[Federal Register: November 26, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 227)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 69245-69246]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26no04-41]
[[Page 69245]]
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ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD
36 CFR Part 1195
[Docket No. 2004-2]
RIN 3014-AA11
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines
for Passenger Vessels; Small Vessels
AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(Access Board) is considering the development of accessibility
guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for newly
constructed or altered passenger vessels which carry 150 or fewer
passengers or 49 or fewer overnight passengers. This notice seeks
comment on various issues related to the development of accessibility
guidelines for these types of passenger vessels.
DATES: Comments should be received by March 28, 2005. Comments received
after this date will be considered to the extent practicable. The
Access Board will hold a hearing on January 10, 2005, from 1:30 p.m.
until 4:30 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Technical and
Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. E-mail comments should be sent to pvag@access-board.gov. Comments
sent by e-mail will be considered only if they contain the full name
and address of the sender in the text. Comments will be available for
inspection at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on regular
business days. The hearing on January 10, 2005 will be held at the
Marriott at Metro Center Hotel, 775 12th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Beatty, Office of Technical and
Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Telephone number (202) 272-0012 (Voice); (202) 272-0082 (TTY).
Electronic mail address: pvag@access-board.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is responsible for developing
accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) to ensure that facilities and
vehicles covered by the law are readily accessible to and usable by
individuals with disabilities. The ADA is a comprehensive civil rights
law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Title II
of the ADA establishes requirements for the purchase, lease, and
remanufacture of vehicles operated by State and local government
entities to provide designated public transportation. 42 U.S.C. 12141,
12142, 12144. For purposes of title II of the ADA, the term
``designated public transportation'' means ``transportation * * * by
bus, rail, or any other conveyance * * * that provides the general
public with general or special service (including charter service) on a
regular and continuing basis.'' 42 U.S.C. 12141(2). Passenger vessels
such as ferries operated by State and local government entities provide
designated public transportation and are thus subject to the
transportation vehicle requirements of title II of the ADA.
Title III of the ADA establishes requirements for the purchase and
lease of vehicles operated by private entities, who are primarily
engaged in the business of transporting people and whose operations
affect commerce. 42 U.S.C. 12184. For purposes of title III of the ADA,
the term ``specified public transportation'' means ``transportation by
bus, rail, or any other conveyance * * * that provides the general
public with general or special service (including charter service) on a
regular basis''. Cruise ships and excursion boats operated by private
entities to provide specified public transportation services are thus
subject to the transportation vehicle requirements of title III of the
ADA. 42 U.S.C. 12181.
Title III of the ADA also establishes requirements for the purchase
and lease of vehicles by private entities who are not primarily engaged
in the business of transporting people but operate a demand responsive
or fixed route system. 42 U.S.C. 12182(b)(2) (B) and (C). For example,
an amusement park or hotel that operates shuttle boats to transport
patrons from a parking area to the main attraction or hotel itself
would be subject to the transportation vehicle requirements of title
III of the ADA. In addition to the transportation vehicle requirements,
title III of the ADA establishes requirements for new construction and
alteration of places of public accommodation operated by private
entities. 42 U.S.C. 12183. There are twelve categories of places of
public accommodation covered by title III of the ADA, including places
of lodging, establishments serving food or drink, and places of
exhibition or entertainment. 42 U.S.C. 12181(7) (A)-(L). Passenger
vessels or portions of vessels that are within any of the twelve
categories of places of public accommodation such as cruise ships,
dinner boats, gaming boats, and sightseeing vessels are thus subject to
the public accommodation requirements of title III of the ADA.
In 1998, the Access Board established a 21-member advisory
committee to provide recommendations to assist the Board in developing
passenger vessel accessibility guidelines. The committee included
disability organizations, industry trade groups, State and local
government agencies, and passenger vessel operators. The Passenger
Vessel Access Advisory Committee (PVAAC) met nine times between
September 1998 and September 2000 and submitted a final report
``Recommendations for Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger Vessels''
(http://www.access-board.gov/pvaac/commrept/index.htm) to the Board in
December 2000.
The PVAAC report addresses two types of passenger vessels.
Passenger vessels which are subject to U.S. Coast Guard regulations
found at 46 CFR Subchapters H or K, and smaller passenger vessels
subject to Subchapters C or T. Most of the PVAAC report focused on
access in larger vessels, with only one chapter of the report
specifically addressing smaller vessels (see option 2 below for a
summary of the chapter). Determining which Subchapter of the Coast
Guard regulations applies to a passenger vessel is based on the number
of passengers a vessel is permitted to carry and the volume tonnage of
a vessel.
Also today, the Access Board issued in the Federal Register a
notice announcing that the Board's draft guidelines for large passenger
vessels are available for public review on the Board's Web site (http://www.access-board.gov
). Because determining the tonnage of a passenger
vessel is a complicated process and because many large foreign-flagged
passenger vessels are not subject to Subchapters H or K, the Board's
draft guidelines would apply to passenger vessels which are permitted
to carry more than 150 passengers or more than 49 overnight passengers.
These numbers were derived from Subchapter K and are used to
distinguish Subchapter K passenger vessels from Subchapter T passenger
vessels, which are generally smaller. It is possible for some
Subchapter H
[[Page 69246]]
passenger vessels to have fewer than these passenger numbers.
