attending vessel;
(2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in
towing; or
(3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard
District or a designated representative.
Sec. 147.855 Blind Faith Semi-Sub Facility Safety Zone.
(a) Description. The Blind Faith Semi-Sub facility is in the
deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico at Mississippi Canyon Block 650.
The facility is located at 28[deg]20'29.5279'' N/-88[deg]15'56.4728'' W
and the area within 500 meters (1640.4 feet) from each point on the
facility structure's outer edge is a safety zone.
(b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone
except the following:
(1) An attending vessel;
(2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in
towing; or
(3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard
District or a designated representative.
Sec. 147.857 Tahiti SPAR Facility Safety Zone.
(a) Description. The Tahiti SPAR facility is in the deepwater area
of the Gulf of Mexico at Tahiti SPAR. The facility is located at
27[deg]19'33.3'' N/-90[deg]42'50.9'' W and the area within 500 meters
(1640.4 feet) from each point on the facility structure's outer edge is
a safety zone.
(b) Regulation. No vessel may enter or remain in this safety zone
except the following:
(1) An attending vessel;
(2) A vessel under 100 feet in length overall not engaged in
towing; or
(3) A vessel authorized by the Commander, Eighth Coast Guard
District or a designated representative.
Dated: August 6, 2014.
Kevin S. Cook,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2014-20986 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
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