[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 158 (Thursday, August 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46099-46101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16174]


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EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Office of National Drug Control Policy


High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas; Petitions for Designation

AGENCY: Office of National Drug Control Policy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Office of National Drug Control Policy 
Reauthorization Act of 2006, Public Law 109-469, section 707(c), the 
Director, National Drug Control Policy is establishing regulations 
under which interested coalitions of law enforcement agencies from an 
area may petition for designation as a high intensity drug trafficking 
area.
    Public Comment: On June 4, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 106, Notices 
Page 30862-30864), the Executive Office of the President, Office of 
National Drug Control published Notice of its intent to issue this 
regulation. A 60-day public comment period was established. The June 4 
Notice stated that any written comments must be received by ONDCP via 
electronic mail or facsimile on or before August 3, 2007. In addition, 
an ONDCP staff point of contact was listed to provide additional 
information as appropriate. ONDCP did not receive any comments. 
Therefore, ONDCP is issuing this Notice of the agency's intent to 
publish a regulation identical to the document published on June 4, 
2007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, the ONDCP 
Reauthorization Act of 1998, and the ONDCP Reauthorization Act of 2006 
authorize the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy 
(ONDCP) to designate areas within the United States that exhibit 
serious drug trafficking problems and harmful impact of other areas of 
the country as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). The HIDTA 
Program provides federal resources to those areas to help eliminate or 
reduce drug trafficking and its harmful consequences. Law enforcement 
organizations within HIDTAs assess drug trafficking problems and design 
specific initiatives to reduce or eliminate the production, 
manufacture, transportation, distribution, and use of illegal drugs and 
money laundering.
    When designating a new HIDTA or adding counties to existing HIDTAs, 
the Director of ONDCP consults with the Attorney General, Secretary of 
Homeland Security, Secretary of Treasury, heads of national drug 
control agencies, and the appropriate governors, and considers the 
extent to which--
    (1) The area is a significant center of illegal drug production, 
manufacturing, importation, or distribution;
    (2) State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies have 
committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the 
area, thereby indicating a determination to respond aggressively to the 
problem;
    (3) Drug-related activities in the area are having a significant 
harmful impact

[[Page 46100]]

in the area, and in other areas of the country; and
    (4) A significant increase in allocation of Federal resources is 
necessary to respond adequately to drug-related activities in the area.
    The HIDTA Program helps improve the effectiveness and efficiency of 
drug control efforts by facilitating cooperation among drug control 
organizations through resource and information sharing, collocation, 
and implementing joint initiatives. HIDTA funds help Federal, State, 
local, and tribal law enforcement organizations invest in 
infrastructure and joint initiatives to confront drug trafficking 
organizations.
    Each HIDTA is governed by its own executive board comprised of 
Federal, State and local law enforcement officials from the designated 
HIDTA region. The executive boards facilitate interagency drug control 
efforts to eliminate or reduce drug threats.
    HIDTA-designated counties comprise approximately 13 percent of U.S. 
counties, and are present in 43 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, and the District of Columbia. The following 28 areas are 
designated HIDTAs:
    1990: Houston, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, South Florida, and 
Southwest Border (California, Arizona, New Mexico, and South and West 
Texas).
    1994: Washington/Baltimore (Maryland, Virginia, and District of 
Columbia) and Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands.
    1995: Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia/Camden.
    1996: Rocky Mountain (Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming), Gulf 
Coast (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi), Lake County (Indiana), 
Midwest (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South 
Dakota) and Northwest (Washington).
    1997: Michigan and Northern California.
    1998: Appalachia (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia), Central 
Florida, Milwaukee, and North Texas (Texas and Oklahoma).
    1999: Central valley California, Hawaii, New England (Connecticut, 
New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont), Ohio, 
and Oregon.
    2001: North Florida and Nevada.
    To date, counties seeking HIDTA designation have communicated their 
interest to ONDCP in a variety of manners. Currently, no formal process 
or regulation exists outlining the application and selection process.
    Historically, law enforcement coalitions interested in obtaining 
designation as HIDTAs have submitted drug-related threat assessments 
for their counties which typically include a narrative analysis of the 
drug threat and statistical information related to the four statutory 
criteria. The proposed rule is intended to create a better coordinated 
and more meaningful process for reviewing applications. The rule sets 
forth a general process that enables interested coalitions of law 
enforcement agencies to submit petition for designation as a HIDTA. The 
criteria by which ONDCP will evaluate the petitions are set forth in 
this regulation. In addition, the proposed rule requires ONDCP to 
review submitted petitions on a regular basis.

