Coast Guard, DHS.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
The Coast Guard proposes to establish a special local regulation on the waters of Bahia de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico during the Cruce a Nado Internacional de la Bahia de Ponce Puerto Rico, a swimming event. The event is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 1, 2013. Approximately 100 swimmers are anticipated to participate in the event, and no spectator vessels are anticipated to be present. The special local regulation is necessary to provide for the safety of life on the navigable waters of the United States during the event. The special local regulation establishes a swim area, where all persons and vessels, except those participating in the race or vessels patrolling the swim area, will be prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.
Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before June 13, 2013.
Requests for public meetings must be received by the Coast Guard on or before May 21, 2013.
You may submit comments identified by docket number using any one of the following methods:
(1)
(2)
(3)
See the “Public Participation and Request for Comments” portion of the
If you have questions on this rule, call or email Mr. Efrain Lopez, Sector San Juan Prevention Department, Coast Guard; telephone (787) 289–2097, email
We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will be posted without change to
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. You may submit your comments and material online at
To submit your comment online, go to
If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8
To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to
Anyone can search the electronic form of 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 a Privacy Act notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the
We do not now plan to hold a public meeting. But you may submit a request for one on or before May 21, 2013, using one of the methods specified under
The current regulations under 33 CFR 100 address safety for reoccurring marine events. This marine event does not appear in the current regulations; however, as it is a regulation to provide effective control over regattas and marine parades on the navigable waters of the United States so as to ensure safety of life in a regatta or marine parade, this marine event needs to be temporarily added.
The legal basis for the rule is the Coast Guard's authority to establish special local regulations: 33 U.S.C. 1233. The purpose of the rule is to ensure safety of life on navigable waters of the United States during the Cruce a Nado Internacional de la Bahia de Ponce Puerto Rico.
On September 1, 2013, Club Cruce a Nado Inc. is sponsoring the Cruce a Nado Internacional de la Bahia de Ponce Puerto Rico, a swimming event. The event will be held on the waters of Bahia de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Approximately 100 swimmers are anticipated to participate in the event, and it is not anticipated that there will be any spectator vessels present.
The proposed rule would establish a special local regulation that will encompass certain waters of Bahia de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The special local regulation will be enforced from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. on September 1, 2013. The special local regulation will establish a swim area, where only those persons participating in the race, and those vessels patrolling the swim area may be. Non-participant people and vessels will be prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.
Persons and vessels may request authorization to enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the swim area by contacting the Captain of the Port San Juan by telephone at (787) 289–2041, or through a designated representative via VHF radio on channel 16. If authorization to enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the swim area is granted by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative, all persons and vessels receiving such authorization must comply with the instructions of the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative. The Coast Guard will provide notice of the special local regulation by Local Notice to Mariners, Broadcast Notice to Mariners, and on-scene designated representatives.
We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes and executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses based on a number of these statutes or executive orders.
This proposed 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.
The economic impact of this rule is not significant for the following reasons: (1) The special local regulation will be enforced for only three hours; (2) although non-participant persons and vessels will not be able to enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the swim area, without authorization from the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative, they may operate in the surrounding area during the enforcement period; (3) persons and vessels may still enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the swim area during the enforcement period if authorized by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative; and (4) the Coast Guard will provide advance notification of the special local regulation to the local maritime community by Local Notice to Mariners and Broadcast Notice to Mariners.
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), we have considered the impact of this proposed rule on small entities. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
This rule may affect the following entities, some of which may be small entities: the owners or operators of vessels intending to enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within that portion of Bahia de Ponce encompassed within the special local regulation from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. on September 1, 2013. For the reasons discussed in the Regulatory Planning and Review section above, this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
If you think that your business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction qualifies as a small entity and that this rule would have a significant economic impact on it, please submit a comment (see
Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–121), we want to assist small entities in understanding this proposed rule. If the rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, please contact the person listed in the
This proposed rule will not call for a new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520.).
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 proposed rule under that Order and determined that this rule does not have implications for federalism.
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.
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 proposed rule would not result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere in this preamble.
This proposed 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.
This proposed 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.
We have analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is not an economically significant rule and would not create an environmental risk to health or risk to safety that might disproportionately affect children.
This proposed rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, because it would 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.
This proposed rule is not a “significant energy action” under Executive Order 13211, Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use.
This proposed rule does not use technical standards. Therefore, we did not consider the use of voluntary consensus standards.
We have analyzed this proposed 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 proposed rule involves the creation of a special local regulation in conjunction with a regatta or marine parade to ensure the safety of race participants and the general public during the event. This rule is categorically excluded from further review under paragraph 34(h) of Figure 2–1 of the Commandant Instruction. A preliminary environmental analysis checklist supporting this determination and a Categorical Exclusion Determination are available in the docket where indicated under
Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Waterways.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes to amend 33 CFR part 100 as follows:
33 U.S.C. 1233.
(a)
(1)
(2) [Reserved]
(b)
(c)
(1) All persons and vessels, except those persons participating in the race and those vessels patrolling the swim area, are prohibited from entering, transiting through, anchoring in, or remaining within the swim area.
(2) Persons and vessels may request authorization to enter, transit through, anchor in, or remain within the regulated area by contacting the Captain of the Port San Juan by telephone at 787–289–2041, or a designated representative via VHF radio on channel 16. If authorization is granted by the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative, all persons and vessels receiving such authorization must comply with the instructions of the Captain of the Port San Juan or a designated representative.
(3) The Coast Guard will provide notice of the regulated areas by Local Notice to Mariners, Broadcast Notice to
(d)