[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 27, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 95040-95041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31058]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2016-0280]
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Chambers Creek, Steilacoom, WA
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the
operating schedule that governs the Chambers Creek Burlington Northern
Santa Fe Railroad vertical lift railroad bridge across Chambers Creek,
mile 0.01, near Steilacoom in Pierce County, WA. This deviation will
test a change to the drawbridge operation schedule to determine whether
a permanent change to the schedule is appropriate. This test deviation
will change the requirement for a bridge operator, and modify the
existing regulation to add an advance notification requirement for
obtaining bridge openings during designated evening hours.
DATES: This deviation is effective from Midnight (12:01) on December
28, 2016 to Midnight (11:59) on June 23, 2017.
Comments and related material must reach the Coast Guard on or
before June 15, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2016-0280 using Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this
temporary deviation, call or email Mr. Steven Fischer, Bridge
Administrator, Thirteenth Coast Guard District; telephone 206-220-7282,
email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
The Chambers Creek Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad vertical
lift railroad bridge across Chambers Creek, mile 0.01, near Steilacoom
in Pierce County, WA, has a vertical clearance of 10ft in the closed-
to-navigation position, and 50ft of vertical clearance in the open-to-
navigation position (reference plane is MHW elevation of 12.2 feet).
The bridge currently operates under 33 CFR 117.5.
The bridge owner, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, has
observed minimal to no usage of the drawbridge between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m., and has requested to test this schedule to see if it better
balances the needs of marine and rail traffic. The USCG conducted a
test deviation from July 1, 2016 to December 27, 2016. However, only
one bridge opening request was received during that time, and a
quantitative ruling could not be made from the lack of data. The
following facts support BNSF's proposal: (1) over the last 6 years only
2% of the subject bridge lifts have occurred between the hours of 10
p.m. and 6 a.m., which equates to approximately 5 openings a year, (2)
from February 2009 to June 2015 there were 1932 total openings of which
only 40 occurred between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and (3) the
navigation traffic consists primarily of the tenants of Chambers Bay
marina (recreational users) that are members of the Chambers Bay
Boating Association.
The Coast Guard is publishing this temporary deviation to test the
proposed schedule change to determine whether a permanent change to the
schedule is appropriate to better balance the needs of marine and rail
traffic. Under this temporary deviation, in effect from Midnight
(12:01) on December 28, 2016 to Midnight (11:59) on June 23, 2017, the
subject bridge shall open on signal, except from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the
draw shall open on signal if at least 4 hours notice is given. The
bridge will be required to open as soon a possible, no later than 1
hour after notification, for vessels engaged in emergency response.
The Coast Guard will inform the users of the waterways of this
temporary deviation through our Local and Broadcast Notices to Mariners
and through direct outreach with the Chambers Creek Boating Association
so that vessel operators can arrange their transits to minimize any
impact caused by the temporary deviation. Vessels able to pass
underneath the bridge in the closed-to-navigation position may do so at
any time. In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), the drawbridge must
return to its regular operating schedule immediately at the end of the
effective period of this temporary deviation. This deviation from the
operating regulations is authorized under 33 CFR 117.35.
II. Public Participation and Request for Comments
We view public participation as essential to effective rulemaking,
and will consider all comments and material received during the comment
period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of this rulemaking. If
you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation.
We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person
[[Page 95041]]
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for
alternate instructions. We accept anonymous comments. All comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov
and will include any personal information you have provided. For more
about privacy and the docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice
regarding the Federal Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005,
issue of the Federal Register (70 FR 15086).
Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public comments, are in
our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by
following that Web site's instructions. Additionally, if you go to the
online docket, and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when
comments are posted or a final rule is published.
Dated: December 19, 2016.
Steven M. Fischer,
Bridge Administrator, Thirteenth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2016-31058 Filed 12-23-16; 8:45 am]
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