[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42574-42577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18151]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 73 and 74

[MB Docket No. 09-52; FCC 11-28]


Policies To Promote Rural Radio Service and To Streamline 
Allotment and Assignment Procedures

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rules; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, 
the information collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 73.7000, 
FCC Forms 301 and 340 and the AM Auction Section 307(b) Submissions. 
The information collection requirements were approved on July 5, 2011 
and July 11, 2011 by OMB.

DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 73.7000, FCC Forms 301 and 340 and the 
AM Auction Section 307(b) Submissions, published at 76 FR 18942, April 
6, 2011, are effective on July 19, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information contact 
Cathy Williams on (202) 418-2918 or via e-mail to: 
[email protected] (mailto: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that on July 5, 2011 
and July 11, 2011, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the 
information collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 73.7000, FCC 
Forms 301 and 340 and the AM Auction Section 307(b) Submissions. The 
Commission publishes this document to announce the effective date of 
this rule section and form revisions. See, In the Matter of Policies to 
Promote Rural Radio Service and to Streamline Allotment and Assignment 
Procedures, MB Docket No. 09-52; FCC 11-28, 76 FR 18942, April 6, 2011.

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the Commission is notifying the public that it received OMB 
approval on July 5 and July 11, 2011, for the information collection 
requirement contained in 47 CFR 73.7000, Forms 301 and 340 and the AM 
Auction Section 307(b) Submissions . Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a current, valid OMB Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a valid OMB Control Number.
    The OMB Control Numbers are 3060-0027, 3060-0029 and 3060-0996 and 
the total annual reporting burdens for respondents for this information 
collection are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0027.
    Title: Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast 
Station, FCC Form 301.
    OMB Approval Date: July 5, 2011.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2014.
    Form Number: FCC Form 301.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
entities; State, local or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,544 respondents; 7,980 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1- 6.25 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third-
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
contained in Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 20,257 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $88,116,793.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

[[Page 42575]]

