[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3853-3854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00292]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 117
[Docket No. USCG-2019-0910]
Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Bayou Sara, Saraland, AL
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 CSX Transportation Railroad swing
bridge across Bayou Sara, mile 0.1 near Saraland, Alabama. This
deviation is needed to collect and analyze information on vessel
traffic when the bridge tender is moved to a geographically remote
centralized control point located in Mobile, AL. The Coast Guard is
seeking comments from the public about the impact to vessel traffic
generated by this change.
DATES: This deviation is effective from 6 a.m. January 23, 2020 through
6 p.m. March 23, 2020.
Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard
on or before March 23, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-
2019-0910 using Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion
of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
proposed rulemaking, call or email Mr. Doug Blakemore, Eighth Coast
Guard District Bridge Administrator; telephone (504) 671-2128, email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background, Purpose and Legal Basis
CSX Railroad has established a central location to operate CSX
drawbridges. They have requested to relocate the Bayou Sara bridge
tender to their centralized location in Mobile, AL. This CSX swing
bridge is located at Bayou Sara, mile 0.1, Mobile County, near
Saraland, AL. It has a vertical clearance of 5' in the closed to vessel
position. The bridge operates according to 33 CFR 117.105. Bayou Sara
is used primarily by recreational vessels. The bridge opens for vessels
about 6 times per day and vessels that do not need the bridge to open
may pass.
This deviation will last for 60 days. CSX will collect data on all
bridge openings to ensure that the remote operations will not impact
navigation. CSX will immediately return the tender to the bridge
location if there are any system failures or weather conditions that
will not allow the bridge tender to operate the bridge from Mobile.
The Coast Guard will publish information about this temporary
deviation in our Local and Broadcast Notice to Mariners so that
mariners are informed of this operating change and our request for
comments on the change.
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 NPRM 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.
[[Page 3854]]
Dated: January 7, 2020.
Douglas Allen Blakemore, Sr.,
Bridge Administrator, Eighth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. 2020-00292 Filed 1-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-04-P