Port access routes

(a) Regulation Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue a regulation for nearshore and offshore shipping safety fairways, to include a minimum appropriate width of not less than the width proposed in the proposed rule of the Coast Guard titled Shipping Safety Fairways Along the Atlantic Coast, issued on January 19, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 3587). (b) Exception The minimum appropriate width under subsection (a) shall not apply to connector, cutacross, or cutoff fairways, Traffic Separation Schemes, or precautionary areas. (c) Applicability In issuing the regulation under subsection (a), the Secretary shall apply the regulation to the geographic area covered by the proposed rule of the Coast Guard titled Shipping Safety Fairways Along the Atlantic Coast, issued on January 19, 2024 (89 Fed. Reg. 3587). (d) Effective date The regulation issued under subsection (a) shall take effect on December 31, 2026.