26860 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules

requirements necessary to qualify for

final program approval. Consequently,

EPA intends to grant final approval to

Connecticut to operate its UST program

in lieu of the Federal UST program.

Based on a detailed review of

Connecticut’s application for UST

program approval, EPA has determined

that the Connecticut Department of

Environmental Protection has

developed standards and criteria for the

design, installation, operation,

maintenance, and monitoring of

underground storage tanks to prevent

UST related ground and surface water

contamination, under the authority of

the Connecticut General Statue Section

22a–449(d) and Regulations of

Connecticut State Agency (‘‘R.C.S.A.’’)

Sections 22a–449(d)–101 through 113.

Connecticut General Law provides:

(1) Authority to promulgate UST

regulations for controlling underground

storage facilities containing petroleum

and hazardous substances;

(2) Authority to impose civil penalties

for violations of any statutory or

regulatory requirement;

(3) Authority to conduct compliance

monitoring inspections and other

enforcement activities;

(4) Authority to promulgate UST

notification requirements for owners

and operators of underground storage

tanks; and

(5) Authority for the response to,

clean up, and corrective actions of

petroleum or hazardous substance

releases.

C. Public Hearing and Comments

In accordance with Section 9004 of

RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6991c and 40 CFR

281.50(e), if sufficient public interest is

received by June 14, 1995, EPA will

hold a public hearing on its tentative

decision on June 21, 1995 from 10:00

a.m.–1:00 p.m. in the State Capitol

Building, Old Judiciary Room, 210

Capitol Ave., Hartford, Connecticut.

The public may also submit written

comments on EPA’s tentative

determination. Written comments must

be postmarked by May 31, 1995 as to

allow EPA and the state a reasonable

opportunity to research and prepare

responses. Copies of Connecticut’s

application are available for inspection

and copying at the locations indicated

in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

EPA will consider all public

comments on its tentative determination

received during the public comment

period and at the hearing. Issues raised

by those comments may be the basis for

a decision to deny final approval to

Connecticut. EPA expects to make a

final decision on whether or not to

approve Connecticut’s program within

sixty (60) days after the date of the

public hearing and will give notice of it

in the Federal Register. The notice will

include a summary of the reasons for

the final determination and a response

to all significant comments.

Compliance With Executive Order

122866

The Office of Management and Budget

has exempted this rule from the

requirement of Section 6 of Executive

Order 122866.

Certification Under the Regulatory

Flexibility Act

Pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C

605(b), I hereby certify that this

approval will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The approval

of Connecticut’s UST program

effectively suspends the applicability of

the Federal UST regulations, thereby

eliminating duplicative requirements for

owners and operators of underground

storage tanks in the State of

Connecticut. It does not impose any

new burdens on small entities. This

rule, therefore, does not require a

regulatory flexibility analysis.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 281

Environmental protection, Hazardous

substances, Incorporation by reference,

Intergovernmental relations, State

program approval, Underground storage

tanks, Water pollution control.

Authority: This notice is issued under the

authority of Section 9004 of the Solid Waste

Disposal Act as amended, 42 U.S.C 6991c.

Dated: May 6, 1995.

John P. DeVillars,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 95–12302 Filed 5–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[WT Docket No. 95–69, FCC 95–202]

Auctionable Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking contains proposed rules

pertaining to fees for certain services

and products provided to specific

persons and entities participating in

future Federal Communications

Commission auctions. In particular, the

proposal establishes fees for

Commission proprietary remote

software packages, on-line

communications service charges, and

bidder’s information packages in

connection with auctionable services.

The Commission, in establishing the

proposed fees, implements the

Independent Offices Appropriations

Act. The Commission’s proposal would

receiver the Federal Government’s cost

from any bidders utilizing Commissionprovided services.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted by May 31, 1995, and written

reply comments must be submitted by

June 6, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send comments and reply

comments to Office of the Secretary,

Federal Communications Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20554. Interested

parties who do not wish to participate

formally in this proceeding may file

informal comments at the same address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Bert Weintraub, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418–

1316.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

previous Federal Communications

Commission (hereafter, ‘‘Commission’’

or ‘‘FCC’’) auctions, bidders have paid

auction contractors of the Commission

fees consisting of the contractors’ costs

and a reasonable profit for remote

bidding software and an on-line access

charge. The Independent Offices

Appropriations Act (‘‘IOAA’’), codified

at 31 U.S.C. § 9701, permit fees and

charges for Government services and

things of value and authorizes agencies

to prescribe regulations establishing

charges for products and services

provided by the agency. The Office of

Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) has

issued policy guidance on fees via

Circular A–25 for agencies to recover

expenses. The OMB published a revised

revision of the Circular in the Federal

Register, 58 FR 38142 (July 15, 1993),

which provided updated policy

guidance on user fees. Pursuant to this

revision, the imposition of fees for

Government-provided products and

services conferring benefits on

identifiable recipients over and above

those benefits received by the general

public are encouraged. Under the OMB

Circular, agencies, in establishing fees,

are to select between ‘‘full cost’’ or

‘‘market price.’’

On August 10, 1993, the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub.

L. No. 103–66, 107 Stat. 312, added a

new section 309(j) to the

Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C.

