On October 11,
2012, the United States Coast Guard posted a notice in the Federal Register concerning
a public meeting to receive comments on the development of a Facility Security
Officer Training Program. The text of the notice is given below.
The MTSA
community who cannot attend the public meeting should attempt to attend the web
conference of this meeting. We need to
remind Coast Guard Headquarters that the U. S. Marine Transportation System
stretches from sea to shining sea, and does not encompass just the container
ports of LA/Long Beach and the East Coast.
A very good place to track developments is the website of the Facility
Security Working Group of the Houston/Galveston AMSC (http://www.fswg.org). Under Task Groups,
Regulatory Changes, source documents for the FSO training initiative are
posted.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard
[Docket No. USCG–2012–0908]
Facility Security Officer Training Requirements
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces a public
meeting to receive comments on
the development of a Facility Security Officer
training program, with the primary focus on developing the curriculum for such
a program. Section 821 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L.
111–281) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish comprehensive
FSO training requirements, and to coordinate with
the Maritime Administrator of the Department of
Transportation in developing the FSO training curriculum. The purpose of the
public meeting is to obtain public comment on
a draft model FSO training course and other elements
of the FSO training
program.
DATES: A public meeting will be held on Friday,
November 9, 2012 from 8:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to provide an opportunity for oral
comments. Seating is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible using the
method described under the ADDRESSES section below, but no later than
November 2, 2012. Written comments and related material may be submitted to
Coast Guard personnel specified at that meeting. Written comments may also be submitted in response to this
notice by following the instructions under the ADDRESSES section below.
The comment period for this notice will close on November 23, 2012. All written
comments and related material submitted before or after the meeting must either
be submitted to our online docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or
before November 23, 2012 or reach the Docket Management Facility by that date.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at
the Department of Transportation Headquarters, Oklahoma Room, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Please note that due to building security
requirements, each visitor must present two valid, government-issued photo
identifications in order to gain entrance to the
Department of Transportation Headquarters building.
The building is accessible by taxi, public transit, and privately owned
conveyance. However, public parking in the vicinity of the building is
extremely limited. This meeting is open to the public. Please note that the
session may adjourn early if all business, concerns, and questions are
addressed. A live video feed of the meeting will also be available via the
following link: http://trial4.cdn.level3.net/USCGLivePlayer_040611.htm.
You may submit written comments identified by docket
number USCG–2012–0908 before or after the meeting using any one
of the following methods:
(1) Federal eRulemaking Portal:http://www.regulations.gov.
(2) Fax: 202–493–2251.
(3) Mail: Docket Management Facility (M–30),
U.S. Department of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590–0001.
(4) Hand delivery: Same as mail address above,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The
telephone number is 202–366–9329.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these
four methods. Our online docket for this notice is available on the Internet at
http://www.regulations.gov
under docket number USCG–2012–0908.
To RSVP for the meeting, fill out theRSVP form using
the following link
https://einvitations.afit.edu/inv/anim/cfm?i=123867&k=036341017D50.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have
questions concerning the
meeting, please call or email LTJG Lindsey
Musselwhite, Commandant
(CG–FAC–2), Coast Guard; telephone 202–372–1136,
email
Lindsey.A.Musselwhite@uscg.mil or LCDR Jose´
Ramı´rez, Commandant (CG–
FAC–2), Coast Guard; telephone 202–372–1150, email
Jose.L.Ramirez@uscg.mil. If you have questions
on viewing or submitting written comments and related
material submitted before or after the meeting must either be submitted to our online
docket via http://www.regulations.gov on or before November 23, 2012 or reach
the Docket Management Facility by that date.
SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION: Background and Purpose
The Maritime Transportation
Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–295, codified
at 46 U.S.C. 70101 et
seq.) (MTSA) provided the Coast Guard with statutory
authorities and mandates to
advance the Coast Guard’s maritime security
mission. Pursuant to its
authority under MTSA, the Coast Guard promulgated
regulations in 33 CFR part
105 that apply to certain maritime facilities
listed in 33 CFR 105.105.
Among the requirements in 33 CFR part 105,owners and operators of regulated facilities
must designate a Facility Security Officer (FSO) (33 CFR 105.200). Coast Guard
regulations also set forth FSO qualifications and responsibilities (33 CFR
105.205). Under current regulations, FSOs are not required to undergo a formal training
and certification process. Section 821 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010
(Pub. L. 111–281) requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to
establish comprehensive FSO training requirements designed to provide full security
training that would lead to certification of such officers. The Coast Guard is in the process of
considering a rulemaking to implement this portion of section 821. Section 821 also requires
the Secretary to coordinate with the Maritime Administrator of the Department
of Transportation in developing the FSO training curriculum. The Coast Guard
and the Maritime Administrator believe that a public meeting would be
beneficial at this stage in the process to engage the public and obtain
comments on a draft model FSO training course
as well as other aspects of the FSO training program. A draft model FSO
training course will be available for viewing on the Coast Guard Homeport Web
site (https://homeport.uscg.mil/mtsa) as well as in the online docket
two weeks prior to the meeting. Topics to be discussed at the meeting include
the
following:
(1) Draft model FSO training
course;
(2) Computer-based training
and distance learning;
(3) Provisional FSO
certification;
(4) FSO continuing
education;
(5) FSO refresher course;
(6) Interim policy to
provide curriculum guidelines for potential FSO training course providers; and
(7) Any additional topics
of concern with respect to the FSO training program, certification, and the development
and provision of training.
The Coast Guard believes
that a public meeting would also benefit the impacted community by providing a forum
to raise relevant issues. This will further enable the Coast Guard to craft policy
that takes into account public concerns.
You may view the written
comments and supporting documents (if any) in the online docket by going
to http://www.regulations.gov and using ‘‘USCG–2012–0908’’ as your search
term. Locate this notice among the search results and use the filters on the left
side of the page to search for specific types of documents. If you do not have
access to the Internet, you may view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management
Facility in Room W12–140 on the ground floor of the Department of Transportation West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. We have an agreement
with the Department of Transportation to use the Docket Management Facility. We encourage you to
participate by submitting comments either orally at the meeting or in writing.
If you bring written comments to the meeting, you may submit them to Coast
Guard personnel specified at the meeting to receive written comments. These comments
will be submitted to our online public docket. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any
personal information you have provided. Anyone can search the
electronic form of comments received into any of
our dockets by the name of
the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review a Privacy Act
notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal
Register (73 FR 3316).
Information on Services
for Individuals With Disabilities
For information on
facilities or services for individuals with disabilities or to request special
assistance at the public meeting, contact LTJG Lindsey Musselwhite at the
telephone number or email address indicated under the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.
Public Meeting
The Coast Guard will hold a
public meeting regarding the development of
an FSO training program on Friday, November 9, 2012
from 8:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m., at the Department of Transportation
Headquarters, Oklahoma
Room, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE., Washington, DC 20590.
We will provide
a written summary of the meeting and comments in the
docket.
Authority: This notice is issued under the authority
of 46 U.S.C. 70125(d) and 5 U.S.C.
552(a).
Dated: October 4, 2012.
A.E. Tucci,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of Port
and Facility Compliance (CG–FAC).
