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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Proposed Rules Affected Population The Coast Guard does not collect data on the vessels and individuals using either the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal or the North Shores Section of Rehoboth Beach, the areas that would be impacted by this proposed rule. To estimate the affected population, we used information directly observable from Google Maps, as well as the subjectmatter expertise of Coast Guard personnel with knowledge of the area.
The proposed two security zonesa half-mile section of the Lowes Rehoboth Canal and a one-mile section of
Rehoboth Beachare distinct. As such, we assess the affected populations for these two areas separately.
1 Security Zone 1: Lewes Rehoboth Canal This proposed regulation would impact any recreational boater wishing to transit the Lewes Rehoboth Canal.
The Lewes Rehoboth Canal is about 10
miles long and connects the Broadkill River and the Delaware Bay to Rehoboth Bay. The security zone would begin approximately two-thirds of the way through the canal if starting from the Delaware Bay and last for about a half
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mile. As such, recreational boaters wishing to transit the canal from the communities of Lewes, Dewey Beach, North Shores, Rehoboth Beach, and West Rehoboth may be impacted by this proposed rule.1
These communities are seasonal; their populations are much larger and more active in the summer than in the winter.
Vessel traffic in the canal follows the same pattern. Coast Guard officers stationed in this region estimated the numbers of vessels transiting this zone per day by season. We present these estimates in table 2.

TABLE 2VESSEL TRAFFIC BY TIME OF YEAR
Months
Vessels transiting the canal per day
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January through March
April
May through September
October through December

20 vessels per 75 vessels per More than 200
50 vessels per
day.
day.
vessels per day.
day.

The vessel traffic in the canal is entirely recreational. There are no commercial vessels that transit the canal. Moreover, the canal is quite shallow. The Coast Guards 27-foot vessels navigate the canal with difficulty because of the depth. Kayaks, canoes, and other manually powered watercraft are frequently used in the canal not counted in the daily vessel traffic estimates.
In addition to the daily traffic of recreational boaters wishing to transit the security zone, there are a number of boat slips located either within the security zone or require transiting the security zone to access. There are also houses that border sections of the canal wholly inside the security zone. We reviewed satellite images from Google Maps to identify the number of boat slips within the security zone or require transiting the security zone to access.
Based on these satellite images, we estimate that 17 private houses that lie entirely within the canal security zone contain either a boat slip or dock. The boat slips indicate that recreational vessel usage might be undertaken by the owners or occupiers of these properties.
Because they lie fully inside the security zone, they would be impacted every time they took out their vessels.
Additionally, a small man-made canal branches off the main Lewes and Rehoboth Canal and leads into a small man-made lake. The southern edge of the safety zone continues just past the entrance to this second canal. Private
houses and the North Shores Marina inhabit the land surrounding the second canal and its adjoining lake. Some of these houses contain docks or boat slips.
Recreational vessel operators would require transiting through the security zone to reach either the boat slips at these private homes or the North Shores Marina. Use of this canal and lake is primarily local and by small recreational vessels, as this second canal may only be 3 feet deep in certain places. Using Google Maps, we count 14
boat slips or docks connected to private houses and 30 spaces for recreational vessels at the North Shores Marina.

1 Dewey Beach lies on the isthmus between Rehoboth Bay and the Atlantic Ocean south of
Rehoboth beach and north of the Delaware Seashore State Park.

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2 Security Zone 2: Rehoboth Beach This proposed rule would also impact any recreational boaters that would transit the area 1 mile by 500 yards offshore of the North Shores section of Rehoboth Beach. Because of its proximity to the shore, the Coast Guard does not estimate than any recreational boaters or commercial vessels routinely operate in this section of the ocean.
Vessels operating this close to shore could face additional hazards due to the surf and other marine currents and would avoid this area.
Costs As above, we assess the costs to the two security zones separately.
1 Security Zone 1: Lewes and Rehoboth Canal In table 2, we present the Coast Guards estimate of the average vessel
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traffic. Under normal course of operations, the Coast Guard anticipates that recreational boaters transiting the canal would have a very brief conversation with the Coast Guard official stationed at the entrance to the security zone. Recreational boaters would then proceed through the security zone without stopping or loitering and exit the security zone. We anticipate that this conversation would last between 15 and 30 seconds per recreational boater. Because we do not know how many recreational boaters are on the average boat and because of how small the amount of time per recreational boaters is likely to be, we do not estimate the total costs of these conversations.
Additionally, above we discussed that there are a number of houses and a marina that are contained within the security zone or would require transiting the security zone in order to access. The Coast Guard observes that recreational vessel operators who reside or are visiting a location inside the security zone should be able to relay this information to the Coast Guard personnel stationed at the entrance of the security zone. When recreational boaters provide this additional information, it may increase the duration of the conversation. However, there are only 17 houses with private docks or boat slips contained within the security zone. It is likely, therefore, that the Coast Guard personnel stationed at either end of the security zone would
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