Form CG-2554 Private Aids to Navigation Application

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. COAST GUARD
CG-2554 (Rev. 06-04)

Form Approved

PRIVATE AIDS TO NAVIGATION APPLICATION
(See attached instructions and copy of Code of Fed. Reg., Title 33, Chap. 1, Part 66)

OMB-1625-0011

NO PRIVATE AID TO NAVIGATION MAY BE AUTHORIZED UNLESS A COMPLETED APPLICATON FORM HAS BEEN RECEIVED (14 U.S.C. 83; 33 C.F.R. 66.01-5).
1. ACTION REQUESTED FOR PRIVATE
AIDS TO NAVIGATION:
3. AIDS WILL BE OPERATED:

A.

A.

ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

B.

4. NECESSITY FOR AID (Continue in Block 8)

B.

DISCONTINUE

C.

CHANGE

TEMPORARILY UNTIL
5. GENERAL LOCALITY

D.
C.

ANNUALLY

TO

6. CORPS OF ENGINEERS AUTHORIZED THIS STRUCTURE OR BUOY BY
PERMIT OR

NAME OF AID

2. DATE ACTION TO START

LETTER (file and date)

7. APPLICANT WILL FILL IN APPLICABLE REMAINING COLUMNS

FOR DISTRICT COMMANDERS ONLY
LIGHT LIST
NUMBER OR
PAGE

TRANSFER OWNERSHIP

NO.
OR
LTR. PER.
(7a) (7b)

LIGHT
FLASH COLOR
LGTH.
(7c)
(7d)

POSITION
(7e)

HT.
DEPTH CANDLE ABOVE
OF
WATE POWER WATER
(7h)
(7g)
R (7f)

STRUCTURE
TYPE, COLOR, AND HEIGHT
ABOVE GROUND
(7i)

REMARKS
(See Instructions)
(7j)

8. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

9a. NAME AND ADDRESS OF PERSON IN DIRECT CHARGE
OF AID

10a.

NAME AND ADDRESS OF PERSON OR
CORPORATION AT WHOSE EXPENSE

10b.

10c.
9b.

THE APPLICANT AGREES TO SAVE THE COAST GUARD HARMLESS WITH RESPECT TO ANY
CLAIM OR CLAIMS THAT MAY RESULT ARISING FROM THE ALLEGED NEGLIGENCE OF THE
MAINTENANCE OR OPERATION OF THE APPROVED AID(S).

DATE

10d.

SIGNATURE AND TITLE OF OFFICIAL SIGNING

TELEPHONE NO.
FOR USE BY DISTRICT COMMANDER

SERIAL NO.

CLASSIFICATION OF AIDS

RECD.

DATE APPROVED

SIGNATURE (By direction)

CHART
L. N. M.

PREVIOUS EDITIONS ARE OBSOLETE

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FEDERAL REGULATIONS CONCERNING PRIVATE AIDS TO NAVIGATION, 33 CFR 86
§ 66.01-1 Basic provisions.
(a) No person, public body or instrumentality not
under the control of the Commandant, exclusive of the
Armed Forces, shall establish and maintain,
discontinue, change or transfer ownership of any aid to
maritime navigation, without first obtaining permission
to do so from the Commandant.
(b) For the purposes of this subpart, the term
private aids to navigation includes all marine aids to
navigation operated in the navigable waters of the
United States other than those operated by the Federal
Government (Part 62 of this subchapter) or those
operated in State waters for private aids to navigation
(Subpart 66.05).
(c) Coast Guard authorization of a private aid to
navigation does not authorize any invasion of private
rights, nor grant any exclusive privileges, nor does it
obviate the necessity of complying with any other
Federal, State or local laws or regulations.
(d) With the exception of shore based radar
stations, operation of electronic aids to navigation as
private aids will not be authorized.
§ 66.01-3 Delegation of authority to District
Commanders.
(a) Pursuant to the authority in 49 CFR 1,4(g), the
Commandant delegates to the District Commanders
within the confines of their respective districts (see Part
3 of this Chapter for descriptions) the authority to grant
permission to establish and maintain, discontinue,
change or transfer ownership of private aids to maritime
navigation, and otherwise administer the requirements
of this subpart.
(b) The decisions of the District Commander may
be appealed within 30 days from the date of decision.
The decision of the Commandant in any case is final.
§ 66.01-5 Application procedure.
Application to establish and maintain, discontinue,
change or transfer ownership of a private aid to
navigation shall be made to the Commander of the
Coast Guard District in which the private aid to
navigation is or will be located. Application forms
(CG-2554) will be provided upon request. The
applicant shall complete all parts of the form applicable
to the aid to navigation concerned, and shall forward
the application in triplicate to the District Commander.
The following information is required:
(a) The proposed position of the aid to navigation
by two or more horizontal angles, or bearings and
distance from charted landmarks. A section of chart or
sketch showing the proposed location of the aid to
navigation shall be included.

