Safety Zone; Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project, Hampton/Norfolk, VA

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <SUBAGY>Coast Guard</SUBAGY> <CFR>33 CFR Part 165</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket Number USCG-2025-1069]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1625-AA00</RIN> <SUBJECT>Safety Zone; Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project, Hampton/Norfolk, VA</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Temporary final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary rule to provide for safety zones for certain waters near Norfolk Harbor Entrance Reach, near the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel expansion project. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on navigable waters which are subject to existing safety zones that will expire later this month. This rule prohibits persons and vessels from entering or occupying the safety zones unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Virginia or a designated representative or under conditions specified in this rule. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective without actual notice from December 31, 2025 through midnight on December 20, 2030. For the purposes of enforcement, actual notice will be used from December 25, 2025, until December 31, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> To view available documents go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> and search for USCG-2025-1069. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> If you have questions about this rule, contact LCDR Justin Z. Strassfield, Sector Virginia Waterways Management Division, U.S. Coast Guard; by phone, at (206) 815-7367, or by email, at <E T="03">VirginiaWayerways@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">COTP U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port, Sector Virginia</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HRBT Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (Expansion Project)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HRCP Hampton Roads Connector Partners</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR Federal Register</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 and Authority</HD> On September 16, 2021, after providing notice and an opportunity to comment, the Coast Guard promulgated a temporary rule entitled “Safety Zones; Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project, Hampton/Norfolk, VA.” See 86 FR 51612. Although the Coast Guard did not receive any comments within that comment period, the 2021 rule was preceded by a formal Navigational Safety Risk Assessment and by a series of outreach meetings held jointly by the Coast Guard and the Hampton Roads Connector Partners (HRCP), the Design-Build contactor for the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) Expansion Project. See <E T="03">https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2021-20006/p-19</E> for additional details about the project and the earlier rulemaking. The 2021 rule, which is codified at 33 CFR 165.519, will expire on December 25, 2025. As substantial work needs to be done to complete the HRBT expansion project, we proposed a new temporary rule with a different citation to provide for safety zones in the current safety zone locations for up to 5 more years, until December 20 of 2030. See 90 FR 56713 (Dec. 8, 2025). The Coast Guard finds that under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause exists for making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> because it is impracticable to delay the effective date for a substantial period following the expiration of the safety zones established under 33 CFR 165.519. The Coast Guard was notified of the need for up to 5 more years of work on the project on November 24, 2025, and determined that an opportunity for public comment was needed for a safety zone with such a long enforcement period. Having afforded the public the opportunity to comment, however, we must establish this safety zone as soon as possible after the current temporary regulation expires on December 25, 2025, to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Discussion of Comments and the Rule</HD> During the comment period that ended on Dec. 22, 2025, we received no comments. There are no changes in the regulatory text of this rule from the text which was proposed in the NPRM. The rule creates safety zones which are identical to those now codified at 33 CFR 165.519 and described at 86 FR 51612 except that the new rule, has a different citation, a different expiration date, additional means of contacting the designated representatives, and a provision stating that, in the event the rule, or individual safety zones, are no longer necessary, the COTP would provide notice that the rule, or any individual safety zones established by the rule, were no longer subject to enforcement. The full regulatory text of this final rule appears at the end of this document. <HD SOURCE="HD1">IV. 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">A. 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. Section 605 of the RFA allows an agency to certify a rule, in lieu of preparing an analysis, if the rulemaking is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Coast Guard is aware that there are some small entities who operate commercial fishing vessels that have fished and set traps in areas within some of the safety zones. There is therefore a possibility that, for a very small number of entities, there may be an economic impact caused by their exclusion from the safety zone areas where they typically fish. However, the Coast Guard concludes that the number of small entities significantly affected would not be substantial given the areas that vessels would be excluded from has already been closed to them for over 4 years. Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), if this rule will affect your small business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have questions, contact the person listed in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</E> section. Small businesses may send comments to the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards by calling 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Collection of Information</HD> This rule will not call for a new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). <HD SOURCE="HD2">C. Federalism and Indian Tribal Governments</HD> We have analyzed this rule under Executive Order 13132, Federalism, and have determined that it is consistent with the fundamental federalism principles and preemption requirements described in that Order. 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">D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</HD> As required by The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538), the Coast Guard certifies that this rule will not result in an annual expenditure of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) by a State, local, or tribal government, in the aggregate, or by the private sector. <HD SOURCE="HD2">E. Environment</HD> We have analyzed this rule under Department of Homeland Security Directive 023-01, Rev. 1, associated implementing instructions, and Environmental Planning COMDTINST 5090.1 (series), which guide the Coast Guard in complying with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4370f), and have determined that this action is one of a category of actions that does not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. This rule is a safety zone. It is categorically excluded from further review under paragraph L60(a)of Appendix A, Table 1 of DHS Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, Rev. 1. A Record of Environmental Consideration supporting this determination is available in the docket. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 165</HD> Harbors, Marine safety, Navigation (water), Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Security measures, Waterways. </LSTSUB> For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33 CFR part 165 as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS</HD> <REGTEXT TITLE="33" PART="165"> 1. The authority citation for part 165 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority:</HD> 46 U.S.C. 70034, 70051, 70124; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-1, 6.04-6, and 160.5; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.4. </REGTEXT> <REGTEXT TITLE="33" PART="165"> 2. Add §  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 18k characters. 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