42648 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 164 / Thursday, August 23, 2018 / Notices 

In more severe situations, congestion 

may have both economic and reliability 

components—that is, if an area’s 

electricity demand essentially outgrows 

its transmission network, in addition to 

forcing wholesale buyers to turn to 

higher-priced sellers, the system may no 

longer be able to meet NERC reliability 

standards under one or more 

contingencies. 

A third form of congestion occurs 

when the transmission network is not 

sufficient to enable achievement of 

established federal, state, or local public 

policy goals. For example, stateimposed renewable portfolio standards 

may lead to demands for transmission 

service that exceed the capacity 

currently available. At the federal level, 

requirements designed to ensure system 

resilience and security under extreme 

stress (e.g., natural disasters or cyber/ 

physical attacks) could create a demand 

for additional transmission capacity in 

specific locations. 

The Department is initiating its next 

triennial congestion study, and seeks 

comments on what publicly-available 

data and information should be 

considered, and what types of analysis 

should be performed to identify and 

understand the significance and 

character of transmission congestion. 

Note: The Department now publishes an 

Annual U.S. Transmission Data Review, 

now entering its fourth year; it seeks 

comments about any additional 

publicly-available data and information 

that is not already contained in the 

annual data reviews published in 2015, 

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/ 

2015/08/f26/Transmission%20Data

%20Review%20August%202015.pdf; 

2016, https://www.energy.gov/sites/ 

prod/files/2017/04/f34/Annual%20US

%20Transmission%20Data%20Review

%202016_0.pdf; and 2018, https://

www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/ 

03/f49/2018%20Transmission%20Data

%20Review%20FINAL.pdf. 

In preparing the 2009 and 2015 

Congestion Studies, the Department 

gathered historical congestion data 

obtained from existing studies prepared 

by regional reliability councils, regional 

transmission organizations (RTOs) and 

independent system operators (ISOs), 

and regional planning groups. The 

forthcoming study will draw upon many 

of the same kinds of data, analyses, and 

information as the earlier studies. These 

sources may include, but would not be 

limited to: 

a. Electricity market analyses, 

including locational marginal price 

patterns; 

b. Reliability analyses and actions, 

including transmission loading relief 

actions; 

c. Historic energy flows; 

d. Current and projected electric 

supply and generation plans; 

e. Recent, current, and planned 

transmission and interconnection 

queues; 

f. Results of any ‘‘stress test’’ analysis 

of a transmission system based on threat 

and resilience modeling and any 

contingency modeling incorporating or 

accounting for interdependencies 

throughout energy systems; 

g. Current and forecast electricity 

loads, including energy efficiency, 

distributed generation, and demand 

response plans and policies; 

h. The location of renewable 

resources and state and regional policies 

with respect to renewable development; 

i. Projected impacts of current or 

pending environmental regulation on 

generation availability; 

j. Effects of recent or projected 

economic conditions on demand and 

congestion; and 

k. Filings or regional transmission 

expansion plans developed in 

compliance with FERC Orders No. 890 

and 1000. 

National Interest Electric Transmission 

Corridor Designation 

FPA section 216(a)(2) authorizes the 

Secretary of Energy to designate ‘‘any 

geographic area experiencing electric 

energy transmission capacity constraints 

or congestion that adversely affects 

consumers as a national interest electric 

transmission corridor’’ (National 

Corridor) after completion of a 

congestion study, and consideration of 

alternatives and recommendations of 

interested parties and other public 

comments. Prior to making a separate 

federal decision about any proposed 

designation of a National Corridor, DOE 

will consider environmental impacts of 

such a designation, as required by the 

National Environmental Policy Act (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Designation of an 

area as a National Corridor would 

enable the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission to exercise jurisdiction 

over the siting of transmission facilities 

in the National Corridor, if it found that 

certain preconditions (listed in FPA 

section 216(b)) have been met. 

Some commenters on DOE’s previous 

congestion studies suggested that in 

some circumstances it might be 

informative for DOE to publish a 

transmission congestion study focused 

on specific transmission project(s), and 

if appropriate, designate a National 

Corridor tailored to the project(s). DOE 

agrees, but notes that the need for such 

studies or corridors might not mesh well 

(in terms of both timing and appropriate 

granularity) with the triennial largegeographic-scale congestion studies 

envisioned in FPA section 216(a)(1). For 

this reason, DOE will continue to 

produce the triennial studies required 

by the statute, and would also respond, 

perhaps separately, to requests for the 

preparation of project-specific 

congestion studies or the designation of 

related National Corridors. 

A party seeking the designation of a 

project-specific National Corridor 

should submit the following to DOE: 

a. Data or studies confirming the 

existence in a specific geographic area 

of transmission constraints or 

congestion adversely affecting 

consumers; 

b. Data or studies confirming that 

proposed transmission project(s) would 

ease the congestion and its adverse 

impacts on consumers; 

c. Information showing how a 

National Corridor should be bounded in 

order to be relevant to the proposed 

transmission project(s); and 

d. Information showing why it would 

be in the national interest for the 

Department to intervene in a subject 

area that is normally subject to state 

jurisdiction. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on August 16, 

2018. 

Bruce J. Walker, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18229 Filed 8–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9982–15–OP] 

Notice of Charter Renewal 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of charter renewal. 

