Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 34213 

Respondents: Businesses or other forprofits; State, Local, Tribal, or Federal 

Government. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 23,277 respondents; 167 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 1 

hour–150 hours. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion 

and one-time reporting requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory 

and Voluntary. Statutory authority for 

this information collection is contained 

in 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(o), 

301, 303(r), 303(v), 307, 309, 335, 403, 

544(g), 606, 613, 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204 

and 1206. 

Total Annual Burden: 22,815 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No cost. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

Impact(s). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

There is no assurance of confidentiality 

associated with this collection of 

information. 

Needs and Uses: This is a notification 

of OMB approval of a new information 

collection for two new regulations 

under the Commission’s part 10 

Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) rules. 

No other information collections 

contained in the Commission’s 

regulations will be impacted by the new 

rules described herein. 

The WEA system is a mechanism 

under which Commercial Mobile 

Service (CMS) providers may elect to 

transmit emergency alerts to the public. 

The Commission created WEA 

(previously known as the Commercial 

Mobile Service Alert System) as 

required by Congress in the Warning 

Alert and Response Network (WARN) 

Act and to satisfy the Commission’s 

mandate to promote the safety of life 

and property through the use of wire 

and radio communication. 

On January 1, 2021, Congress passed 

the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA21). Section 

9201 of the NDAA21 required the 

Commission to complete a rulemaking 

and adopt rules within 180 days to 

make certain changes to its WEA 

regulations (as well as to its separate 

Emergency Alert System (EAS) 

regulations governing broadcast, cable 

television, and direct satellite media 

emergency alerts). 

With respect to the WEA rule 

changes, Section 9201 directed the 

Commission to ensure that the mobile 

devices of CMS providers that have 

elected to participate in WEA cannot 

opt out of receiving WEA alerts from the 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) Administrator. Section 9201 

also directed the Commission to enable 

reporting by the FEMA Administrator 

and State, Tribal, local, and territorial 

governments of false WEA alerts. On 

June 21, 2021, the Commission released 

its NDAA21 Alerting Order, adopting 

the WEA and EAS changes directed by 

Congress in the NDAA21. The EAS 

changes are the subject of a different 

notice to be published separately. 

The NDAA21 Alerting Order 

implemented Congresses’ new 

directives for WEA, in part, with two 

new regulations that impose new 

burdens on respondents: the handset 

display update, and false alert reporting. 

Handset Display Update 

In the NDAA21 Alerting Order, the 

Commission combined the current nonoptional class of WEA ‘‘Presidential 

Alerts’’ with FEMA Administrator 

Alerts into a newly renamed alert class 

named ‘‘National Alerts.’’ Participating 

CMS providers that have chosen to 

display the phrase ‘‘Presidential Alert’’ 

on their handsets are required to either 

discontinue the handset’s use of that 

phrase or change those displays to read 

‘‘National Alert’’ by July 31, 2022. 

Network infrastructure that is 

technically incapable of meeting this 

requirement, such as legacy devices or 

networks that cannot be updated to 

support header display changes, are 

exempt from this requirement. The 

handset display changes are necessary 

to avoid confusion when wireless 

subscribers receive a non-optional 

emergency alert from the FEMA 

Administrator instead of the President. 

The handset display update 

regulation is codified at 47 CFR 

10.11(b). 

False Alert Reporting 

Also in the NDAA21 Alerting Order, 

the Commission adopted a rule 

permitting the FEMA Administrator or a 

State, local, Tribal, or territorial 

government to voluntarily report WEA 

false alerts to the FCC Operations Center 

at FCCOPS@fcc.gov, informing the 

Commission of the event and any 

relevant details. This rule creates a 

voluntary mechanism for a collection of 

information so that the Commission can 

monitor these false alert events which 

can undermine public confidence in the 

reliability of emergency alerting and 

WEA. Email reporting was adopted as a 

minimally-burdensome way for 

government entities to report false 

alerts. 

The WEA false alert reporting 

regulation is codified at 47 CFR 

10.520(d)(2). 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 10 

Communications common carriers, 

Radio. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 10 as 

follows: 

PART 10—WIRELESS EMERGENCY 

ALERTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 10 

continues to read: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i) and (o), 

201, 303(r), 403, and 606, 1202(a), (b), (c), (f), 

1203, 1204, and 1206. 

§ 10.11 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 10.11 is amended by 

removing paragraph (c). 

§ 10.520 [Amended] 

■ 3. Section 10.520 is amended by 

removing paragraph (d)(3). 

[FR Doc. 2022–12072 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 11 

[PS Docket Nos. 15–94, 15–91; FCC 21– 

77; FR ID 89691] 

Emergency Alert System, Wireless 

Emergency Alerts; National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

compliance date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved information collections 

associated with certain rules adopted in 

the Report and Order (NDAA21 Alerting 

Order). The Commission also announces 

that compliance with the rules is now 

required. The Commission also removes 

paragraphs advising that compliance 

was not required until OMB approval 

was obtained. This document is 

consistent with the NDAA21 Alerting 

Order and rules, which state the 

Commission will publish a document in 

the Federal Register announcing a 

compliance date for the rule sections 

and revise the rules accordingly. 

