There is general concurrence from Volusia, Seminole, Brevard, Orange and Lake Counties, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission’s field office in Ocala, and the FWC Boating and Waterways Section, that enactment of the restricted areas based on water levels and gauge readings within segments of the St. Johns River, its associated lakes, and its tributaries is essential for the protection of public safety. The boating restricted areas established in this emergency rule shall be active and enforceable only when the water levels are as specified in each area. The Commission established regulations based on the United States Geological Survey gauge levels as displayed by the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. These river levels are available in real time to the general public and to law enforcement agencies through the National Weather Service’s web site at www.weather.gov/ahps. This emergency rulemaking is being coordinated with the United States Coast Guard, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the sheriffs of the affected counties. The Commission has consulted with the Executive Office of the Governor and through the sheriffs of the respective counties coordinated this action with the Board of County Commissioners of each county in which the restricted areas are located. The emergency rule will be forwarded to the United States Coast Guard Seventh District for publication in their weekly Local Notice to Mariners. The boating public will be notified by publication in the local notice, by marine VHF radio broadcast of the Coast Guard’s local notice, by personal contact from law enforcement officers, and by regulatory markers posted at boat ramps and other access points to the boating restricted areas. Because the water levels on the St. Johns River are in constant flux, varying in response to wind directions, wind speed, and accumulated rainfall, the danger to life and property is such that normal rulemaking procedures would not adequately protect the public from the anticipated harm. The procedures used in this emergency rulemaking action are therefore fair under the circumstances.