Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 3499

TABLE 11.—PROJECTED IMPACT OF FY 2001 UPDATE TO THE SNF PPS—Continued

Number of

facilities

Transition to

Federal

rates

(percent)

Add on to

Federal

rates

(percent)

Update

change

(percent)

Wage index

change

(percent)

20 (percent)

add on

Total FY

2001

change

(percent)

East South Central ................................... 212 1.9 3.5 2.3 ¥0.7 6.9 14.5

West North Central .................................. 469 3.6 3.5 2.3 0.4 6.7 17.5

West South Central .................................. 519 ¥5.2 3.0 2.4 1.0 6.3 7.3

Mountain .................................................. 303 ¥4.0 3.1 2.4 0.0 4.8 6.2

Pacific ....................................................... 1070 ¥2.3 3.2 2.4 ¥0.5 6.9 9.8

Rural by region:

New England ............................................ 88 14.4 3.9 2.2 ¥0.9 8.4 30.5

Middle Atlantic .......................................... 144 13.1 3.9 2.2 0.0 9.0 30.9

South Atlantic ........................................... 373 5.3 3.6 2.2 1.1 8.0 21.7

East North Central ................................... 561 9.2 3.7 2.2 1.0 7.4 25.5

East South Central ................................... 255 4.2 3.6 2.3 0.6 8.8 20.9

West North Central .................................. 581 11.1 3.7 2.2 0.8 8.3 28.5

West South Central .................................. 354 1.2 3.4 2.3 1.1 6.9 15.7

Mountain .................................................. 204 3.3 3.5 2.3 0.7 6.4 17.2

Pacific ....................................................... 151 3.2 3.5 2.3 0.3 6.3 16.5

(Authority: Section 1888 of the Social

Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395yy))

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.773, Medicare—Hospital

Insurance; and Program No. 93.774,

Medicare—Supplementary Medical

Insurance Program)

Dated: January 2, 2001.

Brian P. Burns,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information

Resources Management.

[FR Doc. 01–1187 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[WT Docket No. 97–192; FCC 00–408]

Procedures for Reviewing Requests

for Relief from State and Local

Regulations

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: In this document, the

Commission addresses the issues raised

in a previous Commission Notice of

Proposed Rule Making regarding its

review of requests for relief from

impermissible State and local regulation

of personal wireless service facilities

regarding environmental effects of

radiofrequency (RF) emissions. We

establish that such requests under the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, shall be filed as petitions for

declaratory ruling. Further, we establish

certain required and recommended

procedures regarding the service of

pleadings and comment periods in such

proceedings. The procedures adopted

will facilitate the prompt resolution of

such while ensuring that State and local

governments have an opportunity to

respond to issues raised in the context

of these proceedings.

DATES: The rule change set forth in this

document contains an information

collection requirement that has not yet

been approved by OMB. The FCC will

publish a document in the Federal

Register announcing the effective date

of these rule changes. Comments from

the public, OMB, and other agencies on

the information collections contained in

this document are due March 19, 2001.

ADDRESSES: A copy of any comments on

the information collections contained

herein should be submitted to Judy

Boley, Federal Communications

Commission, Room 1–C804, 445 12th

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, or

via the Internet to jboley@fcc.gov, and to

Edward C. Springer, OMB Desk Officer,

Room 10236 NEOB, 725 17th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20503 or via the

Internet to

edward.springer@omb.eop.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel

Taubenblatt at (202) 418–1513 (Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau). For

additional information concerning the

information collection contained in this

document, contact Judy Boley at 202–

418–0214, or via the Internet at

jboley@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Report and Order in WT

Docket No. 97–192 (the ‘‘R&O’’), FCC

00–408, adopted November 13, 2000

and released November 17, 2000. The

complete text of the document is

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Center, 445 12th Street,

SW., Washington, DC, and also may be

purchased from the Commission’s copy

contractor, International Transcription

Services, (202) 857–3800, 445 12th

Street, SW., CY–B400, Washington, DC

20554. The full text of this R&O is also

available via the Internet at http://

www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Orders/

2000/fcc00408.doc.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This R&O contains a new information

collection. Specifically, the Report and

Order amends Note 1 to paragraph (a) of

47 CFR .1206 of the Commission’s rules

so that the expanded service

requirements set forth in that note apply

to petitions filed pursuant to 47 U.S.C.

