[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16093-16094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06860]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
33 CFR Part 334
Disestablishment of Danger Zone for Meteorological Rocket
Launching Facility, Shemya Island Area, AK
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Air Force has requested that the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Corps) disestablish the existing danger zone located in the
Bering Sea near Shemya Island, Alaska. The danger zone was established
on September 28, 1971. The purpose of the danger zone was to protect
persons and property from dangers encountered in the area associated
with the launching of weather rockets. The facility has not been used
for this activity since the mid-1980s. As a result of the discontinued
use of this area, the Air Force has requested the danger zone be
disestablished.
DATES: This rule is effective May 24, 2016 without further notice,
unless the Corps receives adverse comment by April 25, 2016. If we
receive such adverse comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in
the Federal Register informing the public that this rule will not take
effect.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2016-0003, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number,
COE-2016-0003, in the subject line of the message.
Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David B. Olson),
441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2016-0003.
All comments received will be included in the public docket without
change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided, unless the commenter
indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or
email. The regulations.gov Web site is an anonymous access system,
which means we will not know your identity or contact information
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email
directly to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your email
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you
[[Page 16094]]
include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your
comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, we may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov. All documents in the
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as
copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be
publicly available only in hard copy form.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters,
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Ms. Linda Speerstra, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska
District, Regulatory Division, at 907-747-0658.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated December 18, 2015, the
Chief, Pacific Air Forces Weather Operations Branch, Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii requested the disestablishment of the danger zone
at Meteorological Rocket Launching Facility on Shemya Island, Alaska.
This request was made because the facility has not been used since the
mid-1980s. In response to this request by the Pacific Air Forces
Weather Operations Branch, and pursuant to its authorities in Section 7
of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1917 (40 Stat 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and
Chapter XIX of the Army Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat 892; 33
U.S.C. 3), the Corps is amending the regulation at 33 CFR part 334 by
disestablishing the danger zone in the waters of the Bering Sea,
Meteorological Rocket Launching Facility on Shemya Island Area, Alaska.
The Corps is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we
view this as a non-controversial amendment and anticipate no adverse
comment. The Corps regulations governing restricted areas state that
notice of proposed rulemaking and public procedures are not needed
before publishing a final rule revoking a danger zone area (see 33 CFR
334.5(b)).
In the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, we
are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to
disestablish this danger zone if adverse comments are filed. This rule
will be effective on May 24, 2016 without further notice unless we
receive adverse comment by April 25, 2016. If we receive adverse
comment, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register
informing the public that the direct final rule will not take effect.
We will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on
the proposed rule. We will not institute a second comment period on
this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so at this
time.
Procedural Requirements
a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. This rule is issued with
respect to a military function of the Defense Department and the
provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This rule has been
reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354) which
requires the preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis for any
regulation that will have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small
governments). The Corps has determined that the removal of the danger
zone area will have no economic impact on the public because the area
has not been used to launch weather rockets since the mid-1980s. The
removal of the danger zone will decrease economic impacts on small
entities because they will no longer have to comply with that
regulation. The proposal will have no significant economic impact on
small entities.
c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Corps
expects that the final rule will not have a significant impact to the
quality of the human environment and, therefore, preparation of an
environmental impact statement will not be required. An environmental
assessment has been prepared and it may be reviewed at the District
office listed at the end of the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above.
If we receive adverse comment, an environmental assessment will be
prepared for the subsequent decision on the final rule.
d. Unfunded Mandates Act. The final rule does not impose an
enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, are not a
Federal private sector mandate and are not subject to the requirements
of Section 202 or 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (Pub. L. 104-
4, 109 Stat. 48, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). We have also found under
Section 203 of the Act, that small governments will not be
significantly or uniquely affected by this rulemaking.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334
Danger zones, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, Waterways.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps amends 33 CFR
part 334 as follows:
PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS
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1. The authority citation for 33 CFR part 334 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33
U.S.C. 3).
Sec. 334.1290 [Removed]
0
2. Remove Sec. 334.1290.
Dated: March 18, 2016.
Edward E. Belk, Jr.,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2016-06860 Filed 3-24-16; 8:45 am]
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