64892 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 49 CFR 1.46; 33

CFR 1.05–1(g); section 117.255 also issued

under the authority of Pub. L. 102–587, 106

Stat. 5039.

2. On November 5, 2000, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m., in § 117.789, paragraph(c) is

temporarily suspended and a new

paragraph(g) is temporarily added to

read as follows:

§ 117.789 Harlem River

* * * * *

(g) The draws of the bridges at 103rd

Street, mile 0.0, 3rd Avenue, mile 1.9,

145th Street, mile 2.8, Macombs Dam,

mile 3.2, 207th Street, mile 6.0, and the

two Broadway Bridges, mile 6.8, shall

open on signal if at least four-hours

notice is given to the New York City

Highway Radio (Hotline) Room. The

Willis Avenue Bridge, mile 1.5, and

Madison Avenue Bridge, mile 2.3, need

not open for vessel traffic from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m.

3. On November 5, 2000, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m., in § 117.801, paragraph (g) is

temporarily suspended and a new

paragraph (h) is added to read as

follows:

§ 117.801 Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills,

English Kills, and their tributaries.

* * * * *

(h) The draw of the Pulaski Bridge,

mile 0.6, across Newtown Creek, need

not open for vessel traffic, from 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. The Greenpoint Avenue

Bridge, mile 1.3, across Newtown Creek

between Brooklyn and Queens, shall

open on signal if at least a two-hour

advance notice is given to the New York

City Department of Transportation

(NYCDOT) Radio Hotline or NYCDOT

Bridge Operations Office.

Dated: October 18, 2000.

G.N. Naccara,

Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander,

First Coast Guard District.

[FR Doc. 00–27942 Filed 10–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–15–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 69

[CC Docket No. 99–316; FCC 00–384]

Shortening Notice Period for Changes

in Participation in NECA’s Access

Tariffs

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the

Commission’s rules to change the date

by which carriers must notify the

National Exchange Carrier Association,

Inc. (NECA) of any changes in their

participation in the association’s access

tariff filing. Previously, incumbent local

exchange carriers were required to

notify NECA of any change in their

participation in the association’s access

tariff by December 31 of the year

preceding the tariff filing. The

Commission is amending its rules to

extend that notification deadline to

March 1 of the tariff year. This change

will provide carriers with additional

time in which to make their access tariff

participation decisions.

DATES: Effective November 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 445 12th Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer McKee, (202) 418–1520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 47

CFR 69.3, NECA is responsible for filing

an access service tariff as agent for all

telephone companies that participate in

the association tariff. The association

tariff is to be filed with a scheduled

effective date of July 1. To provide

NECA with sufficient notice, carriers

were required to notify NECA of any

change in their association tariff

participation by December 31 of the year

preceding the filing of the tariff.

In 1997 the Commission streamlined

its tariff filing rules, allowing carriers to

file their annual access tariffs on 15

days notice for filings that include rate

increases, or on 7 days notice for filings

that include only rate decreases, rather

than on 90 days notice. 63 FR 13132,

March 18, 1998. The streamlined notice

requirement applies to NECA’s

association access service tariff,

allowing NECA to file the tariff on June

16 or June 24, rather than on April 2, for

an effective date of July 1. In addition

to the streamlined notice period, NECA

now employs electronic data collection

and processing routines that were not in

use when 47 CFR 69.3 was adopted.

These more efficient data collection

techniques significantly reduce the time

required to assemble and analyze data

for NECA’s tariff filing. According to

NECA, the tariff streamlining rules and

improvements in data collection

management eliminate the need for

carriers to provide six months advance

notice to NECA of planned tariff

participation changes. Therefore, NECA

filed a petition for rulemaking seeking

to change the carrier notification date

from December 31 of the previous year

to March 1 of the tariff year. We granted

NECA’s petition and sought comment

on the proposal. 65 FR 51572, August

24, 2000.

We agree with NECA that changes in

tariff notification periods and

advancements in data collection and

processing methods warrant a shorter

timeframe for carriers to provide notice

of tariff participation changes. In

addition, as NECA noted in its petition,

shorter notice periods will not

disadvantage NECA and may help

smaller companies make betterinformed decisions regarding tariff

participation. For instance, because the

deadline by which NECA must file

proposed revisions to its average

schedule formulas is December 31,

companies that rely on these formulas to

compute interstate access compensation

will have more time to analyze the

proposed revisions before deciding

whether to participate in NECA’s access

tariff.

