1420 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 7 / Friday, January 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules

prohibited by section 522(e)(4) and (5) of

SMCRA as unsuitable for mining.

5. For operations on Federal lands,

whenever DEQ is responsible for making the

VER determinations, DEQ will consult with

OSM and any affected agency.

Article XI: Termination of the Agreement

This Agreement may be terminated by the

Governor or the Secretary under the

provisions of 30 CFR 745.15.

Article XII: Reinstatement of the Agreement

If this Agreement has been terminated in

whole or part, it may be reinstated under the

provisions of 30 CFR 745.16.

Article XIII: Amendments of the Agreement

This Agreement may be amended by

mutual agreement of the Governor and the

Secretary in accordance with 30 CFR 745.14.

Article XIV: Changes in State or Federal

Standards

A. The Secretary or the State may, from

time to time, revise and promulgate new or

revised performance or reclamation

requirements or enforcement and

administrative procedures. Each party shall,

if it determines it to be necessary to keep this

Agreement in force, change or revise its

respective laws or regulations or request

necessary legislative action. Such changes

will be made under the procedures of 30 CFR

Part 732 for changes to the State Program and

under the procedures of section 501 of

SMCRA for changes to the Federal lands

program.

B. DEQ and OSM shall provide each other

with copies of any changes to their respective

laws, rules, regulations, and standards

pertaining to the enforcement and

administration of this Agreement.

Article XV: Changes in Personnel and

Organization

A. DEQ and OSM shall, consistent with 30

CFR Part 745, advise each other of changes

in the organization, structure, functions,

duties and funds of the offices, departments,

divisions, and persons within their

organizations which could affect

administration and enforcement of this

Agreement. Each shall promptly advise the

other in writing of changes in key personnel,

including the head of a department or

division, or changes in the functions or

duties of the principal offices of the program.

DEQ and OSM shall advise each other in

writing of changes in the location of their

respective offices, addresses, telephone

numbers, as well as changes in the names,

addresses, and telephone numbers of their

respective personnel.

B. Should the State Act be amended to

transfer administration of the State Act to

another agency, all references to DEQ in this

Agreement shall be deemed to apply to the

successor regulatory agency as of the date of

transfer. The provisions in this Agreement

shall thereafter apply to that agency.

Article XVI: Reservation of Rights

In accordance with 30 CFR 745.13, this

Agreement shall not be construed as waiving

or preventing the assertion of any rights that

have not been expressly addressed in this

Agreement that the State or the Secretary

may have under laws other than the Act and

the State Program, including, but not limited

to those listed in Appendix A.

Dated:

Governor of Montana

Dated:

Secretary of the Interior

Appendix A

1. The Federal Land Policy and Management

Act, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., and

implementing regulations.

2. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, 30 U.S.C.

181 et seq., and implementing

regulations, including 43 CFR Part 3480.

3. The National Environmental Policy Act of

1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., and

implementing regulations, including 40

CFR Part 1500.

4. The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C.

1531 et seq., and implementing

regulations, including 50 CFR Part 402.

5. The National Historic Preservation Act of

1966, 16 U.S.C. 470 et seq., and

implementing regulations, including 36

CFR Part 800.

6. Native American Graves Protection and

Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 3001 et

seq.

7. The American Indian Religious Freedom

Act, 42 U.S.C. 1986 et seq.

8. The Archaeological Resources Protection

Act of 1979, 16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.

9. The Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.,

and implementing regulations.

10. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act,

33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., and implementing

regulations.

11. The Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq., and

implementing regulations.

12. The Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960,

amended by the Preservation of

Historical and Archaeological Data Act

of 1974, 16 U.S.C. 469 et seq.

13. Executive Order 11593 (May 13, 1971),

Cultural Resource Inventories on Federal

Lands.

14. Executive Order 11988 (May 24, 1977),

for flood plain protection.

15. Executive Order 11990 (May 24, 1977),

for wetlands protection.

16. Executive Order 12898 (February 11,

1994) for Federal Actions to Address

Environmental Justice on Minority

Populations and Low Income

Populations.

17. The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired

Lands, 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq., and

implementing regulations.

18. The Stock Raising Homestead Act of

1916, 43 U.S.C. 291 et seq.

