7686 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 19 / Monday, February 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

reaching its final conclusions and taking 

action in this proceeding. 

Federal Rules That Duplicate, Overlap, 

or Conflict With the Proposed Rules 

37. None. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64 

Individuals with disabilities, 

Telecommunications, Telephones. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

Proposed Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend Title 47 

of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 64—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 

RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 64 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154, 201, 

202, 217, 218, 220, 222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 

228, 251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 262, 276, 

403(b)(2)(B), (c), 616, 620, 1401–1473, unless 

otherwise noted; Pub. L. 115–141, Div. P, sec. 

503, 132 Stat. 348, 1091. 

■ 2. Amend § 64.604 by adding 

paragraph (a)(4) to read as follows: 

§ 64.604 Mandatory minimum standards. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(4) Additional operational standards 

for captioned telephone service and IP 

CTS. Providers of captioned telephone 

service and IP CTS shall meet or exceed 

service quality standards for caption 

delay and accuracy. 

(i) Caption delay. Caption delay is the 

difference in time (in seconds) between 

when a word can be heard in the audio 

and when that word appears in the 

stream of captions on the caption user’s 

primary display. Average caption delay 

shall be no greater than [X.X] seconds. 

(ii) Caption accuracy. The accuracy of 

a captioned telephone conversation 

shall be measured as the Word Error 

Rate, with a lower Word Error Rate 

indicating a higher degree of accuracy. 

The Word Error Rate for a captioned 

telephone conversation is: 

(A) The number of word substitutions, 

omissions, and insertions in the 

captions divided by; 

(B) The total number of words in the 

voice communications being captioned. 

Accuracy shall be assessed for a caption 

as delivered to the caption user’s device 

within the minimum TRS standard for 

caption delay. A substitution error 

occurs when a spoken word is replaced 

with another word, an omission error 

involves the omission of a spoken word, 

and an insertion error consists of the 

addition of a word that has not been 

spoken. The average Word Error Rate 

shall be no more than [XX.X%]. 

(iii) Testing methodologies and 

procedures for caption delay and 

accuracy. (A) Sample size should be 

calculated to provide reliable and 

statistically significant information. 

(B) Test calls should mimic the proper 

use of the service. 

(C) Test calls should follow the 

structure of a natural telephone 

conversation. 

(D) Test calls should not be detectable 

as ‘‘test calls’’ by CAs. 

(E) Testing should be designed to 

evaluate service performance over a 

range of telephone audio conditions, 

accents, and dialects that are likely to be 

encountered by CTS and IP CTS users. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–01191 Filed 1–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Parts 223 and 226 

[Docket No. 201228–0357 and 201228–0358] 

RIN 0648–BC56, 0648–BJ65 

Endangered and Threatened Species; 

Designation of Critical Habitat for the 

Arctic Subspecies of the Ringed Seal 

and Designation of Critical Habitat for 

the Beringia Distinct Population 

Segment of the Bearded Seal; Public 

Hearings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: We, NMFS, will hold three 

public hearings on both our January 8, 

2021, revised proposed rule to designate 

critical habitat for the threatened Arctic 

subspecies of the ringed seal (Pusa 

hispida hispida) and our proposed rule 

to designate critical habitat for the 

threatened Beringia distinct population 

segment (DPS) of the Pacific bearded 

seal subspecies (Erignathus barbatus 

nauticus) under the Endangered Species 

Act (ESA). 

DATES: Public hearing conference calls 

will be held, convening at 4 p.m. and 

concluding no later than 7 p.m. Alaska 

Standard Time (AKST), on each of the 

following dates: February 23, 2021 

(Yukon-Kuskokwim and southwest 

Alaska); February 24, 2021 (Northwest 

Arctic Borough and northern Bering 

Sea); and February 25, 2021 (North 

Slope Borough). NMFS may close the 

hearings 15 minutes after the conclusion 

of public testimony and after 

responding to any clarifying questions 

from hearing participants about the 

proposed critical habitat designations. 

For each hearing, we encourage 

participation by members of the public 

wishing to provide oral comments 

specific to the regions indicated 

parenthetically. However, all hearings 

are open to all interested parties and at 

each hearing we will accept testimony 

regarding any area or aspect of the 

proposed critical habitat designations. 

