Lifejacket Approval Harmonization

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>33 CFR Part 181</CFR> <CFR>46 CFR Parts 25, 28, 108, 117, 133, 141, 160, 169, 180 and 199</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. USCG-2022-0120]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AC62</RIN> <SUBJECT>Lifejacket Approval Harmonization</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Coast Guard, DHS. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Coast Guard amends the approval requirements and follow-up program requirements for lifejackets by incorporating new standards to replace existing legacy standards. The Coast Guard further amends lifejacket and personal flotation device (PFD) carriage requirements to allow for the use of equipment approved to the new standards and removes obsolete equipment approval requirements. The amendments streamline the process for the approval of PFDs and allow manufacturers the opportunity to produce innovative equipment that complies with standards in both Canada and the United States. Manufacturing firms also stand to benefit through a reduced production-inspections burden. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> <E T="03">Effective dates:</E> This final rule is effective January 6, 2025. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 6, 2025. <E T="03">Compliance date:</E> The Coast Guard will begin enforcing this rule on June 4, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to <E T="03">www.regulations.gov</E> , type USCG-2022-0120 in the search box and click “Search.” Next, in the Document Type column, select “Supporting & Related Material.” <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For information about this document call or email Jacqueline Yurkovich, Coast Guard; telephone 571-607-4931, email <E T="03">Jacqueline.M.Yurkovich@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. Abbreviations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background, Basis, and Purpose</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Discussion of Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Discussion of the Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Incorporation by Reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. 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. Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ANSI American National Standards Institute</FP> <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">FRFA Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IBR Incorporation by reference</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ISO International Organization for Standardization</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NAICS North American Industry Classification System</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NBSAC National Boating Safety Advisory Committee</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NIH National Institutes of Health</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">PFD Personal flotation device</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">QMS Quality management system</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RA Regulatory analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">§ Section </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SBA Small Business Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SME Subject matter expert</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SOLAS International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C. United States Code</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background, Basis, and Purpose</HD> The Coast Guard has statutory authority under Title 46 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 3306(a) and (b), 4102(b), 4302(a) and (c), and 4502(a) and (c)(2)(B), to prescribe regulations for the design, construction, performance, testing, carriage, use, and inspection of lifesaving equipment on commercial and recreational vessels. Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Delegation 00170.1, Revision No. 01.4, paragraph (II)(92)(b), the Secretary delegated authority under these statutes to the Commandant of the Coast Guard. With this rulemaking, we are incorporating the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards ANSI/CAN/UL 12402-5 for Level 50 and Level 70 personal flotation devices (PFDs), ANSI/CAN/UL 12402-4 for Level 100 PFDs, and ANSI/CAN/UL 9595 for quality assurance. In addition, we are incorporating the ANSI/UL 1123 and ANSI/UL 1175 standards for marine buoyant devices and inherently buoyant and inflatable throwable PFDs, respectively. The Coast Guard currently approves some inherently buoyant and inflatable throwable PFDs that meet these standards because we have determined that a throwable PFD meeting the requirements in ANSI/UL 1123 or ANSI/UL 1175 provides an equivalent level of safety as a throwable PFD currently described in 46 CFR 160.064. Therefore, incorporating these standards in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) will not result in any changes in practice but will improve transparency. We are also removing portions of title 46 in part 160 of the CFR, where the new incorporated standards supersede the previous standards or requirements. Additionally, we are adding amendments to lifesaving equipment carriage requirements that permit the use of Level 50, Level 70, and Level 100 PFDs approved to the new standards. The Coast Guard actively participates in the development of ANSI-accredited industry consensus standards for lifesaving equipment. In that capacity, the Coast Guard worked with Transport Canada and United States and Canadian stakeholders in the development of the suite of harmonized ANSI/CAN/UL standards to streamline the process for approval of PFDs. Additionally, the harmonization allows manufacturers the opportunity to produce more innovative equipment that meets approval requirements in both Canada and the United States. On September 22, 2014, the Coast Guard published a final rule in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> titled Personal Flotation Devices Labeling and Standards (79 FR 56491). <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> That rule removed references to type codes in its regulations on the carriage and labeling of Coast Guard approved PFDs to facilitate the future incorporation by reference (IBR) of new industry consensus standards. In April 2017, the Coast Guard and Transport Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining an intended cooperation for the approval of personal lifesaving appliances that comply with mutually acceptable standards, are tested by mutually accepted conformity assessment bodies or independent test laboratories, and are covered by a mutually acceptable follow-up program. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2014/09/22/2014-22373/personal-flotation-devices-labeling-and-standards</E> (last accessed November 15, 2024). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">https://downloads.regulations.gov/USCG-2018-0565-0002/content.pdf</E> (last accessed November 15, 2024). </FTNT> On April 3, 2012, the Coast Guard published a final rule titled Inflatable Personal Flotation Devices (77 FR 19937), incorporating by reference updated revisions of industry consensus standards for PFDs including UL 1180, “UL Standard for Safety for Fully Inflatable Recreational Personal Flotation Devices,” Second Edition (including revisions through December 3, 2010). <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The discussion and response to comments in that rulemaking included a discussion on inflatable PFDs for users less than 16 years of age. UL 1180 limits the approval of inflatable PFDs to persons of at least 16 years of age, and thus the 2012 final rule retained that age limit for approved users of inflatable PFDs. No age limit was included in the regulatory text to allow for a possible future rulemaking to incorporate by reference a standard that sufficiently addresses the needs of younger wearers. <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/04/03/2012-7791/inflatable-personal-flotation-devices</E> (last accessed November 15, 2024). </FTNT> On August 17, 2018, the Coast Guard published a notice in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> (83 FR 41095) regarding a policy letter and deregulatory savings analysis on accepting the standard ANSI/CAN/UL 12402-5 for Level 70 PFDs, not including inflatable PFDs for use by persons less than 16 years old. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> On November 15, 2019, the Coast Guard published a notice (84 FR 62546) that finalized this policy. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/17/2018-17799/lifejacket-approval-harmonization</E> . (last accessed November 7, 2024). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/15/2019-24836/lifejacket-approval-harmonization</E> . (last accessed November 7, 2024). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Discussion of Comments</HD> On Apri ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 271k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━