Therefore, we amend 47 CFR part 69

to allow carriers until March 1 of each

tariff year to notify NECA of any

changes in tariff participation.

Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

The action contained herein has been

analyzed with respect to the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 and found not to

impose new or modified reporting and

recordkeeping requirements or burdens

on the public. Therefore

implementation of the amended rule

extending the date by which carriers

must notify NECA of changes in their

association access tariff participation

will not be subject to approval by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act

Analysis

As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 603, an

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(IRFA) was incorporated in the NPRM.

The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq., has been

amended by the Contract With America

Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law

104–121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996)

(CWAAA). Title II of the CWAAA is the

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The

Commission sought written public

comment on the proposals in the NPRM,

including comment on the IRFA. This

present Final Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis (FRFA) conforms to the RFA,

as amended. See 5 U.S.C. 604.

Need for and Objectives of This

Order. As discussed above, NECA has

asserted that changes in tariff

notification periods and advancements

in data collection and processing

methods have facilitated NECA’s ability

to prepare association tariffs. Therefore,

NECA can receive notifications from

carriers changing the status of their

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 64893

association tariff participation closer to

the tariff filing deadline. At NECA’s

request, the Commission is amending its

rules to extend the deadline by which

carriers must notify NECA of changes in

association tariff participation.

Specifically, the notification deadline is

changed from December 31 of the

preceding year to March 1 of the tariff

year. This extension of the notification

deadline will provide carriers additional

time to determine their tariff

participation status, thus allowing them

to make more informed tariff

participation decisions.

Summary of Significant Issues Raised

by the Public Comments in Response to

the IRFA. The Commission received no

comments addressing the IRFA.

However, the comments received in

response to the NPRM were supportive

of the change in tariff participation

notification date. NTCA’s comments

specifically noted that changing the

election deadline to March 1 would

benefit NTCA’s members, which are

small carriers that are ‘‘rural telephone

companies’’ as defined in the

Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Description and Estimate of the

Number of Small Entities to Which the

Proposed Rules Will Apply. The RFA

directs agencies to provide a description

of, and, where feasible, an estimate of

the number of small entities to which

the rules will apply. 5 U.S.C. 604(a)(3).

The RFA defines the term ‘‘small entity’’

as having the same meaning as the terms

‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small organization,’’

and ‘‘small business concern’’ under

Section 3 of the Small Business Act. 5

U.S.C. 601(3). A small business concern

is one which: (1) Is independently

owned and operated; (2) is not

dominant in its field of operation; and

(3) satisfies any additional criteria

established by the Small Business

Administration (SBA). Small Business

Act, 15 U.S.C. 632.

In this FRFA, we consider the

potential impact of the Order on all

local exchange carriers (LECs) that

could consider participating in NECA’s

association tariffs. Neither the

Commission nor the SBA has developed

a definition for small LECs. The closest

applicable definition under the SBA

rules is for Standard Industrial

Classification (SIC) category 4,813,

telephone communications companies

other than radiotelephone (wireless)

companies. 13 CFR 121.201. For this

category, the SBA has defined a small

business to be a small entity having no

more than 1,500 employees. Id.

We have included small incumbent

LECs in the present RFA analysis. As

noted, a ‘‘small business’’ under the

RFA is one that, inter alia, meets the

pertinent small business size standard

(e.g., a telephone communications

business having 1,500 or fewer

employees), and ‘‘is not dominant in its

field of operation.’’ 5 U.S.C. 601(3). The

SBA’s Office of Advocacy contends that,

for RFA purposes, small incumbent

LECs are not dominant in their field of

operation because any such dominance

is not ‘‘national’’ in scope. Letter from

Jere W. Glover, Chief Counsel for

Advocacy, SBA, to William E. Kennard,

Chairman, FCC (May 27, 1999). The

Small Business Act contains a definition

of ‘‘small business concern’’ which the

RFA incorporates into its own definition

of ‘‘small business.’’ See 15 U.S.C.

632(a) (Small Business Act); 5 U.S.C.

