83 FR 18414 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; St. Johns River, Putnam County, FL

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 82 (April 27, 2018)

The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the operating schedule that governs the Buffalo Bluff CSX Railroad Bridge across the St. Johns River, mile 94.5, at Satsuma, Putnam County, FL. This deviation will test a change to the drawbridge operation to determine whether a permanent change from manned to remote operations is feasible. This deviation will allow the bridge to operate remotely from the CSX Railroad Bridge on the Ortega River (McGirts Creek) located at mile 1.1 on the Ortega River.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 82 (Friday, April 27, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18414-18415]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08866]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[Docket No. USCG-2017-0857]


Drawbridge Operation Regulation; St. Johns River, Putnam County, 
FL

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard has issued a temporary deviation from the 
operating schedule that governs the Buffalo Bluff CSX Railroad Bridge 
across the St. Johns River, mile 94.5, at Satsuma, Putnam County, FL. 
This deviation will test a change to the drawbridge operation to 
determine whether a permanent change from manned to remote operations 
is feasible. This deviation will allow the bridge to operate remotely 
from the CSX Railroad Bridge on the Ortega River (McGirts Creek) 
located at mile 1.1 on the Ortega River.

DATES: This deviation is effective without actual notice from April 27, 
2018 through 6 a.m. September 2, 2018. For the purposes of enforcement, 
actual notice will be used from April 23, 2018, until April 27, 2018.
    Comments and related materials must reach the Coast Guard on or 
before August 14, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2017-0857 using Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
    See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion 
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on 
submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this test 
deviation, call or email LT Allan Storm, Sector Jacksonville, Waterways 
Management Division, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 904-714-7616, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis

    The Buffalo Bluff CSX Railroad Bridge across the St. Johns River, 
mile 94.5, in Satsuma, Putnam County, FL is a bascule bridge. It has a 
vertical clearance of 7 feet at mean high water in the closed position 
and a horizontal clearance of 90 feet. The bridge is currently manned 
and maintained in the open position. This test deviation would provide 
for the bridge to be remotely monitored and operated. Visual monitoring 
of the waterway shall be maintained with the use of cameras and the 
detection of vessels under the span shall be accomplished with 
detection sensors. Marine radio communication shall be maintained with 
mariners near the bridge for the safety of navigation. The remote 
tender may also be contacted via telephone at (386) 649-8358. The span 
is normally in the fully open position and will display green lights to 
indicate that the span is fully open. When a train approaches, the 
remote tender shall monitor for vessels approaching the bridge. The 
remote tender shall warn approaching vessels via marine radio, channel 
9 VHF of a bridge lowering. Provided the sensors do not detect a vessel 
under the span, the tender shall initiate the span lowering sequence, 
which includes the sounding of a horn and the displaying of red lights. 
The span will remain in the down position for a minimum of eight 
minutes or for the entire time the approach track circuit is occupied. 
After the train has cleared the bridge track circuit, the span shall 
open and the green lights will be displayed. This will allow vessels to 
pass through the bridge while taking into account the reasonable needs 
of other modes of transportation.
    The Coast Guard will also inform the users of the waterways through 
our Local and Broadcast Notices to Mariners of the change in operating 
schedule for the bridge so that vessel operators can arrange their 
transits to minimize any

[[Page 18415]]

impact caused by the temporary deviation.
    In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(e), the drawbridge must return to 
its regular operating schedule immediately at the end of the effective 
period of this temporary deviation. This deviation from the operating 
regulations is authorized under 33 CFR 117.35.

II. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    We view public participation as essential to effective rulemaking, 
and will consider all comments and material received during the comment 
period. Your comment can help shape the outcome of this rulemaking. If 
you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
rulemaking, indicate the specific section of this document to which 
each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation.
    We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be 
submitted using http://www.regulations.gov, contact the person in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate 
instructions.
    We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any 
personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the 
docket, visit http://www.regulations.gov/privacynotice.
    Documents mentioned in this notice as being available in this 
docket and all public comments, will be in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that website's 
instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and sign up 
for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted or a 
final rule is published.

    Dated: April 23, 2018.
Barry L. Dragon,
Director, Bridge Branch, Seventh Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2018-08866 Filed 4-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P