332(c)(7)(B)(v) (i.e., petitions for relief

from impermissible State and local

regulation of personal wireless service

facilities on the basis of RF emissions).

Thus, petitioners seeking relief under 47

U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) must serve a copy

of such petitions on those State and

local governments that are the subject of

the petitions as well as on those State

and local governments otherwise

specifically identified in the petitions

whose actions petitioners argue are

inconsistent with federal law.

The Commission, as part of its

continuing effort to reduce paperwork

burdens, invites the general public,

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB), and other federal agencies to

comment on the information

collection(s) contained in this R&O as

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. It will

be submitted to the OMB for review

under Section 3507(d) of the PRA.

Public, OMB, and other agency

comments are due March 19, 2001.

Comments should address: (a) Whether

the new collection of information is

necessary for the proper performance of

the functions of the Commission,

3500 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

1See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 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).

including whether the information shall

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of

the Commission’s burden estimates; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information collected; and

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the

collection of information on the

respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

All comments on the information

collections contained herein should be

submitted to Judy Boley, Federal

Communications Commission, Room 1–

C804, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20554, or via the Internet to

jboley@fcc.gov, and to Edward C.

Springer, OMB Desk Officer, Room

10236 NEOB, 725 17th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20503 or via the

Internet to

edward.springer@omb.eop.gov.

OMB Control Number: 3060–XXXX.

Title: Procedures for Reviewing

Requests for Relief from State and Local

Regulations Pursuant to Section

332(c)(7)(B)(v) of the Communications

Act of 1934, Report and Order

(Preemption of State and Local

Government Regulation of Tower Siting

on the Basis of the Environmental Effect

of Radiofrequency Emissions).

Form No.: NA.

Type of Review: New collection.

Respondents: Business or other forprofit; not-for-profit institutions; state

and/or local or tribal governments.

Number of Respondents: 10.

Estimated Time per Response: .5 hr.

Total Annual Burden: 5 hrs.

Total Annual Costs: $100.

Needs and Uses: These procedures

will ensure that petitions seeking relief

under 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) will be

resolved efficiently, with an opportunity

for all interested parties to participate.

Synopsis of Report and Order

The Report and Order (‘‘R&O’’)

addresses the issues raised in the RF

Procedures NPRM, 62 FR 48034,

regarding the Commission’s review of

requests for relief from impermissible

State and local regulation of personal

wireless service facilities based on the

environmental effects of radiofrequency

(RF) emissions. Specifically, the R&O

provides that such requests under 47

U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) shall be filed as

petitions for declaratory ruling, and

establishes certain required and

recommended procedures regarding the

service of pleadings and comment

periods in such proceedings. The R&O

also concludes that the other issues

raised in the RF Procedures NPRM are

best addressed through case-by-case

adjudication. In particular, the R&O

notes the Commission’s expectation that

the recently-adopted Local Official’s

Guide will facilitate the common sense

resolution of disputes regarding

demonstrations of compliance with the

Commission’s RF emissions rules,

without resort to litigation or other

formal dispute resolution.

Discussion

The R&O provides that requests for

relief from the Commission under 47

U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) shall be filed as

petitions for declaratory ruling pursuant

to 47 CFR 1.2 of the Commission’s rules.

In addition, the R&O concludes that

such petitions shall be subject to the

Commission’s procedures applicable to

petitions for declaratory ruling, with the

exception of the pleading cycle

guidelines and service rules set forth as

follows. The pleading cycle guidelines

set forth in the Section 253 Procedures

Public Notice are equally appropriate for

petitions for declaratory ruling that seek

relief under 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v).

