The US Coast Guard has withdrawn a federal rule that governed commercial diving operations.
On February 19th, 2015, the Coast Guard published a rule titled “Commercial Diving Operations.” According to a recent notice:
“The intent of the proposed rulemaking was to amend the regulations for commercial diving conducted from deepwater ports or deepwater port safety zones, in connection with Outer Continental Shelf activities, or from vessels that are required to have a Coast Guard certificate of inspection. The proposed rulemaking sought to amend these regulations to improve the safety of people and property involved in commercial diving operations and to protect the environment in which they operate, as well as to include current industry best practices. The proposed regulations also aimed to allow the Coast Guard to approve independent third-party organizations to assist with ensuring regulatory compliance of commercial diving regulations.”
That rule, however, has now been withdrawn, according to the Coast Guard:
“We are taking this action because there have been changes in the industry since we published the [notice of proposed rulemaking] in 2015, including new standards and technologies. We have concluded that the rule we proposed in 2015 is no longer appropriate in light of those changes. The Coast Guard may issue a new rulemaking in the future if warranted.”
