Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Oakland Inner Harbor Tidal Canal, CA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD11-95-003]

RIN 2115-AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Oakland Inner Harbor Tidal

Canal, CA

Agency: Coast Guard, DOT.

action: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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summary: At the request of the Alameda County, California Public Works

Agency, the Coast Guard is considering amending the regulation or the

draws of the Alameda County vehicular bridges crossing the Oakland

Inner Harbor Tidal Canal at the following locations: Park Street, mile

7.3; Fruitvale Avenue, mile 7.7; High Street, mile 8.1; as well as the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers railroad bridge, mile 7.7 at Fruitvale

Avenue. Under the existing regulations, the draws are attended 24 hours

per day, and open on signal except during designated morning and

afternoon commute periods. The proposed amendment requires attended

service 16 hours per day, preserves the existing commute hours

closures, and provides for openings on four-hour notice during

nighttime hours when an operator is not in constant attendance. This

amendment will allow the bridge owner to reduce operating expenses and

should still provide for the reasonable needs of navigation. In

addition, the identifying waterway mileage designating the location of,

and the call sign for, each bridge would be revised to conform with the

currently utilized standard of measurement.

dates: Comments must be received on or before June 23, 1995.

addresses: Comments may be mailed to Commander (oan-br), Eleventh Coast

Guard District, Room 214, Building 10, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, CA

94501-5100, or may be delivered to Room 214 at the same address between

8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Commander (oan-br), Eleventh Coast Guard District maintains the

public docket for this rulemaking. Comments will become part of the

docket and will be available for inspection or copying at Room 214,

Building 10, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

for further information contact: Jerry P. Olmes, Bridge Section,

Eleventh Coast Guard District, telephone (510) 437-3514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to participate in

this rulemaking by submitting written data, views, or arguments.

Persons submitting comments should include their names and addresses,

identify this rulemaking (CGD11-95-003) and the specific section of

this proposal to which each comment applies, and give the reason for

each comment. The Coast Guard requests that comments and attachments be

submitted in an unbound format suitable for copying and electronic

filing. If this is not practical, a second copy of any bound materials

is requested. Persons desiring 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. It may change this proposal in view of the comments.

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

public hearing by writing to the Project Manager at the address under

ADDRESSES. The request should include 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.

Drafting Information

The principal persons involved in drafting this document are Jerry

P. Olmes, Eleventh Coast Guard District Bridge Section, Project

Manager, and Lieutenant Robin J. Barber, Eleventh Coast Guard District

Legal Office, Project Counsel.

Background and Purpose

The four drawbridges used for automobile and railroad traffic

across the Oakland Inner Harbor Tidal Canal are operated and maintained

by the County of Alameda, California. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

(USACOE) railroad bridge at Fruitvale Avenue is owned by the USACOE,

but is operated by the County in coordination with the Fruitvale Avenue

automobile bridge. The minimum vertical clearance of the lowest of the

bridges in the closed position is 13 feet (3.96 meters) above Mean High

Water (MHW).

At present, under the rules in 33 CFR 117.181 the bridges have

attended service 24 hours per day and open upon signal, except for

morning and afternoon commute hours closures. Historically, the Park

Street Bridge is the most frequently opened bridge, opening about 1,500

times annually to allow 2,000 vessels to pass. Approximately 60% of the

openings are for recreational vessels, which travel predominantly

during daylight hours, and one third of the openings are for commercial

vessels, which historically transit at all hours.

An analysis of the County's logs of bridge openings at the series

of bridges for the year ending March 31, 1993 indicates that 96% of

transiting [[Page 24600]] recreational vessels and 73% of commercial

vessels signaled for openings between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., weekdays, and

between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., weekends and holidays.

Discussion of the Proposed Amendment

The proposed operating regulation would affect bridge openings only

during nighttime hours. Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., Monday through

Friday, and between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal

holidays, the present system of operation, including weekday morning

and afternoon commute hours closures, would not change. During all

other periods, the proposed regulations would require the draws to open

on signal if at least four hours advance notice is given to either the

drawtender at the Park Street Bridge or to the Alameda County Public

Works Agency at Hayward.

The vast majority of vessel transits would be unaffected by this

amendment. The recreational and commercial vessel traffic transit

requirements are substantially reduced during the proposed designated

nighttime hours. Therefore, the Coast Guard considers a requirement of

advance notice to request draw openings during these hours of reduced

vessel traffic to be reasonable. The proposed amendment would permit

the bridges operator to reduce operating expenses while still ensuring

that all draw opening requests are accommodated, and still provided for

the reasonable needs of navigation.

