81 FR 90292 - East Pearl River, Within the Acoustic Buffer Area of the John C. Stennis Space Center, and Adjacent to Lands, in Hancock County, Mississippi; Danger Zone

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 240 (December 14, 2016)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to revise the existing regulations for a danger zone at the Naval Special Warfare Center (NSWC) N31 Branch within the acoustic buffer of the John C. Stennis Space Center on the East Pearl River, in Hancock County, Mississippi. The Navy requested establishment of a danger zone on waterways and tributaries of the East Pearl that are used by Naval Special Warfare units to conduct riverine training. The purpose of the proposed danger zone is to ensure public safety by restricting access within the danger zone during training events. This amendment to the existing regulation is necessary to minimizing potential conflicts between local populace activities and ongoing military training in the subject area.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 14, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 90292-90294]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30013]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers

33 CFR Part 334


East Pearl River, Within the Acoustic Buffer Area of the John C. 
Stennis Space Center, and Adjacent to Lands, in Hancock County, 
Mississippi; Danger Zone

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to 
revise the existing regulations for a danger zone at the Naval Special 
Warfare Center (NSWC) N31 Branch within the acoustic buffer of the John 
C. Stennis Space Center on the East Pearl River, in Hancock County, 
Mississippi. The Navy requested establishment of a danger zone on 
waterways and tributaries of the

[[Page 90293]]

East Pearl that are used by Naval Special Warfare units to conduct 
riverine training. The purpose of the proposed danger zone is to ensure 
public safety by restricting access within the danger zone during 
training events. This amendment to the existing regulation is necessary 
to minimizing potential conflicts between local populace activities and 
ongoing military training in the subject area.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before January 13, 
2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-
2016-0014, by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include the docket number, 
COE-2016-0014, in the subject line of the message.
    Mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO (David B. Olson), 
441 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314-1000.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: Due to security requirements, we cannot 
receive comments by hand delivery or courier.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket number COE-2016-0014. 
All comments received will be included in the public docket without 
change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided, unless the commenter 
indicates that the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI, or otherwise protected, through regulations.gov or 
email. The regulations.gov Web site is an anonymous access system, 
which means we will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email 
directly to the Corps without going through regulations.gov, your email 
address will be automatically captured and included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, we recommend that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If we cannot read your 
comment because of technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, we may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
comments should avoid the use of any special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov. All documents in the 
docket are listed. Although listed in the index, some information is 
not publicly available, such as CBI or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as 
copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be 
publicly available only in hard copy form.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Olson, Headquarters, 
Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-
761-4922 or Ms. Kristi Hall, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg 
District, Regulatory Branch at 601-631-7528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Pursuant to its authorities in Section 7 of the Rivers and Harbors 
Act of 1917 (40 Stat 266; 33 U.S.C. 1) and Chapter XIX of the Army 
Appropriations Act of 1919 (40 Stat 892; 33 U.S.C. 3) the Corps is 
proposing to revise the regulations at 33 CFR part 334 by establishing 
a danger zone along the East Pearl River. The amendment to this 
regulation will allow the Commanding Officer of the Naval Construction 
Battalion Center, Gulfport, MS to restrict passage of persons, 
watercraft, and vessels in the waters within the danger zone during 
Department of Defense training for conducting coastal and riverine 
special operations in support of global military missions. This area is 
referred to as a danger zone due to the use of short-range tactical 
ammunition within riverine areas.

Procedural Requirements

    a. Review Under Executive Order 12866. The proposed rule is issued 
with respect to a military function of the Department of Defense and 
the provisions of Executive Order 12866 do not apply.
    b. Review Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. This proposed rule 
has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-
354). The Regulatory Flexibility Act generally requires an agency to 
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to 
notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative 
Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities (i.e., small businesses and small 
governments). The danger zone is necessary to protect public safety 
during training exercises. Small entities can utilize navigable waters 
outside of the danger zone when the danger zone is activated. Unless 
information is obtained to the contrary during the comment period, the 
Corps certifies that the proposed rule would have no significant 
economic impact on the public. After considering the economic impacts 
of this proposed danger zone regulation on small entities, I certify 
that this action will not have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.
    c. Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act. Due to the 
administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended 
change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation, 
if adopted, will not have a significant impact on the quality of the 
human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental 
impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will 
be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments 
have been received and considered.
    d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This proposed rule does not contain a 
Federal mandate that may result in expenditures of $100 million or more 
for State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the 
private sector in any one year. Therefore, this proposed rule is not 
subject to the requirements of Sections 202 and 205 of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The proposed rule contains no regulatory 
requirements that might significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments. Therefore, the proposed rule is not subject to the 
requirements of Section 203 of UMRA.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334

    Danger zones, Navigation (water), Restricted areas, Waterways.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps proposes to 
amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:

PART 334--DANGER ZONE AND RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  40 Stat. 266 (33 U.S.C. 1) and 40 Stat. 892 (33 
U.S.C. 3).

0
2. Add Sec.  334.784 to read as follows:

[[Page 90294]]

Sec.  334.784   East Pearl River, within the acoustic buffer area of 
the John C. Stennis Space Center, and adjacent to lands, in Hancock 
County, Mississippi; danger zone.

    (a) The area. A danger zone is established in and to the extent of 
waters of the United States, as defined in 33 CFR part 329, in the 
following reaches of the East Pearl River south of a point, on the left 
descending bank, located at latitude 30.4030[deg] N., longitude -
89.6815[deg] W., to a point below the confluence of Mikes River, 
located at latitude 30.3561[deg] N., longitude -89.6514[deg] W. The 
datum is NAD83.
    (b) The regulation. (1) No person, vessel, or other watercraft, 
other than a vessel owned and operated by the United States, shall 
enter or remain in the danger zone, or within a portion or portions 
thereof, when closed to public access, as provided in paragraph (b)(2) 
of this section, below, except by permission of Commander, Naval 
Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport or such other person(s) as he 
or she may designate.
    (2) The danger zone, or a portion or portions thereof, will be 
closed, for riverine, weapons, or other dangerous naval training, by 
placement of Government picket boats at the northern and southern 
boundaries in the East Pearl River, or at such other location(s) within 
the danger zone as may be determined to be sufficient to protect the 
public. Prior to closure, picket boats will transit the area(s) to be 
closed, to ensure that no persons, vessels, or other watercraft are 
present. Once the danger zone, or location(s) within the zone, has been 
cleared, picket boats will remain in position, upstream and downstream, 
until it is safe to re-open the area(s) to public access.
    (3) Riverine, weapons, and other dangerous naval training may occur 
on any day of the week, typically, but not exclusively, in periods of 
two to eight hours, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Training may occur at 
night, in darkness.
    (c) Enforcement. The restrictions on public access in this section 
shall be enforced by Commander, Naval Construction Battalion Center, 
Gulfport or by such other person(s) as he or she may designate.

    Dated: December 1, 2016.
Susan S. Whittington,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division, Directorate of Civil Works.
[FR Doc. 2016-30013 Filed 12-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P