OPSAIL 2000, Port of San Juan, PR

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Parts 100, 110, and 165

[COTP San Juan 99-088]

OPSAIL 2000, Port of San Juan, PR

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard requests public comment on the temporary

establishment of exclusion areas before, during, and after OPSAIL 2000

in the Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico from May 19 through May 29, 2000.

The Coast Guard anticipates a rulemaking to establish temporary limited

access areas and Special Local Regulations to control vessel traffic

within the Port of San Juan during this event, including fireworks

displays on the evenings of May 25, and May 28, 2000, and during the

Outbound Parade of Sail on Monday, May 29, 2000, and establishing new

and/or assigning currently designated Anchorage Grounds for spectator

vessels. These temporary regulations will be necessary to ensure the

safety of persons and property in the vicinity of fireworks displays

and in the movement of numerous large sail vessels (Tall Ships) during

the Parade of Sail.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 28, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety

Office San Juan, P.O. Box 71526, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8626, or

may be delivered to Rodriguez & Del Valle, 4th Floor, Calle San Martin,

Carr #2 km 4.9, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, between the hours of 7 a.m. and

3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Marine Safety Office, San Juan, Puerto Rico maintains the public

docket for this rulemaking. Comments, and documents as indicated in

this preamble, will become part of this docket and will be available

for inspection or copying at the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office San

Juan, between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lieutenant Commander Robert Lefevers,

U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, San Juan at (787) 706-2440,

between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to participate in the

early stages of this rulemaking by submitting written data, views, or

arguments. Please explain your reasons for each comment so that we can

carefully weigh the consequences and impacts of any future requirements

we may propose. Persons submitting comments should include their names

and addresses, identify this rulemaking (COTP San Juan 99-088) and the

specific section of this document to which each comment applies. Please

submit two copies of all comments and

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attachments in English and in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\

by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. Persons

wanting acknowledgment of receipt of comments should enclose a stamped,

self-addressed postcard or envelope. The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment period.

The Coast Guard plans no public hearing. Persons may request a

public hearing by writing to the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office

at the address under ADDRESSES. The request should include the reasons

why a hearing would be beneficial. If it determines that the

opportunity for oral presentations will aid this rulemaking, the Coast

Guard will hold a public hearing at a time and place announced by a

later notice in the Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

Opsail 2000 is sponsoring fireworks displays and the OPSAIL 2000

Parade of Tall Ships. These events are scheduled to take place from May

19 through 29, 2000, in the Port of San Juan, in San Juan Harbor. The

Coast Guard expects many spectator craft for this event. The

anticipated rulemaking will provide specific guidance on temporary

anchorage regulations, vessel movement controls, safety and security

zones that will be in effect at various times in those waters during

the period May 19 through 29, 2000. The Coast Guard may seek to

establish additional regulated areas, Anchorage Grounds with

regulations, and safety or security zones once confirmation of the

exact number of vessels and dignitaries that will be participating in

OPSAIL 2000 becomes available.

Schedule of Events

At the current time, marine related events will include the

following:

1. Starting May 19, 2000: Tall ships arrive and moor at Piers 1

through 14.

2. May 25, 2000: Fireworks display scheduled to take place from

Isla Grande.

3. May 28, 2000: Fireworks display scheduled to take place over San

Juan Harbor.

4. May 29, 2000: Outbound Parade of Sail and departure of the

participating vessels.

Discussion

The Coast Guard estimates many spectator craft and commercial

vessels (passenger vessels and charter boats) in the area during May 19

to 29, 2000. The safety of parade participants and spectators will

require that spectator craft be kept at a safe distance from the parade

route. The Coast Guard intends to establish multiple limited access

areas for the vessel parade, and to temporarily modify existing

anchorage areas within the port area to provide for maximum spectator

viewing areas and traffic patterns for deep draft and barge traffic.

The only other restriction anticipated for commercial deep draft and

barge traffic will be during the fireworks displays that begin at

approximately 9 p.m. for a duration of approximately 30 minutes. The

greatest traffic restrictions will be in place during the Outbound

Parade of Sail, when the Captain of the Port may close San Juan Harbor

for a portion of the day, and a Parade of Sail safety zone may be

enforced between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Monday, May 29,

2000.