    Needs and Uses: On January 28, 2010, the Commission adopted a First 
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket 
No. 09-52, FCC 10-24. On March 3, 2011, the Commission adopted a Second 
Report and Order (``Second R&O''), First Order on Reconsideration, and 
Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket No. 09-52, 
FCC 11-28. The Second R&O adopts modifications to the manner in which 
the Commission awards preferences to applicants under the provisions of 
Section 307(b) of the Act. For Section 307(b) purposes, licensees and 
permittees seeking to change community of license must demonstrate that 
the facility at the new community represents a preferential arrangement 
of allotments (FM) or assignments (AM) over the current facility. 
Applications that are submitted to change an existing radio facility's 
community of license must include an Exhibit containing information 
demonstrating that the proposed change of community of license will 
result in a preferential arrangement of allotments or assignments under 
Section 307(b).
    Consistent with actions taken by the Commission in the Second R&O, 
the Instructions to the Form 301 have been revised to incorporate the 
information that must be included in the Exhibit, which is responsive 
to the ``Community of License Change-Section 307(b)'' question in the 
Form 301. The Form 301 itself has not been revised, nor have any 
questions been added to the Form 301. Rather, the Instructions for the 
Form 301 have been revised to assist applicants with completing the 
mandatory, responsive Exhibit.
    The modifications to the Commission's allotment and assignment 
policies adopted in the Second R&O include a rebuttable ``Urbanized 
Area service presumption'' under Priority (3), whereby an application 
to locate or relocate a station as the first local transmission service 
at a community located within an Urbanized Area, that would place a 
daytime principal community signal over 50 percent or more of an 
Urbanized Area, or that could be modified to provide such coverage, 
will be presumed to be a proposal to serve the Urbanized Area rather 
than the proposed community.
    In the case of an AM station, the determination of whether a 
proposed facility ``could be modified'' to cover 50 percent or more of 
an Urbanized Area will be made based on the applicant's certification 
in the Exhibit that there could be no rule-compliant minor 
modifications to the proposal, based on the antenna configuration or 
site, and spectrum availability as of the filing date, that could cause 
the station to place a principal community contour over 50 percent or 
more of an Urbanized Area. In the case of an FM station, the 
determination of whether a proposed facility ``could be modified'' to 
cover 50 percent or more of an Urbanized Area will be based on an 
applicant's certification in the Exhibit that there are no existing 
towers in the area to which, at the time of filing, the applicant's 
antenna could be relocated pursuant to a minor modification application 
to serve 50 percent or more of an Urbanized Area. Specifically, an FM 
applicant would need to certify that there could be no rule-compliant 
minor modification on the proposed channel to provide a principal 
community signal over 50 percent or more of an Urbanized Area, in 
addition to covering the proposed community of license. In doing so, FM 
applicants will be required to consider all existing registered towers 
in the Commission's Antenna Structure Registration database, in 
addition to any unregistered towers currently used by licensed radio 
stations. Furthermore, we expect all applicants to consider widely-used 
techniques, such as directional antennas and contour protection, when 
certifying that the proposal could not be modified to provide a 
principal community signal over the community of license and 50 percent 
or more of an Urbanized Area.
    To the extent the applicant wishes to rebut the Urbanized Area 
service presumption, the Exhibit must include a compelling showing (a) 
that the proposed community is truly independent from the Urbanized 
Area; (b) of the community's specific need for an outlet of local 
expression separate from the Urbanized Area; and (c) the ability of the 
proposed station to provide that outlet.
    For applicants making a showing under Priority (4), other public 
interest matters, the Exhibit must provide a description of all 
populations gaining or losing third, fourth, or fifth reception 
service, and the percentage of the population in the station's current 
protected contour that will lose third, fourth, or fifth reception 
service, if any. The Commission will also require applicants to not 
only set forth the populations gaining and losing service under the 
proposal, but also the numbers of services those populations will 
receive if the application is granted, and an explanation as to how the 
proposal provides a preferential arrangement of allotments or 
assignments and advances the revised Section 307(b) policies.
    The Commission specifically stated that these modified allotment 
and assignment procedures will apply to any applications to change 
community of license that are pending as of the release date of the 
Second R&O, March 3, 2011. Therefore, an applicant with a pending 
community of license change application must file an amendment 
demonstrating how the proposal represents a preferential arrangement of 
allotments or assignments under the policy modifications adopted in the 
Second R&O. For example, an applicant claiming Priority (3) would have 
to file the above-referenced ``could be modified'' certification, if 
appropriate, or a showing to rebut the Urbanized Area service 
presumption, if applicable. Similarly, an applicant claiming Priority 
(4) will have to make a showing as to the populations gaining or losing 
service under the proposed community of license change, as well as the 
numbers of services those populations will receive if the application 
is granted, and an explanation as to how the proposal advances the 
revised Section 307(b) priorities set out in the Second R&O. Such 
amendments must be filed once the information collection requirements 
are approved by OMB and the effective date for the requirements is 
announced by the Commission. Finally, under Priority (4) applicants may 
offer any other information they believe pertinent to a public interest 
showing and relevant to the Commission's consideration.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0029.
    Title: Application for Construction Permit for Reserved Channel 
Noncommercial Educational Broadcast Station, FCC Form 340.
    OMB Approval Date: July 11, 2011.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2014.
    Form Number: FCC Form 340.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
entities; State, local or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,765 respondents; 2,765 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1-6 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third-
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
contained in Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 7,150 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $29,079,700.

