[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15105-15108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6063]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval 
to the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control 
number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not 
display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology; and (e) ways to further reduce the information 
collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.
    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be 
subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of 
information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before April 13, 
2012. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via fax 
202-395-5167, or via email [email protected]; and to 
Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [email protected] [email protected]> and to 
[email protected]. Include in the comments the OMB control number 
as shown in the ``Supplementary Information'' section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain>, (2) look for the section of the Web page called 
``Currently Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in 
the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, 
(4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of 
agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the 
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when 
the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the OMB 
control number of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. 
A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0027.
    Title: Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast 
Station, FCC Form 301.
    Form Number: FCC Form 301.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business and other for-profit entities; Not for profit 
entities; State, local or Tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,604 respondents and 8,040 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1-6.25 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third 
party disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 20,497 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $90,659,382.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
Sections 154(i), 303 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment(s): 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. To enhance the ability of 
federally recognized Native American Tribes to provide vital radio 
services to their citizens on Tribal lands, in the First R&O the 
Commission established a Tribal Priority for use in its radio licensing 
procedures. 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 Rule Making in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-
28. On December 28, 2011, the Commission adopted a Third Report and 
Order in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-190 (``Third R&O''). In the Third 
R&O the Commission further refined the use of the Tribal Priority in 
the commercial FM context, specifically adopting a ``threshold 
qualifications'' approach to commercial FM application processing.
    In the commercial FM context, the Tribal Priority is applied at the 
allotment stage of the licensing process. A Tribe or Tribal entity 
initiates the process by petitioning that a new Tribal Allotment be 
added to the FM Table of Allotments using the Tribal Priority. A 
petitioner seeking to add a Tribal Allotment to the FM Table of 
Allotments, like all other FM allotment proponents, must file FCC Form 
301 when submitting its Petition for Rule Making. Under the new 
``threshold qualification'' procedures adopted in the Third R&O, once a 
Tribal Allotment has been successfully added to the FM Table of 
Allotments using the Tribal Priority through an FM allocations 
rulemaking, the Commission will announce by Public Notice a Threshold 
Qualifications Window (``TQ Window''). During the TQ Window, any Tribe 
or Tribal entity that could qualify to add that particular Tribal 
Allotment may file an FCC Form 301 application for that Tribal 
Allotment. Such an

[[Page 15106]]

