54456 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 1997 / Notices

proposed Class II penalty order or

participate in a Class II penalty

proceeding are set forth in 40 CFR part

22. The deadline for submitting public

comment on a proposed Class II order

is November 19, 1997. All comments

will be transferred to the Environmental

Appeals Board of EPA for consideration

and/or incorporation into the final

order.

In order to provide opportunity for

public comment, EPA will not take final

action in this proceeding prior to the

close of the public comment period.

II. Public Record and Electronic

Submissions

The public record for this proceeding

(including comments submitted

electronically as described below) has

been established. A public version of

this record, including printed, paper

versions of electronic comments is

located in the Office of the EPA

Headquarters Hearing Clerk, Ms. Bessie

Hammiel, Rm. C–400, 401 M St., SW.,

Washington, DC, Monday through

Friday, excluding legal holidays from 8

a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; telephone (202) 260–

4865.

Comments may be submitted on disk

in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1. Electronic

comments on this proposed order may

be filed online at many Federal

Depository Libraries.

List of Subjects

Environmental protection.

Dated: October 15, 1997.

Melissa P. Marshall,

Director, Multimedia Enforcement Division,

Office of Enforcement and Compliance

Assurance.

[FR Doc. 97–27726 Filed 10–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

Sunshine Act Meeting; Farm Credit

Administration Board

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given,

pursuant to the Government in the

Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(e)(3)), that

the October 22, 1997 special meeting of

the Farm Credit Administration Board

(Board) will not be held. See 62 FR

49227, September 19, 1997. The FCA

Board will hold a meeting at 9:00 a.m.

on Thursday, November 13, 1997. An

agenda for this meeting will be

published at a later date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Floyd Fithian, Secretary to the Farm

Credit Administration Board, (703) 883–

4025, TDD (703) 883–4444.

ADDRESSES: Farm Credit

Administration, 1501 Farm Credit Drive,

McLean, Virginia 22102–5090.

Dated: October 15, 1997.

Floyd Fithian,

Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.

[FR Doc. 97–27811 Filed 10–16–97; 1:27 pm]

BILLING CODE 6705–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

[FCC 97–330]

Revised Procedures for Bell Operating

Company Applications Under New

Section 271 of the Communications

Act

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Commission has released

a public notice (notice) which revises

various procedural requirements and

policies relating to the Commission’s

processing of Bell Operating Company

applications to provide in-region,

interLATA services pursuant to new

section 271 of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 271

(Act). These procedures originally were

set out on a public notice released

December 6, 1996 (62 FR 68040

(December 26, 1996)). The notice revises

those procedures and policies and

supersedes the December 6, 1996 public

notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Florence Grasso, Common Carrier

Bureau, Policy and Program Planning

Division, (202) 418–1580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Paperwork Reduction Act

OMB Control Number: 3060–0756.

Expiration Date: 03/31/98.

Title: Revised Procedures for Bell

Operating Company Applications under

New Section 271 of the

Communications Act.

Respondents: Business or other forprofit; federal government; and state,

local or tribal government.

Public reporting burden for the

collection of information is estimated as

follows:

Information collection

Number of

respondents

(approximately)

Annual hour burden per response

Total annual

burden

(hours)

Submission of applications by the BOCs ....................................................................... 7 125 hours per application 7

(companies) × 7 (estimated filings each) × 120

(hours).

6,125

Submission of written consultations by the State Regulatory Commissions ................. 49 120 hours ............................ 5,880

Submission of written consultations by the Department of Justice ............................... 1 4,900 49 (states) × 100

(hours per state).

4,900

Submission of written comments by interested third parties ......................................... 75 25 hours .............................. 1,875

Total Annual Burden: 18,780.

Frequency of Response: One-time,

unless an application must be

resubmitted.

Estimated Costs Per Respondent: $0.

Needs and Uses: The Commission

issued a public notice (FCC 97–330) on

September 19, 1997 which revised

various procedural requirements and

policies relating to the Commission’s

processing of Bell Operating Company

applications to provide in-region,

interLATA services pursuant to new

section 271 of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 271

(Act).

Synopsis of Public Notice

A. Application Filing Requirements

Under section 271, the Bell Operating

Companies must file applications to

provide in-region interLATA services on

a state-by-state basis. By ‘‘application,’’

we mean: (1) A stand-alone document
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 1997 / Notices 54457

entitled Brief in Support of Application

by [Bell company name] for Provision of

In-Region, InterLATA Services in [state

name]; and (2) any supporting

documentation. The content of both

parts of the application is addressed

later in this public notice.

