33 CFR 151.2037 - If my vessel cannot conduct ballast water management practices because of its voyage and/or safety concerns, will I be prohibited from discharging ballast water?

On June 13, 2012, the Coast Guard published in the Federal Register an announcement of effective date that announced an information collection approval for the Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters (BWDS) Final Rule (77 FR 35268). The rulemaking triggered new information collection requirements affecting vessel owners and their potential requests for an extension of the compliance date if they cannot practicably comply with the compliance date otherwise applicable to their vessels. The June 13, 2012, document announced that the request to revise the existing collection of information to add the new request for an extension provision was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and may now be enforced. The OMB control number is 1625-0069. The approval for this collection of information expires on May 31, 2015. In the June 13, 2012, document, the Coast Guard inadvertently failed to indicate that we received public submissions to the BWDS Final Rule (77 FR 17254). The Coast Guard is now publishing a document to advise the public that we received four public submissions to this collection of information. As the four public submissions were not collection of information-related, we did not revise our collection of information estimates. You may view copies of the public submissions and the Coast Guard responses to them in the BWDS docket online by going to http://www.regulations.gov, inserting USCG-2001-10486 in the “Keyword” box, and then clicking “Search.” A corrected information collection request package has been submitted to OMB for their review. The current 1625-0069 approval by OMB is still effective. If OMB decides to amend the current 1625-0069 approval, a copy of that decision will be placed in the docket.

On June 13, 2012, the Coast Guard published in the Federal Register an announcement of effective date that announced an information collection approval for the Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters (BWDS) Final Rule (77 FR 35268). The rulemaking triggered new information collection requirements affecting vessel owners and their potential requests for an extension of the compliance date if they cannot practicably comply with the compliance date otherwise applicable to their vessels. The June 13, 2012, document announced that the request to revise the existing collection of information to add the new request for an extension provision was approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and may now be enforced. The OMB control number is 1625-0069. The approval for this collection of information expires on May 31, 2015. In the June 13, 2012, document, the Coast Guard inadvertently failed to indicate that we received public submissions to the BWDS Final Rule (77 FR 17254). The Coast Guard is now publishing a document to advise the public that we received four public submissions to this collection of information. As the four public submissions were not collection of information-related, we did not revise our collection of information estimates. You may view copies of the public submissions and the Coast Guard responses to them in the BWDS docket online by going to http://www.regulations.gov, inserting USCG-2001-10486 in the “Keyword” box, and then clicking “Search.” A corrected information collection request package has been submitted to OMB for their review. The current 1625-0069 approval by OMB is still effective. If OMB decides to amend the current 1625-0069 approval, a copy of that decision will be placed in the docket.

The Coast Guard proposes replacing its existing interim rule with a new rule to regulate the operation of U.S. and foreign vessels carrying bulk dry cargo such as limestone, iron ore, and coal on the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes, and the operation of U.S. bulk dry cargo vessels anywhere on the Great Lakes. Specifically, the Coast Guard proposes new requirements for the discharge of bulk dry cargo residue (DCR) on the U.S. waters of the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard also announces the availability of the tiered Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) prepared in support of this proposal. The proposed rule would continue to allow non-hazardous and non-toxic discharges of bulk DCR in limited areas of the Great Lakes. However, vessel owners and operators would need to minimize DCR discharges using methods they would be required to document in DCR management plans. The proposed rule would prohibit limestone and clean stone DCR discharges in some waters where they are now permitted. The proposed rule promotes the Coast Guard's strategic goals of maritime mobility and safety and protection of natural resources.

The Coast Guard is extending the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “MARPOL Annex I Amendments,” published on April 9, 2012, for 60 days. We have decided to extend the comment period at the request of industry because we omitted from the docket the accompanying Regulatory Analysis, which informs the proposal.