Written comments must be received by 

March 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearings will be 

held by conference calls rather than at 

physical locations. Conference call 

information for all three hearings is the 

same: Telephone: (800) 201–3962, 

Conference Code: 651174. 

You may submit written data, 

information, or comments regarding the 

revised proposed rule to designate 

critical habitat for the Arctic ringed seal, 

identified by Docket ID NOAA–NMFS– 

2013–0114, and the proposed rule to 

designate critical habitat for the Beringia 

DPS of the bearded seal, identified by 

Docket ID NOAA–NMFS–2020–0029, by 

either of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov, search for the 

relevant Docket ID indicated above, 

click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ or 

‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete the required 

fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Jon Kurland, Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Protected Resources, 

Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: James 

Bruschi, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99082–1668. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. All comments received are a 

part of the public record and will 

generally be posted for public viewing 

on www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address), confidential 

business information, or otherwise 

sensitive information submitted 

voluntarily by the sender will be 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 19 / Monday, February 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules 7687 

The proposed rules and supporting 

documents are available in the dockets 

for the proposed rules at 

www.regulations.gov, and on the NMFS 

website at www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

action/designation-critical-habitatarctic-subspecies-ringed-seal and 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

designation-critical-habitat-beringiadistinct-population-segment-beardedseal. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Olson, NMFS Alaska Region, 

(907) 271–2373; or Jon Kurland, NMFS 

Alaska Region, (907) 586–7638. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On January 8, 2021, NMFS published 

a revised proposed rule to designate 

critical habitat for the threatened Arctic 

ringed seal (86 FR 1452) and a proposed 

rule to designate critical habitat for the 

threatened Beringia DPS of the bearded 

seal (86 FR 1433) under the ESA. Each 

proposed designation comprises an area 

of marine habitat in the northern Bering, 

Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. A particular 

area north of the Beaufort Sea shelf is 

proposed for exclusion from the 

proposed designation for the Arctic 

ringed seal based on national security 

impacts. The proposed rules opened a 

public comment period for each of the 

proposed designations through March 9, 

2021, and announced that public 

hearings would be held in Alaska. 

Public Hearings 

We will hold three public hearing 

conference calls to accept oral 

comments on both our revised proposed 

rule to designate critical habitat for the 

Arctic ringed seal and our proposed rule 

to designate critical habitat for the 

Beringia DPS of the bearded seal on the 

dates and at the times listed above (see 

ADDRESSES and DATES). Please see the 

Public Comments Solicited section of 

the January 8, 2021, proposed rules 

regarding the types of information and 

data we particularly seek. 

During each public hearing, NMFS 

will provide a brief opening 

presentation on the proposed critical 

habitat designations before accepting 

public testimony for the record. The 

hearings will be recorded for the 

purpose of preparing transcripts of oral 

comments received. Attendees will be 

asked to identify themselves before 

joining the hearing. Once connected to 

the call, telephone lines will be 

automatically muted. During the public 

testimony portion of the hearing, to 

indicate that you would like to offer a 

comment, press 5*. When it is your turn 

to offer your comment, the moderator 

will unmute your individual line. 

Commenters will be asked to indicate 

their full name and the identity of any 

organization on whose behalf they may 

be speaking. In the event that 

attendance at the public hearings is 

large, the time allotted for each 

commenter may be limited. 

Anyone wishing to make an oral 

statement at the public hearing is 

encouraged to also submit a written 

copy of their statement to us during the 

comment period by either of the 

methods identified above (see 

ADDRESSES and DATES). There are no 

limits on the length of written 

comments submitted to us. Written 

statements and supporting data and 

information submitted during the 

comment period will be considered 

with the same weight as oral statements 

provided during the public hearings. 

These public hearings are physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

People needing reasonable 

accommodations to participate in these 

hearings should submit a request as 

soon as possible, and no later than 10 

business days before the 

accommodation is needed, by 

contacting Tammy Olson (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: January 26, 2021. 

Angela Somma, 

Chief, Endangered Species Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02055 Filed 1–29–21; 8:45 am] 

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