Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 34407

73.6016 Digital Class A TV station

protection of TV broadcast stations.

73.6017 Digital Class A TV station

protection of Class A TV, low power TV,

and TV translator stations.

73.6018 Digital Class A TV station

protection of DTV stations.

73.6019 Digital Class A TV station

protection of digital Class A TV stations.

73.6020 Protection of stations in the land

mobile radio service.

73.6022 Negotiated interference and

relocation agreements.

73.6024 Transmission standards and system

requirements.

73.6025 Antenna system and station

location.

73.6026 Broadcast regulations applicable to

Class A television stations.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–13402 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 54

[CC Docket Nos. 96–45 and 97–21; FCC 00–

180]

Federal-State Joint Board on Universal

Service and Changes to the Board of

Directors of the National Exchange

Carrier Association, Inc.

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document concerning

the Federal-State Joint Board on

Universal Service and Changes to the

Board of Directors of the National

Exchange Carriers Association, Inc.

amends a procedural rule which sets out

the time period by which the Common

Carrier Bureau or the Commission must

take action on a request for review of a

decision issued by the Schools and

Libraries Division of the Universal

Service Administrative Company

(USAC or Administrator). This

document makes clear that a decision of

the Administrator will not be deemed

approved upon the running of the 90-

day deadline for taking action on

requests for review that are pending

before the Bureau.

DATES: Effective May 30, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Chang, Attorney, Common Carrier

Bureau, Accounting Policy Division,

(202) 418–7400.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of a Commission’s Order in

CC Docket Nos. 96–45 and 97–21

released on May 22, 2000. The full text

of this document is available for public

inspection during regular business

hours in the FCC Reference Center,

Room CY–A257, 445 Twelfth Street,

SW., Washington, DC, 20554.

1. On March 1, 2000, the Commission

released the Bureau Extension Order, 65

FR 12135 (March 8, 2000), that amended

a rule to make clear that the Common

Carrier Bureau (Bureau) may extend, for

up to ninety days, the time period for

taking action on a request for review of

the Schools and Libraries Division of

the Universal Service Administrative

Company’s (USAC or Administrator)

decision that is pending before the

Bureau or the Commission pursuant to

§ 54.724 of the Commission’s rules. The

Bureau Extension Order clarified that

the Commission may extend the time

period for taking action on a pending

request for review of an Administrator’s

decision that is before either the Bureau

or the Commission, but the Commission

is not limited to a maximum 90-day

extension period. In this Order, we

amend a procedural rule which sets out

the time period by which the Bureau or

the Commission must take action on a

request for review of a decision issued

by the Administrator). We amend

§ 54.724 of the Commission’s rules to

make clear that a decision of the

Administrator will not be deemed

approved upon the running of the 90-

day deadline for taking action on

requests for review that are pending

before the Bureau.

2. Section 54.724(a) of the

Commission’s rules establishes

procedures for a request for review of an

Administrator decision that is properly

before the Bureau. Matters that are

properly before the Bureau are appeals

of Administrator decisions that do not

involve novel issues of fact, law or

policy. If the Bureau does not take

action within 90 days regarding a

request for review not involving novel

issues, the decision issued by the

Administrator is deemed approved. The

rule also specifies that either the

Commission or the Bureau may extend

the time period for taking action on a

matter before the Bureau.

3. In contrast, § 54.724(b) of the

Commission’s rules directs the

Commission to issue, within 90 days, a

written decision resolving a request for

review of an Administrator decision that

involves novel questions of fact, law or

policy. The rules provide that the

Commission or Bureau may extend the

time period for taking action. Unlike

appeals pending before the Bureau, if

the Commission does not issue a

decision within 90 days or does not

extend the time period for taking action

on the request for review, the

Commission’s rules do not provide that

the Administrator’s decision will be

automatically approved.

4. The procedural distinction between

matters pending before the Commission

and those pending before the Bureau

may pose problems for schools and

libraries that request reviews of

Administrator decisions. The appellants

will not be certain whether or not their

requests for review raise novel questions

of fact, law or policy. As a consequence,

appellants are not in a position to

determine whether their appeals are

pending before the Bureau or the

Commission. Without knowledge of

whether an appeal is being considered

by the Bureau or Commission, a school

or library cannot determine whether its

appeal remains pending before the

Commission or was subject to automatic

denial where the 90-day time period for

taking action ran without a decision or

extension of time having been issued by

the Bureau. Because of this lack of

certainty, appellants cannot know when

a denial is final and when the time

period for pursuing further review has

begun.

5. We believe that this uncertainty

puts appellants in an untenable

position. A party adversely affected by

a Bureau decision has the right to seek

reconsideration or Commission review

of the decision. In order to exercise their

right to seek review of an adverse

decision, however, appellants must file

either a petition for reconsideration or

an application for review within thirty

days from the date of public notice of

the final action or release of the

decision. The rules fail, however, to set

forth a mechanism for public notice of

Administrator decisions that are

deemed approved upon the passage of

90 days in the absence of action by the

Bureau.

6. The requirement in § 54.724(a) that

Administrator decisions will be deemed

approved in the absence of Bureau

action on matters not involving new or

novel issues was adopted to promote the

prompt and efficient resolution of

pending requests for review. We did not

anticipate, however, that this means of

streamlining our review process would

add uncertainty to the appeals process

or interfere with the ability of appellants

to seek further review. Because we

conclude that the different procedural

processes found in §§ 54.724(a) and (b)

generate uncertainty as to the status of

certain requests for review, we find that

it is in the public interest to eliminate

the provision in § 54.724(a) specifying

that a decision by the Administrator

will be deemed approved where the

Bureau has not acted within the 90-day

review period. Accordingly, we find

34408 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 30, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

that it is appropriate to amend

§ 54.724(a) in this respect to conform to

the rule that applies to Commissionlevel appeals. At the same time, we

recognize the need of applicants under

the schools and libraries program to

have certainty over the status of their

funding requests, and we remain

committed to timely resolution of all

appeals before us.

