Drawbridge Operating Regulation; Mississippi River, Iowa and Illinois

Background

On October 3, 1998, the Union Pacific Railroad Company requested a temporary change to the operation of the Clinton Railroad swing bridge across the Upper Mississippi River, Mile 518.0 at Clinton, Iowa. Union Pacific Railroad Company requested that navigation temporarily provide twenty-four hours advance notice for bridge operation to facilitate required bridge maintenance, between December 21, 1998 and March 1, 1999, when icing conditions and Army Corps of Engineers' lock closures preclude normal river traffic. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 533, a notice of proposed rulemaking has not been published and good cause exists

for making this rule effective in less than 30 days from publication since the details of the operation were not known until late October 1998. Thus, following normal rule making procedures would be impractical. Delaying implementation of the regulation will adversely impact navigation and would result in unnecessary additional operating costs to the bridge owner.

Discussion of Temporary Rule

The Clinton Railroad Drawbridge swingspan has a vertical clearance of 18.7 feet above normal pool in the closed to navigation position. Navigation on the waterway consists primarily of commercial tows and recreational watercraft. Presently, the draw opens on signal for passage of river traffic. This temporary drawbridge operation amendment has been coordinated with the commercial waterway operators who do not object. Winter conditions on the Upper Mississippi River, coupled with the closure of Corps of Engineers' locks 11, 12, 19 and 20 until March of 1999, will result in a significant decrease in vessel traffic and therefore substantially reduce the demand for bridge openings. The Clinton Railroad Drawbridge, Mile 518.0 Upper Mississippi River, is located downstream from Lock 12 and upstream from Lock 19. Performing maintenance on this bridge during the winter is preferred by both waterway users and bridge owners since very few vessels, if any, are impacted during this timeframe. If this maintenance were performed during the commercial navigation season, there would be a significant number of delays to vessel traffic caused by the prolonged bridge closures. Additionally, vessel traffic would be burdened with a 24- hour-advance notification requirement during the heavily transited commercial navigation season.

Regulatory Evaluation

This temporary rule is not a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an assessment of potential costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that order. It has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under that order. It is not significant under the regulatory policies and procedures of the Department of Transportation (DOT) (44 FR 11040; February 26, 1979). The Coast Guard expects the economic impact of this temporary rule to be so minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation under paragraph 10(e) of the regulatory policies and procedures of DOT is unnecessary. This is because river traffic will be virtually nonexistent as a result of planned lock closures and ice accumulations during the maintenance period.

Small Entities

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Coast Guard must consider whether this temporary rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. ``Small entities'' may include small businesses and not-for-profit organizations that are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their fields and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000. Because it expects the impact of this action to be minimal, the Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b), that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Collection of Information

This temporary rule does not provide for a collection-of- information requirement under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Federalism

The Coast Guard has analyzed this temporary rule under the principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 and has determined that this temporary rule does not raise sufficient implications of federalism to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. The authority to regulate the permits of bridges over the navigable waters of the U.S. belongs to the Coast Guard by Federal statutes.

Environmental

The Coast Guard considered the environmental impact of this temporary rule and concluded that under Figure 2-1, paragraph 32(a) of Commandant Instruction M16475.1C, this temporary rule is categorically excluded from further environmental documentation. A Categorical Exclusion Determination'' is available in the docket for inspection or copying where indicated under ADDRESSES.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117

Bridges.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Coast Guard is amending Part 117 of Title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, as follows:

PART 117--DRAWBRIDGE OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 117 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33 CFR 1.05-1(g); section 117.255 also issued under the authority of Pub. L. 102-587, 106 Stat. 5039.

2. Effective 12:01 a.m. on December 21, 1998, through 12:01 a.m. on March 1, 1999, Sec. 117.T408 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 117.T408 Upper Mississippi River.

Clinton Railroad Drawbridge Mile 518.0 Upper Mississippi River. From 12:01 a.m. on December 21, 1998 through 12:01 a.m. on March 1, 1999, the drawspan requires twenty-four hours advance notice for bridge operation. Bridge opening requests must be made 24 hours in advance by calling the Clinton Yardmaster's office at 319-244-3204 anytime; 319- 244-3269 weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; or page Mr. Darrell Lott and 800-443-7243, PIN#009096.

Dated: November 6, 1998. A.L. Gerfin, Jr. Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Commander, 8th Coast Guard Dist. Acting. [FR Doc. 98-30958 Filed 11-18-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-15-M