[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87-88]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28652]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[WT Docket No. 03-187; DA 04-3891; DA 04-4021]


Migratory Birds Notice of Inquiry Proceeding

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The document gives parties an opportunity to comment on a 
report that Avatar Environmental, LLC, prepared as part of the Federal 
Communications Commission's Migratory Birds Notice of Inquiry 
proceeding. Avatar's report is entitled Notice of Inquiry Comment 
Review Avian/Communication Tower Collisions, Final, Prepared for 
Federal Communications Commission. The public notice also sets forth 
the due dates for the filing of comments and reply comments.

DATES: Comments are due February 14, 2005. Reply comments are due March 
14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for filing instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis Peraertz, Spectrum and 
Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, 
Federal Communications Commission, (202) 418-1879.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background About the Migratory Birds NOI Proceeding and Avatar's Report

    On August 20, 2003, the Commission released a Notice of Inquiry 
(NOI), In the Matter of Effects of Communications Towers on Migratory 
Birds, 68 FR 53696, September 12, 2003, to develop a record on how, and 
to what extent, migratory birds may be affected by our nation's 
communications infrastructure. The NOI sought comment on existing 
scientific research concerning the number of migratory bird collisions 
with communications towers and the role that specific factors, such as 
lighting, height and type of antenna structure, weather, location, 
physiographic features of sites, and migration paths, may have in 
increasing or decreasing the incidence of such collisions. A number of 
parties filed comments in which they referred to scientific studies of 
past incidents of migratory birds colliding with communications towers.
    To help the Commission evaluate these scientific studies, the 
Commission retained Avatar Environmental, LLC, (Avatar) an 
environmental risk

[[Page 88]]

consulting firm. After reviewing the scientific studies referred to by 
the comments and reply comments, Avatar submitted a report of its 
findings, entitled Notice of Inquiry Comment Review Avian/Communication 
Tower Collisions, Final, Prepared for Federal Communications 
Commission. The public notice gives parties an opportunity to comment 
on Avatar's report.
    Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four 
copies of each filing. All filings by mail (including U.S. Postal 
Service Express Mail, Priority Mail, and First Class Mail) must be sent 
to the Commission's Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Federal 
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th Street, 
SW., Washington DC 20054.
    All filings sent to the Commission by overnight delivery, e.g., 
Federal Express (other than by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and 
Priority Mail), must be sent to the Commission's Secretary, Marlene H. 
Dortch, Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
    All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered filings must be delivered 
to the Commission's filing location at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., 
Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002-4913. The filing hours at this facility 
are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before 
entering the building.
    Comments and reply comments will be available for public inspection 
during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Information Center, 
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, 
Washington, DC 20554. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section has 
instructions on how to review these documents electronically.

Additional Instructions for Filing and Reviewing Documents

    Parties who choose to file by paper should also submit their 
comments on diskette to: Louis Peraertz, Spectrum and Competition 
Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. 
The required diskette copies of submissions should be on 3.5-inch 
diskettes formatted in an IBM-compatible format using Microsoft Word or 
compatible software. Each diskette should be accompanied by a cover 
letter and should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The diskette 
should be clearly labeled with the commenter's name, proceeding, type 
of pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and the 
name of the electronic file on the diskette. The label should also 
include the following phrase ``Disk Copy--Not an Original.'' Each 
diskette should contain only one party's pleadings, preferably in a 
single electronic file. In addition, commenters must send diskette 
copies to the Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, 
Inc., 445 12th Street, SW., CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554.
    Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment 
Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. Given recent changes in 
the Commission's mail delivery system, parties are strongly urged to 
use the ECFS to file their pleadings. Comments filed through the ECFS 
can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. Generally, only one copy of an electronic 
submission must be filed. In completing the transmittal screen, 
electronic filers should include their full name, Postal Service 
mailing address, and the applicable docket number. Parties may also 
submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To receive filing 
instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail to 
[email protected], and should include the following words in the body of the 
message, ``get form .'' A sample form and 
directions will be sent in reply.
    These documents also will be available electronically from the 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System. Copies of filings in 
this proceeding may be obtained from Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 
Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, 
telephone (202) 863-2893, facsimile (202) 863-2898, or via e-mail at 
http://www.bcpiweb.com. To request materials in accessible formats for 
people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio 
format), send an e-mail to [email protected] or call the Consumer & 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 
(tty).

Federal Communications Commission.
William W. Kunze,
Chief, Spectrum and Competition Policy Division, Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau.
[FR Doc. 04-28652 Filed 12-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P