[[Page 42576]]

    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: On January 28, 2010, the Commission adopted a First 
Report and Order in the Matter of Policies to Promote Rural Radio 
Service and to Streamline Allotment and Assignment Procedures, MB 
Docket No. 09-52, FCC 10-24 (released February 3, 2010). On March 3, 
2011, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order, First Order on 
Reconsideration, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB 
Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-28 (released March 3, 2011). In the First 
Report and Order, the Commission adopted the Tribal Priority proposed 
in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, with some modifications. Under 
the Tribal Priority, a Section 307(b) priority will apply to an 
applicant meeting all of the following criteria: (1) The applicant is 
either a Federally recognized Tribe or Tribal consortium, or an entity 
51 percent or more owned or controlled by a Tribe or Tribes; (2) at 
least 50 percent of the daytime principal community contour of the 
proposed facilities covers Tribal Lands, in addition to meeting all 
other Commission technical standards; (3) the specified community of 
license is located on Tribal Lands; and (4) the applicant proposes the 
first local Tribal-owned noncommercial educational transmission service 
at the proposed community of license. The proposed Tribal Priority 
would apply, if at all, before the fair distribution analysis currently 
used to evaluate noncommercial educational applications. The Tribal 
Priority does not prevail over an applicant proposing first overall 
reception service to a significant population. The First Order on 
Reconsideration modifies the initially adopted Tribal Priority coverage 
requirement, by creating an alternative coverage standard under 
criterion (2), enabling Tribes to qualify for the Tribal Priority even 
when their Tribal Lands are too small or irregularly shaped to comprise 
50 percent of a radio station's signal. In such circumstances, Tribes 
may claim the priority (i) if the proposed principal community contour 
of the station encompasses 50 percent or more of that Tribe's Tribal 
Lands, but does not cover more than 50 percent of the Tribal lands of a 
non-applicant Tribe, (ii) serves at least 2,000 people living on Tribal 
Lands, and (iii) the total population on Tribal Lands residing within 
the station's service contour constitutes at least 50 percent of the 
total covered population, with provision for waivers as necessary to 
effectuate the goals of the Tribal Priority. This modification will 
enable Tribes with small or irregularly shaped lands to qualify for the 
Tribal Priority. The First Order on Reconsideration also provides that, 
under criterion (2), even an applicant whose Tribal Lands would be 
covered by 50 percent or more of the proposed principal community 
contour (the original coverage standard set forth in the First Report 
and Order) may not claim the credit if the principal community contour 
would cover more than 50 percent of the Tribal Lands of a non-applicant 
Tribe.
    FCC Form 340 and its instructions have been revised to accommodate 
those applicants qualifying for the new Tribal Priority. After adoption 
of the First Report and Order, we added new Questions 1 and 2, which 
seek information as to the applicant's eligibility for the Tribal 
Priority and direct applicants claiming the priority to prepare and 
attach an exhibit, to Section III. The instructions for Section III 
were also revised to assist applicants with completing the new 
questions and preparing the exhibit. In the First Order on 
Reconsideration, the Commission added an alternative definition of 
``Tribal Coverage'' to that adopted in the First Report and Order. 
Accordingly, we have modified the instructions for Section III, 
Question 2, to comport with the new alternative Tribal Coverage 
definition. The form itself has not been revised, nor have any 
questions been added to Form 340.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0996.
    Title: AM Auction Section 307(b) Submissions.
    OMB Approval Date: July 5, 2011.
    OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2014.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
entities; State, local or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 210 respondents; 210 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-6 hours (average).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for the information collection requirements is 
contained in Sections 154(i), 307(b) and 309 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,029 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $2,126,100.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: On January 28, 2010, the Commission adopted a First 
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``First 
R&O'') in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 10-24. The First R&O adopted changes 
to certain procedures associated with the award of broadcast radio 
construction permits by competitive bidding, including modifications to 
the manner in which it awards preferences to applicants under the 
provisions of Section 307(b). In the First R&O, the Commission added a 
new Section 307(b) priority that would apply only to Native American 
and Alaska Native Tribes, Tribal consortia, and majority Tribal-owned 
entities proposing to serve Tribal lands. As adopted in the First R&O, 
the priority is only available when all of the following conditions are 
met: (1) The applicant is either a Federally recognized Tribe or Tribal 
consortium, or an entity that is 51 percent or more owned or controlled 
by a Tribe or Tribes; (2) at least 50 percent of the area within the 
proposed station's daytime principal community contour is over that 
Tribe's Tribal lands, in addition to meeting all other Commission 
technical standards; (3) the specified community of license is located 
on Tribal lands; and (4) in the commercial AM service, the applicant 
must propose first or second aural reception service or first local 
commercial Tribal-owned transmission service to the proposed community 
of license, which must be located on Tribal lands. Applicants claiming 
Section 307(b) preferences using these factors will submit information 
to substantiate their claims.
    On March 3, 2011, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order 
(``Second R&O''), First Order on Reconsideration, and Second Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-28. The 
First Order on Reconsideration modifies the initially adopted Tribal 
Priority coverage requirement, by creating an alternate coverage 
standard under criterion (2), enabling Tribes to qualify for the Tribal 
Priority even when their Tribal lands are too small or irregularly 
shaped to comprise 50 percent of a station's signal. In such 
circumstances, Tribes may claim the priority (i) If the proposed 
principal community contour encompasses 50 percent or more of that 
Tribe's Tribal lands, but does not cover more than 50 percent of the 
Tribal lands of a non-applicant Tribe; (ii) serves at least 2,000 
people living on Tribal lands, and (iii) the total population on Tribal 
lands residing within the station's service contour constitutes at