Specifically, the R&O anticipates that

the pleading cycle for petitions for

declaratory ruling that seek relief under

47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) will be

approximately 30 days for oppositions

and approximately 15 days for replies.

The specific pleading cycle for each

petition will be established by the

Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

(Bureau) by public notice, and may vary

from the approximate timeframe listed

above if the Bureau finds that variation

is appropriate.

The R&O also finds that petitions for

declaratory ruling seeking relief under

47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) are similar to

petitions seeking Commission

preemption of State or local government

authority, and should be subject to the

Ex Parte Order’s expanded service rules

referenced above. Accordingly, the R&O

amends the expanded service

requirements in the ex parte rules to

include petitioners seeking relief under

47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v). Thus,

petitioners seeking relief under 47

U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) must serve a copy

of such petitions not only on those State

and local governments that are the

subject of the petitions, but also on

those State and local governments

otherwise specifically identified in the

petitions whose actions petitioners

argue are inconsistent with federal law.

In addition, the R&O recommends

that, if a petition involves a local

statute, regulation, ordinance or legal

requirement, the petitioner should serve

the appropriate state entity, in addition

to the appropriate local entity. The R&O

also recommends that, subsequent to the

filing and service of the initial petition,

each party, including the petitioner and

each respondent State or local

government entity, should serve all

other parties with a copy of its

pleadings and any filing made pursuant

to the Commission’s ex parte rules.

The R&O finds that these procedural

guidelines, in combination with the Ex

Parte Order’s expanded service rules

and other Commission rules generally

applicable to petitions for declaratory

ruling, will facilitate the prompt

resolution of petitions seeking relief

from the Commission under 47 U.S.C.

332(c)(7)(B)(v), while ensuring that State

and local governments have an

opportunity to respond to allegations

raised against them in the context of

these proceedings.

The R&O also concludes that the other

issues raised in the RF Procedures

NPRM are best addressed through caseby-case adjudication. In particular, with

respect to requirements related to

demonstrating compliance with the

Commission’s RF emissions rules, the

R&O notes the Commission’s

expectation that the Local Official’s

Guide will facilitate voluntary

resolution of most disputes regarding

this issue. With respect to the other

issues, the R&O finds that a rulemaking

is unnecessary in light of the relatively

low level of controversy and the

complexity of the issues.

Final Regulatory Flexibility

Certification

As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA),1 the RF

Procedures NPRM incorporated an

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(IRFA) of the proposed rules pursuant to

5 U.S.C. 605. No comments were filed

on the IRFA. Section 604 of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended,

requires a final regulatory flexibility

analysis in a notice and comment

rulemaking proceeding unless the

Commission certifies that ‘‘the rule will

not, if promulgated, have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.’’ The RFA

generally defines ‘‘small entity’’ as

having the same meaning as the terms

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

and ‘‘small governmental jurisdiction.’’

In addition, the term ‘‘small business’’

has the same meaning as the term

‘‘small business concern’’ under the

Small Business Act. 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

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 3501

established by the Small Business

Administration (SBA). The Commission

believes, as discussed below, that the

rule adopted in this proceeding will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

The Commission is making one rule

change in this Report and Order.

Specifically, the Commission amends

Note 1 to paragraph (a) of 47 C.F.R.

1.1206 of its rules so that the expanded

service requirements set forth in that

note apply to petitions filed pursuant to

47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v) (i.e., petitions

for relief from impermissible State and

local regulation of personal wireless

service facilities on the basis of RF

emissions). Thus, petitioners seeking

relief under 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v)

must serve a copy of such petitions on

those State and local governments that

are the subject of the petitions as well

as on those State and local governments

otherwise specifically identified in the

petitions whose actions petitioners

argue are inconsistent with federal law.

Given that the Commission has received

only one petition for relief under 47

U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v), we do not

anticipate that numerous State and local

governments will be the subject of such

petitions or identified in such petitions.

