The following is text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(WASHINGTON) — The Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register on Friday to delay the effective date for certain facilities affected by the final rule titled “Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Reader Requirements,” which was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 23, 2016.
The Coast Guard proposes to delay the effective date for the following two categories of facilities by three years, until Aug. 23, 2021:
1. Facilities that handle certain dangerous cargoes in bulk, but do not transfer these cargoes to or from a vessel, and
2. Facilities that receive vessels carrying certain dangerous cargoes in bulk, but do not, during that vessel-to-facility interface, transfer these bulk cargoes to or from those vessels.
Other vessels and facilities, including facilities that receive large passenger vessels and facilities regulated under 33 CFR 105.295 that handle certain dangerous cargoes in bulk and transfer it to or from a vessel, would still be required to comply with the final rule by Aug. 23, 2018.
The Coast Guard is accepting comments and related materials regarding this NPRM until July 23, 2018.
“This proposed delay is to consider industry input asking us to reconsider the scope of the TWIC reader final rule and to re-evaluate the underlying methodology used to determine the facilities subject to the electronic TWIC inspection requirements,” said Capt. Ryan Manning, chief of the Office of Port and Facility Compliance. “The Coast Guard views public participation as essential to effective rulemaking and encourages comments be submitted through the federal eRulemaking portal.”
For more information, view the Federal Register notice.