19. The Constitution of the United States.

20. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation

Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.

21. 30 CFR Chapter VII.

22. The Constitution of the State of Montana.

23. Montana Strip and Underground Mine

Reclamation Act (MSUMRA), Part 2,

Chapter 4, Title 82, Montana Code

Annotated.

24. Title 26, Chapter 4, Subchapter 3,

Administrative Rules of Montana.

25. Montana Environmental Policy Act

(MEPA).

[FR Doc. 97–582 Filed 1–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–05–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[FRL–5674–4]

Calls for State Implementation Plan

Revisions for Certain States To

Reduce Regional Transport of Ozone

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: In accordance with section

110(k)(5) and 110(a)(2)(D) of the Clean

Air Act (Act), the EPA plans to require

States to submit State implementation

plan (SIP) measures to ensure that

emission reductions are achieved as

needed to prevent significant transport

of ozone (smog) pollution across State

boundaries in the Eastern United States.

These precursors include volatile

organic compounds (VOC) and oxides of

nitrogen (NOx).

Today’s notice announces the

Agency’s intention to publish a Notice

of Proposed Rulemaking in the March

1997 timeframe, with final action

scheduled for summer 1997. Ozone has

long been recognized, in both clinical

and epidemiological research, to affect

public health. There is a wide range of

ozone-induced health effects, including

decreased lung function (primarily in

children active outdoors), increased

respiratory symptoms (particularly in

highly sensitive individuals), hospital

admissions and emergency room visits

for respiratory causes (among children

and adults with pre-existing respiratory

disease such as asthma), inflammation

of the lung, and possible long-term

damage to the lungs. Today’s notice

announces EPA’s intention to conduct

the formal process for implementing the

regional reductions in ozone precursors

that are necessary for areas in the

Eastern United States to reach

attainment. The Ozone Transport

Assessment Group (OTAG) was

established approximately 11⁄2 years ago

to undertake an assessment of the

regional transport problem. The OTAG

is a collaborative process conducted by

the affected States. The OTAG also

includes representatives from EPA and

interested members of the public,

including environmental groups and

industry, to evaluate the ozone transport

problem and the development of

solutions.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 7 / Friday, January 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules 1421

1These ozone nonattainment areas, as well as

those classified as moderate, were also required to

submit, by November 15, 1993, a SIP revision

providing for reductions in VOC emissions of 15

percent by November 15, 1996 under section

182(b)(1).

2For ozone nonattainment areas classified as

moderate, the attainment demonstration was due

November 15, 1993 (section 182(b)(1)(A)), except

that if the State elected to conduct an urban airshed

model, EPA allowed an extension to November 15,

1994.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Related Information

Documents related to OTAG are

available on the Agency’s Office of Air

Quality Planning and Standards’

(OAQPS) Technology Transfer Network

(TTN) Bulletin Board System (BBS). The

telephone number for the TTN BBS is

(919) 541–5742. To access the bulletin

board a modem and communications

software are necessary. The following

parameters on the communications

software are required: Data Bits-8;

Parity-N; and Stop Bits-1. The

documents will be located on the OTAG

BBS. If assistance is needed in accessing

the system, call the help desk at (919)

541–5384 in Research Triangle Park,

NC. Other documents related to OTAG

can be downloaded from OTAG’s

webpage at http://www.epa.gov/oar/

otag/otag.html.

I. Background

A. Overview of 1990 Amendments to the

Clean Air Act (1990 Amendments)

In 1990, Congress amended the Act to

address, among other things, continued

nonattainment of the ozone national

ambient air quality standard (NAAQS)

(Pub. L. 101–549, Nov. 15, 1990, 104

Stat. 2399, codified at 42 U.S.C. 7401–

7671q). Several of the provisions added,

or revised, by the 1990 Amendments are

relevant to today’s notice.

The 1990 Amendments divide ozone

nonattainment areas into, in general,

five classifications based on air quality

design value and establish specific

requirements, including new attainment

dates, for each classification (sections

181–182).