Thus, we do not expect that the service

requirement adopted in this Report and

Order will impose a significant burden

of cost and time on petitioners,

including petitioners that are small

entities. We believe that this service

requirement will facilitate the efficient

resolution of petitions seeking relief

under 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v).

Moreover, we believe that this

requirement will ensure that State and

local governments, including those

governments that are small entities,

have an opportunity to participate in

proceedings under 47 U.S.C.

332(c)(7)(B)(v).

Accordingly, the Commission

certifies, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) of

the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as

amended by the Contract with America

Advancement Act of 1996, that the rule

adopted in this Report and Order will

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. The Commission will send a

copy of the Report and Order, including

a copy of this final certification, in a

report to Congress pursuant to the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996. In addition, the

Report and Order and this certification

will be sent to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration, and a summary will be

published in the Federal Register

Report to Congress

The Commission will send a copy of

this Report and Order, including the

Final Regulatory Flexibility

Certification, 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 this

Report and Order, including the Final

Regulatory Flexibility Certification, to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration. A copy

of this Report and Order (or summary

thereof) and the Final Regulatory

Flexibility Certification will also be

published in the Federal Register. See

5 U.S.C. 604(b).

Ordering Clauses

Accordingly, pursuant to the

authority of Sections 4(i), 303(r), and

332(c)(7) of the Communications Act of

1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i),

303(r), and 332(c)(7), it is ordered that

this Report and Order is hereby

adopted.

The rule changes set forth in this

Report and Order contain an

information collection requirement that

has not yet been approved by OMB. The

FCC will publish a document in the

Federal Register announcing the

effective date of these rule changes.

The motion of the City of Fountain,

Colorado, to consider late-filed

comments is granted.

The Commission’s Consumer

Information Bureau, Reference

Information Center, shall send a copy of

this Report and Order, including the

Final Regulatory Flexibility

Certification, to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 1

Communications common carriers,

Telecommunications, Permit-butdisclose proceedings.

Federal Communications Commission.

Shirley S. Suggs,

Chief, Publications Group.

Rule Change

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Federal Communications

Commission amends 47 CFR Part 1 as

follows:

PART 1—PRACTICE AND

PROCEDURES

1. The authority citation for Part 1

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154, 303, and

309(j) unless otherwise noted.

2. Section 1.1206, Note 1 to

Paragraph(A) is revised to read as

follows:

§ 1.1206 Permit-but-disclose proceedings.

(a) * * *

Note 1 to Paragraph (A): In the case of

petitions for declaratory ruling that seek

Commission preemption of state or local

regulatory authority and petitions for relief

under 47 U.S.C. 332(c)(7)(B)(v), the petitioner

must serve the original petition on any state

or local government, the actions of which are

specifically cited as a basis for requesting

preemption. Service should be made on those

bodies within the state or local governments

that are legally authorized to accept service

of legal documents in a civil context. Such

pleadings that are not served will be

dismissed without consideration as a

defective pleading and treated as a violation

of the ex parte rules unless the Commission

determines that the matter should be

entertained by making it part of the record

under § 1.1212(d) and the parties are so

informed.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 01–1086 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 679

[I.D. 122200B]

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic

Zone Off Alaska; Bycatch Rate

Standards for the First Half of 2001

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Pacific halibut and red king crab

bycatch rate standards; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces Pacific

halibut and red king crab bycatch rate

standards for the first half of 2001.

Publication of these bycatch rate

standards is necessary under regulations

implementing the vessel incentive

program. This action is necessary to

implement the bycatch rate standards

for trawl vessel operators who

participate in the Alaska groundfish

trawl fisheries. The intent of this action

is to avoid excessive prohibited species

bycatch rates and to promote

conservation of groundfish and other

fishery resources.

DATES: Effective 1201 hours, Alaska

local time (A.l.t.), January 20, 2001,

through 2400 hours, A.l.t., June 30,

2001. Comments on this action must be