GLIN==> Coast Guard Ship Ballast ANPR and EIS - Extension of Comment Period

[Federal Register: October 15, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 198)]
[Proposed Rules] 
[Page 52941-52942]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15oc09-24] 

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 151
46 CFR Part 162
[USCG-2001-10486]
RIN 1625-AA32

Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged
in U.S. Waters

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice; extension of comment periods.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is extending the periods for public comment on
the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and the Draft Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (DPEIS) for the rulemaking entitled
``Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water'' (Docket No.
USCG-2001-10486).

DATES: Comments and related material for the NPRM and the DPEIS must
either be submitted to our online docket via <A HREF="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</A>
on or before the new date for the close of the comment period, December
4, 2009, or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket
number USCG-2001-10486 to the Docket Management Facility at the U.S.
Department of Transportation. To avoid duplication, please use only one
of the following methods:
 (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: <A HREF="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</A>.
 (2) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department of
Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
 (3) Hand delivery: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S.
Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The telephone
number is 202-366-9329.
 (4) Fax: 202-493-2251.
 To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
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 proposed
rulemaking, call or e-mail Mr. John Morris, Project Manager,
Environmental Standards Division, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters,
telephone 202-372-1433, e-mail <A HREF="mailto:John.C.Morris at uscg.mil">John.C.Morris at uscg.mil</A>. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Ms.
Renee Wright, Chief, Dockets, Department of Transportation, telephone
202-366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

 We encourage you to participate in this aspect of the rulemaking by
submitting comments and related materials. All comments received will
be posted, without change, to <A HREF="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</A> and will
include any personal information you have provided.

Submitting Comments

 If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
rulemaking (USCG-2001-10486), indicate the specific section of the
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each
suggestion or recommendation. You may comment on either the NPRM or the
DPEIS or both. You may submit your comments and material online or by
fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. We
recommend that you include your name and a mailing address, an e-mail
address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that we can
contact you if we have questions regarding your submission.
 To submit your comment online, go to <A HREF="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</A> and
click on the ``submit a comment'' box, which will then become
highlighted in blue. Insert ``USCG-2001-10486'' in the Keyword box,
click ``Search'', and then click on the balloon shape in the Actions
column. If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit
them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable
for copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and
would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
 We will consider all comments and material received during the
comment period and may change this proposed rule or the DPEIS based on
your comments.

Viewing Comments and Documents

 To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble
as being available in the docket, go to <A HREF="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</A> at
any time. Enter the docket number for this rulemaking (USCG-2001-10486)
in the Keyword box, and click ``Search''. You may also visit the Docket
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the DOT West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We
have an agreement with the Department of Transportation to use the
Docket Management Facility.

Privacy Act

 Anyone can search the electronic form of all comments received into
any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or

[[Page 52942]]

signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act notice
regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the
Federal Register (73 FR 3316).

Background and Purpose

 On August 28, 2009, the Coast Guard published an NPRM entitled
``Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in
U.S. Waters'' in the Federal Register (74 FR 44632). The comment period
for the NPRM was to close on November 27, 2009. On the same day, the
Coast Guard also published a Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register informing the public that the DPEIS for the ``Standards for
Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters''
rulemaking had been added to the docket and was available for public
comment (74 FR 44673). The August 28, 2009 Notice of Availability for
the DPEIS stated that the public comment period for the DPEIS would
close on November 27, 2009.
 Council on Environmental Quality regulations at 40 CFR part 1506.10
state that ``(a) The Environmental Protection Agency shall publish a
notice in the Federal Register each week of the environmental impact
statements filed during the preceding week. The minimum time periods
set forth in this section shall be calculated from the date of
publication of this notice. (b) No decision on the proposed action
shall be made or recorded under Sec. 1505.2 by a Federal agency until
the later of the following dates: (1) Ninety days after publication of
the notice described above in paragraph (a) of this section for a draft
environmental impact statement.'' The Environmental Protection Agency
did not publish their notice of availability for the DPEIS until
September 4, 2009. Accordingly, the Coast Guard has decided to extend
the comment periods for both the NPRM and the DPEIS in order to ensure
that the public has adequate time to submit comments regarding these
important proposals. The comment period for the NPRM and the DPEIS will
now close on December 4, 2009.
 Additionally, you are reminded that you may comment on any aspect
of the rulemaking, including on any comments placed in the docket. We
may change the proposed rule or the DPEIS in response to the comments received.

 Dated: October 8, 2009.
J.G. Lantz,
Director of Commercial Regulations and Standards, U.S. Coast Guard.
[FR Doc. E9-24745 Filed 10-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-15-P

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