33506 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules

TABLE 1.—EPA REGIONAL CONTACTS FOR MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTORS—Continued

Regional contact Phone

No. Fax No.

Douglas Aburano (MN), Mark Palermo (IL, IN, OH), Charles Hatten (MI, WI), U.S. EPA/AT18J, Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin), 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604.(312)

353–

6960

(312)

886–

6082

(312)

886–

6031

(312)

886–

5824

Mick Cote, U.S. EPA, Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas), 1445 Ross Ave., Suite 1200,

Dallas, TX 75202–2733.

(214)

665–

7219

(214)

665–

7263

Wayne Kaiser, U.S. EPA, Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska), 726 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101 (913)

551–

7603

(913)

551–

7065

Mike Owens, U.S. EPA, Region VIII (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming), 999 18th Street,

Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202–2466.

(303)

312–

6440

(303)

312–

6064

Patricia Bowlin, U.S. EPA/Air 4, Region IX (American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Nevada), 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.(415)

744–

1188

(415)

744–

1076

Catherine Woo, U.S. EPA, Region X (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington), 1200 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 ............. (206)

553–

1814

(206)

553–

0110

Administrative Requirements

Regulatory Flexibility Act/Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.), as

amended by the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of

1996 (SBREFA), generally requires EPA

to prepare a regulatory flexibility

analysis of any rule subject to notice

and comment under the Administrative

Procedure Act or any other statute

unless EPA certifies that the rule will

not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

Small entities include small businesses,

small organizations, and small

governmental jurisdictions.

For purposes of assessing the impacts

of this action on small entities, small

entity is defined as: (1) A small business

in this industry with a gross annual

revenue less than $6 million; (2) a small

governmental jurisdiction that is a

government of a city, county, town

school district or special district or a

population of less than 50,000; and (3)

a small organization that is any not-forprofit enterprise that is independently

owned and operated and not dominant

in its field.

This action is not subject to the

requirements of the RFA as modified by

SBREFA because it only makes minor

technical amendments to some of the

rule’s requirements and it does not

impose any additional requirements.

During the 1995 MWC emission

guidelines rulemaking, EPA estimated

that few, if any, small entities would be

affected by the promulgated guidelines

and standards, and therefore, a

regulatory flexibility analysis was not

required (see 60 FR 65413). Therefore,

pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C.

605(b), EPA certifies that the

amendments to the MWC Federal plan

will not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities and

a regulatory flexibility analysis is not

required.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 62

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: May 2, 2000.

Carol M. Browner,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–11812 Filed 5–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 20

[CC Docket No. 94–102; DA 00–1091]

Wireless E911; New Implementation

Deadline for TTY Access to Digital

Wireless Systems for 911 Calls

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Commission, in this

document, seeks comment on a

proposed revised deadline for

compliance with the Commission’s rule

requiring transmitting of text telephone

(TTY) 911 calls on digital wireless

systems. The Commission also seeks

information on other aspects of the

various TTY/digital wireless systems

compatibility solutions, including

consumer impacts, technical issues, etc.

The temporary waivers of the rule

previously granted by the Commission

will remain in place pending the

Commission’s establishment of an

implementation schedule based on the

information received in response to this

document. The action is needed to

establish a strong, inclusive record on

TTY issues that the Commission may

use in making well-informed decisions

in this critical enhanced 911 (E911)

proceeding.

DATES: Submit comments on or before

June 19, 2000; submit reply comments

on or before July 19, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments and reply

comments to the Office of the Secretary,

Federal Communications Commission,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick Forster, 202–418–1310.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Public

Notice in CC Docket No. 94–102, DA

00–1091, released May 17, 2000. The

complete text of the Public Notice is

available on the Commission’s Internet

site, at www.fcc.gov. It is also available

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Proposed Rules 33507

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC

Reference Information Center, Courtyard

Level, 445 12th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC, and may be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Services,

Inc., CY–B400, 445 12th Street SW.,

Washington, D.C. Comments may be

sent as an electronic file via the Internet

to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html,

or by e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov.

Synopsis of the Public Notice

1. The Commission seeks comment on

a proposed revised deadline for

compliance with the Commission’s rule

requiring transmitting of text telephone

(TTY) 911 calls on digital wireless

systems, pursuant to 47 CFR 20.18(c).

The Commission also seeks information

on other aspects of the various TTY/

digital wireless systems compatibility

solutions, including consumer impacts,

technical issues, etc. The temporary

waivers of the rule previously granted

by the Commission will remain in place

pending the Commission’s

establishment of an implementation

schedule based on the information

received in response to this Public

Notice.

