[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 68 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18934-18935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07442]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 21-54; RM-11879; DA 21-163; FR ID 17507]


Television Broadcasting Services Peoria and Oswego, Illinois

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has before it a petition for rulemaking Four 
Seasons Peoria, LLC (Petitioner), licensee of television station WAOE, 
channel 10, Peoria, Illinois, requesting an amendment of the DTV Table 
of Allotments to delete channel 10 at Peoria, Illinois, and substitute 
channel 10 at Oswego, Illinois. Petitioner further requests 
modification of WAOE's license to specify Oswego as its community of 
license pursuant to the Commission's rules.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before May 12, 2021 and reply 
comments on or before May 27, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In addition to filing comments 
with the FCC, interested parties should serve counsel for petitioner as 
follows: Joan Stewart, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, 1776 Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaun Maher, Media Bureau, at (202) 
418-2324 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 21-54; RM-11879; DA 21-
163, adopted February 12, 2021, and released February 12, 2021. The 
full text of this document is available for download at https://www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request materials in accessible formats (braille, 
large print, computer diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an 
email to [email protected] or call the Consumer & Government Affairs 
Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (VOICE), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
    This document does not contain information collection requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In 
addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed information 
collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). Provisions of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, do not apply to 
this proceeding.
    Members of the public should note that all ex parte contacts are 
prohibited from the time a notice of proposed rulemaking is issued to 
the time the matter is no longer subject to Commission consideration or 
court review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are, however, exceptions to this 
prohibition, which can be found in Sec.  1.1204(a) of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a).
    See Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.420 of the Commission's rules for 
information regarding the proper filing procedures for comments, 47 CFR 
1.415 and 1.420.
    Petitioner does not propose any changes in WAOE's authorized 
facilities and will continue to provide a principal community coverage 
signal both Oswego and Peoria from its currently authorized 
transmission facilities. Petitioner maintains that the proposed 
community of license change is mutually exclusive with WAOE's current 
allotment and therefore its proposal satisfies the requirement that its 
proposed allotment be ``mutually exclusive with the licensee's present 
allotment.''
    Petitioner asserts that Oswego qualifies as a community for 
allotment purposes. Petitioner maintains that Oswego, which, noted 
above, currently has no local television allotment, is the largest 
community within Kendall County, Illinois. Petitioner states that 
Oswego's population has increased almost ten-fold from 3,875 in 1990 to 
34,383 today11 and is expected to double by 2040. Petitioner notes that 
Oswego has a fully autonomous municipal government led by a President 
and a seven-member Board of Trustees; as well as a professional 
management staff, led by a professional Village Administrator and a 
Village Clerk. Oswego has a full-service Police Department; schools, 
including six elementary schools, three junior high schools and two 
high schools; a Public Library District; and extensive Park District. 
Finally, Petitioner states that Oswego has its own ZIP Code; a local

[[Page 18935]]

newspaper (the Oswego Ledger-Sentinel); chamber of commerce; multiple 
medical facilities; and is part of a transit system dedicated to 
serving residents of Kendall County.
    Petitioner argues that its proposal represents a preferential 
arrangement of allotments under the Commission's second allotment 
priority because it will result in a first local television station for 
Oswego, which is the largest community in Kendall County, Illinois. 
Petitioner notes that WAOE's existing community of license, Peoria, 
will continue to have four full power local television stations 
licensed to it following the reallotment, and because WAOE is not 
proposing to modify its technical facilities, the community of license 
change will not adversely affect the service provided to Peoria. 
Accordingly, Petitioner concludes that application of the Commission's 
television allotment priorities favors a reallotment of channel 10 to 
Oswego.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.

Proposed Rule

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 73 as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303, 307, 309, 310, 334, 
336, 339.

0
2. In Sec.  73.622, paragraph (i) is amended in the Post-Transition 
Table of DTV Allotments under Illinois by adding an entry in 
alphabetical order for ``Oswego'' and revising the entry for ``Peoria'' 
to read as follows:


Sec.  73.622  Digital television table of allotments.

* * * * *
    (i) * * *

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                 Community                           Channel No.
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                                * * * * *
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                                ILLINOIS
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                                * * * * *
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Oswego....................................  10.
Peoria....................................  19, 25, 30, *46.
 
                                * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2021-07442 Filed 4-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P