The 1990 Amendments require States

containing ozone nonattainment areas

classified as serious, severe, or extreme

to submit several SIP revisions,

including controls to progressively

reduce emissions of ozone precursors by

9 percent over each 3-year period from

1996 through the attainment date (the

rate-of-progress (ROP), or SIP

submittals), under section 182(c)(2)(B);1

a demonstration of attainment

(including air quality modeling) for the

nonattainment area (the attainment

demonstration), as well as SIP measures

containing any additional reductions

that may be necessary to attain by the

appropriate attainment date under

section 182 (c)–(e). These Act provisions

established November 15, 1994 as the

required date for these SIP submittals.2

On March 2, 1995, EPA Assistant

Administrator for Air and Radiation,

Mary D. Nichols, sent a memorandum to

EPA Regional Administrators

(Memorandum) to provide guidance on

an alternative approach to provide

States with serious and above ozone

nonattainment areas flexibility in their

planning efforts for the submittals due

November 15, 1994.

The 1990 Amendments reflect general

awareness by Congress that in some

areas of the country, ozone is not merely

a local problem, but rather is a regional

problem in that ozone and its precursors

can be transported long distances across

State lines to combine with ozone and

precursors downwind, thereby

exacerbating the ozone problems

downwind. As a result, section 184

delineates a multistate ozone transport

region (OTR) in the Northeast part of the

country, establishes the Northeast

Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) for

the purpose of implementing

regionwide controls affecting all areas

(including attainment areas) in the OTR,

and requires specific controls in that

region.

Section 110(a)(2)(D) provides an

additional tool for addressing the

problem of transport. This provision,

which applies by its terms to all SIP’s

for each pollutant covered by a NAAQS

and for all areas regardless of their

attainment designation, provides that a

SIP must contain provisions preventing

its sources from contributing

significantly to nonattainment problems

downwind. Specifically, this provision

states, in relevant part, that the SIP

must—

contain adequate provisions * * *

prohibiting * * * any source or other type of

emissions activity within the State from

emitting any air pollutant in amounts which

will—

(I) contribute significantly to

nonattainment in, or interfere with

maintenance by, any other State with respect

to any such [NAAQS], or

(II) interfere with measures required to be

included in the applicable implementation

plan for any other State * * * to prevent

significant deterioration of air quality or to

protect visibility. * * *

Section 110(k)(5) provides EPA with a

tool for assuring that SIP’s include

required controls by authorizing EPA to

make a finding that a SIP is inadequate

to meet an Act requirement, thereby

requiring the State to submit, within a

specified period, a SIP revision to

correct the inadequacy. Specifically,

this provision, which may be termed the

SIP call provision, provides, in relevant

part—

Whenever the Administrator finds that the

applicable implementation plan for any area

is substantially inadequate to attain or

maintain the relevant [NAAQS], to mitigate

adequately the interstate pollutant transport

described in section 176A or section 184, or

to otherwise comply with any requirement of

this Act, the Administrator shall require the

State to revise the plan as necessary to

correct such inadequacies. The Administrator

shall notify the State of the inadequacies, and

may establish reasonable deadlines (not to

exceed 18 months after the date of such

notice) for the submission of such plan

revisions.

All of the Act provisions summarized

above are described in more detail in

EPA’s rulemaking notices concerning

low emission vehicles (LEV) in the

Northeast OTR (OTC LEV), ‘‘Proposed

Rulemaking on Ozone Transport

Commission; Emission Vehicle Program

for the Northeast Ozone Transport

Region,’’ 59 FR 21720 (April 26, 1994);

‘‘Supplemental Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking on Ozone Transport

Commission; Emission Vehicle Program

for the Northeast Ozone Transport

Region,’’ 59 FR 48664 (September 22,

1994); ‘‘Final Rule on Ozone Transport

Commission; Emission Vehicle Program

for the Northeast Ozone Transport

Region,’’ 60 FR 4712 (January 24, 1995).

B. State Actions and EPA

Administrative Policy

Notwithstanding significant efforts,

the States generally were not able to

meet the November 15, 1994 deadline

for the attainment demonstration and

other SIP submissions required under

section 182(c).

The March 2, 1995 Memorandum

recognized the efforts made by States

and the remaining difficulties in making

the ROP and attainment demonstration

SIP submittals. The Memorandum

recognized that in general, many States

were unable to complete these SIP

requirements within the deadlines

prescribed by the Act due to

circumstances beyond their control.