2. The First Report and Order in this

proceeding (61 FR 40348, August 2,

1996) required that, as of October 1,

1997, all covered wireless carriers be

capable of transmitting 911 calls from

individuals with speech or hearing

disabilities through means other than

mobile radio handsets, e.g., through the

use of TTY devices. To date, however,

carriers operating digital wireless

systems have been unable to comply

with this requirement because digital

systems have been unable to accurately

pass the Baudot-encoded audio tones

produced by TTY devices. The

Commission suspended enforcement of

the TTY requirements until December

1998 and issued over 100 temporary

waivers of the rule, which remain

pending, while the industry worked on

a solution. Recent technological

developments now lead the Commission

to request further comment regarding an

implementation deadline for

compliance with § 20.18(c).

3. The Commission first seeks

comment on its tentative view that

December 31, 2001, represents a

reasonable deadline for implementation

of a digital wireless TTY solution. The

Commission proposes that all wireless

carriers begin complying with § 20.18(c)

on or before this date, and invites

comment on whether this deadline

would permit equipment manufacturers

and carriers sufficient time to complete

the tasks associated with implementing

a system solution of this kind.

Commenters are asked to identify the

specific tasks they expect to be required

to implement a TTY solution and to

provide estimates of how long each task

is expected to take.

4. In addition, the Commission seeks

comment on a possible program for

monitoring the progress of TTY

compatibility. Specifically, the

Commission invites comment on what

type of monitoring program might be

appropriate, whether additional

regulation is needed to facilitate

monitoring progress, and how the

Commission might best monitor the

progress of technological developments

and the adoption of standards.

5. The Commission solicits comment

regarding enforcement of compliance

with § 20.18(c). The Commission seeks

comment on the relationship of section

255(b) of the Communications Act of

1934 (which requires manufacturers to

ensure the accessibility of equipment)

and section 251(a)(2) of the Act (which

requires that carriers not install network

features, functions, or capabilities that

do not comply with the guidelines and

standards established pursuant to

section 255) to implementation of

§ 20.18(c). The Commission also seeks

comment on whether and how the

Commission might use its equipment

authorization process to enforce

compliance with § 20.18(c).

6. The Commission further invites

comment on the impact of TTY/digital

wireless compatibility solutions on

consumers. The Commission

emphasizes that carriers are expected to

make their digital wireless systems

compatible with TTY devices without

causing potential adverse impacts to

consumers. Thus, the Commission

invites comment on what negative

impacts to consumers might result from

TTY compatibility efforts, the extent

and nature of costs and/or

inconveniences to consumers, and, to

the extent that any additional costs or

inconveniences are identified, what

steps carriers can take to eliminate or

mitigate such adverse impacts,

especially those that could affect safety

of life.

7. The Commission also seeks

comment on Ericsson’s proposed

solution for TTY/GSM compatibility,

which will apparently involve a ‘‘smart

cable’’ that itself operates to convert the

Baudot tones to a new signal that is

suited for transfer over a digital voice

path without the need for software

changes in the handset. The

Commission requests comment on

whether this type of solution for GSM,

or any other similar cable, will be

acceptable to TTY users, and whether

this type of solution will impose

additional costs and/or inconveniences

on consumers.

8. Finally, the Commission seeks

comment on the impact the

international use of GSM air interface

has on development and

implementation of a TTY solution.

Procedural Matters

9. Pursuant to § 1.45 of the

Commission’s Rules, 47 CFR 1.45,

interested parties may file comments on

the proposed implementation deadline

no later than June 19, 2000. Replies

shall be filed no later than July 19, 2000.

All comments shall reference the docket

number of this proceeding. Comments

may be filed using the Commission’s

Electronic Comment Filing System

(ECFS) or by filing paper copies.

Comments filed through the ECFS can

be sent as an electronic file via the

Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/

ecfs.html. In completing the transmittal

screen, commenters should include

their full name, Postal Service mailing

address, and the docket number of this

proceeding. Parties filing electronically

should also e-mail a copy of their

comments to pforster@fcc.gov. Parties

who choose to file by paper must file an

original and four copies of each filing

with the Commission’s Secretary

(Magalie Roman Salas, Office of the

Secretary, Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20554) and a diskette

copy to the Commission’s copy

contractor (International Transcription

Service, Inc. (ITS), CY–B400, (202) 857–

3800).

10. Pursuant to § 1.1206 of the

Commission’s Rules, 47 CFR 1.1206,

this proceeding is a permit-but-disclose

proceeding in which ex parte

communications are permitted subject

to disclosure.

11. Copies of this Public Notice in

alternative formats (computer diskette,

large print, audio-cassette, and Braille)

are available to persons with disabilities

by contacting Brian Millin at (202) 418–

7426 voice, (202) 418–7365 TTY, or at

bmillin@fcc.gov. The Public Notice also

will be available at: http://www.fcc.gov/

cib/dro/.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–13033 Filed 5–23–00; 8:45 am]

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