Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 137 / Tuesday, July 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 33139 

taking it without prior publication. This 

action will be effective September 17, 

2018 unless EPA receives adverse 

comments by August 16, 2018. If 

adverse comments are received within 

the 30-day public comment period, EPA 

will publish a timely withdrawal of this 

direct final notice of partial deletion 

before the effective date of the partial 

deletion and it will not take effect. EPA 

will prepare a response to comments 

and continue with the deletion process 

on the basis of the notification of intent 

to partially delete and the comments 

already received. There will be no 

additional opportunity to comment. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 300 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Chemicals, Hazardous 

waste, Hazardous substances, 

Intergovernmental relations, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Superfund, Water 

pollution control, Water supply. 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1321(d); 42 U.S.C. 

9601–9657; E.O. 13626, 77 FR 56749, 3 CFR, 

2013 Comp., p. 306; E.O. 12777, 56 FR 54757, 

3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 351; E.O. 12580, 52 

FR 2923, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 193. 

Dated: June 25, 2018. 

Cathy Stepp, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15240 Filed 7–16–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 54 

[WC Docket No. 10–90, 16–271; FCC 16– 

115] 

Connect America Fund, Connect 

America Fund—Alaska Plan 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, an 

information collection associated with 

the rules for the Connect America Fund 

contained in the Commission’s Connect 

America Fund—Alaska Plan Order, FCC 

16–115. This document is consistent 

with the Connect America Fund— 

Alaska Plan Order, which stated that 

the Commission would publish a 

document in the Federal Register 

announcing the effective date of the new 

information collection requirements. 

DATES: The amendments regarding 

§§ 54.313(f)(1)(i), 54.313(f)(3) and 

54.313(l) published at 81 FR 69696, 

October 7, 2016, are effective July 17, 

2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alexander Minard, Wireline 

Competition Bureau at (202) 418–7400 

or TTY (202) 418–0484. For additional 

information concerning the Paperwork 

Reduction Act information collection 

requirements contact Nicole Ongele at 

(202) 418–2991 or via email: 

Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Commission submitted revised 

information collection requirements for 

review and approval by OMB, as 

required by the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA) of 1995, on May 30, 2018, 

which were approved by OMB on July 

2, 2018. The information collection 

requirements are contained in the 

Commission’s Connect America Fund— 

Alaska Plan Order, FCC 16–115, 

published at 81 FR 69696, October 7, 

2016. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–0986. The Commission publishes 

this document as an announcement of 

the effective date of the rules published 

October 7, 2016. If you have any 

comments on the burden estimates 

listed below, or how the Commission 

can improve the collections and reduce 

any burdens caused thereby, please 

contact Nicole Ongele, Federal 

Communications Commission, Room 

1–A620, 445 12th Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20554. Please include 

the OMB Control Number, 3060–0986, 

in your correspondence. The 

Commission will also accept your 

comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the Commission is notifying the public 

that it received OMB approval on July 

2, 2018, for the information collection 

requirements contained in 47 CFR 

54.313(f)(1)(i), 54.313(f)(3) and 

54.313(l), published at 81 FR 69696, 

October 7, 2016. Under 5 CFR part 1320, 

an agency may not conduct or sponsor 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. 

No person shall be subject to any 

penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–0986. 

The foregoing notice is required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995, 

and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–0986. 

OMB Approval Date: July 2, 2018. 

OMB Expiration Date: July 31, 2021. 

Title: High-Cost Universal Service 

Support. 

Form Number: FCC Form 481, FCC 

Form 505, FCC Form 507, FCC Form 

508, FCC Form 509 and FCC Form 525. 

Type of Review: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions and 

state, local or tribal government. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 1,877 respondents; 14,335 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5–15 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion, 

quarterly and annual reporting 

requirements, recordkeeping 

requirement and third party disclosure 

requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. Statutory 

authority for this information collection 

is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151–154, 155, 

201–206, 214, 218–220, 251, 252, 254, 

256, 303(r), 332, 403, 405, 410, and 

1302. 

Total Annual Burden: 63,486 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No Cost. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

impact(s). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission notes that USAC must 

preserve the confidentiality of all data 

obtained from respondents; must not 

use the data except for purposes of 

administering the universal service 

programs; and must not disclose data in 

company-specific form unless directed 

to do so by the Commission. Privatelyheld rate-of-return carriers may file the 

financial information they disclose in 

FCC Form 481 pursuant to a protective 

order. 

Needs and Uses: On November 18, 

2011, the Commission adopted an order 

reforming its high-cost universal service 

support mechanisms. Connect America 

Fund; A National Broadband Plan for 

Our Future; Establish Just and 

Reasonable Rates for Local Exchange 

Carriers; High-Cost Universal Service 

Support; Developing a Unified 

Intercarrier Compensation Regime; 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
33140 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 137 / Tuesday, July 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

