[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34213-34215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12076]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 11

[PS Docket Nos. 15-94, 15-91; FCC 21-77; FR ID 89691]


Emergency Alert System, Wireless Emergency Alerts; National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
has approved information collections associated with certain rules 
adopted in the Report and Order (NDAA21 Alerting Order). The Commission 
also announces that compliance with the rules is now required. The 
Commission also removes paragraphs advising that compliance was not 
required until OMB approval was obtained. This document is consistent 
with the NDAA21 Alerting Order and rules, which state the Commission 
will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a compliance 
date for the rule sections and revise the rules accordingly.

DATES: 

[[Page 34214]]

    Effective date: These rules are effective June 6, 2022.
    Compliance date: Compliance with 47 CFR 11.21 introductory text, 
(a) introductory text, and (a)(8) and 11.45(c), published at 86 FR 
46783 on August 20, 2021, is required as of June 6, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Fedeli, Attorney-Advisor, Public 
Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, Policy and Licensing Division at 
(202) 418-1514 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's 
Report and Order (NDAA21 Alerting Order), FCC 21-77, in PS Dockets 15-
91 and 15-94, released on June 17, 2021, published at 86 FR 46783 on 
August 20, 2021.
    This document announces that OMB approved the information 
collection requirements contained in 47 CFR 11.21 introductory text, 
(a) introductory text, and (a)(8) and 11.45(c).
    The Commission publishes this document as an announcement of the 
compliance date of the rules.
    Separately, the Commission observes that some of the information 
collection requirements made effective by this notice are required to 
be filed with the Commission using the Alert Reporting System (ARS) on 
or by July 5, 2022. See Federal Communications Commission, Alert 
Reporting System Available for Filing of State Emergency Alert System 
Plans, 86 FR 35089 (July 1, 2021).
    If you have any comments on the burden estimates listed below, or 
how the Commission can improve the collections and reduce any burdens 
caused thereby, please contact Nicole Ongele, Federal Communications 
Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB Control 
Numbers 3060-0207. Please include the relevant OMB Control Number in 
your correspondence. The Commission will also accept your comments via 
email at [email protected].
    To request materials in accessible formats for people with 
disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), 
send an email to [email protected] or call the Consumer and Governmental 
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
April 14, 2022, for the information collection requirements contained 
in the Commission's rules at 47 CFR 11.21 introductory text, (a) 
introductory text, and (a)(8) and 11.45(c).
    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 current, valid OMB Control Number.
    The foregoing notification is required by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0207.
    OMB Approval Date: April 14, 2022.
    OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2025.
    Title: Part 11--Emergency Alert System (EAS), Order, FCC 21-77.
    Form No.: N/A.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 63,084 respondents; 3,588,845 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.017 hours-112 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual, on occasion and one-time reporting 
requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory and Voluntary. Statutory authority 
for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 
606 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 141,414 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission shares 
aggregated and individual State Emergency Alert System (EAS) Plan data 
on a confidential basis with other Federal agencies and state 
governmental emergency management agencies that have confidentiality 
protection at least equal to that provided by the Freedom of 
Information Act.
    Needs and Uses: Part 11 contains rules and regulations addressing 
the Nation's EAS. The EAS provides the President with the capability to 
provide immediate communications and information to the general public 
during periods of national emergency over broadcast television and 
radio, cable, direct broadcast radio and other EAS Participants, as 
defined in Sec.  11.11(a) of the Commission's rules. The EAS also 
provides state and local governments and the National Weather Service 
with the capability to provide immediate communications and information 
to the public concerning emergency situations posing a threat to life 
and property. Part 11 includes testing requirements to ensure proper 
and efficient operation of the EAS. State and local use of the EAS, 
alert processing requirements, and monitoring assignments covering the 
distribution of EAS alerts within the state, among other things, are 
required to be described in State EAS Plans that are administered by 
State Emergency Communications Committees (SECC) and submitted to the 
FCC annually for approval.
    The NDAA Alerting Order, pursuant to the directions set forth in 
Section 9201 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat. 
3388, section 9201 (NDAA21), among other things, (i) requires the 
Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to establish a 
State EAS Plan Content Checklist composed of the content set forth in 
Sec.  11.21 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 11.21, post the checklist 
on the FCC's website, and incorporate it as an appendix in the ARS user 
manual; (ii) amends the State EAS Plan requirements in Sec.  11.21 of 
the Commission's rules to ensure plans are updated annually, require a 
certification by the SECC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson that the SECC 
met (in person, via teleconference, or via other methods of conducting 
virtual meetings) at least once in the twelve months prior to 
submitting the annual updated plan, and require that the Bureau approve 
or reject State EAS Plans submitted for approval within 60 days of 
receipt; and (iii) requires the Bureau to list the approval dates of 
State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on the Commission's website, and in 
the event a final decision is made to deny a plan, directly notify the 
chief executive of the State to which the plan applies of that 
determination and the reasons for such denial within 30 days of such 
decision. The Order also amends Sec.  11.45 of the part 11 rules to 
enable voluntary reporting to the Commission by the FEMA Administrator 
and Tribal, State, local, and territorial governments of false EAS 
alerts.
    The Commission notifies the public of OMB approval of these rule 
amendments as a modification of a previously approved information 
collection. Congress has determined that EAS rule changes are necessary 
to increase oversight over the distribution of state and local EAS 
alerts within states and to increase false alert reporting capabilities 
to help ameliorate confusion or other harmful effects that might result 
from false EAS alerts. The internal State EAS Plan processing 
requirements and rule changes adopted in the Order will improve State 
EAS

