[Federal Register: December 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 75207-75208]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de05-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[USCG-2005-23335]
Natural Working Group on Small Passenger Vessel Access
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: On November 14, 2005, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and
the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) signed a charter establishing a
Natural Working Group (NWG). The purpose of this NWG is to determine
the acceptability and usefulness of a proposed risk matrix that was
developed, by the Volpe Center, to assist small passenger vessel
designers in meeting the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) without compromising vessel safety. The USCG is
seeking comments on this
[[Page 75208]]
initiative and the draft risk matrix to assist the NWG in meeting its
objective.
DATES: Comments and related materials must reach the Docket Management
Facility on or before March 20, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket
number USCG-2005-23335 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
(1) Web site: http://dms.dot.gov;
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001;
(3) Fax: 202-493-2251; or
(4) Delivery: Room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
Notice of Availability and Request for Comments, you may contact LT
William A. Nabach at (202) 267-4004 or by e-mail at
wnabach@comdt.uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments
The USCG is seeking comments and related materials pertaining to
this notice, the NWG charter and the draft risk matrix in the Volpe
Phase 2 report. The NWG Charter and Volpe Center report (phase 1 and 2)
may be found by running a ``simple search'' for docket number 23335 at
http://dms.dot.gov. All comments will be posted, without change, to
http://dms.dot.gov and will include any personal information that you
have provided. Persons submitting comments should include their names,
addresses and this notice reference number (USCG-2005-23335). We will
consider all comments and materials received during the comment period.
Background Information
The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in July
1990 (Pub. L. 101-336). The U.S. Departments of Justice and
Transportation, and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board (Access Board) issued regulations and guidelines in
July and September 1991. Both the DOT's and Access Board's Rules noted
that while ADA applied to vessels, further rulemaking would be deferred
until a better understanding could be gained of the unique challenges
faced by the marine industry.
It soon became apparent the one of the most difficult challenges to
complying with ADA would be the barrier to access presented by the USCG
mandated door sills. The Access Board requested that the Volpe Center
conduct research on this issue and develop a strategy to enable small
passenger vessel designers to satisfy both the ADA accessibility
requirements and the USCG's door sill requirements. The Volpe Center's
research culminated in a draft risk matrix (available in the Phase 2
report) that provides a methodology to assess the risk presented to the
vessel by each individual exterior door and justify a reduction in the
sill height requirement for doors of lower risk.
The USCG is interested in adopting this risk-based methodology as
policy, but must first evaluate the validity of the approach against a
broad cross-section of small passenger vessel designs. The NWG is
tasked with completing this evaluation. Please refer to the NWG charter
for further details.
The Volpe Center's report (Phase 1 and 2) are also available online
through the Access Board's Web site: http://www.access-board.gov/news/research-vessels.htm
.
Dated: December 13, 2005.
Howard L. Hime,
Acting Director of Standards, Marine Safety, Security and Environmental
Protection.
[FR Doc. E5-7508 Filed 12-16-05; 8:45 am]
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