Coast Guard Navigable Waters Regulation

Current understanding

To be populated as evidence accumulates.

Evidence log

• 2026-11-09 — Security Zones; Protection of Military Cargo, Captain of the Port Zone Puget Sound, WA: The Coast Guard announced November 8–12, 2026 enforcement of established security zones in Commencement Bay’s Blair and Sitcum Waterways, restricting unauthorized vessel movement to protect military cargo operations rather than establishing a new permanent navigation restriction. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-10-07 — Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Bay St. Louis, Bay St. Louis, MS; Back Bay of Biloxi, Biloxi, MS; Pascagoula River, Pascagoula, MS; Three Mile Creek, Mobile, AL; Chickasaw Creek, Saraland, AL.: 2026 — Proposed rule would amend 33 CFR 117 to let CSX remotely operate five railroad drawbridges (Bay St. Louis, Back Bay of Biloxi, Pascagoula River MS; Three Mile Creek, Chickasaw Creek AL) from a Mobile control center rather than staffing on-site bridgetenders, with local navigation impacts to mariners signaling for openings. (novelty: 2)
• 2008-04-10 — Marine Emergency Protocol and Hull Requirement Act of 2008: 2008 — Marine Emergency Protocol and Hull Requirement Act would have expressly authorized Coast Guard sector commanders to take direct operational control of all vessels in their zone during terrorist attacks, major oil spills, or similar emergencies, formalizing an emergency layer atop existing navigable-waters authority; the bill did not advance beyond committee referral. (novelty: 2)
• 2009-03-24 — Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act of 2009: cross-connection with coast-guard-towing-vessel-safety: The 2009 Oil Pollution Prevention and Response Act paired towing-vessel safety mandates with tank-vessel oil-transfer and navigation controls under a single Coast Guard rulemaking push. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-08-26 — Anchorage Regulation; San Juan Bay, San Juan, PR: 2026 — Proposed rule would modify Anchorage D in San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico (33 CFR Part 110), shrinking its footprint so it no longer overlaps the San Antonio Channel used by deep-draft commercial traffic, reducing anchoring/transit conflicts. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-08-28 — Safety Zone; Hurricanes, Tropical Storms, and Severe Weather Events in the Sector Mobile Captain of the Port Zone: Final rule adds a Sector Mobile standing safety zone activatable for hurricanes and severe storms, illustrating Coast Guard use of navigable-waters authority for pre-planned severe-weather port controls. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-29 — FISH Act of 2026: 2026 — FISH Act of 2026 (HR9507) referred to House Committees on Natural Resources, Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Transportation and Infrastructure; multi-committee referral signals a fisheries-related bill with a nexus to maritime/navigable-waters oversight, though no substantive text is yet available. (novelty: 2)
• 2025-04-03 — Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act: 2026 — Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act (HR2620) referred to the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, situating any future marine-debris amendments within the same subcommittee that oversees Coast Guard navigable-waters authorities. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-15 — Safety Zones; Recurring Events in Captain of the Port Duluth Zone: Final rule revises Captain of the Port Duluth Zone recurring safety-zone regulations so annual marine events may be enforced in the vicinity of published coordinates rather than only at fixed points, giving on-scene commanders limited geographic flexibility. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-02-23 — MTS CYBER Act of 2026: cross-connection with mts-cyber-act-maritime-cybersecurity: Maritime cybersecurity legislation intersects with Coast Guard’s regulatory authority over navigable waters and port facility security. (novelty: 3)
• 2025-12-18 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026: NDAA FY2026 (P.L. 119-60) includes Coast Guard policy authorizations for fiscal year 2026, providing the annual statutory framework within which Coast Guard regulatory actions (including navigable-waters safety zones) operate. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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