Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Mianus River, Greenwich, CT

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>33 CFR Part 117</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. USCG-2022-0520]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AA09</RIN> <SUBJECT>Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Mianus River, Greenwich, CT</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Coast Guard is altering the operating schedule that governs the Metro-North (Cos Cob) Bridge, across Mianus River, mile 1.0, at Greenwich, CT. The bridge owner, Metro-North Railroad (MNR), submitted a request on May 5, 2022, to modify the regulation to align with the Metro-North “WALK” Bridge train schedule and avoid bridge openings during peak transit hours. It is expected that this change to the regulations will better serve the needs of the community while continuing to meet the reasonable needs of navigation. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective February 23, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Type the docket number (USCG-2022-0520) in the “SEARCH” box and click “SEARCH”. In the Document Type column, select “Supporting & Related Material.” <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> If you have questions on this rule, call or email Ms. Stephanie E. Lopez, First Coast Guard District, Project Officer, telephone 212-514-4335, email <E T="03">Stephanie.E.Lopez@uscg.mil.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Table of Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Advance, Supplemental)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">§ Section </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C. United States Code</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MNR Metro-North Railroad</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background Information and Regulatory History</HD> On August 25, 2023, the Coast Guard published a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM), with a request for comments, entitled “Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Housatonic River, Stratford, CT” in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> (88 FR 58174). There we stated why we issued the SNPRM and invited comments on our proposed regulatory action related to this regulatory change. During the comment period that ended September 25, 2023, we received no comments. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule</HD> The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under 33 U.S.C. 499. The Metro-North (Cos Cob) Bridge at mile 1.0, across Mianus River, Greenwich, CT, has a vertical clearance of 20 feet at mean high water and a horizontal clearance of approximately 67 feet. Waterway users include recreational and commercial vessels, including fishing vessels. The existing drawbridge operating regulations are listed at 33 CFR 117.209. Under the current regulation, the draw shall open on signal from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. but no later than 20 minutes after the signal to open unless a train is scheduled to cross. Once the train scheduled to cross has passed the Greenwich or Riverside stations, the bridge will open once the train has made passage. From April 1 through October 31, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the bridge will open after at least a four-hour advance notice is given. From November 1 through March 30, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the bridge will open after at least a twenty-four-hour advance notice is given. MNR requested the modification to the requirements in 33 CFR part 117.209 to align with the existing requirements for the Metro-North “WALK” Bridge, across the Norwalk River, at mile 0.1. The Cos Cob Bridge is located at one of the busiest rail segments in the United States and the Northeast Corridor. Openings at Cos Cob Bridge, between the calendar years of 2019 and 2021, resulted in seventy-one (71) delays to MNR train service. A delay due to a bridge opening has cascading affects, resulting in multiple delayed and late trains. Delays due to the openings of Cos Cob Bridge were notably high among the drawbridges on MNR service territory. Aligning the Cos Cob Bridge regulation with the WALK Bridge regulation 33 CFR 117.217(b) provides a balance between railroad operations and the interest of waterway users. <HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. Discussion of Comments, Changes and the Final Rule</HD> During the comment period that ended on September 23, 2023, no comments were received. Accordingly, no changes were made to the regulatory text. <HD SOURCE="HD1">V. Regulatory Analyses</HD> We developed this rule after considering numerous statutes and Executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our analyses based on a number of these statutes and Executive orders. <HD SOURCE="HD2">Regulatory Planning and Review</HD> Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits. This rule has not been designated a “significant regulatory action,” under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 14094 (Modernizing Regulatory Review). Accordingly, it has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This regulatory action determination is based on the ability of vessels to still transit the bridge given advanced notice. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Impact on Small Entities</HD> The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as amended, requires federal agencies to consider the potential impact of regulations on small entities during rulemaking. The term “small entities” comprises small businesses, 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. The Coast Guard received no comments from the Small Business Administration on this rule. The Coast Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. While some owners or operators of vessels intending to transit the bridge may be small entities, for the reasons stated in section V.A. above, this rule will not have a significant economic impact on any vessel owner or operator. Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we want to assist small entities in understanding this rule. If the rule would affect your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, please contact the person listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. Small businesses may send comments on the actions of Federal employees who enforce, or otherwise determine compliance with, Federal regulations to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these actions annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small business. If you wish to comment on actions by employees of the Coast Guard, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). The Coast Guard will not retaliate against small entities that question or complain about this rule or any policy or action of the Coast Guard. <HD SOURCE="HD2">C. Collection of Information</HD> This rule calls for no new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). <HD SOURCE="HD2">D. Federalism and Indian Tribal Government</HD> A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on the States, on the relationship between the National Government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. We have analyzed this rule under that order and have determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism principles and preemption requirements described in Executive Order 13132. Also, this rule does not have tribal implications under Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, because it does not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian tribes. <HD SOURCE="HD2">E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</HD> The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may result in the expenditure by a State, local, or Tribal Government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of $100,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) or more in any one year. Though this rule will not result in such an expenditure, we do discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere in this preamble. <HD SOURCE="HD2">F. Environment</HD> We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security Management Directive 023-01, Rev.1, associated implementing instructions, and Environmental Planning Policy COMDTINST 5090.1 (series) which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)(42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f). The Coast Guard has determined that this action is one of a category of actions that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on t ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 12k characters. 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