[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71619-71620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27399]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Emergency Beacon Registrations

AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before February 15, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0295 in the subject line of your 
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to: LT Marisa Gedney, SARSAT Operations Support Officer, NOAA/NESDIS/
SARSAT, NSOF. E/SPO53 4231 Suitland Rd, Suitland, MD 20746, (202) 709-
3202, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The United States, Canada, France, and Russia operate the Search 
and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (COSPAS/SARSAT), a satellite system 
with equipment that can detect and locate ships, aircraft and 
individuals in distress if an emergency radio beacon is being carried. 
This system is used to detect digitally encoded signals in the 406.000-
406.100 MHz range, coming from these emergency beacons. The 406.000-
406.100 MHz beacons transmit a unique identifier, making possible the 
ability to combine previously collected data associated with that 
beacon and transmit this vital data along with the beacon's position to 
the appropriate rescue coordination center.
    Persons buying 406.000-406.100 MHz emergency radio beacons are 
required to register them with NOAA prior to installation. These 
requirements are contained in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
regulations at 47 CFR 80.1061, 47 CFR 87.199 and 47 CFR 95.1402.
    The registration data is used to facilitate a rescue and to 
suppress the costly consequences of false alarms, which if unsuppressed 
would initiate the launch of a rescue mission and thereby deplete 
limited resources and possibly result in the loss of lives. This is 
accomplished through the use of the data provided to the rescue forces 
from the beacon registration database maintained by the NOAA's United 
States Mission Control Center (USMCC) for Search and Rescue, to contact 
the distressed person(s) or alternate party via a phone call or radio 
broadcast. Other data provides rescuers with descriptive material of 
the element in distress. The registration information must be kept up-
to-date.
    Four registration forms are used. The EPIRB (Emergency Position 
Indicating Radio Beacon) form is used for nautical beacons. The ELT 
(Emergency Locator Transmitter) form is used for aircraft beacons. The 
PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) is used to register portable beacons 
carried by individuals. Ship Security Alerting System (SSAS) beacons 
are carried aboard ships, are similar to EPIRBs and are used in the 
event of an emergency situation such as piracy or terrorism.
    These forms are being updated in response to the development of 
406MHz second generation beacons (SGBs), which are in development and 
are projected to be available to the public in 2023. Changes to the 
forms are as follows:
    23-Hex Beacon ID line: SGBs have 23-character hexadecimal unique 
identifiers. NOAA's 406 MHz Beacon Registration Database (RGDB) 
currently allows registrations for first generation beacons (FGBs) that 
contain 15-character hexadecimal identifiers. Once SGBs are on the 
market, beacon owners will have the capability to register either FGBs 
or SGBs in the RGDB. Even though each registration will be for only one 
beacon ID, the hardcopy registration form must contain separate lines 
for FGBs and SGBs due to the differing number of characters and their 
presentation on manufacture labels and packaging--FGB IDs are presented 
in

[[Page 71620]]

groups of 5-5-5 and SGB IDs will be 6-6-6-5.
    Old 23-Hex ID: This field was added to enable registration of a 
replacement SGB beacon. The RGDB will continue to capture data for both 
FGB and SBG replacements.
    Beacon Serial No.: This field was added to capture the beacon's 
serial number, which appears on the manufacturer-supplied label and/or 
on the beacon or its packaging. The serial number provides additional 
verification of the beacon ID and can be used by RGDB staff to resolve 
cases of incorrect or duplicate beacon IDs.
    Other: An Automatic Identification System (AIS) Maritime Mobile 
Service Identity (MMSI) number was added to the EPIRB form. The 
following fields were added to the PLB form to provide additional 
pertinent information to search and rescue (SAR) forces: Radio Call 
Sign (on EPIRB form), Vessel MMSI # (on EPIRB form), AIS MMSI # (just 
added to EPIRB form), and Aircraft Registration (Tail) No. (on ELT 
form).

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents may either: (1) Obtain the forms electronically via the 
internet at https://beaconregistration.noaa.gov, download, complete, 
sign and mail or fax or (2) register directly on the website, in which 
case the signature requirement is waived.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0295.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission: Revision.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or 
Tribal government; Federal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 337,241.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 84,311.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $2,282,298.77.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
regulations at 47 CFR 80.1061, 47 CFR 87.199 and 47 CFR 95.1402.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-27399 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
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