601(3) (RFA). SBA regulations interpret

‘‘small business concern’’ to include the

concept of dominance on a national

basis. 13 CFR 121.102(b). Since 1996,

out of an abundance of caution, the

Commission has included small

incumbent LECs in its regulatory

flexibility analyses. See, e.g.,

Implementation of the Local

Competition Provisions of the

Telecommunications Act of 1996, 61 FR

45476, August 29, 1996. We have

therefore included small incumbent

LECs in this RFA analysis, although we

emphasize that this RFA action has no

effect on the Commission’s analyses and

determinations in other, non-RFA

contexts.

The most reliable source of

information regarding the total numbers

of certain common carrier and related

providers nationwide, as well as the

numbers of commercial wireless

entities, appears to be data the

Commission publishes annually in its

Carrier Locator: Interstate Service

Providers Report (Locator). This report

was compiled using information from

Telecommunications Relay Service

(TRS) fund worksheets filed by carriers,

including, inter alia, LECs, competitive

local exchange carriers, interexchange

carriers, competitive access providers,

satellite service providers, wireless

telephony providers, operator service

providers, pay telephone operators,

providers of telephone toll service,

providers of telephone exchange

service, and resellers.

There are two principle providers of

local telephone service; incumbent LECs

and competing local service providers.

However, under 47 CFR part 69,

participation in NECA’s access service

tariffs is limited to incumbent LECs,

therefore the rule changes will not affect

competing local service providers. 47

CFR 69.2(hh). According to the most

recent Locator data, 1,348 filers

identified themselves as incumbent

LECs. Data set forth in the Commission’s

Statistics of Communications Common

Carriers (SOCC) lists 32 incumbent

LECs that have more than 1,500

employees. We do not have data

specifying the number of incumbent

LECs that are either dominant in their

field of operations or are not

independently owned and operated, and

thus are unable at this time to estimate

with greater precision the number of

incumbent LECs that would qualify as

small business concerns under the

SBA’s definition. Consequently, we

estimate that fewer than 1,316

incumbent LECs are small entities that

may be affected by the rules.

Description of Projected Reporting,

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance

Requirements. This Order adopts a

proposed extension of the date by which

carriers must notify NECA of changes in

participation in association tariffs.

Under the current rules this notification

must be provided six months prior to

the effective date of the tariff, by

December 31 of the preceding year. The

Commission amends its rules to allow

carriers until March 1 of the tariff year

to provide the required notification to

NECA. The amended rules will not

require carriers to conduct any new

reporting or recordkeeping obligations.

Instead, carriers will continue to report

to NECA any changes in their

association tariff participation, but this

notification will be submitted at a later

date.

Steps Taken To Minimize Significant

Economic Impact on Small Entities and

Significant Alternatives Considered. The

rule amendments adopted in this Order

are designed to assist all carriers in

making their association tariff

participation elections. The extension of

the notification date from December 31

to March 1 may particularly benefit

smaller carriers that rely on average

schedule formulas to compute interstate

access compensation, because NECA is

required to file proposed revisions to

these schedules by December 31. The

extension of the tariff election deadline

will provide carriers more time to

analyze NECA’s proposed revisions

before making tariff participation

decisions.

Report to Congress. The Commission

will send a copy of the Order, including

this FRFA, in a report to be sent to

Congress pursuant to the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of

1996. See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). In

addition, the Commission will send a

copy of the Order, including this FRFA,

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration. A copy

of the Order and FRFA (or summaries

thereof) will also be published in the

Federal Register. See 5 U.S.C. 604(b).

64894 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 211 / Tuesday, October 31, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Ordering Clauses

Pursuant to the authority contained in

sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 201–205, and 303

of the Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j),

201–205, and 303, that this Order Is

Hereby Adopted as described.

The provisions of this Order Shall Be

Effective November 30, 2000.

The Commission’s Consumer

Information Bureau, Reference

Information Center, Shall Send a copy

of this Order, including the Final

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small

Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 69

Communications common carriers,

Tariffs.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

Regulatory Text

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, the Federal Communications

Commission amends 47 CFR part 69 as

follows:

PART 69—ACCESS CHARGES

1. The authority citation for part 69

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 201, 202, 203,

205, 218, 220, 254, 403.

