Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 2541

Protection of Children

We have analyzed this rule under E.O.

13045, Protection of Children from

Environmental Health Risks and Safety

Risks. This rule is not an economically

significant rule and does not concern an

environmental risk to health or risk to

safety that may disproportionately affect

children.

Environment

The Coast Guard considered the

environmental impact of this rule and

concluded that, under Section 2.B.2.,

Figure 2–1, paragraph 32(e) of

Commandant Instruction M16475.1C,

this rule is categorically excluded from

further environmental documentation

because promulgation of changes to

drawbridge regulations have been found

not to have a significant effect on the

environment. A written ‘‘Categorical

Exclusion Determination’’ is not

required.

List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117

Bridges.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, the Coast Guard amends 33

CFR part 117, as follows:

PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE

OPERATION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 117

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33

CFR 1.05–1(g); section 117.255 also issued

under the authority of Pub. L. 102–587, 106

Stat. 5039.

2. Revise § 117.897(a)(1), introductory

text, to read as follows:

§ 117.897 Willamette River.

(a) * * *

(1) The draws shall open on signal

except that from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4

p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday

the draws of the Broadway, Steel (upper

deck only), Burnside, Morrison, and

Hawthorne Bridges need not open for

the passage of vessels. These closed

periods are not effective on New Year’s

Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July,

Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and

Christmas Day. At least one hour’s

notice shall be given for openings of the

Steel Bridge (upper deck only),

Burnside Bridge and Morrison Bridge,

Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to

5 p.m. At all other times at least two

hours notice shall be given. Notice shall

be given by marine radio, telephone, or

other means to the drawtender at the

Broadway Bridge for vessels bound

upstream and to the drawtender at the

Hawthorne Bridge for vessels bound

downstream. During Rose Festival Week

or when the water elevation reaches and

remains above +12 feet, the draws will

open on signal without advance notice,

except during the normal closed periods

identified in this paragraph (a)(1).

Opening signals are as follows:

* * * * *

Dated: December 21, 1999.

Paul M. Blayney,

Rear Admiral, Coast Guard, Commander,

Thirteenth Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 00–1030 Filed 1–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–00–001]

Drawbridge Operation Regulations:

Chelsea River, MA

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation

from regulations.

SUMMARY: The Commander, First Coast

Guard District, has issued a temporary

deviation from the drawbridge operation

regulations for the P.J. McArdle Bridge,

mile 0.3, across the Chelsea River

between Chelsea and East Boston,

Massachusetts. This deviation from the

regulations allows the bridge owner to

keep the bridge in the closed position

from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m.

to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday;

except that, if high tide occurs during

the closed period, the bridge must open

promptly and fully for the passage of

vessels when a request to open is given.

This action is necessary to facilitate

vehicular and pedestrian traffic during

emergency repairs to the electrical

system at the bridge.

DATES: This deviation is effective

January 6, 2000, through March 5, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

McDonald, Project Officer, First Coast

Guard District, at (617) 223–8364.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The P.J.

McArdle Bridge, mile 0.3, across the

Chelsea River between Chelsea and East

Boston, Massachusetts, has a vertical

clearance of 21 feet at mean high water,

and 30 feet at mean low water in the

closed position. The existing operating

regulations in 33 CFR 117.593 require

the bridge to open on signal at all times.

The bridge owner, the City of Boston,

requested a temporary deviation from

the operating regulations to facilitate

vehicular and pedestrian traffic during

electrical repairs at the bridge. The

submarine electrical cable for the bridge

was damaged during harbor dredging

operations requiring emergency repairs

to be implemented in order to restore

bridge operation and facilitate marine

traffic.

A temporary auxiliary operating

system has been installed to open the

bridge; however, it operates very slowly.

Bridge openings may exceed an hour

and a half which will create significant

traffic delays until the bridge repairs are

completed. This deviation is expected to

help facilitate vehicular and pedestrian

traffic during the week day rush hour

periods.

This deviation to the operating

regulations allows the City of Boston to

keep the bridge in the closed position

from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m.

to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday;

except that, if high tide occurs during

the closed period, the bridge must open

promptly and fully for the passage of

vessels when a request to open is given.

In accordance with 33 CFR 117.35(c),

this work will be performed with all due

speed in order to return the bridge to

normal operation as soon as possible.

This deviation from the operating

regulations is authorized under 33 CFR

117.35.

Dated: January 7, 2000.

Robert F. Duncan,

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Acting

Commander, First Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 00–1029 Filed 1–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–U

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Part 301–51

[FTR Interim Rule 8]

RIN 3090–AG92

Federal Travel Regulation; Mandatory

Use of the Travel Charge Card;

Correction

AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide

Policy, GSA.

ACTION: Interim rule; correction.

SUMMARY: This document makes

corrections to FTR Interim Rule 8

appearing in the Federal Register of

Friday, July 16, 1999 (64 FR 38528),

which amends the Federal Travel

Regulation (FTR) provisions pertaining

to payment by the Government of

expenses connected with official

Government travel.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 16, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim

Harte, Travel and Transportation

Management Policy Division, telephone

(202) 501–1538.

2542 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

document 99–18291 beginning on page

38528 in the issue of Friday, July 16,

1999, make the following corrections:

PART 301–5—[CORRECTED]

1. On page 38528, in the second

column, correct amendatory instruction

1. to read as follows:

‘‘1. The authority citation for part

301–51 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5707.’’

2. On page 38528, second column,

add new amendatory instruction 1a.

immediately after amendatory

instruction 1. to read as follows:

‘‘1a. Part 301–51 is amended by

revising subpart A to read as follows:

3. On page 38528, second column,

correct the heading ‘‘PART 301–51—

PAYING TRAVEL EXPENSES’’ to read

‘‘Subpart A—General’’.