These States were hampered by

unavoidable delays in developing the

underlying technical information

needed for the required SIP submittals.

The EPA recognized that development

of the necessary technical information,

as well as the control measures

necessary to achieve the large level of

reductions likely to be required, had

been particularly difficult for the States

affected by ozone transport.

Accordingly, as an administrative

remedial matter, the Memorandum
1422 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 7 / Friday, January 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules

3OTAG Policy Paper approved by the Policy

Group on December 4, 1995.

indicated that EPA would establish new

timeframes for SIP submittals. The

Memorandum indicated that EPA would

divide the required SIP submittals into

two phases. The Phase I submittals

generally consisted of (i) SIP measures

providing for ROP reductions due by the

end of 1999 (the first 9 percent of ROP

reductions); (ii) a SIP commitment

(sometimes referred to as an enforceable

commitment) to submit any remaining

required ROP reductions on a specified

schedule after 1996 (with submission no

later than the end of 1999); and (iii) a

SIP commitment to submit the

attainment demonstration by mid-1997,

with submission by no later than the

end of 1999 of any additional rules

needed to attain. By notice dated July

10, 1996 (61 FR 36292–36295 July 10,

1996), EPA issued findings (July 1996

Findings), and thereby started sanctions

clocks, for 10 States and the District of

Columbia. The findings were made for

nine nonattainment areas in those States

under the Act for failure to make

complete Phase I ozone SIP submittals

as described above.

The Phase II submittals were due at

specified times after 1996 and primarily

consisted of the remaining ROP SIP

measures, the attainment demonstration

and additional rules needed to attain,

and any regional controls necessary for

attainment by all areas in the region.

The Memorandum contemplated that

regional controls needed for serious

areas to reach their 1999 attainment date

would be submitted and implemented

in a timeframe consistent with that

deadline, and that regional controls

needed for severe/extreme areas to

attain would be submitted by the end of

1999.

In addition, the Memorandum called

for a collaborative process among the

States in the Eastern half of the country

to evaluate and address transport of

ozone and its precursors. Subsequently,

the OTAG was formed, which includes

representatives from States, EPA

officials, and interested members of the

public, including environmental groups

and industry, to provide for an

assessment of the transport problem and

the development of consensus solutions.

It is becoming increasingly apparent

that some of the most highly polluted

ozone nonattainment areas will not be

able to demonstrate attainment simply

through the implementation of control

measures within the nonattainment

area. In some cases, significant ozone

concentration and precursor emission

reductions within the upwind air mass

being transported into the

nonattainment area also appear to be

necessary.

C. OTAG Process

The OTAG is organized into a number

of subgroups and workgroups. The

OTAG’s Policy Group provides overall

direction to its subgroups for the

assessment of ozone formation and

transport, as well as the development of

controls strategies that will reduce

concentrations of ozone and its

precursors. The Modeling and

Assessment Subgroup addresses issues

relating to emissions inventories,

monitoring, and modeling. It’s goal is to

assess ozone transport and its impacts.

The Strategies and Controls Subgroup

evaluates the availability, effectiveness,

and costs of potential national, regional

and local air pollution control strategies.

The Financial Assessment and

Implementation Subgroup addresses

funding and budget issues. The

Outreach and Communications

Subgroup educates and informs the

public about OTAG’s mission and goals,

specifically the environmental benefits

of reducing the transport of ozone and

its precursors. There are also work

groups that address other issues such as

trading and market-based incentives,

criteria for evaluating strategies and

implementation issues.

The OTAG’s first meetings were on

May 18, 1995, in Reston, Virginia, and

June 19, 1995, in Washington, DC. The

OTAG has continued to meet regularly

since then. The goal of OTAG is to—

Identify and recommend a strategy to

reduce transported ozone and its precursors

which, in combination with other measures,

will enable attainment and maintenance of

the national ambient ozone standard in the

OTAG region. A number of criteria will be

used to select the strategy including, but not

limited to, cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and

impacts on ozone levels.3

In addition to sensitivity modeling

analyses, OTAG is modeling three

rounds of strategies in order to have the

technical information necessary to make

a recommendation to EPA on what is

needed to meet the OTAG goal. The first

round of modeling was performed

during September and October 1996 and

provided an initial evaluation of

possible OTAG emission reductions.