Under the revised procedures

established in this Public Notice,

applicants must file at least twelve

copies of each section 271 application

with the Commission to be distributed

as follows:

(1) Applicants must file an original

and six copies of each section 271

application with the Office of the

Secretary at the Federal

Communications Commission. If the

applicant wants each Commissioner to

receive a copy of the section 271

application, the applicant should file an

original plus eleven copies with the

Office of the Secretary. The applicant

must also submit the application on a

computer diskette as described below.

The original, the six (or, if applicable,

eleven) copies, and the 3.5 inch

computer diskette described below

should be sent to the Office of the

Secretary, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 222, 1919 M Street

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.

(2) In addition, applicants must

submit five copies of the section 271

application to Janice Myles, Policy and

Program Planning Division, Common

Carrier Bureau, Federal

Communications Commission, Room

544, 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20554.

Applications will be available for

public inspection during regular

business hours in the Reference Center

of the Federal Communications

Commission, Room 239, 1919 M Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. The

applicant must also submit a copy of the

application simultaneously to: (i) The

Department of Justice c/o Donald J.

Russell, Telecommunications Task

Force, Antitrust Division, Room 8205,

555 Fourth Street, N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20001; (ii) the relevant state

regulatory commission; and (iii) the

Commission’s copy contractor, ITS, Inc.,

1231 20th Street, N.W., Washington,

D.C. 20036, tel. (202) 857–3800.

The 3.5 inch computer diskette

submitted to the Commission should be

formatted in WordPerfect 5.1. It should

contain the Applicant’s Brief in

Support. If electronically available, the

supporting documentation must be

included on the computer diskette as

well. With respect to supporting

materials that are not provided on

diskette, the applicant should include a

note at the end of the electronic version

of the Brief in Support specifying which

materials are not contained on the disk

and indicating that such materials are

on file with the Commission. All filings

submitted on diskette will be posted on

the Internet for public inspection at

http://www.fcc.gov. We also urge the

applicant to post its electronic filings on

its own Internet home page and to

inform us of such posting in the Brief in

Support.