4. On page 38528, third column,

fourth line, remove the words

‘‘Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5707.’’.

5. On page 38528, third column, add

‘‘Subpart A—General’’ immediately

preceding § 301–51.1.

Dated: January 11, 2000.

Peggy G. DeProspero,

Deputy Director, Travel and Transportation

Management Policy Division.

[FR Doc. 00–1025 Filed 1–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–34–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 51

[CC Docket No. 96–98; FCC 99–238]

Revision of the Commission’s Rules

Specifying the Portions of the Nation’s

Local Telephone Networks That

Incumbent Local Telephone

Companies Must Make Available to

Competitors

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document revises rules

applicable to incumbent local exchange

carriers (LECs) to permit competitive

carriers to access portions of the

incumbent LECs’ networks on an

unbundled basis. Unbundling allows

competitors to lease portions of the

incumbent LECs’ network to provide

telecommunications services. These rule

changes are intended to remove

uncertainty regarding the incumbent

LECs’ unbundling obligations under the

Telecommunications Act of 1996 and

are expected to accelerate the

development of local exchange

competition.

DATES: Effective February 17, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Claudia Fox, Attorney Advisor,

Common Carrier Bureau, Policy and

Program Planning Division, 202–418–

1580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Third

Report and Order, (Third) and Fourth

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(Fourth FNPRM) in CC Docket No. 96–

98 (62 FR 45611, August 28, 1997)) FCC

99–238, adopted September 15, 1999,

and released November 5, 1999. The

final rules associated with the Third

R&O are effective 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register

except to the extent specified in the

following regulations: the requirement

to provide access on an unbundled basis

to dark fiber as set forth in

§ 51.319(a)(1); the requirement to

provide access on an unbundled basis to

subloops and inside wire as set forth in

§ 51.319(a)(2); the requirement to

provide access on an unbundled basis to

packet switching in the limited

circumstances set forth in § 51.319(c)(5);

the requirement to provide access on an

unbundled basis to dark fiber transport

as set forth in § 51.319(d)(1)(ii); the

requirement to provide access on an

unbundled basis to the Calling Name

Database, 911 Database, and E911

Database as set forth in § 51.319(e)(2)(i);

and the requirement to provide access

on an unbundled basis to loop

qualification information as set forth in

§ 51.319(g). The Commission also

adopted a Fourth Further Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (Fourth FNPRM)

in CC Docket No. 96–98 on September

15, 1999 and released it on November 5,

1999. The Fourth FNPRM seeks

comment on certain issues associated

with a requesting carrier’s ability to use

unbundled network elements to provide

exchange access service. A complete

summary of the Fourth FNPRM is

published in the Federal Register

separately from this summary of the

Third R&O in CC Docket No. 96–98.

Any final rules that the Commission

eventually adopts in connection with

the Fourth FNPRM will also be

published in the Federal Register as

required. On November 24, 1999, the

Commission adopted and released a

Supplemental Order in CC Docket No.

96–98, FCC 99–370, that modifies the

Third R&O and Fourth FNPRM with

regard to the use of unbundled network

elements to provide exchange access

services. The complete text of the Third

R&O and Fourth FNPRM, the Erratum

and the Supplemental Order are

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Information Center,

Courtyard Level, 445 12th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C., and also may be

purchased from the Commission’s copy

contractor, International Transcription

Services (ITS, Inc.), CY–B400, 445 12th

Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. It is also

available via the internet at the

Commission’s home page, http://

www.fcc.gov/ccb/Orders/index6.html.

Synopsis of the Third Report and Order

and Supplemental Order

1. The Commission adopts a Third

Report and Order (Third R&O) in CC

Docket No. 96–98 specifying which

portions of their networks incumbent

LECs must lease to competitive carriers

on an unbundled basis. Specifically, the

Commission defines the standard it will

use, as set forth in section 251(d)(2) of

the Telecommunications Act of 1996

(1996 Act), to determine which network

elements the incumbent LEC must

unbundle. It then applies that standard

to individual network elements to

determine if incumbent LECs must

provide unbundled access to them. The

Third R&O and accompanying rules will

benefit consumers by accelerating the

development of competitive choices for

local telecommunications services.

2. The rules changes were needed to

respond to a U.S. Supreme Court

decision ( AT&T v. Iowa Utils. Bd, 119

S.Ct. 721 (1999)) that affirmed the

Commission’s implementation of the

local competition requirements of the

1996 Act, but that required the

Commission to re-evaluate the standard

that it uses to determine which network

elements the incumbent LECs must

unbundle. The standard is set out in

section 251(d)(2) of the 1996 Act. It

requires the Commission, in

determining what network elements

should be made available for purposes

of section 251(c) of the 1996 Act, to

consider whether access to such

network elements that are proprietary in

nature is ‘‘necessary,’’ and whether the

failure to provide access to such

network elements would ‘‘impair’’ the

ability of a telecommunications carrier

seeking access to an element to provide

the services that it seeks to offer. The

Commission’s original rules

implementing section 251(d)(2) (Order,

61 FR 45476, August, 29, 1996) required

incumbent LECs to unbundle a network

element if (1) access to the element was

‘‘necessary’’, which it defined as a

prerequisite to competition, or if (2) a

requesting carrier’s ability to offer

competitive service was impaired,

which it defined as occurring if the

quality of service that the carrier could

provide without access to the element

declined, or the cost of providing the

service increased. The Supreme Court