7. We believe this procedural

amendment will clarify our

administrative processes and prevent

confusion regarding the procedural

status of requests for review of

Administrator decisions that are

pending before the Bureau. Accordingly,

as set forth, we amend § 54.724(a) of the

Commission’s rules to clarify that a

decision of the Administrator will not

be deemed approved upon the running

of the 90-day time period for taking

action on requests for review that are

pending before the Bureau.

Ordering Clauses

8. The authority contained in sections

1–4, 201–205, 218–220, 254, 303(r), 403,

and 405 of the Communications Act of

1934, as amended, and § 1.108 of the

Commission’s rules, is adopted.

9. Part 54 of the Commission’s Rules

47 CFR part 54, is revised as set forth.

10. This action is exempt from the

notice and comment requirements of the

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.

553, because it affects only rules of

agency procedure or practice.

11. Because this action involves an

internal procedural matter, it is further

ordered that the rule change set forth is

May 30, 2000.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 54

Universal service.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

Rule Changes

Part 54 of title 47 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 54—UNIVERSAL SERVICE

1. The authority citation for part 54

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 1, 4(i), 201, 205, 214,

and 254 unless otherwise noted.

2. Amend § 54.724 by revising

paragraph (a) to read as follows:

§ 54.724 Time periods for Commission

approval of Administrator decisions.

(a) The Common Carrier Bureau shall,

within ninety (90) days, take action in

response to a request for review of an

Administrator decision that is properly

before it. The Common Carrier Bureau

may extend the time period for taking

action on a request for review of an

Administrator decision for a period of

up to ninety days. The Commission may

also, at any time, extend the time period

for taking action on a request for review

of an Administrator decision pending

before the Common Carrier Bureau.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–13401 Filed 5–26–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 216

[Docket No. 991210333–0089–02; I.D.

111099C]

RIN 0648–AN37

Dolphin-Safe Tuna Labeling; Official

Mark

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to

designate an official mark that can be

used to label tuna products as being

‘‘dolphin-safe.’’ The Dolphin Protection

Consumer Information Act (DPCIA), as

amended by the International Dolphin

Conservation Program Act (IDCPA),

requires the Secretary of Commerce to

develop an official mark that can be

used to label tuna products as ‘‘dolphinsafe.’’ The intent of this rule is to

establish and designate that mark.

DATES: Effective June 29, 2000.

ADDRESSES: A full color version of the

official mark is available at the NMFS

Southwest Region website at http://

swr.ucsd.edu/dsl.htm or by contacting J.

Allison Routt, NMFS, Southwest

Region, Protected Resources Division,

501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long

Beach, CA 90802–4213.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J.

Allison Routt, NMFS, Southwest

Region, Protected Resources Division,

(562) 980–4020, fax (562) 980–4027.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The DPCIA, 16 U.S.C. 1385, as

amended by the IDCPA, requires the

Secretary of Commerce to develop an

official mark that can be used to label

tuna products as ‘‘dolphin-safe.’’ The

IDCPA and the official mark provisions

of the DPCIA became effective on March

3, 1999, when the Secretary of State

certified to Congress that the Agreement

on the International Dolphin

Conservation Program had been adopted

and was in force.

Official Mark

As discussed in the proposed rule to

implement the IDCPA (December 22,

1999; 64 FR 71722), the Secretary of

Commerce considered the designation

of a commonly used ‘‘dolphin-safe’’ logo

as the official mark, but instead decided

to develop a unique logo as the official

mark.

The DPCIA establishes ‘‘dolphin-safe’’

standards applicable to tuna products

labeled with either the official mark or

an alternative mark (16 U.S.C. 1385(d)).

The DPCIA does not mandate the use of

the official mark nor does it prohibit the

use of alternative marks. However, as set

forth under paragraph (d)(3)(B) of the

DPCIA, whenever a tuna product bears

the official mark, it may not bear any

other mark or label that refers to

dolphins, porpoises, or marine

mammals. The dolphin-safe labeling

standards, which are not a part of this

rule-making, appear at 50 CFR 216.91

through 216.94. The standards are the

subject of ongoing litigation. This final

rule codifies the official mark at 50 CFR

216.96.

Proposed Rule

On December 22, 1999, NMFS

published proposed regulations to

designate an official mark that can be

used to label tuna products as being

dolphin-safe (64 FR 71722). Public

comments on the proposed rule were

accepted through January 5, 2000. In

addition to publishing the proposed rule

in the Federal Register, NMFS sent via

fax and mail the notice to industry

representatives, environmental groups,

the Department of State, the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission

(IATTC), the U.S. Commissioners to the

IATTC, the Secretary of the Treasury,

the U.S. Customs Service, the Marine

Mammal Commission, and the Federal

Trade Commission. NMFS also issued a

press release summarizing the major

issues contained in the proposed rule.

Information in the press release was

sent to several national newspapers and

published on e-mail discussion groups

and NMFS websites.

Responses to Comments

NMFS received 43 letters of comment

in response to the proposed rule.

Comments were received from

environmental organizations and

members of the public.