[[Page 42577]]

least 50 percent of the total covered population, with provision for 
waivers as necessary to effectuate the goals of the Tribal Priority. 
This modification will now enable Tribes with small or irregularly 
shaped lands to qualify for the Tribal Priority.
    The modifications to the Commission's allotment and assignment 
policies adopted in the Second R&O include a rebuttable ``Urbanized 
Area service presumption'' under Priority (3), whereby an application 
to locate or relocate a station as the first local transmission service 
at a community located within an Urbanized Area, that would place a 
daytime principal community signal over 50 percent or more of an 
Urbanized Area, or that could be modified to provide such coverage, 
will be presumed to be a proposal to serve the Urbanized Area rather 
than the proposed community. In the case of an AM station, the 
determination of whether a proposed facility ``could be modified'' to 
cover 50 percent or more of an Urbanized Area will be made based on the 
applicant's certification in the Section 307(b) showing that there 
could be no rule-compliant minor modifications to the proposal, based 
on the antenna configuration or site, and spectrum availability as of 
the filing date, that could cause the station to place a principal 
community contour over 50 percent or more of an Urbanized Area. To the 
extent the applicant wishes to rebut the Urbanized Area service 
presumption, the Section 307(b) showing must include a compelling 
showing (a) That the proposed community is truly independent from the 
Urbanized Area; (b) of the community's specific need for an outlet of 
local expression separate from the Urbanized Area; and (c) the ability 
of the proposed station to provide that outlet.
    In the case of applicants for new AM stations making a showing 
under Priority (4), other public interest matters, an applicant that 
can demonstrate that its proposed station would provide third, fourth, 
or fifth reception service to at least 25 percent of the population in 
the proposed primary service area, where the proposed community of 
license has two or fewer transmission services, may receive a 
dispositive Section 307(b) preference under Priority (4). An applicant 
for a new AM station that cannot demonstrate that it would provide the 
third, fourth, or fifth reception service to the required population at 
a community with two or fewer transmission services may also, under 
Priority (4), calculate a ``service value index'' as set forth in the 
case of Greenup, Kentucky and Athens, Ohio, Report and Order, 2 FCC Rcd 
4319 (MMB 1987). If the applicant can demonstrate a 30 percent or 
greater difference in service value index between its proposal and the 
next highest ranking proposal, it can receive a dispositive Section 
307(b) preference under Priority (4). Except under these circumstances, 
dispositive Section 307(b) preferences will not be granted under 
Priority (4) to applicants for new AM stations. The Commission 
specifically stated that these modified allotment and assignment 
procedures will not apply to pending applications for new AM stations 
and major modifications to AM facilities filed during the 2004 AM 
Auction 84 filing window.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-18151 Filed 7-18-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P