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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 184 / Monday, September 27, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 117
Docket No. USCG20190824
RIN 1625AA09

Drawbridge Operation Regulation;
Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers and Burnham Canals, Milwaukee, WI
Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security DHS.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

The Coast Guard is altering the operating schedules of the bridges over the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers and Burnham Canals. The City of Milwaukee requested the regulations to be reviewed and updated to allow for a more balanced flow of maritime and land based transportation.
DATES: This rule is effective October 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: To view documents mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, go to https
www.regulations.gov. Type USCG
20190824 in the SEARCH box and click SEARCH. Click on Open Docket Folder on the line associated with this rule.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this rule, call or email Mr. Lee D. Soule, Bridge Management Specialist, Ninth Coast Guard District; telephone 216902
6085, email Lee.D.Soule@uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

I. Table of Abbreviations
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CFR Code of Federal Regulations DHS Department of Homeland Security FR Federal Register IGLD85 International Great Lakes Datum of 1985
LWD Low Water Datum based on IGLD85
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking Advance, Supplemental OMB Office of Management and Budget PVA Passenger Vessel Association Section U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background Information and Regulatory History On November 26, 2019, we published in the Federal Register 84 FR 65045 an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking request for comments and on March 9, 2020, we published in the Federal Register 85 FR 13517 notice of temporary deviation from regulations;
request for comments that allowed the
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city to test the new schedule and allow residents to comment all summer. The comments we received from these document led us to publish in the Federal Register 86 FR 20344, April 19, 2021 a notice of proposed rulemaking.
Several comments were directed at the operation of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge, mile 1.05, over the Menomonee River. Most of the comments were complaints filed on Coast Guard Delay reports that claims the Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge, mile 1.05, over the Menomonee River, did, on August 6, 2020, on or about noon that day fail to respond to signals for opening and fail to open the bridge within the 2-hour requirement. The tender stated the request for advance notice for bridge opening was not passed on by the previous drawtender and that priority was given to working on a train and not tending to the bridge.
This resulted in three large vessels stuck between bridges waiting for the railroad bridge to open for two hours and fortyfive minutes past the arrival time provided by the vessels. We received a separate report that the bridge was out of service for four days, no report was given to the U.S. Coast Guard Command Center and at least one vessel was delayed for four days. We received another report that the bridge was unable to open on October 6, 2020, because the bridge supervisor directed the drawtender to a different location for the day and no other operators were available until the following day. We received a separate report on the same day of October 6, 2020, from a second vessel that was told railroad had been attempting to call in another drawtender from 4:30 a.m. to 8:19 a.m. without success and the bridge would not open for maritime traffic. On or about June 13, 2020, three sailing vessels were observed waiting at the Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge at 3:23 p.m. and were not provided an opening until after 5:30
p.m.
The second report was a comment submitted to the regulations.gov portal that requested the schedules to return to the original schedules citing vessels were using excessive speed to go through the river to make the new schedule. The speed limits in the harbor needs to be addressed by the agency responsible for posting the speed limits in the harbor and the author did not consider the needs of all modes of transportation involved with the decision.
On March 30, 2021, we received a report from a public vessel that the drawtender did inform the vessel that requested an opening that a new law
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required the bridge to remain closed if ice was present.
Separately we discussed with residents who comments on the two hour advance notice required by some bridges, a carryover of the original 1984
regulation that mariners didnt notice before or that was not enforced locally.
Milwaukee Harbor is host to several different vessels and having a large recreational or commercial vessel station keeping between two bridges could be a danger to other vessels traveling between the bridges. The exemption prevents vessels from using excessive speed to clear the bridges before the special bridge hours go into effect and prevents vessels from endangering others waiting for the bridges to open.
After careful review of the comments received against the 50 ton proposed rule we decided that vessels with a documented capacity of 12 tons or greater could cause significant danger to life and property if trapped between two bridges and caused to station keep, especially with other vessels nearby.
We explained this is not an exclusion for documented vessels 12 tons and larger. This provision is allowing vessels of this size to complete their passage in or out of the Milwaukee Harbor. A vessel at dock or not yet in the river, would be required to wait.
Our office did engage with residents verbally over the phone on several occasions to answer questions and encouraged them to leave comments on the regulations.gov website. Most of these engagements were with citizens that did not fully read the previous documents concerning the regulation change.
III. Legal Authority and Need for Rule The Coast Guard is issuing this rule under authority 33 U.S.C. 499.
The Milwaukee River is approximately 104 miles long.
Beginning in Fond du Lac County the river flows easterly to a low head dam just above the Humboldt Avenue Bridge at mile 3.22 in downtown Milwaukee, WI. From here the river flows south to Lake Michigan. This southerly course of the Milwaukee River divides the lakefront area from the rest of the city.
The Menomonee River joins the Milwaukee River at Mile 1.01 with the Kinnickinnic River joining the Milwaukee River at Mile 0.39. 21
bridges cross the Milwaukee River from mile 0.19 to mile 3.22. In the early 20th Century, the Milwaukee River was heavily used to support the industries in and around the Great Lakes. Today, the river has been redeveloped as a tourist and recreational destination. From its
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