Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Sandusky Bay, Sandusky, OH

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>33 CFR Part 117</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. USCG-2023-0185]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AA09</RIN> <SUBJECT>Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Sandusky Bay, Sandusky, OH</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 is altering the operating regulations and signaling requirements that govern the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 3.5, over the Sandusky Bay. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective April 23, 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">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Type the docket number (USCG-2023-0185) 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 Mr. Lee D. Soule, Bridge Management Specialist, Ninth Coast Guard District; telephone 216-902-6085, email <E T="03">Lee.D.Soule@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">IGLD85 International Great Lakes Datum of 1985</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LWD Low Water Datum based on IGLD85</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MOU Memorandum of Understanding</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">MPH Miles Per Hour</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">§ Section </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C. United States Code</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background Information and Regulatory History</HD> The Coast Guard published an NPRM on May 8, 2023, entitled Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Sandusky Bay, Sandusky, OH in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> , to seek comments on a proposed modification to the current operating schedule to the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 3.5, Sandusky Bay. 88 FR 29584. During the comment period, that ended on July 7, 2023, we received two comments. In addition to modernizing the regulation, this final rule will address two specific concerns of the Coast Guard as they relate to the operation of the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 3.5, and the responsiveness of drawtenders to marine traffic. The Coast Guard has received several complaints on the operations of the bridge, including, specifically, that the remote drawtender ignores telephone and radio calls from mariners. Sandusky Bay hosts over 12,000 registered recreational vessels a year and is home to the busiest amusement park in America. Federal, State, Local, and commercial search and rescue departments require dependable access to the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 3.5, to reach emergencies on both sides of Sandusky Bay. Emergency responders and the greater public need a simple, reliable, and consistent method for requesting bridge openings. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule</HD> The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under authority 33 U.S.C. 499. <HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. Discussion of Comments, Changes and the Final Rule</HD> Of the two comments received from bridge owner, Norfolk Southern, one comment requested an extension to the comment period and the other comment was in opposition to many aspects of the proposed rule. Norfolk Southern's position outlined in their comment makes train operations paramount to all other considerations. The intent of this regulation, as well as the Coast Guard's broader congressionally mandated duty to regulate the operation of bridges, is simple: to provide for the reasonable needs of navigation at the bridge. <E T="03">See</E> 33 CFR 114.10. However, bridges cannot unreasonably obstruct the free navigation of the waters over which they are constructed. 33 U.S.C. 494. A bridge is a permitted obstruction to navigation, but it is only allowed to remain across the waterway if it provides for the reasonable need of navigation. <E T="03">See</E> 33 CFR 114.10. Norfolk Southern alleges that we have failed to engage them on this issue before starting a rulemaking. On the contrary, we have engaged Norfolk Southern each time a mariner reports an unreasonable delay to a bridge opening and have reiterated the need for prompt openings and improved communication with the public. We have also conveyed this need at regularly scheduled monthly meetings with Norfolk Southern where we have continually asserted the long-standing legal requirement to provide timely bridge openings to satisfy the reasonable needs of navigation. We have also provided Norfolk Southern notice and reasonable opportunity to be heard through the present NPRM. <E T="03">See</E> 88 FR 29584. Norfolk Southern asserted that the Coast Guard's bridge regulations and requirements will jeopardize the safety of train crews and equipment. The Coast Guard disagrees. Railroads across the country operate trains over movable bridges every day without loss of life or equipment. There is no evidence that Norfolk Southern is at a disadvantage to any competitor in the region or that Norfolk Southern will suffer any decreased ability to cross bridges safely while following the bridge statutes of the United States. Norfolk Southern also asserts that the Coast Guard's regulatory actions improperly violate or pre-empt bridge regulations of other federal agencies. However, the Coast Guard's authority to regulate bridges has been well established since at least 1894 and those authorities have been recognized by Congress in 33 U.S.C. 499. This regulation is squarely within long-standing Coast Guard authority and does not conflict with the authorities of any other federal agency. A reasonable balance between modes of transportation must be maintained. The mechanism for balancing respective need is found within federal statutes. Consistent with their delegated authority in 33 CFR 1.05-1(e), in 33 CFR part 117 subpart B, the Coast Guard District Commander has created permanent specific requirements for operation of individual drawbridges that are in addition to or vary from existing general bridge regulations found in 33 CFR part 117, subpart A. <E T="03">See</E> 33 CFR 114.10; 117.8. For example, in 2009, the Coast Guard Ninth District Commander authorized the Norfolk Southern Railroad Bridge, mile 3.5, to operate remotely, and, in the winter, to operate with an advance notice. 74 FR 63610. Norfolk Southern alleges that this rule impermissibly regulates employment of “wind blocker” rail cars, which are rails cars which are occasionally parked on bridges to block high winds in an effort to provide protection to moving trains running on parallel tracks. However, the Coast Guard implements this rule to prevent unreasonable obstructions to maritime navigation. All trains, including trains utilized as wind blockers, can present unreasonable delays to maritime navigation when they are not removed in a timely fashion. Therefore, if Norfolk Southern maintains the capacity for timely removal when a vessel signals for a bridge opening, then Norfolk Southern may place a wind blocker on the bridge anytime they wish. In the alternative, if Norfolk Southern wants to remove the train crew and operate the bridge with a deviation to open with advance notice, that deviation must be listed in 33 CFR part 117 subpart B, or they must first receive a temporary letter of authorization from the Coast Guard District Commander. The most readily apparent problem at mechanical bridges is communication breakdowns. Whether the breakdowns are between the mariners and the drawtenders, or between the drawtenders and the train dispatchers, communications require improvement to ensure timely bridge openings. The placement of appropriate signage advising the public of means of communication with drawtenders at bridges where there are high volumes of recreational boaters, the required use of telephones by drawtenders at bridges, and the continuous review of remote bridge operations are all positive steps towards enhanced bridge operations, which both ensure the right of navigation on waterways while providing for efficient land transportation. At Norfolk Southern's request, we will rescind the permanent deviation allowing them to use a wind blocker that was included in the NPRM. This will require Norfolk Southern to provide the Ninth District Commander's staff a request, in writing and in accordance with 33 CFR 117.35, for any temporary deviation to the bridge regulations. These requests may be made electronically to the Ninth District Bridge Manager: Mr. W. Blair Stanifer, email <E T="03">William.B.Stanifer@uscg.mil</E> or email Mr. Lee D. Soule, Bridge Management Specialist, Ninth Coast Guard District; email <E T="03">Lee.D.Soule@uscg.mil.</E> Requests should be made with at least seventy-hours advance notice to allow adequate time to process their request and to advertise the temporary deviation to the mariners. The bridge is remotely operated by the drawtender at the Toledo bridge, that is already required to maintain and answer a telephone. That number will be made available to the boaters of Sandusky Bay to call to request a bridge opening. Additionally, because the remote drawtender in Toledo operates three bridges, the new signage at the bridge will state the name of the bridge to improve boaters' ability to identify the bridge from which they are requesting an opening. The drawtender will still be responsible for receiving visual and sound signal ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 17k characters. 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