applicant must demonstrate that it meets all of the eligibility 
criteria for the Tribal Priority, just as the original Tribal Allotment 
proponent did at the allotment stage. If it wishes its previously filed 
Form 301 application to be considered at this stage, then during the TQ 
Window the original Tribal Allotment proponent must submit notice to 
process its pending Form 301 application immediately.
    If only one acceptable application is filed during the TQ Window, 
whether by the original Tribal allotment proponent submitting 
notification to process its previously filed Form 301, or by another 
qualified applicant, that application will be promptly processed and 
the Tribal Allotment will not be auctioned. In the event that two or 
more acceptable applications are filed during the TQ Window, the 
Commission will announce a limited period in which the parties may 
negotiate a settlement or bona fide merger, as a way of resolving the 
mutual exclusivity between their applications. If a settlement or 
merger is reached, the parties must notify the Commission and the staff 
will process the surviving application pursuant to the settlement or 
merger. If a settlement cannot be reached among the mutually exclusive 
applicants, the Tribal Allotment will be auctioned during the next 
scheduled FM auction. At that time, only the applicants whose 
applications were accepted for filing during the TQ Window, as well as 
the original Tribal Allotment proponent, will be permitted to bid on 
that particular Tribal Allotment. This closed group of mutually 
exclusive TQ Window applicants must comply with applicable established 
auction procedures.
    In the event that no qualifying party applies during the TQ Window, 
and the original Tribal allotment proponent requests that its pending 
Form 301 application not be immediately processed, the Tribal Allotment 
will be placed in a queue to be auctioned in the normal course for 
vacant FM allotments. When the Tribal Allotment is offered at auction 
for the first time, only applicants meeting the ``threshold 
qualifications'' may specify that particular Tribal Allotment on FCC 
Form 175, Application to Participate in an FCC Auction (OMB Control No. 
3060-0600). Should no qualifying party apply to bid or qualify to bid 
on a Tribal Allotment in the first auction in which it is offered, then 
the Tribal allotment will be offered in a subsequent auction and any 
applicant, whether or not a Tribal entity, may apply for the Tribal 
Allotment.
    Consistent with actions taken by the Commission in the Third R&O, 
Form 301 has been revised to accommodate applicants applying in a TQ 
Window for a Tribal Allotment. As noted above, an applicant applying in 
the TQ Window, who was not the original proponent of the Tribal 
Allotment at the rulemaking stage, must demonstrate that it would have 
qualified in all respects to add the particular Tribal Allotment for 
which it is applying. Form 301 contains a new question in Section II-
Legal titled ``Tribal Priority-Threshold Qualifications.'' An applicant 
answering ``yes'' to the question must provide an Exhibit demonstrating 
that it meets all of the Tribal Priority eligibility criteria. The 
Instructions for the Form 301 have been revised to assist applicants 
with completing the responsive Exhibit.
    In addition, Form 301 contains a new option under Section I-General 
Information-Application Purpose, titled ``New Station with Petition for 
Rulemaking to Amend FM Table of Allotments using Tribal Priority.'' A 
petitioner seeking to add a Tribal Allotment to the FM Table of 
Allotments must file Form 301 when submitting its Petition for Rule 
Making. This new Application Purpose field will assist the staff in 
quickly identifying Form 301 applications filed in connection with a 
petition to add a Tribal Allotment and initiating the ``threshold 
qualification'' procedures.
    This information collection is being revised to accommodate 
applicants applying in a Threshold Qualifications Window for a Tribal 
Allotment that had been added to the FM Table of Allotments using the 
Tribal Priority under the new ``threshold qualifications'' procedures 
adopted in the Third R&O.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0249.
    Title: Sections 74.781, 74.1281 and 78.69, Station Records.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business and other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Federal or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 13,811 respondents; 20,724 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: .375 hour-1 hour.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 11,726 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $8,295,600.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
Section 154(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment(s): No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: 47 CFR 74.781 requires the following:
    (a) The licensee of a low power TV, TV translator, or TV booster 
station shall maintain adequate station records, including the current 
instrument of authorization, official correspondence with the FCC, 
contracts, permission for rebroadcasts, and other pertinent documents.
    (b) Entries required by Sec.  17.49 of this Chapter concerning any 
observed or otherwise known extinguishment or improper functioning of a 
tower light:
    (1) The nature of such extinguishment or improper functioning.
    (2) The date and time the extinguishment or improper operation was 
observed or otherwise noted.
    (3) The date, time and nature of adjustments, repairs or 
replacements made.
    (c) The station records shall be maintained for inspection at a 
residence, office, or public building, place of business, or other 
suitable place, in one of the communities of license of the translator 
or booster, except that the station records of a booster or translator 
licensed to the licensee of the primary station may be kept at the same 
place where the primary station records are kept. The name of the 
person keeping station records, together with the address of the place 
where the records are kept, shall be posted in accordance with Sec.  
74.765(c) of the rules. The station records shall be made available 
upon request to any authorized representative of the Commission.
    (d) Station logs and records shall be retained for a period of two 
years.
    47 CFR 74.1281 requires the following:
    (a) The licensee of a station authorized under this Subpart shall 
maintain adequate station records, including the current instrument of 
authorization, official correspondence with the FCC, maintenance 
records, contracts, permission for rebroadcasts, and other pertinent 
documents.
    (b) Entries required by Sec.  17.49 of this chapter concerning any 
observed or otherwise known extinguishment or improper functioning of a 
tower light:
    (1) The nature of such extinguishment or improper functioning.
    (2) The date and time the extinguishment of improper operation was 
observed or otherwise noted.

[[Page 15107]]

