The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to revise the existing regulations for a restricted area within Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach (NWSSB). The Department of...
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense.
ACTION:
Notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to revise the existing regulations for a restricted area within Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach (NWSSB). The Department of the Navy requested amendment of a restricted area located within NWSSB, in the City of Seal Beach, Orange County, California (33.7334 Latitude/−118.0953 Longitude). NWSSB is the primary West Coast installation for the supply of munitions to U.S. Navy vessels. Following an extensive project to reconfigure Anaheim Bay, including the creation of a new ammunition pier and the relocation of a public boating channel, the Department of the Navy requested the Corps modify the existing restricted area regulations to protect the public from navigational and operational hazards, and to protect government assets, missions, and the base population in general.
DATES:
Written comments must be submitted on or before September 10, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments, identified by docket number COE-2026-0067, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CECW-CO-R (Linda Speerstra), 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-2026-0067. All comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available on-line at
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
website 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. 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:
Ms. Linda Speerstra, Headquarters, Operations and Regulatory Community of Practice, Washington, DC at 202-945-2101 or Gerardo Salas, Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District Regulatory Branch at 213-321-0786.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In response to a request from the Department of the Navy, and 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 amend its regulations at
33 CFR 334.930
by revising the restricted area boundaries and the associated regulations for NWSSB to reflect current site conditions and operational needs.
Procedural Requirements
a. Review Under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563, this proposed rule has not been designated a “significant regulatory action”. If issued, it would be with respect to a military function of the Department of Defense therefore, Executive Order 12866 and 13563 do not apply.
b. Regulatory Flexibility Act, as Amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 601et seq.
This proposed rule has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354), which requires the preparation of a regulatory flexibility analysis for any regulation that will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (
i.e.,
small businesses and small governments). The restricted area is necessary to protect public safety. 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.
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
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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 that have been received will be considered.
d. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. This proposed rule does not impose an enforceable duty among the private sector nor State, local, and Tribal governments and, therefore, it is not a Federal private sector mandate, nor a State, local, or Tribal government mandate, and it is not subject to the requirements of either section 202 or section 205 of Public Law 104-4 (Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995). We have also found that under section 203 of the Act, small governments will not be significantly and uniquely affected by this rulemaking.
e. Congressional Review Act. The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801et seq.,
generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. This proposed rule is not a “major rule” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Anaheim Bay Harbor, California, Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach; restricted area.
(a)
The restricted area.
The waters of Anaheim Bay Harbor between the east and west jetties at the United States Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach, California, and the contiguous inner basin. The restricted area is divided into two sub-areas:
(1)
The Navy Operational Area.
Consisting of the entire inner basin, and a majority of the outer harbor with the exception of the southeastern-most section and returning to Point A as shown in table 1:
Table 1 to Paragraph (
a
)(1)
Latitude
Longitude
Point A
33°43′39″ N
118°06'07″ W.
Point B
33°44′02″ N
118°06′04″ W.
Point C
33°44′18″ N
118°05′47″ W.
Point D
33°44′06″ N
118°05′24″ W.
Point E
33°44′09″ N
118°05′22″ W.
Point F
33°44′07″ N
118°05′18″ W.
Point G
33°43′60″ N
118°05′16″ W.
Point H
33°43′50″ N
118°05′34″ W.
(2)
The public navigation channel.
The designated public navigation channel within the southeastern portion of Anaheim Bay, starting at the mouth of the outer harbor and running northeast, adjacent to the East Jetty, as far north as the Anaheim Bay Bridge and returning to Point A as shown in table 2:
Table 2 To Paragraph (
a
)(2)
Latitude
Longitude
Point A
33°43′39″ N
118°06′07″ W.
Point H
33°43′50″ N
118°05′34″ W.
Point G
33°43′60″ N
118°05′16″ W.
Point I
33°43′56″ N
118°05′13″ W.
Point J
33°43′56″ N
118°05′07″ W.
Point K
33°43′53″ N
118°05′06″ W.
Point L
33°43′52″ N.
118°05′11″ W.
Point M
33°43′54″ N.
118°05′20″ W.
Point N
33°43′45″ N
118°05′35″ W.
Point O
33°43′36″ N
118°06'01″ W.
(b)
The regulation
—(1)
The Navy Operational Area.
No persons, vessels, watercraft, or other floating devices shall enter, occupy, transit through, or conduct any activities within the Navy Operational Area unless authorized by the Navy.
(2)
The public navigation channel.
Unless otherwise approved by the Commanding Officer, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, civilian craft are only authorized to transit through Anaheim Bay within the limits of the marked public navigation channel adjacent to the East Jetty.
(i) The authority of the Naval Weapons Station Commanding Officer in this area extends to restricting and disallowing the navigating of craft during such times as the Commanding Officer determines that considerations of national security or safety warrant such action(s). All persons and all vessels, watercraft, or other devices shall promptly vacate the areas when ordered to do so by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, or local law enforcement.
(ii) Vessels under sail, hand-powered watercraft, recreational swimming or any other activities involving persons in
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the water are prohibited within the designated public navigation channel.
(iii) Anchoring or stopping within the designated public navigation channel is prohibited without prior approval by the Commanding Officer, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.
(iv) Boats unable to throttle down or to maintain steerage way at 5 miles per hour speed shall proceed at the minimum speed consistent with safe navigation.
(v) Smoking, open flames and barbecues in boats are prohibited during the transit of this area.
(vi) Nothing in the regulations in this section shall be construed as relieving the owner or persons in command of any vessels from the penalties of the law for obstructing navigation or for not complying with the navigation laws in regard to lights or signals or for otherwise violating law.
(vii) All vessel operators shall heed and obey all posted signs and/or instructions issued by security personnel of Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach.
(c)
Enforcement.
The regulations in this section shall be enforced by the Commanding Officer, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, California, and such agencies as the Commanding Office may designate. For clarification or other information, the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Public Affairs Officer should be contacted at (562) 626-7215.
Stephen L. Hill,
Chief, Operations and Regulatory Division, Directorate of Civil Works.
www.regulations.gov
33 U.S.C. 1
33 CFR 334.930