The results from the sensitivity analyses

and the first round of strategy runs

indicate that NOX reductions provide

benefits across State or multi-state

boundaries and local disbenefits in

some urban areas. Regionwide VOC

reductions provide little benefit on a

regional scale but decrease ozone in

urban areas, which also may lessen the

disbenefits associated with certain NOx

controls. The second round is being

performed during November and

December 1996 and is refining the

emission reduction level for the

strategies. The third round will be

performed during January and February

1997 and will evaluate the geographic

applicability of the OTAG strategies.

As indicated in the Memorandum,

EPA envisioned that OTAG would

complete its work by the end of 1996.

The modeling timetable described above

goes beyond the original schedule called

for in the Memorandum. While EPA

believes that the results from the third

round of modeling runs are important,

the Agency recognizes that the delay,

although relatively brief, will result in

some further delay in the development

of regionwide controls based on the

OTAG regional assessment.

In addition, according to the March 2,

1995 memorandum, States must submit,

by mid-1997, the Phase II submittals

that include a plan for attainment of the

ozone NAAQS and any regional controls

necessary for attainment by all areas in

the region. The policy contemplates that

these submittals will take account of the

assessment of air quality controls and

modeling runs performed by OTAG, as

well as recommendations as to control

strategies that OTAG may develop.

D. Revised Ozone NAAQS and Interim

Implementation Policy

On December 13, 1996, EPA issued a

notice of proposed rulemaking to revise

the ozone NAAQS (61 FR 65716), as

well as set out the Interim

Implementation Policy (IIP) (61 FR

65764), which describes the SIP

requirements applicable to areas during

the period from the promulgation of a

revised NAAQS to the creation of the

new SIP’s required to attain the revised

NAAQS. The proposal noted that a

standard set at a level of 0.09 ppm

would result in approximately

equivalent public health protection as

that afforded by the current standard; a

0.08 ppm level would provide greater

protection. Thus, OTAG control

strategies targeted at the reduction of

boundary ozone and its precursors

would be effective and consistent with

any of the proposals for the new

NAAQS.

In the proposed IIP, EPA recognized

that replacing the existing NAAQS has

ramifications for the controls scheme for

existing ozone nonattainment areas. For

example, the attainment dates for

nonattainment areas under the current

NAAQS would be replaced by revised

attainment dates under the revised

NAAQS. Also, the proposed IIP states

that nonattainment areas currently

classified as serious and higher must

continue to meet the same ROP
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 7 / Friday, January 10, 1997 / Proposed Rules 1423

requirements as under the current

NAAQS, which are provided by section

182(c)(2)(B), except that if the NAAQS

is revised as proposed, areas should

submit ROP controls covering only the

period up to the time they submit new

SIPs to attain the revised NAAQS and

not up to their attainment date under

the current NAAQS. In addition, if the

NAAQS is revised as proposed, areas

would not be required to submit

attainment demonstrations (including

the controls) geared towards the existing

NAAQS and attainment dates; rather,

they would be required at a future time

to submit an attainment demonstration

geared to the revised NAAQS.

The IIP further proposes to require

States to submit, within 90 days after

promulgation of the final ozone

NAAQS, a preliminary estimate of the

amount of emissions reductions needed

for their ozone nonattainment area to

attain the revised NAAQS. Finally, the

IIP proposes making revisions to the

July 1996 Findings consistent with its

principles.

II. Notice of Intent To Propose

Rulemaking

In this notice, the Agency is

announcing its plans to issue SIP calls,

under section 110(k)(5) of the Act, as

needed to ensure that the necessary

regional reductions are achieved that

will allow current nonattainment areas

to prepare attainment demonstrations

for the current NAAQS. This action will

reflect the technical work done by

OTAG, as well as any OTAG

recommendations for adoption of

additional NOX and/or VOC controls.

The EPA wants to ensure that the

necessary regional reductions would be

implemented by the relevant States

within a specified timeframe. It is EPA’s

intention to review the assessments,

modeling work, and any

recommendations made by OTAG, and

to base the SIP call on this review as

well as any other information available.

