[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24480-24481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-12171]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Licensing of Private Remote-Sensing Space Systems

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is 
considering revisions to its regulations for the licensing of private 
remote sensing space systems under Title II of the Land Remote Sensing 
Policy Act of 1992, 15 U.S.C. 5601 et seq. (1992 Act). To further this 
consideration, NOAA is sponsoring a public meeting to facilitate an 
exchange of ideas on significant issues between industry and 
government. The discussion will focus on those issues highlighted in 
NOAA's December 4, 1995, Notice of Inquiry (60 FR 62054) and the 
comments received in response.

DATES: The Public Meeting will be held on June 14, 1996 from 9:30 a.m. 
to 4:00 p.m., with a lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the United States Department of 
Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 4830, 14th Street & 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Parties interested in 
participating in the public meeting, particularly those that would like 
to present oral and/or written testimony, should contact Michael 
Mignono or Kira Alvarez (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). Comments 
received in response to the December 4, 1995 Notice of Inquiry may be 
viewed and/or copied by appointment from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 
NOAA, Federal Building 4, Room 3301, Suitland, MD. Copies of NOAA's 
Discussion Packages may be obtained by contacting Michael Mignogno.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael Mignogno, NOAA, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 
Information Service, (301) 457-5210 or Kira Alvarez, NOAA, Office of 
General Counsel, (301) 713-0053.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA is considering the need to revise its 
regulations for licensing operators of private remote-sensing space 
systems. It is holding a public meeting to promote the dialogue between 
the Government and industry which began with the publication of NOAA's 
December 4, 1995, Notice of Inquiry. NOAA will use the comments already 
received and the results of the meeting to determine whether new 
regulations are necessary and, if so, as a basis for NOAA to draft 
proposed regulations.
    The December 4, 1995 Notice of Inquiry stated that NOAA was 
particularly interested in comment on issues in four general areas. The 
Notice also announced the availability of discussion packages 
concerning these areas. The areas and issues highlighted were as 
follows:
    1. Review Procedures for License Applications.
    A. How can the process be improved and modified to provide 
transparency and predictability?
    B. What are the minimum informational requirements for a complete 
application?
    NOAA proposed that the Government abide by more formal 
administrative time limits and more detailed record keeping in making 
these determinations on an application.
    2. Should NOAA consider a different standard and/or procedures for 
restricting imaging to preserve national security/foreign policy 
interests than that established by PDD-23 and included in current 
licenses, i.e.:

    The Secretary of Commerce may, after consulting with the 
Secretary of Defense or State, as appropriate, require the licensee 
to stop imaging an area and/or stop distributing data from an area 
during any period when national security or foreign policy interests 
may be compromised.

    3. Review of Foreign Agreements.
    A. What agreements must be submitted for review? Is the existing 
focus appropriate, i.e. on agreements that give a foreign party some 
control over the operation of the system an important role in 
distributing data?What is the appropriate threshold for strictly 
financial arrangements.
    B. What process should be in place to inform applicants when the 
Government has identified a concern with a potential foreign agreement?
    Major comments received were as follows:
    1. General Issues: Commentors noted that there is an overall need 
for clearer definitions and standards in the regulations. Also, several 
commentors discussed the issue of proprietary information: comments 
received from the commercial remote sensing industry noted that all 
proprietary information submitted to NOAA should be protected from 
disclosure to the public; however, comments received from the news 
media noted that NOAA license application files should be open to the 
public, similar to the Federal Communications Commission broadcast 
license application files.
    2. Review Procedures: Comments received stated generally that the 
review period for license applications should be less than 120 days; 
several methods were proposed to help accomplish this, but most 
importantly the comments noted that NOAA should alert applicants as 
soon as possible about any defects that may delay processing the 
application.
    3. Standards for Restricting Imaging: Comments received noted that 
the regulations should clarify the standards as to when the 
distribution of imagery will be cut-off or limited due to national 
security and/or foreign policy reasons. The news media indicated in 
their comments that they would like a ``clear and present danger'' 
standard incorporated into the regulations, as well as procedural 
safeguards.
    4. Review of Foreign Agreements: Several comments suggested a 
tiered classification system whereby agreements with certain countries 
would receive less scrutiny than agreements with other countries. One 
comment suggested only the notification of the agreement to NOAA (but 
no forwarding of any documentation) for NOAA's certification that the 
agreement was in compliance with the license.
    In an issue related to foreign agreements, industry commentors 
suggested that the 25 per cent cap on foreign ownership should be 
raised to 40 per cent.
    All comments received on the December 4, 1995 Notice of Inquiry are 
available for public review by appointment from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 
at NOAA, Federal Building 4, Room 3301, Suitland, MD. They may be 
inspected and any comments may be copied in accordance with regulations 
published in part 4 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations. Further 
information about inspection and copying of records at this facility 
may be obtained by contacting NOAA (See FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT).
    The meeting will consist of panel discussions of the four topics 
listed above, as well as the issue of foreign investment agreements. 
Concerning the latter, NOAA would be interested in examples of 
regulation of foreign investment that have worked successfully in the 
context of other agencies.
    Parties interested in participating in the public meeting, 
particularly those that would like to present oral and/or

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written testimony, should contact NOAA (see ADDRESSES) so that NOAA can 
effectively coordinate the meeting and ensure an orderly proceeding.

    Dated: May 10, 1996.
Robert S. Winokur,
Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services.
[FR Doc. 96-12171 Filed 5-14-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-M