[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 15, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 17444-17445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8606]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Parts 101, 104, 105, and 106
[Docket No. USCG-2007-28915]
RIN 1625-AB21
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader
Requirements
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces the location for a public meeting to
receive comments on an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM)
entitled Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader
Requirements that was published in the Federal Register on March 27,
2009. As stated in that document, the ANPRM discusses the Coast Guard's
preliminary thoughts on potential requirements for owners and operators
of certain vessels and facilities regulated by the Coast Guard under 33
CFR chapter I, subchapter H, for use of electronic readers designed to
work with TWICs as an access control measure.
DATES: A public meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 6, 2009. We
expect the meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to provide an
opportunity for oral comments. The meeting may end early if all
comments are received prior to 5 p.m. Written comments and related
material may also be submitted to Coast Guard personnel specified at
that meeting. The comment period for the proposed rule closes May 26,
2009. All comments and related material submitted after the meeting
must either be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before May 26, 2009 or reach the Docket
Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at The Sheraton Crystal City
Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202.
You may submit written comments identified by docket number USCG-
2007-28915 before or after the meeting using any one of the following
methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202-493-2251.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
Our online docket for this rulemaking is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov under docket number USCG-2007-28915.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions concerning the
meeting or the ANPRM, please call or e-mail LCDR Jonathan Maiorine,
Coast Guard; telephone 1-877-687-2243, e-mail
[email protected]. If you have questions on viewing or
submitting material to the docket, call Ms. Renee V. Wright, Program
Manager, Docket Operations, telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
We published an ANPRM in the Federal Register on March 27, 2009 (74
FR 13360), entitled ``Transportation Worker Identification Credential
[[Page 17445]]
(TWIC)--Reader Requirements.'' In it we stated our intention to hold a
public meeting, and to publish a notice announcing the location and
date. 74 FR 13360. On April 9, 2009, we published a notice announcing
the date for that meeting, and that it would be held in the Washington
DC area. 74 FR 16161. This document is the notice of the exact location
for that meeting.
In the ANPRM, we discuss the United States Coast Guard's
preliminary thoughts on potential requirements for owners and operators
of certain vessels and facilities regulated by the Coast Guard under 33
CFR chapter I, subchapter H, for use of electronic readers designed to
work with TWICs as an access control measure. It discusses additional
potential requirements associated with TWIC readers, such as
recordkeeping requirements for those owners or operators required to
use an electronic reader, and amendments to security plans previously
approved by the Coast Guard to incorporate TWIC requirements.
This rulemaking action, once final, would enhance the security of
ports and vessels by ensuring that only persons who hold valid TWICs
are granted unescorted access to secure areas on vessels and port
facilities. It would also complete the implementation of the Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002 transportation security card
requirement, as well as the requirements of the Security and
Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006, for regulations on
electronic readers for use with Transportation Worker Identification
Credentials.
You may view the ANPRM in our online docket, and comments submitted
thus far by going to http://www.regulations.gov. Once there, select the
Advanced Docket Search option on the right side of the screen, insert
USCG-2007-28915 in the Docket ID box, press Enter, and then click on
the item in the Docket ID column. If you do not have access to the
Internet, you may view the docket in person 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. We have an agreement with the
Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility.
We encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting
comments either orally at the meeting or in writing. If you bring
written comments to the meeting, you may submit them to Coast Guard
personnel specified at the meeting to receive written comments. These
comments will be submitted to our online public docket. All comments
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov
and will include any personal information you have provided.
Anyone can search the electronic form of 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 notice
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008 issue of the
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).
Information on Service for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on facilities or services for individuals with
disabilities or to request special assistance at the public meeting,
contact LCDR Maiorine at the telephone number or e-mail address
indicated under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
notice.
Public Meeting
The Coast Guard will hold a public meeting regarding its
Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)--Reader
Requirements ANPRM on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
at The Sheraton Crystal City Hotel, 1800 Jefferson Davis Highway,
Arlington, Virginia 22202. The meeting may end early if all comments
are received prior to 5 p.m. We plan to have a transcript of the
meeting available on our online docket soon after the public meeting.
For details on the hotel and surrounding area, including
directions, you may visit The Sheraton Crystal City Hotel Web site,
http://www.sheraton.com/crystalcity. The hotel is metro accessible and
provides shuttle service from Reagan National Airport. Additionally,
self and valet parking is available in the hotel's parking garage at a
daily rate. There is also metered parking along the street outside of
the hotel.
Dated: April 10, 2009.
Mark E. Hammond,
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Chief, Ports and Facilities
Activities.
[FR Doc. E9-8606 Filed 4-14-09; 8:45 am]
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