To assist the Board in developing accessibility guidelines for the
design, construction, and alteration of smaller passenger vessels, the
Board seeks comment on four options. Comment is sought in the following
areas for each option:
The feasibility of each option and the rationale for
selecting one option over others;
How a selected option should be modified to correct any
identified weaknesses;
Data relating to the costs and benefits of each of the
options; and
Recommendations on other ways to address the accessible
design, construction, and alteration of smaller passenger vessels.
Option 1. Require vessels which are permitted to carry fewer than
150 passengers or fewer than 49 overnight passengers to comply with the
same design, construction, and alteration requirements applicable to
larger vessels addressed in the Board's draft guidelines except where
it is not operationally or structurally feasible. Where a provision is
not operationally or structurally feasible, compliance would be to the
maximum extent practicable. The Board seeks comment on which particular
provisions might be considered operationally or structurally
infeasible.
Option 2. Require these smaller vessels to comply with the PVAAC
report. In Chapter 12 of its report (http://www.access-board.gov/pvaac/commrept/chapter12.htm
,) PVAAC provided access recommendations for
smaller vessels but applied the recommendations differently to sailing
vessels and power vessels. Any Subchapter C or T sailing vessel could
use the small vessel access provisions (summarized below). However,
only Subchapter C or T power vessels that are within at least two of
the following three measurements could use the small vessel provisions.
The three measurements are:
The length on deck of the vessel is 65 feet or less;
The maximum beam (width) of the vessel is 16 feet or less;
and
On the vessels main deck, each of the following three
areas (weather deck, major program area, and boarding deck) is 750
square feet or less in size.
Therefore, for example, a new water taxi with a length on deck of
65 feet and a beam of 16 feet could use the small vessel provisions.
Other Subchapter C or T power vessels that do not meet at least two of
the above three measurements would need to comply with the access
provisions applicable to larger passenger vessels.
The small vessel provisions generally address access only in a few
areas including vessel embarkation and debarkation points, clear decks
spaces and transfer seats, toilet rooms, accessible routes and transfer
systems, and means of escape. The accessible route technical provisions
also addressed brow and gangway requirements but did not include
recommendations regarding gangway slopes. These small vessel provisions
were based on language similar to what is found in the Board's draft
guidelines which address larger vessels, but were extensively modified
to be compatible with smaller passenger vessels.
Option 3. Develop general performance requirements which must be
met when designing, constructing or altering smaller vessels. General
performance requirements list objectives, rather than detailed design
requirements, which must be accomplished to determine if a vessel is
accessible. For example, general performance requirements for newly
constructed smaller passenger vessels could include the following:
Passengers with disabilities must be able to get on and
off a passenger vessel by a roll-on access method or by use of a
transfer device;
Within the vessel, except for spaces and areas only
connected by ladders, passengers with disabilities must be able to
approach, enter, maneuver within, and exit each program area;
Within the vessel, except for spaces and areas only
connected by ladders, passengers with disabilities must be able to
approach, enter, maneuver within, and exit each passenger toilet
facility;
Within the vessel, provide a circulation path usable by
passengers with disabilities which connects accessible spaces and areas
to an accessible entry and departure point.
Option 4. The Board's draft guidelines apply to larger passenger
vessels (including sailing vessels) which carry more than 150
passengers or more than 49 overnight passengers. It may be feasible to
apply the draft guidelines to some sailing and power vessels which
carry fewer than 150 passengers or 49 overnight passengers. The Board
is interested in receiving comment to determine at what passenger count
the application of the draft guidelines to smaller passenger vessels
becomes infeasible or at what size vessel the application of the draft
guidelines becomes infeasible.
In addition to welcoming written comments, the Board will hold a
hearing on January 10, 2005 to give the public an additional
opportunity to provide input on the Board's draft guidelines.
Interested members of the public are encouraged to contact the Access
Board at (202) 272-0012 (voice) or (202) 272-0082 (TTY) to pre-register
to attend the hearing. A second hearing may be held later in 2005. The
location, date, and time of the second hearing will be announced in a
subsequent Federal Register notice and on the Board's Web site. The
hearings will be accessible to persons with disabilities. Sign language
interpreters and an assistive listening system will be available.
Persons attending the hearings are requested to refrain from using
perfume, cologne, and other fragrances for the comfort of other
participants.
Availability of Copies and Electronic Access
Single copies of the passenger vessels rulemaking (ANPRM on Access
to and in Smaller Passenger Vessels, Availability of Draft Guidelines,
Draft Guidelines and Supplementary Information, and Draft Plan for
Regulatory Assessment) may be obtained at no cost by calling the Access
Board's automated publications order line (202) 272-0080, by pressing 2
on the telephone keypad, then 1 and requesting publication S-45. Please
record your name, address, telephone number and publication code S-45.
Persons using a TTY should call (202) 272-0082. Documents are available
in alternate formats upon request. Persons who want a publication in an
alternate format should specify the type of format (cassette tape,
Braille, large print, or ASCII disk). Documents are also available on
the Board's Web site (http://www.access-board.gov).
Emil H. Frankel,
Chair, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
[FR Doc. 04-25999 Filed 11-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8150-01-P