    (3) The date, time and nature of adjustments, repairs or 
replacements made.
    (c) The station records shall be maintained for inspection at a 
residence, office, or public building, place of business, or other 
suitable place, in one of the communities of license of the translator 
or booster, except that the station records of a booster or translator 
licensed to the licensee of the primary station may be kept at the same 
place where the primary station records are kept. The name of the 
person keeping station records, together with the address of the place 
where the records are kept, shall be posted in accordance with Sec.  
74.1265(b) of the rules. The station records shall be made available 
upon request to any authorized representative of the Commission.
    (d) Station logs and records shall be retained for a period of two 
years.
    47 CFR 78.69 requires each licensee of a CARS station shall 
maintain records showing the following:
    (a) For all attended or remotely controlled stations, the date and 
time of the beginning and end of each period of transmission of each 
channel;
    (b) For all stations, the date and time of any unscheduled 
interruptions to the transmissions of the station, the duration of such 
interruptions, and the causes thereof;
    (c) For all stations, the results and dates of the frequency 
measurements made pursuant to Sec.  78.113 and the name of the person 
or persons making the measurements;
    (d) For all stations, when service or maintenance duties are 
performed, which may affect a station's proper operation, the 
responsible operator shall sign and date an entry in the station's 
records, giving:
    (1) Pertinent details of all transmitter adjustments performed by 
the operator or under the operator's supervision.
    (e) When a station in this service has an antenna structure which 
is required to be illuminated, appropriate entries shall be made as 
follows:
    (1) The time the tower lights are turned on and off each day, if 
manually controlled.
    (2) The time the daily check of proper operation of the tower 
lights was made, if an automatic alarm system is not employed.
    (3) In the event of any observed or otherwise known failure of a 
tower light:
    (i) Nature of such failure.
    (ii) Date and time the failure was observed or otherwise noted.
    (iii) Date, time, and nature of the adjustments, repairs, or 
replacements made.
    (iv) Identification of Flight Service Station (Federal Aviation 
Administration) notified of the failure of any code or rotating beacon 
light not corrected within 30 minutes, and the date and time such 
notice was given.
    (v) Date and time notice was given to the Flight Service Station 
(Federal Aviation Administration) that the required illumination was 
resumed.
    (4) Upon completion of the 3-month periodic inspection required by 
Sec.  78.63(c):
    (i) The date of the inspection and the condition of all tower 
lights and associated tower lighting control devices, indicators, and 
alarm systems.
    (ii) Any adjustments, replacements, or repairs made to insure 
compliance with the lighting requirements and the date such 
adjustments, replacements, or repairs were made.
    (f) For all stations, station record entries shall be made in an 
orderly and legible manner by the person or persons competent to do so, 
having actual knowledge of the facts required, who shall sign the 
station record when starting duty and again when going off duty.
    (g) For all stations, no station record or portion thereof shall be 
erased, obliterated, or willfully destroyed within the period of 
retention required by rule. Any necessary correction may be made only 
by the person who made the original entry who shall strike out the 
erroneous portion, initial the correction made, and show the date the 
correction was made.
    (h) For all stations, station records shall be retained for a 
period of not less than 2 years. The Commission reserves the right to 
order retention of station records for a longer period of time. In 
cases where the licensee or permittee has notice of any claim or 
complaint, the station record shall be retained until such claim or 
complaint has been fully satisfied or until the same has been barred by 
statute limiting the time for filing of suits upon such claims.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0716.
    Title: Sections 73.88, 73.318, 73.685 and 73.1630, Blanketing 
Interference.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; and Not-for-
profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 21,000 respondents; 21,000 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 to 2 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Third party disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 41,000 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: None.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
Section 154(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extend of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment(s): No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: 47 CFR 73.88 states that the licensee of each 
broadcast station is required to satisfy all reasonable complaints of 
blanketing interference within the 1 V/m contour.
    47 CFR 73.318(b) states that after January 1, 1985, permittees or 
licensees who either (1) commence program tests, (2) replace the 
antennas, or (3) request facilities modifications and are issued a new 
construction permit must satisfy all complaints of blanketing 
interference which are received by the station during a one year 
period.
    47 CFR 73.318(c) states that a permittee collocating with one or 
more existing stations and beginning program tests on or after January 
1, 1985, must assume full financial responsibility for remedying new 
complaints of blanketing interference for a period of one year.
    Under 47 CFR 73.88, and 73.685(d), the license is financially 
responsible for resolving complaints of interference within one year of 
program test authority when certain conditions are met. After the first 
year, a license is only required to provide technical assistance to 
determine the cause of interference. The FCC has an outstanding Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MM Docket No. 96-62, In the Matter of 
Amendment of Part 73 of the Commission's Rules to More Effectively 
Resolve Broadcast Blanketing Interference, Including Interference to 
Consumer Electronics and Other Communications Devices. The NPRM has 
proposed to provide detailed clarification of the AM, FM, and TV 
licensee's responsibilities in resolving/eliminating blanketing 
interference caused by their individual stations. The NPRM has also 
proposed to consolidate all blanketing interference rules under a new 
section 47 CFR 73.1630, ``Blanketing Interference.'' This new rule has 
been designed to facilitate the resolution of broadcast interference 
problems and set forth all responsibilities of the licensee/permittee 
of a broadcast station. To date, final rules have not been adopted.


[[Page 15108]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-6063 Filed 3-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P