[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18800-18804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06818]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2022-0047]


Port Access Route Study: Approaches to Maine, New Hampshire, and 
Massachusetts

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of study; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is conducting a Port Access Route Study (PARS) 
to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and 
determine whether additional vessel routing measures are necessary for 
port approaches to Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and 
international and domestic transit areas in the First Coast Guard 
District area of responsibility (AOR). The Approaches to Maine, New 
Hampshire, and Massachusetts PARS (MNMPARS) will consider whether 
existing or additional routing measures are necessary to improve 
navigation safety due to factors such as planned or potential offshore 
development, current port capabilities and planned improvements, 
increased vessel traffic, changing vessel traffic patterns, weather 
conditions, or navigational difficulty. Vessel routing measures, which 
include traffic separation schemes, two-way routes, recommended tracks, 
deep-water routes, precautionary areas, and areas to be avoided, are 
implemented to reduce risk of marine casualties. The recommendations of 
the study may subsequently be implemented through rulemakings or in 
accordance with international agreements.

DATES: All comments and related material must be received on or before 
May 16, 2022. Commenters should be aware that the electronic Federal 
Docket Management System will not accept comments after midnight, 
Eastern Daylight Time, on the last day of the comment period.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2022-0047 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov). See the ``Public Participation and Request for 
Comments'' portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further 
instructions on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this 
notice of study, call or email LTJG Thomas Davis, First Coast Guard 
District (dpw), U.S. Coast Guard: telephone (617) 223-8632, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Table of Abbreviations

ACPARS Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study
AIS Automatic Identification System
COMDTINST Commandant Instruction
DHS Department of Homeland Security
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
MNMPARS Approaches to Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts Port 
Access Route Study
MTS Marine Transportation System
PARS Port Access Route Study
TSS Traffic Separation Scheme
USCG United States Coast Guard

II. Background and Purpose

    A. Requirements for Port Access Route Studies: Under Section 70003 
of Title 46 of the United States Code, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast 
Guard may designate necessary fairways and traffic separation schemes 
(TSSs) to provide safe access routes for vessels proceeding to and from 
U.S. ports. The designation of fairways and TSSs recognizes the 
paramount right of navigation over all other uses in the designated 
areas.
    Before establishing or adjusting fairways or TSSs, the Coast Guard 
must conduct a PARS, i.e., a study of potential traffic density and the 
need for safe access routes for vessels. Through the study process, the 
Coast Guard must coordinate with federal, state, tribal, and foreign 
state agencies (where appropriate) and consider the views of maritime 
community representatives, environmental groups, and other 
stakeholders. The primary purpose of this coordination is, to the 
extent practicable, to reconcile the need for safe access routes with 
other reasonable waterway uses such as anchorages, construction, 
operation of renewable energy facilities, marine sanctuary operations, 
commercial and recreational activities, and other uses.
    In addition to aiding in the establishment of new or adjusting 
existing fairways or TSSs, this PARS may recommend establishing or 
amending other vessel routing measures. Examples of other routing 
measures include two-way routes, recommended tracks, deep-water routes 
(for the benefit primarily of ships whose ability to maneuver is 
constrained by their draft), precautionary areas (where ships must 
navigate with particular caution), and areas to be avoided (for reasons 
of exceptional danger or especially sensitive ecological environmental 
factors).
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    B. Previous Port Access Route Studies within this Study Area: The 
Coast Guard established the TSS in the approaches to Portland, ME, in 
1978. In 2005, the Coast Guard published a notice of study in the 
Federal Register (70 FR 7067; February 10, 2005) announcing a PARS to 
Evaluate the Vessel Routing Measures in the Approaches to Portland, ME, 
and Casco Bay, ME. The PARS was completed in 2006 and concluded that no 
amendment to the TSS was needed.
    The TSS in the approach to Boston, MA was established in 1973 and 
was amended in 1983, 2007, and 2009. In 2005, the Coast Guard announced 
in the Federal Register (70 FR 8312; February 18, 2005) a PARS of 
Potential Vessel Routing Measures to Reduce Vessel Strikes of North 
Atlantic Right Whales. The completed PARS was published in the Federal 
Register (71 FR 29876; May 24, 2006) and recommended realigning and 
amending the location and size of the western portion of the TSS in the 
approach to Boston, MA. The TSS was revised in 2007 and the new 
configuration appeared on nautical charts soon thereafter.

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN31MR22.001

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    In 2016, the Coast Guard published a notice of its Atlantic Coast 
Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) in the Federal Register (81 FR 13307; 
March 14, 2016) and announced the study report as final in the Federal 
Register (82 FR 16510; April 5, 2017). The ACPARS analyzed the Atlantic 
Coast waters seaward of existing port approaches within the U.S. 
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Information provided by stakeholders and 
Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel traffic data was used to 
identify and verify deep draft and coastwise navigation routes 
typically followed by ships engaged in commerce between international 
and domestic U.S. ports.
    C. Need for a New Port Access Route Study: In 2019, the Coast Guard 
announced a new study of routes used by ships to access ports on the 
Atlantic Coast of the United States in the Federal Register (84 FR 
9541; March 15, 2019). This study supplemented and built upon the 
ACPARS by conducting a series of PARSs to examine ports along the 
Atlantic Coast that are economically significant, that support military 
or critical national defense operations, and any related international 
entry and departure transit areas that are integral to the safe, 
efficient, and unimpeded flow of commerce to/from major international 
shipping lanes. The MNMPARS will be conducted in support of the ACPARS 
initiative.