Sec. 1 General Provisions

    (a) This regulation contains the rules that the Office of National 
Drug Control Policy (Office) follows in processing petitions for 
designation as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), in 
accordance with the ONDCP Reauthorization Act of 2006, Public Law No. 
109-469.
    (b) Establishment--
    (1) In General--There is established in the Office a program known 
as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (in this 
regulation referred to as the ``Program'').
    (2) Purpose--The purpose of the Program is to reduce drug 
trafficking and drug production in the United States by--
    (A) Facilitating cooperation among Federal, State, local, and 
tribal law enforcement agencies to share information and implement 
coordinated enforcement activities;
    (B) Enhancing law enforcement intelligence sharing among Federal, 
State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies;
    (C) Providing reliable law enforcement intelligence to law 
enforcement agencies needed to design effective enforcement strategies 
and operations; and
    (D) Supporting coordinated law enforcement strategies which 
maximize use of available resources to reduce the supply of illegal 
drugs in designated areas and in the United States as a whole.
    (c) Designation--
    (1) In General--The Director, in consultation with the Attorney 
General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, heads of the National Drug Control Program agencies, and the 
Governor of each applicable State, may designate any specified area of 
the United States as a high intensity drug trafficking area.
    (2) Activities--After making a designation under paragraph (1) and 
in order to provide Federal assistance to the area so designated, the 
Director may--
    (A) Obligate such sums as are appropriated for the Program;
    (B) Direct the temporary reassignment of Federal personnel to such 
area, subject to the approval of the head of the department or agency 
that employs such personnel;
    (C) Take any other action authorized under the Office of National 
Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 to provide increased 
Federal assistance to those areas; and
    (D) Coordinate activities under this section (specifically 
administrative, recordkeeping, and funds management activities) with 
State, local, and tribal officials.
    (3) Factors for Consideration--In considering whether to designate 
an area as a high intensity drug trafficking area, the Director shall 
consider, in addition to such other criteria as the Director considers 
to be appropriate, the extent to which--
    (A) The area is a significant center of illegal drug production, 
manufacturing, importation, or distribution;
    (B) State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies have 
committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the 
area, thereby indicating a determination to respond aggressively to the 
problem;
    (C) Drug-related activities in the area are having a significant 
harmful impact in the area, and in other areas of the country; and
    (D) A significant increase in allocation of Federal resources is 
necessary to respond adequately to drug-related activities in the area.

Sec. 2 Instructions for Petitions

    (a) A coalition of interested law enforcement agencies from an area 
may petition for designation as a HIDTA.
    (b) Petitions must specify the geographical area for which HIDTA 
designation is requested. Areas are designated by county, therefore, 
such areas must be identified in the petition.
    (c) Petitions must state specifically which law enforcement 
agencies are making the petition, a responsible official for each 
agency making the petition, and a point of contact for the coalition of 
interested law enforcement agencies.
    (d) Petitions must include an assessment of the threat of illegal 
drugs in the area for which HIDTA designation is requested and must 
specifically respond to each of the following four requirements:

[[Page 46101]]

    (1) The area is a significant center of illegal drug production, 
manufacturing, importation, or distribution;
    (2) State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies have 
committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the 
area, thereby indicating a determination to respond aggressively to the 
problem;
    (3) Drug-related activities in the area are having a significant 
harmful impact in the area, and in other areas of the country; and
    (4) A significant increase in allocation of Federal resources is 
necessary to respond adequately to drug-related activities in the area.
    (e) Each of the requirements in Section 2(d) must be addressed and 
justified with sufficient information/documentation for each county 
proposed in the petition.
    (f) If the petition proposes to designate additional counties to an 
already established HIDTA region, the petition shall include a letter 
from the Chairman of that HIDTA's Executive Committee indicating that 
the Executive Committee has reviewed the petition and sets forth its 
position related to the petition for designation.
    (g) Petitions may be submitted to the Executive Office of the 
President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Office of State, 
Local and Tribal Affairs, Washington, DC 20503 via facsimile at (202) 
395-6721 or electronic mail at [email protected].
    Comments or questions regarding this notice should be directed to 
Mr. Daniel Grayson, ONDCP Policy Analyst at (202) 395-4582.

Sec. 3 Processing of Petitions

    (a) Acknowledgements of Petitions. Upon receipt of a petition, the 
Office shall send an acknowledgement letter to the requester to confirm 
receipt of the petition and provide an assigned number for further 
reference.
    (b) Petitions will be reviewed by the Office on a regular basis. 
The review will include a recommendation regarding the merit of the 
petition to the Director by a panel of qualified, independent experts 
who are designated by the Director.
    (c) Notification of merit of petition. After the review is 
completed the requestor will be notified in writing regarding the 
disposition of the petition.
    (d) The Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy, is solely 
responsible for making designation and funding decisions relating to 
the HIDTA Program.

Michael K. Gottlieb,
Assistant General Counsel, Office of National Drug Control Policy.
 [FR Doc. E7-16174 Filed 8-15-07; 8:45 am]
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