§ 309(j). This amendment to the

Communications Act authorized the

Commission to use competitive bidding
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 97 / Friday, May 19, 1995 / Proposed Rules 26861

procedures to choose from among two

or more mutually exclusive applications

for initial licenses for use of the radio

spectrum. Pursuant to this authority, the

Commission has conducted three

simultaneous multiple round auctions

for Personal Communications Service

(‘‘PCS’’) licenses (i.e., the Nationwide

Narrowband PCS auction, held from

July 25 through July 29, 1994; the

Regional Narrowband PCS auction, held

October 26, through November 8, 1994;

and the Broadband A and B block PCS

auction, held December 5, 1994, through

March 13, 1995). In each PCS auction,

bids were placed electronically using a

computer bidding system designed and

developed by the FCC in conjunction

with its auction contractors.

The Commission and its auction

contractors incurred significant costs in

developing the on-site electronic

bidding systems used in the PCS

auctions and the remote electronic

bidding system used in two of the PCS

auctions. The Commission recovered its

developments costs for the electronic

bidding system for the first three

auctions from the proceeds of those

actions. Additionally, the FCC’s auction

contractor was allowed to charge

bidders electing to use on-line remote

bidding system a $200.00 fee for the

proprietary remote bidding software

package and an on-line access charge.

The FCC has determined, based on its

auction experience, that remote

electronic bidding provides bidders

with an important and valuable service

as it enables them to place and

withdraw bids, access auction round

results and other FCC announcements

during the auction from their offices

using their personal computer. Thus,

bidders are not required to be physically

present at the auction site for the

duration of the auction. Because the

Commission will provide these services

directly to bidders, the Commission

proposes to recover the Federal

Government’s costs by charging bidders

a fee for the remote electronic bidding

software and an on-line access charge

via a 900 telephone service (‘‘900

service’’). Bidders will continue to have

the option of placing their bids

telephonically from remote locations via

an 800 telephone service at no charge.

Round results information is also

available to remote access bidders over

the Internet and the Commission’s

Bulletin Board at no charge.

The significant costs and expenses

incurred by the Federal Government in

developing the remote electronic

auction system have included

infrastructure design and

implementation, software development,

software testing, and administrative and

personnel costs associated with this

process. The Commission has developed

its own remote on-line bidding system

to be offered as a convenience to bidders

in future auctions, enabling bidders to

participate in auctions from their offices

using their personal computers, submit

and review applications, and access

auction round results information from

remote locations using a 900 service.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(‘‘NPRM’’) proposes to recover the costs

to the Government by charging bidders

who elect to bid electronically from

remote locations a fee for the remote

bidding software and for remote access

to the bidding system via the 900

service. The Commission’s remote

electronic bidding system will enable

bidders to participate in Commission

auctions, review applications, and

access auction round results

information from remote locations using

a Wide Area Network to connect with

the bidding system via a 900 telephone

service. The proposed rule would

recover future costs from bidders who

directly benefit from the services and

products offered by the Commission in

conjunction with holding the auctions.

Imposing such fees on bidders who

actually use the remote electronic

bidding system is the fairest and most

equitable manner for the Government to

recover its costs in developing,

maintaining, enhancing, and upgrading

the remote bidding system.

In proposing the fees, the Commission

has followed OMB guidance and

relevant court cases in calculating the

costs of the 900 service, remote access

bidding software, and bidder’s

information packages, utilizing ‘‘market

price’’ instead of ‘‘full cost’’ because it

is simpler, more practical, more

efficient, and more readily

ascertainable. As a result, based upon

market surveys for 900 service, remote

access bidding software, and bidder’s

information packages, the NPRM

proposes the following fees: $4.00 per

minute for 900 service; $200.00 per

package for remote bidding software,

one free bidder’s information package

and $16.00 for each additional bidder’s

information package requested by that

same person or entity.

The proposed fee of $4.00 per minute

for 900 service is based on the FCC’s

survey of the charges for similar on-line

services. The services surveyed were

mainly on-line reference and research

services operating in the open market

with sufficient competition to establish

a market-based price. FCC sampling

revealed that prices currently range

from $4.05 per minute to $4.42 per

minute (plus monthly account

maintenance fees). Even though the

average price for this type of services

$4.23 per minute, $4.00 per minute is

proposed. The proposed $200.00 fee for

the remote access bidding software

packages was based upon the open

market prices for similar software

packages. FCC research indicated that

the most comparable software package

currently available is $200.00 per

package and offered by only one

supplier. Due to highly specialized

nature of the remote access software, the

Commission could not identify other

comparable software packages for which

it could obtain additional market price

information. The proposed $16.00 fee

for each additional bidder’s information

package was developed by comparing

the average cost of producing bidder’s

information packages in the open

market amount commercial printing

firms. The previous prices ranged from

$13.50 to $18.50 (both figures include

postage), and $16.00 is the average of

this range. Payment procedures to

collect the fees are proposed as follows:

the fee for the 900 service will appear

as a charge on the user’s monthly

telephone bill; the fees for the software

packages and bidder’s information

packages will be collected by the

Commission’s auction contractor. Funds

received from the sale of auction

materials, software, or services,

pursuant to the IOAA, must go directly

to the U.S. Treasury.

This action is taken pursuant to

Sections 4(i), 7(a), 302, 303(c), 303(f),

303(g), and 303(r) of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 154(i),

157(a), 302, 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and

303(r).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

Administrative practice and

procedure.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–12462 Filed 5–18–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–M

47 CFR Part 20

[GN Docket No. 93–252, FCC 95–156]

Regulatory Treatment of Mobile

Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Further notice of proposed

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Commission adopted a

Third Further Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking proposing to amend its 45