Great Lakes Pilotage Rates-2025 Annual Review

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>46 CFR Part 401</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. USCG-2024-0406]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AC94</RIN> <SUBJECT>Great Lakes Pilotage Rates—2025 Annual Review</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Coast Guard, DHS. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of proposed rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In accordance with the statutory provisions enacted by the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960, the Coast Guard is proposing new pilotage rates for 2025. The Coast Guard estimates that this proposed rule would result in approximately a 7 percent increase in operating costs compared to the 2024 season. The proposed new pilotage rates are the result of increases in both the number of Pilots and revenue needed for the working capital fund. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before September 4, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2024-0406 using the Federal Decision-Making Portal at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> See the “Public Participation and Request for Comments” portion of the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section for further instructions on submitting comments. This notice of proposed rulemaking with its plain-language, 100-word-or-less proposed rule summary will be available in this same docket. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this document call or email Mr. Brian Rogers, Commandant, Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy—Great Lakes Pilotage Division (CG-WWM-2), Coast Guard; telephone 410-360-9260, email <E T="03">Brian.Rogers@uscg.mil.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents for Preamble</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Public Participation and Request for Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Abbreviations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Basis and Purpose</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Summary of the Ratemaking Methodology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Discussion of Proposed Rate Adjustments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">District One</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Step 1: Recognize Previous Operating Expenses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Step 2: Project Operating Expenses, Adjusting for Inflation or Deflation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Step 3: Estimate Number of Registered Pilots and Apprentice Pilots</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Step 4: Determine Target Pilot Compensation Benchmark and Apprentice Pilot Wage Benchmark</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Step 5: Project Working Capital Fund</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Step 6: Project Needed Revenue</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Step 7: Calculate Initial Base Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Step 8: Calculate Average Weighting Factors by Area</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Step 9: Calculate Revised Base Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Step 10: Review and Finalize Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">District Three</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Step 1: Recognize Previous Operating Expenses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Step 2: Project Operating Expenses, Adjusting for Inflation or Deflation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Step 3: Estimate Number of Registered Pilots and Apprentice Pilots</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Step 4: Determine Target Pilot Compensation Benchmark and Apprentice Pilot Wage Benchmark</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Step 5: Project Working Capital Fund</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Step 6: Project Needed Revenue</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Step 7: Calculate Initial Base Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Step 8: Calculate Average Weighting Factors by Area</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Step 9: Calculate Revised Base Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Step 10: Review and Finalize Rates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. Regulatory Analyses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Regulatory Planning and Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Small Entities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Assistance for Small Entities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Collection of Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Federalism</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Unfunded Mandates</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Taking of Private Property</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Civil Justice Reform</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Protection of Children</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Indian Tribal Governments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">K. Energy Effects</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">L. Technical Standards</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">M. Environment</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Public Participation and Request for Comments</HD> The Coast Guard views 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. <E T="03">Submitting comments.</E> We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal Decision-Making Portal at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov.</E> To do so, go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> type USCG-2024-0406 in the search box and click “Search.” Next, look for this document in the Search Results column, and click on it. Then click on the Comment option. If you cannot submit your material by using <E T="03">www.regulations.gov,</E> call or email the person in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section of this proposed rule for alternative instructions. <E T="03">Viewing material in docket.</E> To view documents mentioned in this proposed rule as being available in the docket, find the docket as described in the previous paragraph, and then select “Supporting & Related Material” in the Document Type column. Public comments will also be placed in our online docket and can be viewed by following instructions on the <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) web page. That FAQ page also explains how to subscribe for email alerts that will notify you when comments are posted or if a final rule is published. We review all comments received, but we will only post comments that address the topic of the proposed rule. We may choose not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or duplicate comments that we receive. <E T="03">Personal information.</E> We accept anonymous comments. Comments we post to <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> will include any personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and submissions to the docket in response to this document, see DHS's eRulemaking System of Records notice (85 FR 14226, March 11, 2020). <E T="03">Public meeting.</E> We do not plan to hold a public meeting, but we will consider doing so if we determine from public comments that a meeting would be helpful. We would issue a separate <E T="04">Federal Register</E> notice to announce the date, time, and location of such a meeting. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">2024 final rule Great Lakes Pilotage Rates—2024 Annual Review</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">2023 final rule Great Lakes Pilotage Rates—2023 Annual Ratemaking and Review of Methodology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">APA American Pilots' Association</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CPI Consumer Price Index</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Director U.S. Coast Guard's Director of the Great Lakes Pilotage</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ECI Employment Cost Index</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FOMC Federal Open Market Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">GLPAC Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LPA Lakes Pilots Association</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NAICS North American Industry Classification System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PCE Personal Consumption Expenditures</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">§ Section </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SBA Small Business Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1"> SLSPA Saint Lawrence Seaway Pilot Association </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C. United States Code</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">WGLPA Western Great Lakes Pilots Association</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Basis and Purpose</HD> The legal basis of this rulemaking is Title 46 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) Chapter 93, <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> which requires foreign merchant vessels and United States vessels operating “on register” (meaning United States vessels engaged in foreign trade) to use United States or Canadian pilots while transiting the United States waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes system. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> For U.S. Great Lakes Pilots, the statute requires the Secretary to “prescribe by regulation rates and charges for pilotage services, giving consideration to the public interest and the costs of providing the services.” Title 46 of the U.S.C. 9303(f) also requires that rates be established or reviewed and adjusted each year, no later than March 1. The Secretary's duties and authority under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 93 have generally been delegated to the Coast Guard. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  46 U.S.C. 9301-9308. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  46 U.S.C. 9302(a)(1). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Delegation No. 00170.1 (II)(92)(f), Revision No. 01.4. The Secretary retains the authority under Section 9307 to establish, and appoint members to, a Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee (GLPAC). </FTNT> The p ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 91k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━