B. Preliminary Matters

Section 271(d)(3) states that ‘‘[t]he

Commission shall not approve the

authorization requested in an

application * * * unless it finds’’ three

specified conditions to be met. As stated

in our December 6th public notice, we

expect that a section 271 application, as

originally filed, will include all of the

factual evidence on which the applicant

would have the Commission rely in

making its findings thereon. An

applicant may not, at any time during

the pendency of its application,

supplement its application by

submitting new factual evidence that is

not directly responsive to arguments

raised by parties commenting on its

application. Thus, an applicant may not

submit factual evidence gathered after

the applicant’s initial filing. The

applicant, however, may submit new

factual evidence if the sole purpose of

that evidence is to rebut arguments

made, or facts submitted. But in no

event shall such evidence post-date the

filing of the relevant comments. In the

event that the applicant submits new or

post-dated evidence in replies or ex

parte filings, we reserve the right to start

the 90-day review process anew or to

accord such evidence no weight in

making our determination. All factual

assertions made by any applicant (or

any commenter) must be supported by

credible evidence, or they may not be

entitled to any weight. Such factual

assertions, as well as expert testimony,

submitted by any party must also be

supported by an affidavit or verified

statement of a person or persons with

personal knowledge thereof. Applicants

and participants in section 271

proceedings also have an obligation to

present their position in a clear and

concise manner. In the section 271

proceedings conducted so far, each

application—as well as some of the

subsequent responsive filings—totalled

several thousand pages. In addition,

certain parties have included

substantive arguments in affidavits or

other supporting materials, rather than

in their legal briefs. As a result, in some

cases, we have found it burdensome and

time-consuming to determine the

positions of parties. Because of the

shortness of the 90-day review period,

we believe that it is necessary to make

the section 271 review process as

efficient as possible, consistent with the

requirements of the statute. We

therefore require applicants and

commenting parties to make all

substantive legal and policy arguments

in a legal brief (i.e., Applicant’s Brief in

Support, comments in opposition or

support, reply comments, ex parte

filings). The Commission retains the

authority to strike, or to decline to

consider, substantive arguments that

appear only in affidavits or other

supporting documentation. We note that

the United States Court of Appeals for

the District of Columbia Circuit has

found that the Commission ‘‘need not

sift pleadings and documents to

identify’’ arguments that are not ‘‘stated

with clarity.’’ It is the petitioner who

has the ‘‘burden of clarifying its

position’’ before the agency. This duty

is even more crucial in the context of

section 271 proceedings, because of the

limited period in which the agency has

to review section 271 applications. We

recognize, however, that the question of

whether an applicant has satisfied the

requirements of section 271 raises

numerous complex and fact-intensive

issues, which may necessitate lengthy

filings in support of or in opposition to

an application. In order to ensure that

applicants and other participants in

section 271 proceedings have the ability

to present their positions fully, we have

increased the page limits for the

Applicant’s Brief in Support and third

party comments and replies, and we

have eliminated the page limits for

applicants’ replies, as noted below. In

addition, we expect that applicants and

other participants in section 271

proceedings will continue to use

affidavits and other supporting

documentation to support factual and

legal assertions made in their legal

briefs, to provide expert testimony in

support of the positions articulated in

their briefs, and to clarify detailed

factual issues. Because the statute

affords us only 90 days to review the

application, we encourage the applicant

to meet with likely objectors in order to

attempt to narrow the issues in dispute.

As noted in section C of this Public

Notice, we require that an applicant

submit, either in the application itself or

in a supplemental statement within five

days after the application is filed, a

signed statement that describes efforts

that the applicant has made to narrow

the issues in dispute and the results of

those efforts.

C. Content of Applications

Applications shall conform to the

Commission’s general rules relating to
54458 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 1997 / Notices

applications. As noted above,

applications shall have two parts: (1) A

Brief in Support of Application by [Bell

company name] for Provision of InRegion, InterLATA Services in [state

name]; and (2) any supporting

documentation, such as records of state

proceedings, interconnection

agreements, affidavits, etc. The

Applicant’s Brief in Support may not

exceed 125 pages. The table of contents,

summary of argument, and list of

appendices (items (a), (b), and (i) below)

shall not be counted in determining the

length of the Brief in Support. There is

no page limit on supporting

documentation, but, as discussed above,

the applicant may not make substantive

legal or policy arguments in its

supporting documentation.

The Brief in Support should contain

the following items:

(a) A table of contents;

(b) A concise summary of the

substantive arguments presented in the

Brief;

(c) A statement identifying all of the

agreements that the applicant has

entered into pursuant to negotiations

and/or arbitrations under section 252,

including the dates on which the

agreements were approved under

section 252 and the status of any federal

court challenges to the agreements

pursuant to section 252(e)(6);

(d) A statement identifying how the

applicant meets the requirements of

section 271(c)(1), including a list of the

specific agreements on which the

applicant bases its application if it

intends to rely on a subset of the list set

forth in item (c) above;

(e) A statement summarizing the

status and findings of the relevant state

proceedings (if any) examining the

applicant’s compliance with section 271

or portions thereof;

(f) A statement describing the efforts

the applicant has made to meet with

likely objectors to narrow the issues in

dispute and the results of those efforts

(as indicated above, this statement may

be filed separately from the application;

but not later than five days after the

filing of the application);

(g) All legal and factual arguments

that the three requirements of section

271(d)(3) have been met, supported as

necessary with selected excerpts from

the supporting documentation (with

appropriate citations) (Item (g) is

obviously the core portion of the Brief

in Support, and may be quite lengthy.

It may help to divide it, therefore, into

three subsections, one corresponding to

each of the three requirements set forth

in section 271(d)(3).);

(i) A list of all appendices (including

affidavits) and the location of and

subjects covered by each of those

appendices;

(h) The name, address, and phone

number of the person who will address

inquiries relating to access (subject to

the terms of any applicable protective

order) to any confidential information

submitted by the applicant;

(i) An Anti-Drug Abuse Act

certification as required by 47 CFR

§ 1.2002; and

(j) An affidavit signed by an officer or

duly authorized employee certifying

that all information supplied in the

application is true and accurate to the

best of his or her information and belief.

The name of the applicant, the date

the application is filed, and the state to

which it relates should appear in the

upper right-hand corner of each page of

the Brief in Support.

As for the supporting documentation,

we require that it contain, at a

minimum, the complete public record,

as it exists on the date of filing, of the

relevant state proceedings (if any)

examining the applicant’s compliance

with section 271 or portions thereof. In

addition, supporting documentation,

including any records of

interconnection agreements, affidavits,

etc., shall be provided in appendices,

separated by tabs and divided into

volumes as appropriate. Each volume

shall contain a table of contents that

lists the subject of each tabbed section

of that volume.

