Regulated Navigation Area; Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake, Ludington, MI

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>33 CFR Part 165</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket Number USCG-2024-1102]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AA11</RIN> <SUBJECT>Regulated Navigation Area; Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake, Ludington, MI</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 establishing a regulated navigation area to control vessel movement for certain waters of Lake Michigan, the Ludington Harbor Channel, and Pere Marquette Lake in Ludington, MI. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life, environment, and property on these navigable waters due to hazardous conditions resulting from increased vessel traffic congestion. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective without actual notice August 6, 2025. For the purposes of enforcement, actual notice will be used from 01 Aug 2025 until August 6, 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 USCG-2024-1102 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> If you have questions about this rule, call or email Lieutenant Commander Jessica Anderson, Sector Lake Michigan Waterways Management Division, U.S. Coast Guard; telephone 414-216-8428, email <E T="03">d09-smb-seclakemichigan-wwm@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">NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RNA Regulated Navigation Area</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> Beginning in August 2022, the Coast Guard received notice that sporadic high concentrations of vessels operating in the vicinity of the narrow waters of the Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake in Ludington, MI, were creating hazardous navigation conditions for larger vessels transiting the area. Of particular concern, large commercial vessels were forced to take immediate action on several occasions to avoid imminent collision with these highly concentrated vessels. High concentration of vessels were not always present, but arose sporadically, primarily in connection with fishing seasons. Similar concerns were brought to the Coast Guard in the summer and fall of 2023 and 2024. In response, on April 22, 2025, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled, “Regulated Navigation Area; Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake, Ludington, MI” (FR Doc. 2025-06868). There we stated why we issued the NPRM and invited comments on the proposed regulated navigation area. During the comment period, which ended June 23, 2025, we received 15 comments. Under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Coast Guard finds that good cause exists for making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . Delaying the effective date of this rule is impracticable because immediate action is needed to respond to the potential safety hazards associated with an anticipated salmon migration into the regulated area on or about August 1, 2025 and subsequent hazardous levels of vessel congestion due to increased salmon fishing vessel activity in the regulated area. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule</HD> The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under the authority in 46 U.S.C. 70034. The Great Lakes District Commander has determined that a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) is necessary to address safety concerns due to hazardous levels of vessel traffic congestion in the Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake in Ludington, MI. The goal is to prevent loss of life, vessel collisions and groundings, environmental damage, and loss of property resulting from conflicts between varied users of these navigable waterways. These regulations are intended to encompass fishing vessels, pleasure craft, ferries, tow boats, deep draft vessels, and other commercial vessel traffic. This regulation is necessary due to a significant increase in risks to safety and hazardous conditions due to high volumes of traffic, combined with a unique layout of the navigable waters and relatively narrow channel, requiring additional means to protect waterways users as normal navigation rules are not sufficient. <HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. Discussion of Comments, Changes, and the Rule</HD> As noted above, we received 15 comments on our NPRM published April 22, 2025. Of those comments, 6 were in support of the RNA as written and the Coast Guard appreciates the positive feedback and support for this endeavor to keep waterways safe for all waterways users. There were 9 comments which require more detailed response. The first comment supported specific rules being placed pertaining to crowded waterways and the local ferry but was not in support of temporary rules. To clarify, this is a permanent rule, only the enforcement periods will be temporary. This rule allows the Captain of the Port, with input from local law enforcement authorities, to activate and enforce the RNA while conditions warrant. Unlike a temporary rule, the Coast Guard will have the ability to activate and enforce the RNA at any time during the entire year but will only do so when conditions deem it necessary. The Coast Guard appreciates the input. The second comment agreed that rules providing safety are appropriate but cautioned against ambiguity. This comment highlighted the challenge in interpreting the proposed distances. The Coast Guard and our partners are dedicated to the safety of all waterway users and are taking a proactive approach to ensure safety for all parties. Discretion will be used during the enforcement periods of the RNA. These distances provide federal and local law enforcement with greater enforcement capability by establishing more specific standards than current rules allow. A prudent mariner will operate at greater distances than the distances listed in the rule. The Coast Guard, in conjunction with local authorities, will provide educational materials and outreach as the RNA goes into effect. The Coast Guard and its state and local partners' goal is to promote safety by deterring unsafe acts. During enforcement of the RNA, operating at less than the distances listed may result in enforcement action. The Coast Guard urges all mariners to maintain situational awareness and abide by all navigational rules. The third comment stated that the RNA establishes a precedent that a larger vessel is right in all interactions. That is not correct. The RNA only establishes minimum distances to be maintained from vessels 100 feet or longer when conditions warrant. These requirements recognize that larger vessels in constricted waters with high traffic density are less able to maneuver quickly to avoid another vessel. It does not grant vessels larger than 100 feet any exemption from the Inland Navigation Rules, or the need for these vessels to operate in a prudent manner. This RNA does not grant any vessel any preference or deviation from the Rules of the Road. The fourth comment expressed concerns surrounding visitors to the Ludington and Pere Marquette area being unaware of the rules. The Coast Guard, in conjunction with local partners, will be providing educational and informative materials for the proposed RNA once the final rule has been published. The fifth comment inquired as to the enforcement of Rule 9 of the COLREGS. By implementing this RNA, the Coast Guard is not stating that Rule 9 does not apply to the regulated area. However, this RNA provides greater clarity to mariners regarding the specific procedures to follow during periods of the rule's enforcement in order to ensure safety of life, environment, and property on these navigable waters. The aim of this RNA is to minimally impact the usage of the waterway for all waterway users as all mariners, both recreational and commercial, have equal usage of a Federal Waterway. The sixth comment stated that the problem is sporadic high concentrations of vessels operating in the vicinity of narrow waters of the Ludington Harbor Channel and Pere Marquette Lake but that the proffered solution leaves full discretion to the COTP as to when the concentration of vessels becomes high enough to activate the regulation. The commentor suggests that a minimum number of vessels should automatically trigger activation of the regulation. The commentor also stated that the minimum distances from vessels greater than 100′ in length seem impossible to meet and requested more clarity on how information will be distributed. All vessels are to comply with established Navigation Rules. This RNA, when activated, establishes minimum distances for all mariners that must be kept from all vessels greater than 100 feet in length, not just commercial vessels. By maintaining the specified distances, vessels will not be transiting in closer proximity to vessels that are 100 feet in length. The Coast Guard will provide educational and informative broadcasts as well as provide outreach with the Harbormaster of Ludington and other enforcement authorities. The seventh comment requested specific coordinates for the rule. As the rule is written, it would encompass an arc 1,000 yards f ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 25k characters. 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