Notice is hereby given that the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

has determined that, in accordance with 

the provisions of the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (FACA), the National 

Environmental Justice Advisory Council 

(NEJAC) is necessary and in the public 

interest in connection with the 

performance of duties imposed on the 

agency by law. Accordingly, NEJAC will 

be renewed for an additional two-year 

period. The purpose of the NEJAC is to 

provide advice and recommendations to 

the Administrator about issues 

associated with integrating 

environmental justice concerns into 

EPA’s outreach activities, public 

policies, science, regulatory, 

enforcement, and compliance decisions. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 164 / Thursday, August 23, 2018 / Notices 42649 

Inquiries may be directed to Matthew 

Tejada, NEJAC Designated Federal 

Officer, U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW (Mail Code 2202A), 

Washington, DC 20460, 202–564–8047, 

Tejada.Matthew@epa.gov. 

Dated: August 7, 2018. 

Brittany Bolen, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–18275 Filed 8–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

[MB Docket No. 18–227; DA 18–761] 

Media Bureau Seeks Comment on the 

Status of Competition in the 

Marketplace for Delivery of Audio 

Programming 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice; solicitation of 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This document seeks input on 

the state of competition in the 

marketplace for the delivery of audio 

programming as it would relate to the 

overall goal of providing the 

Communications Marketplace Report to 

Congress as required by the Repack 

Airwaves Yielding Better Access for 

Users of Modern Services Act of 2018 

(RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018). Title IV of 

the RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018 requires 

that the Commission publish a 

Communications Marketplace Report in 

the last quarter of every even numbered 

year. 

DATES: Comments are due on or before 

September 24, 2018. Reply comments 

are due on or before October 9, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may 

submit and reply comments, identified 

by MB Docket No. 18–227, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s website: http://

www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or 

messenger delivery, by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail 

(although the Commission continues to 

experience delays in receiving U.S. 

Postal Service mail). All filings must be 

addressed to the Commission’s 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 

Federal Communications Commission. 

• People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202– 

418–0432. 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jake 

Riehm of the Media Bureau, Industry 

Analysis Division, (202) 418–2166. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Public 

Notice, DA 18–761, released on July 23, 

2018. The full text of this document is 

available electronically via the FCC’s 

Electronic Document Management 

System (EDOCS) website at https://

www.fcc.gov/document/media-bureauseeks-comment-audio-competition. 

Documents will be available 

electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, 

and/or Adobe Acrobat. This document 

is also available for public inspection 

and copying during regular business 

hours in the FCC Reference Information 

Center, which is located in Room CY– 

A257 at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. The 

Reference Information Center is open to 

the public Monday through Thursday 

from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 

from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The 

complete text may be purchased from 

the Commission’s copy contractor, 445 

12th Street SW, Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554. Alternative 

formats are available for people with 

disabilities (Braille, large print, 

electronic files, audio format), by 

sending an email to FCC504@fcc.gov or 

calling the Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

1. On March 23, 2018, the President 

signed into law the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2018, which 

included the Repack Airwaves Yielding 

Better Access for Users of Modern 

Services Act of 2018 (RAY BAUM’S Act 

of 2018). Title IV of RAY BAUM’S Act 

of 2018 amends Section 13 of the 

Communications Act (the Act) of 1934, 

and requires that the Commission 

publish a Communications Marketplace 

Report in the last quarter of every even 

numbered year. Among other things, the 

biennial Communications Marketplace 

Report requires that the Commission 

assess the state of competition in the 

communications marketplace, including 

competition to deliver audio service 

among broadcast stations, satellite radio, 

and entities that provide audio content 

via the internet and to mobile devices. 

Accordingly, this Public Notice seeks 

input on the state of competition in the 

marketplace for the delivery of audio 

programming as it would relate to the 

overall goal of providing the required 

Communications Marketplace Report to 

Congress. 

2. This Public Notice requests 

comment on the criteria or metrics that 

could be used to evaluate the state of 

competition in the audio programming 

marketplace, as well as comment and 

information on industry data, 

competitive dynamics, and trending 

factors. For example, commenters are 

invited to submit the following data and 

information related to participants in 

the marketplace for the delivery of 

audio programming, including, but not 

limited to, terrestrial radio broadcasters 

(i.e., AM and FM radio stations), 

satellite radio providers, and entities 

that provide audio programming over 

the internet and to mobile devices 

(collectively, Audio Marketplace 

Participants): 

• Identification and ownership of key 

Audio Marketplace Participants, as well 

as the business models and competitive 

strategies they use; 

• trends in service offerings, pricing, 

and consumer behavior; 

• the extent of competition among 

Audio Marketplace Participants, 

including intramodal competition (i.e., 

competition among providers of the 

same type, such as terrestrial radio 

broadcast stations) and intermodal 

competition (i.e., competition among 

providers of different types, such as 

terrestrial radio broadcast stations and 

satellite radio providers); 

• ratings, subscribership, and revenue 

information, for the marketplace as a 

whole and for individual Audio 

Marketplace Participants; 

• capital investment, innovation, and 

the deployment of advanced technology; 

• requirements for entry into the 

marketplace; and 

• recent entry into and exit from the 

marketplace. 

It is requested that commenters 

submit information, data, and statistics 

for 2016 and 2017, as well as 

information on any notable trends and 

developments that have occurred during 

2018 to date. Industry stakeholders, the 

public, and other interested parties are 

encouraged to submit information, 

comments, and analyses. In order to 

facilitate analysis of competitive trends, 

parties should submit current and 

historic data that are comparable over 

time. Commenters seeking confidential 

treatment of their submissions should 

request that their submission, or a 


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