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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 193 / Friday, October 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1

of the Elizabeth River surrounding the NSN Lamberts Point Deperming Station in Norfolk, Virginia.
NSN is the homeport of numerous ships and provides operational readiness support to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet with its facilities. The Department of the Navys request is in response to the possible risks associated with the potential for unfettered access to the deperming station. The deperming station is located within the waters of the Elizabeth River and provides magnetic silencing services for military vessels. This deperming station is the only location capable of servicing an aircraft carrier and the only deperming facility on the east coast of the United States. The proposed restricted area is in waters surrounding the existing facility immediately adjacent to the channel into Norfolk Harbor. The proposed restricted area is necessary to better protect underwater equipment, personnel, and vessels utilizing the facility by implementing a waterside security program.
Procedural Requirements a. Regulatory Planning and Review.
This proposed rule is not a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866 58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993 and it was not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review.
b. Regulatory Flexibility Act, as Amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. This rule has been reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act Pub. L. 96354. The Regulatory Flexibility Act generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act or any other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities i.e., small businesses and small governments.
The Corps certifies under 5 U.S.C.
605b that this proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The proposed restricted area is necessary for security of the deperming station. The restricted area is also necessary to protect underwater equipment, personnel, and vessels utilizing the facility by implementing a waterside security program. Small entities can utilize navigable waters outside of the restricted area. Small entities that need to transit the restricted area may do so as long as the vessel operator obtains permission from the
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Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia and/or other persons or agencies that he/she may designate. This determination is based on the proposed rule governing the restricted area, including the ability for vessel operators to obtain permission from the Commanding Officer, U.S.
Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia and/or other persons or agencies as he/she may designate, to transit the restricted area.
Unless information is obtained to the contrary during the comment period, the Corps expects that the economic impact of the proposed restricted area would have practically no impact on the public, any anticipated navigational hazard, or interference with existing waterway traffic. After considering the economic impacts of this restricted area regulation on small entities, I certify that this proposed rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
c. Review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Due to the administrative nature of this action and because there is no intended change in the use of the area, the Corps expects that this regulation, if adopted, will not have a significant impact to the quality of the human environment and, therefore, preparation of an environmental impact statement will not be required. An environmental assessment will be prepared after the public notice period is closed and all comments have been received and considered.
d. Unfunded Mandates Act. This proposed rule does not impose an enforceable duty among the private sector and, therefore, it is not a federal private sector mandate and it is not subject to the requirements of either Section 202 or Section 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Act. The Corps has also found under Section 203 of the Act that small governments will not be significantly and uniquely affected by this rulemaking.
e. Congressional Review Act. The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801
et seq., generally provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States. The Corps will submit a report containing the final rule and other required information to the U.S.
Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States. A major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register. This proposed rule is not a
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major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C.
8042.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 334
Danger zones, Marine safety, Navigation water, Restricted areas, Waterways.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, the Corps proposes to amend 33 CFR part 334 as follows:
PART 334DANGER ZONE AND
RESTRICTED AREA REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for 33 CFR
part 334 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 40 Stat. 266 33 U.S.C. 1 and 40 Stat. 892 33 U.S.C. 3.

2. Add 334.296 to read as follows:

334.296 Elizabeth River, Deperming Station, Norfolk, VA, Restricted Area.

a The area. The waters within an area beginning at a point latitude 365152 N, longitude 762004 W;
thence easterly to a point at latitude 365152 N, longitude 761949 W, thence northerly to latitude 365206 N, longitude 761948 W; thence northwesterly to latitude 365212 N, longitude 761957 W; thence northwesterly to a point at latitude 365215 N, longitude 761959 W;
thence westerly to latitude 365215 N, longitude 762004 W, thence to the point of origin. The datum for these coordinates is WGS84.
b The regulations. 1 No vessels other than vessels of the U.S. armed forces and other authorized vessels shall enter the restricted area. Other authorized vessels include vessels and personnel, including contactors and agents, acting on behalf of any federal or state agency or department performing specific work authorized as part of that agency or departments statutory missions or to enforce their respective laws. Authorized vessels may enter anywhere in the restricted area at any time in the furtherance of their authorized operations. This includes, but is not limited to, vessels that are engaged in the following operations: law enforcement; servicing aids to navigation; and/or surveying, maintenance, or improvement of the federal navigational channel.
2 There shall be no introduction of external magnetic field sources within the area.
3 No person or vessel shall at any time, under any circumstances, anchor or fish or tow a drag of any kind in the restricted area due to the risk of damage to mission essential underwater equipment, including an extensive cable system located therein.

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