Federal-State Joint Board on Universal 

Service; Lifeline and Link-Up; Universal 

Service Reform—Mobility Fund, WC 

Docket Nos. 10–90, 07–135, 05–337, 03– 

109; GN Docket No. 09–51; CC Docket 

Nos. 01–92, 96–45; WT Docket No. 10– 

208, Order and Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 

17663 (2011) (USF/ICC Transformation 

Order), and the Commission and 

Wireline Competition Bureau have since 

adopted a number of orders that 

implement the USF/ICC Transformation 

Order; see also Connect America Fund 

et al., WC Docket No. 10–90 et al., Third 

Order on Reconsideration, 27 FCC Rcd 

5622 (2012); Connect America Fund et 

al., WC Docket No. 10–90 et al., Order, 

27 FCC Rcd 605 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 

2012); Connect America Fund et al., WC 

Docket No. 10–90 et al., Fifth Order on 

Reconsideration, 27 FCC Rcd 14549 

(2012); Connect America Fund et al., 

WC Docket No. 10–90 et al., Order, 28 

FCC Rcd 2051 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 

2013); Connect America Fund et al., WC 

Docket No. 10–90 et al., Order, 28 FCC 

Rcd 7227 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); 

Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 

10–90, Report and Order, 28 FCC Rcd 

7766 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); 

Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 

10–90, Report and Order, 28 FCC Rcd 

7211 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); 

Connect America Fund, WC Docket No. 

10–90, Report and Order, 28 FCC Rcd 

10488 (Wireline Comp. Bur. 2013); 

Connect America Fund et al., WC 

Docket No. 10–90 et al., Report and 

Order, Order and Order on 

Reconsideration and Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 3087 

(2016). The Commission has received 

OMB approval for most of the 

information collections required by 

these orders. At a later date, the 

Commission plans to submit additional 

revisions for OMB review to address 

other reforms adopted in the orders 

(e.g., 47 CFR 54.313(a)(6)). 

More recently, on August 23, 2016, 

the Commission adopted the Alaska 

Plan Order. See Connect America Fund 

et al., WC Docket Nos. 10–90, 16–271; 

WT Docket No. 10–208, Report and 

Order and Further Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, 31 FCC Rcd 10139 (2016) 

(Alaska Plan Order). In that order, the 

Commission adopted a plan for 

providing Alaskan rate-of-return carriers 

and competitive eligible 

telecommunications carriers (ETCs) the 

option to obtain a fixed level of funding 

for a defined term in exchange for 

committing to deployment obligations 

that are tailored to each Alaskan 

carrier’s circumstances. ETCs receiving 

support pursuant to the Alaska Plan 

must comply with the Commission’s 

existing high-cost reporting and 

oversight mechanisms, with certain 

exceptions and modifications. 

On July 7, 2017, the Commission 

adopted the ETC Reporting Streamlining 

Order. See Connect America Fund; ETC 

Annual Reports and Certifications, WC 

Docket Nos. 10–90, 14–58, Report and 

Order, 32 FCC Rcd 5944 (2017) (ETC 

Reporting Streamlining Order). In that 

order, the Commission streamlined the 

annual reporting requirements for ETCs 

by eliminating rules duplicative of other 

reporting requirements or that are no 

longer necessary. 

Further, since the previous filing 

deadline associated with this collection, 

changing circumstances have made 

filing certain information no longer 

necessary or required under the rules. 

For instance, the final Connect America 

Phase I incremental support deployment 

deadlines were in early 2017, so there 

are no longer any reporting obligations 

associated with that support. 

Moreover, because the Connect 

America Phase II challenge process has 

ended, the Commission removed Form 

505 from this collection. The 

Commission also moved FCC Form 507, 

FCC Form 508, FCC Form 509 and the 

accompanying instructions to 

information collection 3060–0233. 

The Commission therefore revises this 

information collection, as well as Form 

481 and its accompanying instructions, 

to reflect these new or modified 

requirements. The Commission also 

implemented a number of nonsubstantive changes to the Form 481 

and accompanying instructions. Any 

increased burdens for particular 

reporting requirements are associated 

with ETCs newly subject to those 

requirements as a condition of receiving 

high-cost support. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15171 Filed 7–16–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[CG Docket No. 17–169; FCC 18–78] 

Protecting Consumers From 

Unauthorized Carrier Changes and 

Related Unauthorized Charges 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission takes measures to 

strengthen our rules to protect 

consumers from slamming and 

cramming by codifying rules against 

sales call misrepresentations and 

cramming and revising rules to improve 

the effectiveness of the third-party 

verification (TPV) process. Slamming is 

an unauthorized change in a consumers’ 

telephone provider and cramming is the 

placement of an unauthorized charge on 

the consumers’ telephone bill. 

DATES: Effective August 16, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard D. Smith, Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau (717) 338– 

2797, email Richard.Smith@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Report 

and Order, document FCC 18–78, 

adopted on June 7, 2018, and released 

on June 8, 2018, in CG Docket No. 17– 

169. The full text of document FCC 18– 

78 will be available for public 

inspection and copying via the 

Commission’s Electronic Comment 

Filing System (ECFS), and during 

regular business hours at the FCC 

Reference Information Center, Portals II, 

445 12th Street SW, Room CY–A257, 

Washington, DC 20554. To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities (Braille, large 

print, electronic files, audio format), 

send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call 

the Consumer and Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), (844) 

432–2272 (videophone), or (202) 418– 

0432 (TTY). 

Congressional Review Act 

The Commission will send a copy of 

document FCC 18–78 to Congress and 

the Government Accountability Office 

pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Analysis 

The Report and Order does not 

contain any new or modified 

information collection requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

therefore, it does not contain any new 

or modified information collection 

burden for small business concerns with 

fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to 

the Small Business Paperwork Relief 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). 

Synopsis 

Misrepresentations on Sales Calls 

1. The Commission’s recent 

enforcement actions reveal that 

misrepresentations on sales calls are a 


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