D. Comments By Interested Third

Parties

After an application has been filed,

the Common Carrier Bureau will issue

a public notice (initial public notice)

establishing the specific due dates for

the various filings set forth below. The

initial public notice will also establish

procedures for the treatment of

confidential information submitted by

participants (including the applicant,

the Department of Justice, and the

relevant state commission).

Simultaneously with the issuance of the

initial public notice, the Bureau will

notify the Department of Justice and the

affected state of our receipt of the

application. Interested third parties will

have approximately 20 days from the

issuance of the initial public notice to

file comments in opposition or support,

which may not exceed 100 pages. We

are increasing the page limit for initial

comments from 50 pages to 100 pages in

the expectation that parties will include

all substantive arguments in their legal

brief. We reiterate that the Commission

may strike or decline to consider

substantive arguments made only in

affidavits or other supporting

documentation. The specific due date

for comments will be set forth in the

initial public notice. We retain

discretion to adjust the due date for

comments and replies on a case-by-case

basis to ensure that interested third

parties have sufficient time to review

and comment on each application. We

strongly discourage, and will take

appropriate steps to prevent, an

applicant from attempting to limit the

time for interested third parties to

review an application (e.g., by filing on

a Friday or the day before a national

holiday). The name of the commenter,

the name of the applicant, and the state

to which the application relates should

appear in the upper right-hand corner of

each page. Comments in support or

opposition shall also include a table of

contents, a concise summary of the

arguments presented in the comments,

and a list of all appendices and the

location of and subjects covered by each

of those appendices. None of these

portions of the comments shall be

counted in determining the length of the

comments. To file comments or replies

(or any other filing set forth below) in

a section 271 proceeding, commenters

must follow the applicable procedures

outlined in section A of this public

notice.

Commenters shall not incorporate by

reference, in their comments or replies,

entire documents or significant portions

of documents that were filed in other

proceedings, such as comments filed or

arguments made in a previous section

271 proceeding. Although commenters

are permitted to note arguments that

were presented in earlier filings, they

must provide a complete recitation in

their current filing of any argument that

they wish the Commission to consider.

There is no page limit on supporting

documentation. As discussed in section

B of this public notice, however,

commenters must make all substantive

legal and policy arguments in their

comments, rather than in supporting

documentation. In addition, supporting

documentation, including any records

of interconnection agreements,

affidavits, etc., shall be provided in

appendices, separated by tabs and

divided into volumes as appropriate.

Each volume shall contain a table of

contents that lists the subject of each

tabbed section of that volume.

If a commenter submits confidential

information to the Commission, it shall

include in a cover letter to the

Commission the name, address, and

phone number of the person who will

address inquiries regarding access to the

confidential information by other

participants in the proceeding (subject

to the terms of any applicable protective

order).
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 1997 / Notices 54459

E. State Commission and Department of

Justice Written Consultations

Many state commissions have already

commenced proceedings to examine

Bell Operating Company compliance

with section 271 or portions thereof. In

light of this fact and in light of the

shortness of the 90-day period for

deciding a section 271 application, we

require that the relevant state

commission file any written

consultation not later than

approximately 20 days after the

issuance of the intial public notice. The

specific due date for the state’s written

consultation will be set forth in the

intial public notice. The relevant state

commission shall also follow the

applicable procedures outlined in

section A of this public notice.

Any written consultation by the

Department of Justice (which, by the

Act’s express terms, must become part

of the record) must be filed not later

than approximately 35 days after the

issuance of the intial public notice. The

specific due date for the Department’s

written consultation will be set forth in

the intial public notice. The Department

of Justice shall also follow the

applicable procedures outlined in

section A of this public notice.

The state commission and the

Department of Justice are also welcome

to file a reply pursuant to section F of

this public notice, as well as written ex

parte submissions in accordance with

section H of this public notice.

F. Replies

All participants in the proceeding—

the applicant, interested third parties,

the relevant state commission, and the

Department of Justice—may file a reply

to any comment made by any other

participant. Such replies will be due

approximately 45 days after the intial

public notice is issued. The specific due

date for replies will be set forth in the

intial public notice. All replies except

that of the applicant are limited to 50

pages. There is no page limit for the

applicant’s reply.

The name of the submitter, the name

of the applicant (if different), and the

state to which the application relates

should appear in the upper right-hand

corner of each page. Replies shall also

include a table of contents, a concise

summary of the arguments presented in

the comments, and a list of all

appendices and the location of and

subjects covered by each of those

appendices. None of these portions of a

reply shall be counted in determining

the length of the reply.