In the March 1997 timeframe, EPA

intends to publish a Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking (NPR). The EPA anticipates

that the NPR will propose overall

amounts or ranges of NOX and/or VOC

emission reductions that each State

would need to achieve to reduce the

boundary condition concentrations of

ozone and its precursors within a

specified timeframe and require the

submission of SIP controls to achieve

these reductions. The EPA may or may

not identify or require specific control

measures. The SIP revision must also

contain a schedule for adoption and

implementation of these measures, and

EPA intends to set out this schedule in

more detail in the proposed rulemaking.

The EPA intends to publish the final SIP

call notice in summer 1997.

Under section 110(k)(5) of the Act,

EPA has the authority to establish the

date by which a State must respond to

a SIP call. This date can be no later than

18 months after the SIP call is issued.

The EPA believes that it is appropriate

for attainment areas to meet the same

schedule as nonattainment areas for

making SIP submittals. The EPA could

thus allow up to 18 months for these

submittals. However, EPA is

considering a more accelerated schedule

for submittals under this SIP call to

attain air quality benefits sooner and to

facilitate area specific SIP planning. The

EPA will be requesting comment on

deadlines ranging from 6 months to 18

months following the date of

publication of the notice of final

rulemaking. If EPA makes a finding under section

179(a) that the appropriate States have

not made the required complete

submittals by the date established in the

SIP call, EPA plans to provide by rule

that the offset sanction identified in

section 179(b) will be applied in the

affected areas, pursuant to section

179(a) and 40 CFR 52.31. If the States

have still not made a complete

submission 6 months after the offset

sanction is imposed, then the highway

funding sanction will apply in the

affected nonattainment areas in

accordance with 40 CFR 52.31. In

addition, section 110(c) provides that

EPA promulgate a Federal

implementation plan (FIP) no later than

2 years after a finding under section

179(a).

The EPA believes that expedited

implementation of regional control

strategies to facilitate attainment of the

current standard would also be

beneficial if the Agency makes a final

decision to revise the ozone NAAQS

standard. In fact, it is likely that regional

reductions in ozone and ozone

precursors in upwind States will be

even more critical to allow downwind

States to attain a revised standard.

Regional reductions could also

minimize the number of areas

designated nonattainment under a

revised standard and/or lessen the

severity of the nonattainment problem.

In addition, as EPA goes through the

process of developing an

implementation program for the new

standard, it will be able to take

advantage of the information gathered

by OTAG and account for emission

reductions that result from the

recommended strategy. The EPA’s authority under section

110(k)(5) to issue a SIP call will not be

changed by promulgation of a revised

NAAQS because the requirements of

section 110(a)(2)(D) will not be affected

by the revised NAAQS. Under the

revised NAAQS, upwind States must

continue to demonstrate that their

sources do not significantly contribute

to nonattainment problems downwind.

Dated: January 6, 1997.

Mary D. Nichols,

Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and

Radiation.

[FR Doc. 97–645 Filed 1–9–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 61

[CC Docket No. 93–55; FCC 96–108]

Metric Conversion of Tariff

Publications and Supporting

Information

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Termination of proposed

rulemaking proceeding.

SUMMARY: In a 1993 Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, the Commission sought

comment on a proposal to amend Part

61 of its rules to mandate metric

conversion of common carrier tariff

publications and supporting

information (‘‘tariff materials’’). The

Commission made this proposal to

facilitate use of these materials in light

of the increased employment of metric

units of measurement in this country

and Congressional policy that the metric

system of measurement be employed

wherever possible. Based upon the

comments received and its own

analysis, the Commission concluded, in

this Report and Order, that it would not

be in the public interest to require

common carriers to convert to the

metric system those units of measure

appearing in their tariff materials.

Specifically, the Commission found that

the benefits to carriers and their

customers of such mandatory metric

conversion—or of requiring that

conversion tables be included in such

materials—were not clear enough to

justify the carrier burdens involved.

Accordingly, the Commission declined

to adopt any of the proposed conversion

options and, instead, terminated this

proceeding.

DATES: The proposed rulemaking

proceeding is terminated February 10,

1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Allen A. Barna, Competitive Pricing

Division, Common Carrier Bureau, (202)

418–1530.