Public Notice
Title (Project Name): Public Notice – Establishing Shipping Safety Fairways and Associated Vessel Routing Measures Along the Atlantic Coast
Description: The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is proposing to establish vessel routing measures and fairway anchorage along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. The purpose of the proposed action is to preserve safe and reliable transit of vessels along historic, critical shipping routes. The USCG states that the establishment of safety fairways would ensure access to major ports of the U.S. Marine Transportation System, which includes federal channels, internal waterways, marine terminals and naval facilities. The USCG recognizes that increasing interests in the use of the Outer Continental Shelf creates a need to establish access to the major ports of the Atlantic Seaboard. The USCG is considering several alternatives. While the use of the proposed routing measures would be voluntary for shipping vessels, they are intended to ensure that traditional navigation routes are kept free of structures that could impact navigation safety. The proposal would prevent structures (fixed or floating obstructions) from being built in the ocean within the proposed shipping vessel corridors. The proposed activity is subject to review for consistency with the enforceable policies of the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.
Public comment period: September 12, 2025 to October 9, 2025
Applicant name and project number: U.S. Coast Guard, 25-153F
Facility name and address: Coastal Waters near Virginia
DEQ Contact (for public comments and additional information): Julia Wellman at Julia.Wellman@deq.virginia.gov
HOW TO COMMENT
DEQ accepts comments from the public by e-mail or postal mail. All comments must include the name, address and telephone number of the person commenting and be received by DEQ within the comment period. The public may review the project documents at DEQ’s central office in Richmond.
DEQ Central Office
Office of Environmental Impact Review
1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400
Richmond, Virginia, 23219