Commercial vessels transiting the series of bridges usually

constitute tug and barge combinations, which have restricted

maneuverability. In order to meet the reasonable needs of navigation of

these vessels, the proposed regulation would require that sufficient

draw operators be provided for openings requested during the nighttime

period to ensure that commercial vessels which have provided four-hour

advance notice may make a continuous transit though the series of

bridges without having to slow their transit or wait between bridges

for openings.

The existing regulation contains a provision that the draws will

open for vessels in distress and emergency vessel traffic ``as soon as

possible.'' Since the existing regulation was promulgated the Coast

Guard has established in 33 CFR 117.31 a general regulation applicable

to all drawbridges, which requires that a bridge operator ``take all

reasonable measures to have the draw opened, regardless of the

operating schedule of the draw, for the passage of'' emergency vessels

and vessels in distress. The existing reference to emergency openings

in 33 CFR 117.181 would therefore be eliminated as redundant. The Coast

Guard believes that the proposed change will continue to provide for

emergency needs.

The present regulations reflect the USACOE traditional method of

measurement of waterway mileage in statute miles. The Coast Guard and

the operators of other bridges in the area designate bridge location

using nautical miles, and the proposed rule reflects this latter

standard of measurement. The location designations and call signs in 33

CFR 117.181 and in appendix A to part 117 would also be changed to

reflect a measurement baseline of the first point of land defining the

Oakland Inner Harbor Tidal Canal, as is currently used by the Coast

Guard and the other bridge operators and to reflect changes to call

signs monitored.

Regulatory Evaluation

This proposal is not a significant regulatory action under Section

3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an assessment of

potential costs and benefits under Section 6(a)(3) of that Order. It

has been exempted from review by the Office of Management and Budget

under that Order. It is not significant under 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 this

proposal to be so minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation under

paragraph 10e of the Department of Transportation regulatory policies

and procedures is unnecessary.

Small Entities

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

Coast Guard must consider whether this proposal, if adopted, will have

a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities. ``Small entities'' may include (1) small business and not-

for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and

are not dominant in their fields, and (2) governmental jurisdictions

with populations of less than 50,000. Because it expects the impact of

this proposal to be minimal, the Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C.

605(b) that this proposal, if adopted, will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposal contains no collection of information requirements

under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Federalism

The Coast Guard has analyzed this proposal under the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 and has determined that

this proposal does not have sufficient federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

Environmental Assessment

The Coast Guard considered the environmental impact of this

proposal and concluded that, under section 2.B.2. of Commandant

Instruction M16475.1B, this proposal is categorically excluded from

further environmental documentation. A ``Categorical Exclusion

Determination'' is available in the docket for inspection or copying

where indicated under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117

Bridges.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Coast Guard proposes

to amend part 117 of title 33 Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 117--DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 117 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g); section

117.255 is also issued under the authority of Pub. L. 102-587, 106

Stat. 5039.

2. Section 117.181 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 117.181 Oakland Inner Harbor Tidal Canal.

The draws of the Alameda County highway bridges at Park Street,

mile 5.2; Fruitvale Avenue, mile 5.6; and High Street, mile 6.0; and

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers railroad bridge, mile 5.6 at Fruitvale

Avenue, shall open on signal as follows:

(a) From 6 a.m. through 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding

Federal holidays, except that from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

to 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, the draws need not be opened for

the passage of vessels. However, the draws shall open during the above

closed periods for vessels which must, for reasons of safety, move on a

tide or slack water, if at least two hours notice is given.

(b) From 7 a.m. through 11 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal

holidays.

(c) At all other times if at least four hours advance notice is

given. Advance notice may be given to the drawtender at the Park Street

Bridge or to the Alameda County Public Works Agency at Hayward. For any

commercial vessel [[Page 24601]] which has provided four hours advance

notice of its intended transit, the bridge owners shall provide

sufficient drawtenders so that the commercial vessel will not have to

slow its transit or wait between bridges for openings.

3. Appendix A to part 117 is amended to revise the Oakland Inner

Harbor Tidal Canal entries under the State of California to read as

follows:

Appendix A to Part 117.--Drawbridge Equipped With Radiotelephones

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Calling Working

Waterway Mile Location Bridge name and owner Call sign channel channel

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California

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Oakland Inner Harbor 5.2 Oakland...... Park Street, Alameda WHV 996 16 9

Tidal Canal. County.

5.6 Oakland...... Fruitvale Avenue, WQB 330 16 9

Alameda County.

6.0 Oakland...... High Street, Alameda WHX 488 16 9

County.

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Dated: April 27, 1995.

R.A. Appelbaum,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard

District.

[FR Doc. 95-11297 Filed 5-8-95; 8:45 am]

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