[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 163 (Monday, August 24, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51173-51174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20825]
[[Page 51173]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
46 CFR Parts 8 and 197
[Docket No. USCG-1998-3786]
RIN 1625-AA21
Commercial Diving Operations--Reopening of Comment Period
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is reopening for 60 days the comment period
for the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ``Commercial Diving
Operations,'' published on February 19, 2015. Reopening the comment
period will allow time for the public to review and submit comments on
changes to the applicability of this proposed rule, and on the draft
regulatory analysis documentation that was not available in the docket
during the original comment period. This notice of proposed rulemaking
also provides corrected contact information for those persons
interested in the proposed regulatory incorporation of certain material
by reference, and the reopened comment period facilitates public
comment on the proposed incorporation. Finally, although we are making
no changes to the collection of information proposed in the February
notice of proposed rulemaking, during the reopened comment period the
public may continue to submit additional comments on that proposed
collection. Specific instructions for commenting on the proposed
collection are printed in the ADDRESSES section that follows.
DATES: The comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking
published on February 19, 2015 (80 FR 9152), is reopened. Comments and
related material must be submitted to the docket by October 23, 2015.
Comments sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on
collection of information must reach OMB on or before October 23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments using one of the listed methods, and see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for more information on public comments.
Online--http://www.regulations.gov following Web site
instructions.
Fax--202-493-2251.
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.
Hand deliver--mail address, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays (telephone 202-366-9329).
Collection of information. You must submit comments on the
collection of information discussed in the notice of proposed
rulemaking at 80 FR 9173 both to the Coast Guard's docket and to the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House
Office of Management and Budget. OIRA submissions can be made using one
of the listed methods.
Email (preferred)[email protected] (include
the docket number and ``Attention: Desk Officer for Coast Guard, DHS''
in the subject line of the email).
Fax--202-395-6566.
Mail--Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office
of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503,
ATTN: Desk Officer, U.S. Coast Guard.
Viewing material proposed for incorporation by reference. To make
arrangements to view this material, please call or email Mr. Ken Smith
(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice
of proposed rulemaking, call or email Mr. Ken Smith, Project Manager,
U.S. Coast Guard, Headquarters, Vessel and Facility Operating Standards
Division, Commandant (CG-OES-2); telephone 202-372-1413, email
[email protected]. 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:
A. Public Participation and Comments
We encourage you to submit comments (or related material) on this
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). We will consider all submissions
and may adjust our final action based on your comments. Comments should
be marked with docket number USCG-1998-3786, and should provide a
reason for each suggestion or recommendation. You may provide personal
contact information so that we can contact you if we have questions
regarding your comments, but please note that all comments will be
posted to the online docket without change and any personal information
you include will be searchable online (see the Federal Register Privacy
Act notice regarding our public dockets, 73 FR 3316, Jan. 17, 2008).
Mailed or hand-delivered comments should be in an unbound 8\1/2\ x
11 inch format suitable for reproduction. The Docket Management
Facility will acknowledge receipt of mailed comments if you enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope with your submission.
Documents mentioned in this NPRM and all public comments are
available in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be
viewed by following the instructions on that Web site. You can also
view the docket online at the Docket Management Facility (see the
address under ADDRESSES) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
B. Regulatory History and Information
On February 19, 2015, we published an NPRM entitled ``Commercial
Diving Operations'' (80 FR 9152) that proposed amendments to our
regulations for commercial diving conducted from deepwater ports or
deepwater port safety zones, or in connection with Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) activities, or from vessels that are required to have a
Coast Guard certificate of inspection. The NPRM would revise and update
current regulations to improve safety and to reflect current industry
best practices. The NPRM would also allow the Coast Guard to approve
independent third-party organizations to assist in ensuring compliance
with commercial diving regulations. All comments on the NPRM, including
comments on the proposed collection of information, were due by May 20,
2015. In the course of reviewing comments on the NPRM, we became aware
of several errors on our part.
First, on page 9175 of the NPRM, our proposed regulatory text for
46 CFR 197.200 contained two unintended changes in the applicability of
subpart B. We do not intend, despite the proposed language for Sec.
197.200(a)(3), to extend applicability to commercial diving operations
involving any vessel operating on the navigable waters of the United
States. Nor do we intend, despite the proposed language for Sec.
197.200(a)(5), to remove from applicability those U.S. vessels engaged
in an OCS activity as defined in 33 CFR part 140, or connected to a
deepwater port as defined in 33 CFR part 150. In a final rule, in Sec.
197.200, we would remove paragraph (a)(3), remove the words ``foreign
flagged'' from paragraph (a)(5), and renumber paragraphs in accordance
with this change. As we stated in Table 2 on page 9156 of the NPRM, our
intentions for Sec. 197.200 are only to add paragraph (d) concerning
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foreign vessels, and to improve the clarity of our existing provisions,
without making any other changes to the substance of the applicability
provisions of subpart B.
Second, we provided incorrect telephone and email contact
information for those wishing to view material proposed for
incorporation by reference on pages 9158 and 9159 of the NPRM. To make
arrangements to view that material, please contact Mr. Ken Smith (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Third, throughout the NPRM comment period that ended May 20, 2015,
the Preliminary Regulatory Analysis and Interim Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis document for the NPRM was unavailable in the rulemaking
docket. We corrected that omission in June 2015, and that document is
currently available at http://www.regulations.gov as docket number
USCG-1998-3786-0195.
This notice is issued under authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).
Dated: August 18, 2015.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. 2015-20825 Filed 8-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P