§ 116.30 Chief, Office of Bridge Programs Review and Evaluation.

(a) Upon receiving a Detailed Investigation Report from a District Commander, the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs will review all the information and make a final determination of whether or not the bridge is an unreasonable obstruction to navigation and, if so, whether to issue an Order to Alter. This determination will be accompanied by a supporting written Decision Analysis which will include a Benefit/Cost Analysis, including calculation of a Benefit/Cost Ratio.

(b) The Benefit/Cost ratio is calculated by dividing the annualized navigation benefit of the proposed bridge alteration by the annualized government share of the cost of the alteration.

(c) Except for a bridge which is statutorily determined to be an unreasonable obstruction, an Order to Alter will not be issued under the Truman-Hobbs Act unless the ratio is at least 1:1.

(d) If a bridge is statutorily determined to unreasonably obstruct navigation, the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs will prepare a Decision Analysis to document and provide details of the required vertical and horizontal clearances and the reasons alterations are necessary.

(e) If the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs decides to recommend that the Commandant issue an Order to Alter, or a bridge is statutorily determined to unreasonably obstruct navigation, the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs will issue a letter to the bridge owner (“The 60-Day Letter”) at least 60 days before the Commandant issues an Order to Alter. This letter will contain the reasons an alteration is necessary, the proposed alteration, and, in the case of a Truman-Hobbs bridge, an estimate of the total project cost and the bridge owner's share.

(f) If the bridge owner does not agree with the terms proposed in the 60-Day Letter, the owner may request a reevaluation of the terms. The request for a reevaluation must be in writing, and identify the terms for which reevaluation is requested. The request may provide additional information not previously presented.

(g) Upon receipt of the bridge owner's response, the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs will reevaluate the situation based on the additional information submitted by the bridge owner. If after the Chief, Office of Bridge Programs reviews the determination, there is no change, the Commandant may issue an Order to Alter as set out in § 116.35. The Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs determination based on the reevaluation will constitute final agency action.

[CGD 91–063, 60 FR 20902, Apr. 28, 1995, as amended by CGD 96–026, 61 FR 33664, June 28, 1996; USCG–2013–0397, 78 FR 39174, July 1, 2013]