III. Information Requested

    The study area encompasses a very large region (20,500 square 
nautical miles), bounded by the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and 
Massachusetts, and the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New 
Brunswick. The purpose of this notice is to announce commencement of 
this PARS to examine the First Coast Guard District's portion of the 
Gulf of Maine, the New Hampshire Seacoast, and the Massachusetts Bay, 
and to solicit public comments. We encourage you to participate in the 
study process by submitting comments in response to this notice. 
Comments should address impacts to navigation in the area of study 
resulting from factors such as offshore development, increased vessel 
traffic, changing vessel traffic patterns, weather conditions, or 
navigational difficulty.

IV. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We encourage you to participate in this study by submitting 
comments and related materials.
    A. Submitting Comments: To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and insert ``USCG-2022-0047'' in the ``search 
box.'' Click ``Search''. Then click ``Comment.'' The ``Comment'' button 
can be found on the following pages:
     Docket Details page when a document within the docket is 
open for comment,
     Document Details page when the document is open for 
comment, and

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     Document Search Tab with all search results open for 
comment displaying a ``Comment'' button.
    Clicking ``Comment'' on any of the above pages will display the 
comment form. You can enter your comment on the form, attach files 
(maximum of 20 files up to 10MB each), and choose whether to identify 
yourself as an individual, an organization, or anonymously. Be sure to 
complete all required fields depending on which identity you have 
chosen. Once you have completed all required fields and chosen an 
identity, the ``Submit Comment'' button is enabled. Upon completion, 
you will receive a Comment Tracking Number for your comment. For 
additional step by step instructions, please see the Frequently Asked 
Questions page on http://www.regulations.gov or by clicking https://www.regulations.gov/faq.
    We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to http://www.regulations.gov will include any personal information you have 
provided.
    We review all comments and materials received during the comment 
period, but we may choose not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or 
duplicate comments that we receive.
    B. How do I find and browse for posted comments on Regulations.gov. 
On the previous version of Regulations.gov, users browsed for comments 
on the Docket Details page. However, since comments are made on 
individual documents, not dockets, new Regulations.gov organizes 
comments under their corresponding document. To access comments and 
documents submitted to this draft version of the study report go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, and insert ``USCG-2022-0047'' in the 
``search box.'' Click ``Search.'' Then scroll down to and click on the 
``notice'' entitled ``Port Access Route Study: Notice of availability 
of draft report and public information session; request for comments.'' 
This will open to the ``Document Details'' page. Then click on the 
``Browse Comments'' tab. On the comment tab, you can search and filter 
comments. Note: If no comments have been posted to a document, the 
``Comments'' tab will not appear on the Document Details page.
    C. If you need additional help navigating the new Regulations.gov. 
For additional step by step instructions to submit a comment or to view 
submitted comments or other documents please see the Frequently Asked 
Questions (FAQs) at http://www.regulations.gov/faqs or call or email 
the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 
document for alternate instructions.
    D. Privacy Act: 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, system of records notice regarding DHS's eRulemaking in 
the March 11, 2020 issue of the Federal Register (85 FR 14226).

V. MNMPARS: Timeline, Study Area, and Process

    The First Coast Guard District will conduct this PARS. The study 
will commence upon publication of this notice and may take 12 months or 
more to complete.
    The study area will include the Gulf of Maine, the New Hampshire 
Seacoast, and Massachusetts Bay regions within the First Coast Guard 
District AOR encompassed by a line connecting the following geographic 
positions:

 41[deg]55' N 70[deg]33' W
 42[deg]08' N 70[deg]15' W
 42[deg]08' N 67[deg]08'17'' W

then proceeding north along the outermost extent of the EEZ and U.S./
Canadian border and thence along the coast line back to the origin. 
This area extends approximately 175 nautical miles seaward and covers 
approximately 20,500 square nautical miles. An illustration showing the 
study area is below.

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    Analyses will be conducted in accordance with COMDTINST 16003.2B, 
Marine Planning to Operate and Maintain the Marine Transportation 
System (MTS) and Implement National Policy. Instruction is available at 
https://media.defense.gov/2019/Jul/10/2002155400/-1/-1/0/CI_16003_2B.PDF.
    We will publish the results of the PARS in the Federal Register. It 
is possible that the study may validate the status quo (no routing 
measures) and conclude that no changes are necessary. It is also 
possible that the study may recommend one or more changes to address 
navigational safety and the efficiency of vessel traffic management. 
The recommendations may lead to future rulemakings or appropriate 
international agreements.

VI. Future Actions

    In Person Public Meetings: Although the Coast Guard prefers and 
highly encourages all comments and related material be submitted 
directly to the electronic docket we do understand the value that in 
person public meetings will add to the study. Therefore, the Coast 
Guard intends to hold public meetings at various locations throughout 
the study area as the 2022 study process continues. For this initial 
comment period we ask that you make your comments directly to the 
docket, addressing impacts to navigation in the area of study resulting 
from factors such as offshore development, increased vessel traffic, 
changing vessel traffic patterns, weather conditions, or navigational 
difficulty. We anticipate that these early comments will inform us as 
to prevalent concerns and how best to use our limited resources when 
scheduling meeting locations.
    Future public meetings will be announced by a notice in the Federal 
Register.
    This notice is published under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 552(a).

    Dated: March 22, 2022.
T.G. Allan Jr.,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, First Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2022-06818 Filed 3-30-22; 8:45 am]
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