(b) The name and address of the person at whose
expense the aid will be maintained.
(c) The name and address of the person who will
maintain the aid to navigation.
(d) The time and dates during which it is proposed
to operate the aid.
(e) The necessity for the aid.
(f) For lights: The color, characteristic, height
above water, and descriptions of illuminating apparatus.
(g) For log signals: Type (whistle, horn, bell etc.)
and characteristic.
(h) For buoys or daybeacons: Shape, color,
number, or letter, depth of water in which located or
height above water.
§ 66.01 - 10 Characteristics.
The characteristics of a private aid to navigation
shall conform to the standard U.S. system to aids to
navigation characteristics described in subpart 62.25 of
Part 62 of this subchapter, except that only
tungsten-incandescent light sources will be approved
for electric lights.
§ 66.01 - 15 Action by Coast Guard.
(a) The District Commander receiving the
application will review it for completeness and will
assign the aid one of the following classifications:
Class I: Aids to navigation on marine structures of
other works which the owners are legally obligated to
establish, maintain and operate as prescribed by the
Coast Guard.
Class II: Aids to navigation exclusive of Class I
located in waters used by general navigation.
Class III: Aids to navigation exclusive of Class I
located in waters not ordinarily used by general
navigation.
(b) Upon approval by the District Commander, a
signed copy of the application will be returned to the
applicant.
§ 66.01 - 20 Inspection.
All classes of private aids to navigation shall be
maintained in proper operating condition. They are
subject to inspection by the Coast Guard at any time
and without prior notice.
§ 66.01 - 25 Discontinuance and removal.
(a) No person, public body or instrumentality shall
change, move or discontinue any authorized private aid
to navigation required by statue or regulations (Class I
§ 66.01-15) without first obtaining permission to do so
from the District Commander.
(b) Any authorized private aid to navigation not
required by statue or regulation (Classes II and III,
§ 66.01-15) may be discontinued and removed by the
owner after 30 days' notice to the District Commander
to whom the original request for authorization for
establishment of the aid was submitted.

(c) Private aids to navigation which have been
authorized pursuant to this part shall be discontinued
and removed without expense to the United States by
the person, public body or instrumentality establishing
or maintaining such aids when so directed by the
District Commander.
§ 66.01-30 Corps of Engineers' approval.
(a) Before any private aid to navigation consisting
of a fixed structure is placed in the navigable waters of
the United States, authorization to erect such structure
shall first be obtained from the District Engineer, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers in whose district the aid will
be located.
(b) The application to establish any private aid to
navigation consisting of a fixed structure shall show
evidence of the required permit having been issued by
the Corps of Engineers.
§ 66.01-35 Marking of structures and floating
obstructions.
Any structure, mooring, mooring buoy, or dam, in or
over the navigable waters of the United States shall
display the lights and other signals for the protection of
maritime navigation as may be prescribed by the
Commandant. The prescribed lights and signals shall
be installed, maintained and operated by and at the
expense of the owner, or operator. After obtaining
such approval or a statement of no objection from the
Corps of Engineers as is required by law, the owner or
operator shall apply in accordance with § 66.01-5 to the
District Commander having jurisdiction over the waters
in which the structure or floating obstruction will be
located for a determination of the lights and other
signals to be displayed. This requirement includes the
temporary lights and signals to be displayed during the
construction of a structure. If no regulation exists
prescribing the lights or other signals required to mark
any work or obstruction, each case shall be considered
individually by the District Commander, who will
prescribe such lights and signals as he considers
necessary for the safety of navigation.
§ 66.01-40 Exemptions.
(a) Nothing in the preceding sections of this subpart
shall be construed to interfere with or nullify the
requirements of existing laws and regulations
pertaining to the marking of vessels and other
obstructions sunk in the navigable waters of the United
States (Part 64 of this subchapter), the marking of
artificial islands and structures which are erected on or
over the seabed and subsoil of the outer Continental
Shelf (Part 67 of this subchapter), or the lighting of
bridges over navigable waters of the United States
(Part 68 of this subchapter).