[[Page 34215]]

Plan processing and administration, thereby improving the capabilities 
and efficacy of EAS as a national system for distributing vital alert 
information to all Americans in a cost-effective manner.
    The following information collections contained in part 11 may be 
impacted by the rule amendments described herein.

State EAS Plans (47 CFR 11.21)

    The establishment of a State EAS Plan Content Checklist for SECCs 
should have no impact or lessen SECC burdens, and posting it on the 
FCC's website, and incorporating it as an appendix in the ARS user 
manual, are routine Bureau activities. The requirement to ensure State 
EAS Plans are updated annually already was contained in Sec.  11.21, 
and thus does not represent a new burden.
    The requirement that the State EAS Plan include a certification 
(which will be incorporated into the ARS) by the SECC Chairperson or 
Vice-Chairperson that the SECC met (in person, via teleconference, or 
via other methods of conducting virtual meetings) at least once in the 
twelve months prior to submitting the annual updated plan to review and 
update its State EAS Plan should promote added diligence in SECC 
administration of State EAS Plans. The Commission estimates the burden 
to SECC members in complying with this requirement to be two hours per 
member.
    The rule amendment requiring the Bureau approve or reject State EAS 
Plans submitted for approval within 60 days of receipt does not impose 
new burdens on any entity. The Bureau already is charged with reviewing 
State EAS Plans. The internal requirement that the Bureau list the 
approval dates of State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on the Commission's 
website, and in the event a final decision is made to deny a plan, to 
directly notify the chief executive of the State to which the plan 
applies of that determination and the reasons for such denial within 30 
days, does not impose new burdens on any entity. The Bureau already 
maintains a web page on the Commission's website dedicated to SECC and 
State EAS Plan information.

False EAS Alert Reporting (47 CFR 11.45)

    The amendment enabling the FEMA Administrator and Tribal, State, 
local, and territorial governments to file reports of false EAS alerts 
provides another mechanism for the Commission to receive information 
concerning false EAS alerts and does not impose burdens on any entity. 
Should any permitted government entity voluntarily elect to file a 
false EAS alert report, the burden associated with this provision 
amounts to composing an email, which the Commission estimates will take 
an hour or less to prepare, and falls within the routine activities of 
government employees. False alert reports help the Commission to 
identify, investigate, correct and prevent false EAS activations, which 
enhances the EAS's efficacy and the public trust in the EAS.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 11

    Radio, Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 11 as follows:

PART 11--EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS)

0
1. The authority citation for part 11 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), 303(r), 544(g), 606, 
1201, 1206.


Sec.  11.21   [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  11.21 by removing paragraph (g).


Sec.  11.45   [Amended]

0
3. Amend Sec.  11.45 by removing paragraph (d).

[FR Doc. 2022-12076 Filed 6-3-22; 8:45 am]
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