[Federal Register: August 12, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 156)]
[Notices]
[Page 46912-46913]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12au08-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG-2003-16158]
RIN 1625-AA77
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard will hold public meetings to let members of
the public present comments on the advance notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPRM) for commercial fishing industry vessels and reopen
the previously announced public comment period. Two public meetings
will be held at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, WA, on November 21
and 22, 2008. This proposed rulemaking would consider several changes
to the current regulations.
DATES: The Coast Guard will hold the public meetings on Friday,
November 21, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and Saturday, November 22, from 9
a.m. to 12 noon, except that the meetings may close early if all
business is finished. Other comments and related material must reach
the Docket Management Facility on or before December 15, 2008. The
comment period is reopened from August 12, 2008 to December 15, 2008.
ADDRESSES: The Coast Guard will hold these public meetings in
conjunction with the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, WA, at the Qwest
Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134.
You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number
USCG-2003-16158 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
(1) Online: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
(3) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
(4) Fax: 202-493-2251.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice,
call M.M. Rosecrans, Chief, Fishing Vessel Safety Division (CG-5433),
U.S. Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1245, or e-mail
Michael.m.rosecrans@uscg.mil.
If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the
docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket Operations,
telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Participation and Request for Comments
We encourage you to submit comments and related material on the
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels advance notice of proposed
rulemaking (ANPRM) published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2008
(73 FR 16815). All comments received will be posted, without change, to
http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information
you have provided. We have an agreement with the Department of
Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.
Submitting comments: If you submit a comment, please include the
docket number for this notice (USCG-2003-16158), and give the reason
for each comment. You may submit your comments and material by
electronic means, mail, fax, or delivery to the Docket Management
Facility at the address under ADDRESSES; but please submit your
comments and material by only one means. We recommend that
[[Page 46913]]
you include your name and a mailing address, an e-mail address, or a
phone number in the body of your document so that we can contact you if
we have questions regarding your submission. If you submit them by mail
or delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by
11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit
them by mail and would like to know that they reached the Facility,
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope. We will
consider all comments and material received during the comment period.
The comment period is hereby reopened; comments and related material
must reach the Docket Management Facility on or before December 15,
2008.
Viewing the comments as well as other background documents
available in the docket: To view the comments and other documents
listed in the ANPRM, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time.
Enter the docket number for this notice (USCG-2003-16158) in the Search
box, and click ``Go >>.'' If you do not have access to the internet,
you may view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management
Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the Department of
Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all 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, system of records notice regarding our public dockets in
the January 17, 2008 issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Procedural
These meetings are open to the public. Please note that the
meetings may close early if all business is finished.
Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting(s),
contact the Coast Guard at the number listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT as soon as possible.
Background and Purpose
In addition to announcing public meetings, the Coast Guard is
reopening the public comment period announced in the ANPRM from August
12, 2008 to December 15, 2008.
Commercial fishing remains one of the most hazardous occupations in
the United States. Congress addressed this problem by enacting the
Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988 (``the 1988
Act,'' Pub. L. 100-424, as subsequently amended; see generally, 46
U.S.C. chapter 45, ``Uninspected Commercial Fishing Industry
Vessels''). The Act directed the Secretary of Transportation to provide
safety requirements for fishing vessels, fish processing vessels, and
fish tender vessels. It also established the Commercial Fishing
Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee (CFIVSAC) to advise the
Secretary on matters relating to the safe operation of commercial
fishing vessels.
Coast Guard regulations under the 1988 Act were first issued on
August 14, 1991 (56 FR 40364), and were further addressed in the
following documents:
August 3, 1992, interim rule (57 FR 34188) that amended
the 1991 immersion suit requirements in 46 CFR 28.110, but advised the
public that immersion suits would be the subject of further rulemaking;
October 27, 1992, SNPRM (57 FR 48670) that proposed the
adoption of stability regulations for vessels less than 79 feet in
length;
May 20, 1993, NPRM (58 FR 29502) that proposed further
changes to immersion suit requirements;
October 24, 1995, final rule (60 FR 54441) that adopted
regulations for Aleutian Trade Act vessels;
November 5, 1996, interim rule (61 FR 57268) that adopted
safety equipment and vessel operating procedure regulations and
deferred further action on the 1992 SNPRM's proposal to extend
stability regulations to smaller vessels;
September 4, 1997, final rule (62 FR 46672) that finalized
the 1996 regulations with some changes; and
July 15, 1998, notice (63 FR 38141) that announced the
termination of the 1993 NPRM and the Coast Guard's plans for a
subsequent rulemaking to address immersion suits, vessel stability, and
other commercial fishing industry vessel issues.
These documents, as well as other background documents, are
available in the docket. Each document may be downloaded.
Dated: August 1, 2008.
J.G. Lantz,
U.S. Coast Guard, Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards.
[FR Doc. E8-18532 Filed 8-11-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P