The applicant’s and third parties’

reply comments may not raise new

arguments or include new data that are

not directly responsive to arguments

other participants have raised, nor may

the replies merely repeat arguments

made by that party in the application or

initial comments. An applicant may

submit new factual evidence in its reply

if the sole purpose of that evidence is to

rebut arguments made, or facts

submitted, by commenters, provided the

evidence covers only the period placed

in dispute by commenters and in no

event post-dates the filing of the

relevant comments. In addition, as

discussed in section D of this public

notice, participants are not permitted, in

their replies, to incorporate by reference

entire documents or significant portions

of documents that were filed in other

proceedings.

There is no page limit on supporting

documentation. As discussed in section

B of this public notice, however,

participants submitting replies must

make all substantive legal and policy

arguments in their replies, rather than in

affidavits or other supporting

documentation. In addition, supporting

documentation, including any records

of interconnection agreements,

affidavits, etc., shall be provided in

appendices, separated by tabs and

divided into volumes as appropriate.

Each volume shall contain a table of

contents that lists the subject of each

tabbed section of that volume.

G. Motions

Because of the shortness of the 90-day

period to review section 271

applications, a dispositive motion filed

with the Commission in a section 271

proceeding (e.g., motion to dismiss) will

be treated as an early-filed pleading and

will not be subject to a separate

pleading cycle, unless the Commission

or Bureau determines otherwise in a

public notice issued after the motion is

filed. We generally expect, however,

that such a separate pleading cycle will

not be necessary. Thus, in general,

dispositive motions filed before the due

date for third party comments will be

treated as early-filed comments;

dispositive motions filed after the due

date for third party comments but before

the due date for replies will be treated

as early-filed replies; and dispositive

motions filed after the due date for

replies will be treated as ex parte

submissions. Such motions will be

counted toward the applicable page

limit for the submitting party, as

established in this public notice.

Non-dispositive motions (e.g.,

motions to strike) will be subject to the

default pleading cycle in section 1.45 of

our rules, unless the Commission or

Bureau determines otherwise in a public

notice. Because of the expedited nature

of section 271 proceedings, section

1.4(h) of our rules will not apply to

motions filed in section 271

proceedings. Thus, parties will not be

allowed an extra three days (beyond the

time permitted in section 1.45) to

respond to non-dispositive motions and

oppositions thereto, regardless of

whether the filing was served on the

party by mail. In lieu of that rule,

however, a party submitting a nondispositive motion must, on the day of

filing, serve that motion either by hand

or by facsimile on any party whose

filing is the subject of the motion. In

addition, parties must submit nondispositive motions and oppositions to

such motions to the Commission on a

3.5 inch computer diskette formatted in

WordPerfect 5.1 (as well as in hard copy

form). All filings submitted on diskette

will be posted on the internet for public

inspection at http://www.fcc.gov. Such

motions, oppositions, and replies will

not be counted toward the submitting

party’s page limit.

H. Ex Parte Rules—Permit-But-Disclose

Proceeding

Because of the broad policy issues

involved, section 271 application

proceedings initially will be considered

permit-but-disclose proceedings.

Accordingly, ex parte presentations will

be permitted, provided they are

disclosed in conformance with

Commission ex parte rules. Because of

the statutory timeframe, however, we

strongly encourage parties to set forth

their views comprehensively in the

formal filings specified above (e.g., the

Brief in Support, oppositions,

supporting comments, etc.) and not to

rely on subsequent ex parte

presentations. In any event, parties may

not file more than a total of 20 pages of

written ex parte submissions. This 20-

page limit does not include: (1) Written

ex parte submissions made solely to

disclose an oral ex parte contact; (2)

written material submitted at the time of

an oral presentation to Commission staff

that provides a brief outline of the

presentation; (3) written material filed

in response to direct requests from

Commission staff; or (4) written factual

exhibits. The Commission retains the

right not to consider as part of the

record ex parte submissions in excess of

the 20-page limit.

For purposes of these proceedings,

and in light of the explicit role the Act

gives to the Department of Justice and

the state commissions under section

271, any oral ex parte presentations

from the Department of Justice and the

relevant state commission will be

deemed to be exempt ex parte
54460 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 202 / Monday, October 20, 1997 / Notices

presentations. To the extent that we

obtain through such oral ex parte

presentations new factual information

on which we subsequently rely in our

decision-making process, we will either

request the Department of Justice or the

relevant state commission to disclose or

disclose ourselves such new factual

information in the record no later than

the time we release our decision. There

are no page limits on written ex parte

submissions by the Department of

Justice or the relevant state commission.