Regulatory Evaluation

At this early stage in what is still just a potential rulemaking,

the Coast Guard has not determined whether any future rulemaking may be

considered a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of

Executive Order 12866 or the regulatory policies and procedures of the

Department of Transportation (DOT) (44 FR 11040; February 26, 1979).

The Coast Guard expects the economic impact of any future

rulemaking to be minimal. Although the Coast Guard anticipates

restricting traffic in San Juan Harbor on Monday, May 29, 2000, the

effect of any future rulemaking will be minimized because of the

limited duration of the event and the extensive advance notifications

that will be made to the maritime community via the Federal Register,

the Local Notice to Mariners, facsimile, the internet, marine

information broadcasts, maritime association meetings, and San Juan

area newspapers, so mariners can adjust their plans accordingly. The

Coast Guard anticipates that the majority of the maritime industrial

activity in the Port of San Juan will continue relatively unaffected by

any future rulemaking.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the

Coast Guard must consider whether any potential rulemaking, if it led

to an actual rule, would have a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities. ``Small entities'' include 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 does not anticipate that its potential rulemaking

will have anything but a minimal impact upon small entities, but

expects that comments received on this advance notice will help it

determine the number of potentially affected small entities and in

weighing the impacts of various regulatory alternatives for the purpose

of drafting any rules.

Assistance for Small Entities

In accordance with section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Act of 1996 [Pub. L. 104-121], the Coast Guard wants to

assist small entities in understanding this advance notice so that they

can better evaluate the potential effects of any future rulemaking on

them and participate in the rulemaking. If you believe that your small

business, organization, or agency may be affected by any future

rulemaking, and if you have questions concerning this notice, please

consult the Coast Guard point of contact designated in FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. The Coast Guard is particularly interested in how

any future rulemaking may affect small entities. If you are a small

entity and believe that you may be affected by such a rulemaking,

please tell how, and what flexibility or compliance alternatives the

Coast Guard should consider to minimize the burden on small entities

while promoting port safety.

Collection of Information

The Coast Guard anticipates that any future rulemaking will not

provide for a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Federalism

The Coast Guard has analyzed this advanced notice under Executive

Order 13132. From the information currently available , we cannot

determine whether this potential rulemaking will have sufficient

federalism implications under that Order.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4), the

Coast Guard must consider whether this potential rulemaking will result

in an annual expenditure by state, local, and tribal governments, in

the aggregate of $100 million (adjusted annually for inflation). If so,

the Act requires that a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives be

considered, and that from those alternatives, the least costly, most

cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative that achieves the

objective of the rule be selected. The Coast Guard does not anticipate

that any future rulemaking will result in such expenditures, but

welcomes comments

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addressing the issue from interested parties.

Taking of Private Property

The Coast Guard anticipates that any potential rulemaking will not

effect a taking of private property or otherwise have taking

implications under E.O. 12630, Governmental Actions and Interference

with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights.

Civil Justice Reform

The Coast Guard anticipates that any potential rulemaking will meet

applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of E.O. 12988, Civil

Justice Reform, to minimize litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce

burden.

Protection of Children

The Coast Guard anticipates that any potential rulemaking will not

be economically significant and will not present an environmental risk

to health or risk to safety that may disproportionately affect children

under E.O. 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks.

Environment

The Coast Guard anticipates that any potential rulemaking will

require an Environmental Assessment due to the advertised size of the

event and its proximity to sensitive environmental areas. An

environmental analysis has been required from the event sponsor.

Further, any potential rulemaking will be designed to minimize the

likelihood of maritime accidents and attendant environmental

consequences and to enhance the safety of participants, spectators, and

other maritime traffic. The Coast Guard invites comments addressing

possible effects that any such rulemaking may have on the human

environment or addressing possible inconsistencies with any Federal,

State, or local law or administrative determinations relating to the

environment. It will reach a final determination once it has received a

detailed parade of sail plan and environmental analysis from the

sponsor organization.

Dated: December 16, 1999.

J.A. Servidio,

Commander, Coast Guard Captain of the Port, San Juan.

[FR Doc. 00-761 Filed 1-12-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-15-P