(b) Persons marking structures pursuant to Part 64
or Part 58 of this subchapter are exempted from the
provisions of § 66.01-5 and 66.01-35.
§ 66.01-45 Penalties.
Any person, public body or instrumentality,
excluding the Armed Forces, who shall establish, erect
or maintain any aid to maritime navigation without first
obtaining authority to do so from the Coast Guard or
who shall violate the regulations relative thereto issued
in this part, is subject to the provision of 14 U.S.C. 83.
Any owner or operator of a fixed structure, excluding an
agency of the United States, who violates any of the
rules or regulations prescribed with respect to lights
and other signals for fixed structures, is subject to the
provision of 14 U.S.C. 85.
§ 66.01-50 Protection of private aids to navigation.
Private aids to navigation lawfully maintained under
these regulations are entitled to same protection
against interference or obstruction as is afforded by law
to Coast Guard aids to navigation (Part 70 of this
subchapter). If interference or obstruction occurs, a
prompt report containing all the evidence available
should be made to the Commander of the Coast Guard
District in which the aids are located.
§ 66.01-55 Transfer of ownership.
(a) When any private aid to navigation authorized
by the District Commander, or the essential real estate
or facility with which the aid is associated, is sold or
transferred, both parties to the transaction shall submit
application (§ 66.01-5) to the Commander of the Coast
Guard District in which the aid is located requesting
authority to transfer responsibility for maintenance of
the aid.
(b) The party relinquishing responsibility for
maintenance of the private aid to navigation shall
indicate on the application form (CG-2554) both the
discontinuance and the change of ownership of the aid
sold or transferred.
(c)
The party accepting responsibility for
maintenance of the private aid to navigation shall
indicate on the application form (CG-2554) both the
establishment and the change of ownership of the aid
sold or transferred.
(d) In the event the new owner of the essential real
estate or facility with which the aid is associated
refuses to accept responsibility for maintenance of the
aid, the former owner shall be required to remove the
aid without expense to the United States. This
requirement shall not apply in the case of any
authorized private aid to navigation required by statute
or regulation (Class I, § 66.01-15) which shall be
maintained by the new owner until the conditions which
made the aid necessary have been eliminated.

Page 2 of CG-2554 (Rev. 06-04)
REMARKS

DATE

J
NAME OF AID

REFERENCE

F

M

A

M

J

ACTION AND REMARKS

J

A

S

O

N

D
LIGHT LIST NO.

PAGE

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U. S. COAST GUARD
PRIVATE AIDS TO NAVIGATION APPLICATION
INSTRUCTIONS

6. This form may be used to cover more than one aid in the
same geographic area. Draw a line between each aid as
indicated in example. Attach separate sheet if additional
space is required.

5. The required information for each column includes the
following:
(7a) Proposed number or letter to be assigned to the aid.
(7b) Period of light (time in seconds for one complete
cycle).
(7c) Flash length in seconds. For complex or multiple
flashes, explain in column (7j).
(7d) Color of light.
(7e) Position by two or more horizontal angles, or bearing
and distance from a prominent charted landmark. If a
prominent charted landmark is not available, show latitude
and longitude as precisely as the chart permits.
(7f) Depth of water at buoy or structure (if marine site). All
depths are measured from mean low water except on Great
Lakes where depths are measured from low water datum.
(7g) Candlepower, if known; otherwise, include the
following information in column (7j); lens size, lamp voltage
and amperage if electric, or details of other illuminant to be
used.
(7h) Height of light or unlighted structure above water.
Height is measured from mean high water except in the Great
Lakes where heights are measured from low water datum
shown on U.S. Lake Survey Charts. The height of a light on a
buoy is measured from the water line.
(7i) Include details of structure (type, color).
(7j) Used for the following specific information, plus any
other useful details: a. buoys - size, shape, color, and
reflective material used; b. structures - daymark shape and
color; c. fog signal on a buoy or structure - type and model,
audible range, and characteristic (number of strokes or
blasts, period and blast length).