Notwithstanding the above, the

Commission may, by subsequent public

notice, prohibit all communication with

Commission personnel regarding the

application during a seven-day period

preceding the anticipated release date of

the Commission’s order regarding the

application.

I. FCC Notice to Individuals Required by

the Privacy Act and the Paperwork

Reduction Act

Pursuant to Section 271 of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, the Bell Operating Companies

must file applications to provide inregion interLATA services on a state-bystate basis. State regulatory

commissions must file written

consultations relating to the

applications not later than

approximately 20 days after the

issuance of an Initial Public Notice

establishing specific due dates for

various filings. Interested third parties

may file comments on the applications

not later than approximately 20 days

after the issuance of the Initial Public

Notice. The Department of Justice must

file written consultations relating to the

applications not later than

approximately 35 days after the

issuance of the Initial Public Notice. All

of the information would be used to

ensure that the Bell Operating

Companies have complied with their

obligations under the Communications

Act of 1934, as amended, before being

authorized to provide in-region,

interLATA services pursuant to section

271. Obligation to respond is not

mandatory.

We have estimated that each response

to this collection of information will

take, on average, 250 hours. Our

estimate includes the time to read the

instructions, look through existing

records, gather and maintain required

data, and actually complete and review

the form or response. If you have any

comments on this estimate, or on how

we can improve the collection and

reduce the burden it causes you, please

write the Federal Communications

Commission, AMD–PERM, Washington,

DC 20554, Paperwork Reduction Project

(3060–0756). We will also accept your

comments via the Internet if you send

them to jboley@fcc.gov. Please do not

send completed application forms to

this address.

Remember—You are not required to

respond to a collection of information

sponsored by the Federal government,

and the government may not conduct or

sponsor this collection, unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number or if we fail to provide you with

this notice. This collection has been

assigned an OMB control number of

3060–0756.

This notice is required by the Privacy

Act of 1974, Public Law 93–579,

December 31, 1974, 5 U.S.C. Section

552a(e)(3) and the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13,

October 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–27698 Filed 10–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Change in Bank Control Notices;

Acquisitions of Shares of Banks or

Bank Holding Companies

The notificants listed below have

applied under the Change in Bank

Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and §

225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12

CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank

holding company. The factors that are

considered in acting on the notices are

set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12

U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).

The notices are available for

immediate inspection at the Federal

Reserve Bank indicated. The notices

also will be available for inspection at

the offices of the Board of Governors.

Interested persons may express their

views in writing to the Reserve Bank

indicated for that notice or to the offices

of the Board of Governors. Comments

must be received not later than

November 3, 1997.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Lois Berthaume, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303-2713:

1. Broun Family Partnership LLP and

Conway C. Broun, Managing Partner,

Athens, Georgia; to retain voting shares

of Georgia National Bancorp, Inc.,

Athens, Georgia, and thereby indirectly

retain shares of The Georgia National

Bank, Athens, Georgia.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, October 14, 1997.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–27637 Filed 10–17–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice

have applied to the Board for approval,

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part

225), and all other applicable statutes

and regulations to become a bank

holding company and/or to acquire the

assets or the ownership of, control of, or

the power to vote shares of a bank or

bank holding company and all of the

banks and nonbanking companies

owned by the bank holding company,

including the companies listed below.

The applications listed below, as well

as other related filings required by the

Board, are available for immediate

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank

indicated. The application also will be

available for inspection at the offices of

the Board of Governors. Interested

persons may express their views in

writing on the standards enumerated in

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the

proposal also involves the acquisition of

a nonbanking company, the review also

includes whether the acquisition of the

nonbanking company complies with the

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act.

Unless otherwise noted, nonbanking

activities will be conducted throughout

the United States.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received at the Reserve Bank

indicated or the offices of the Board of

Governors not later than November 13,

1997.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of

Richmond (A. Linwood Gill III,

Assistant Vice President) 701 East Byrd

Street, Richmond, Virginia 23261-4528:

1. NationsBank Corporation, and NB

Holdings Corporation, both of Charlotte,

North Carolina; to merge with Barnett

Banks, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida, and

thereby indirectly acquire Barnett Bank,

National Association, Jacksonville,

Florida, and Community Bank of the

Islands, Sanibel, Florida.

In connection with this application,

Applicants also have applied to acquire

First of America Bank - Florida, FSB,

Tampa, Florida, and thereby engage in

traditional thrift activities, pursuant to §

225.28(b)(4) of the Board’s Regulation Y;