2. Amend § 69.3 by revising

paragraphs (e)(6), (e)(9), and (i)(1) to

read as follows:

§ 69.3 Filing of access service tariffs.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(6) A telephone company or

companies that elect to file such a tariff

shall notify the association not later

than March 1 of the year the tariff

becomes effective, if such company or

companies did not file such a tariff in

the preceding biennial period or crossreference association charges in such

preceding period that will be crossreferenced in the new tariff. A telephone

company or companies that elect to file

such a tariff not in the biennial period

shall file its tariff to become effective

July 1 for a period of one year.

Thereafter, such telephone company or

companies must file its tariff pursuant

to paragraphs (f)(1) or (f)(2) of this

section.

* * * * *

(9) A telephone company or group of

affiliated telephone companies that

elects to file its own Carrier Common

Line tariff pursuant to paragraph (a) of

this section shall notify the association

not later than March 1 of the year the

tariff becomes effective that it will no

longer participate in the association

tariff. A telephone company or group of

affiliated telephone companies that

elects to file its own Carrier Common

Line tariff for one of its study areas shall

file its own Carrier Common Line

tariff(s) for all of its study areas.

* * * * *

(i) * * *

(1) In addition to the withdrawal

provisions of paragraphs (e)(6) and (e)(9)

of this section, a telephone company or

group of affiliated companies that

participates in one or more association

tariffs during the current tariff year and

that elects to file price cap tariffs or

optional incentive regulation tariffs

effective July 1 of the following tariff

year shall notify the association by

March 1 of the following tariff year that

it is withdrawing from association

tariffs, subject to the terms of this

section, to participate in price cap

regulation or optional incentive

regulation.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 00–27904 Filed 10–30–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 000426114–0114–01; I.D.

101700E]

RIN 0648–AN53

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Spiny Dogfish Fishery; 2000

Specifications; Extension of an Interim

Rule

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Extension of the effective date

of an interim rule.

SUMMARY: NMFS informs the public that

the interim rule published on May 4,

2000, to implement specifications and

seasonal trip limits for fishing year 2000

(May 1, 2000, through April 30, 2001)

for the spiny dogfish (Squalus

acanthias) fishery, is extended through

April 24, 2001. The extension maintains

the total quota for the 2000 fishing year

and sets aside a portion of the total

quota for vessels participating in spiny

dogfish exempted fishing projects. The

interim final rule is necessary to prevent

overfishing of spiny dogfish and extend

the effective period of the quota.

DATES: Effective October 29, 2000,

through April 24, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Copies of documents

supporting this action are available from

the Northeast Regional Office, NMFS,

Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 1

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy

Analyst, 978–281–9288, fax 978–281–

9135, e-mail

peter.christopher@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Spiny

Dogfish Fishery Management Plan

(FMP) prepared by the Mid-Atlantic and

New England Fishery Management

Councils (Councils) was partially

approved by NMFS on behalf of the

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) on

September 29, 1999. The final rule

implementing the FMP was published

on January 11, 2000 (65 FR 1557), and

was initially scheduled to be effective

on February 10, 2000. However, the

Councils were unable to reach

agreement on a preferred commercial

quota and trip limit measure for this

action. After delays in implementing the

FMP from February to April, 2000, in

order to provide the Councils additional

opportunities to reach agreement,

NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary,

published an interim rule on May 4,

2000 (65 FR 25887), which established

a quota and trip limits for fishing year

2000.

The interim rule allocated quota into

two periods (May 1 through October 31,

and November 1 through April 30), with

trip limits intended to preclude directed

fishing. As of September 23, 2000,

reported landings have exceeded the

annual quota of 4 million lb (1,814 mt),

with approximately 4.7 million lb (2,131

mt) reported. In addition, the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts closed

its waters to spiny dogfish fishing on

August 26, 2000, based on its

determination that landings in that state

reached the 7 million lb (3,175 mt) of

spiny dogfish that the Commonwealth

believed appropriate. Therefore, the

landings of 4.6 million lb (2,086 mt)

currently included in Federal landings

records is incomplete. Due to the

excessive landings in quota period 1,

which have exceeded the annual quota,

the fishery will not be reopened for

quota period 2.

The research quota set–-aside of

500,000 lb (226.7 mt) was established

for vessels participating in research

projects designed to improve selectivity

of spiny dogfish fishing gear and

methods. The primary goal in providing

this incentive for research is to

investigate ways to shift fishing effort

away from female spiny dogfish, which