1. The rules, regulations, and procedures pertaining to private
aids to navigation are set forth in the copy of Code of Federal
Regulations; Title 33, Chapter 1, Part 66, on the back of this
page.
2. Three copies of the application for private aids shall be
forwarded to the Commander of the Coast Guard District in
which the aids will be located 30 days in advance of the
proposed action. Sections of charts or sketches showing the
work proposed shall accompany each application.
3. When making application for private aids to mark
structures and mooring buoys in navigable waters or to mark
the excavating or depositing of material therein, evidence is
required of the authorization obtained from Corps of
Engineers, Department of the Army, for such work. (Code of
Federal Regulations; Title 33, Part 209.120.)
4. The applicant shall complete all of Blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
and 10 for all new applications. When an aid is being
discontinued, Block 3 need not be completed. Block 6 shall
be completed whenever authorization is required to be
obtained from Corps of Engineers (See Instruction No. 3).
Columns of Block 7 will be completed as follows:
a. Unlighted buoys - 7a, 7e, 7f, and 7j.
b. Lighted buoys - 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h, and 7j.
c. Daybeacons - 7a, 7e, 7f (if applicable), 7h, 7i, and 7j.
d. Light on a structure - 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, 7f (if
applicable), 7g, 7h, 7i, and 7j.
When an aid is being changed, Block 8 shall be used to
describe the nature of the change.

7. Attach a section of chart showing the proposed location
of the aid(s) to navigation.
8. a. After receipt of the approved form the applicant will
advise the District Commander by telegram or other rapid
means of communications when the work authorized is
actually accomplished.
b. If the aids have not been installed within one year of
the approval date, the approved application is automatically
cancelled.
c. Any discrepancy in the operation of the aid(s) at any
time shall be reported to the Disctrict Commander by
telegram or other rapid means of communication in order that
Notices to Mariners may be issued. A discrepancy exists
whenever the aid is not as described in the approved
application, i.e., lack of signal, incorrect light characteristic, or
improper color, shape of position of shore structure or buoy.
The correction of the discrepancy will also be reported by the
same method.
9. All classes of private aids to navigation shall be
maintained in proper condition. They are subject to inspection
by the Coast Guard at any time and without prior notice to the
maintainer.

7. APPLICANT WILL FILL IN APPLICABLE REMAINING COLUMNS
FOR DISTRICT COMMANDERS ONLY

EXAMPLE OF USE OF APPLICATION
LIGHT

LIGHT LIST
NUMBER OR
PAGE

NAME OF AID

NO.
OR PER. FLASH COLOR
LTR. (7b) LGTH.
(7c)
(7d)
(7a)

(7e)

9 Ft.

2

200°T, 3425 yds from tank,
Bayview, VA.

7 Ft.

3

210°T, 2810 yds from tank,
Bayview, VA.

2 Ft.

218.5°T, 330 yds from tank,
Bayview, VA.

8 Ft.

5

4s

2.5s

0.4s

0.5s

WHITE

WHITE

STRUCTURE

HT.
DEPTH CANABOVE
OF
DLE
WATER POWER WATER
(7h)
(7f)
(7g)

205°T, 3540 yds from tank,
Bayview, VA.

1

U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, USCG, CG-2554 (Rev. 06-04)

POSITION

20

TYPE, COLOR, AND HEIGHT

REMARKS
(See Instructions)

(7i)

(7j)

6 Ft.

5' Lighted buoy - black
Nun buoy - Red
White reflector

20

7 Ft.

Single pile

2' square daymark - black

13 Ft.

5 - pile

3' square daymark - black

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