DATES: 


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34214 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

Effective date: These rules are 

effective June 6, 2022. 

Compliance date: Compliance with 47 

CFR 11.21 introductory text, (a) 

introductory text, and (a)(8) and 

11.45(c), published at 86 FR 46783 on 

August 20, 2021, is required as of June 

6, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Fedeli, Attorney-Advisor, Public 

Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, 

Policy and Licensing Division at (202) 

418–1514 or christopher.fedeli@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

synopsis of the Commission’s Report 

and Order (NDAA21 Alerting Order), 

FCC 21–77, in PS Dockets 15–91 and 

15–94, released on June 17, 2021, 

published at 86 FR 46783 on August 20, 

2021. 

This document announces that OMB 

approved the information collection 

requirements contained in 47 CFR 11.21 

introductory text, (a) introductory text, 

and (a)(8) and 11.45(c). 

The Commission publishes this 

document as an announcement of the 

compliance date of the rules. 

Separately, the Commission observes 

that some of the information collection 

requirements made effective by this 

notice are required to be filed with the 

Commission using the Alert Reporting 

System (ARS) on or by July 5, 2022. See 

Federal Communications Commission, 

Alert Reporting System Available for 

Filing of State Emergency Alert System 

Plans, 86 FR 35089 (July 1, 2021). 

If you have any comments on the 

burden estimates listed below, or how 

the Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Nicole 

Ongele, Federal Communications 

Commission, 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554, regarding OMB 

Control Numbers 3060–0207. Please 

include the relevant OMB Control 

Number in your correspondence. The 

Commission will also accept your 

comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received OMB approval on April 14, 

2022, for the information collection 

requirements contained in the 

Commission’s rules at 47 CFR 11.21 

introductory text, (a) introductory text, 

and (a)(8) and 11.45(c). 

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information unless it displays a 

current, valid OMB Control Number. 

No person shall be subject to any 

penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. 

The foregoing notification is required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13, October 1, 

1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–0207. 

OMB Approval Date: April 14, 2022. 

OMB Expiration Date: April 30, 2025. 

Title: Part 11—Emergency Alert 

System (EAS), Order, FCC 21–77. 

Form No.: N/A. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 63,084 respondents; 

3,588,845 responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 0.017 

hours–112 hours. 

Frequency of Response: Annual, on 

occasion and one-time reporting 

requirements. 

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory 

and Voluntary. Statutory authority for 

this information collection is contained 

in 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 606 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended. 

Total Annual Burden: 141,414 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No Cost. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

Impact(s). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission shares aggregated and 

individual State Emergency Alert 

System (EAS) Plan data on a 

confidential basis with other Federal 

agencies and state governmental 

emergency management agencies that 

have confidentiality protection at least 

equal to that provided by the Freedom 

of Information Act. 

Needs and Uses: Part 11 contains 

rules and regulations addressing the 

Nation’s EAS. The EAS provides the 

President with the capability to provide 

immediate communications and 

information to the general public during 

periods of national emergency over 

broadcast television and radio, cable, 

direct broadcast radio and other EAS 

Participants, as defined in § 11.11(a) of 

the Commission’s rules. The EAS also 

provides state and local governments 

and the National Weather Service with 

the capability to provide immediate 

communications and information to the 

public concerning emergency situations 

posing a threat to life and property. Part 

11 includes testing requirements to 

ensure proper and efficient operation of 

the EAS. State and local use of the EAS, 

alert processing requirements, and 

monitoring assignments covering the 

distribution of EAS alerts within the 

state, among other things, are required 

to be described in State EAS Plans that 

are administered by State Emergency 

Communications Committees (SECC) 

and submitted to the FCC annually for 

approval. 

The NDAA Alerting Order, pursuant 

to the directions set forth in Section 

9201 of the William M. (Mac) 

Thornberry National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, 

Public Law 116–283, 134 Stat. 3388, 

section 9201 (NDAA21), among other 

things, (i) requires the Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to 

establish a State EAS Plan Content 

Checklist composed of the content set 

forth in § 11.21 of the Commission’s 

rules, 47 CFR 11.21, post the checklist 

on the FCC’s website, and incorporate it 

as an appendix in the ARS user manual; 

(ii) amends the State EAS Plan 

requirements in § 11.21 of the 

Commission’s rules to ensure plans are 

updated annually, require a certification 

by the SECC Chairperson or ViceChairperson that the SECC met (in 

person, via teleconference, or via other 

methods of conducting virtual meetings) 

at least once in the twelve months prior 

to submitting the annual updated plan, 

and require that the Bureau approve or 

reject State EAS Plans submitted for 

approval within 60 days of receipt; and 

(iii) requires the Bureau to list the 

approval dates of State EAS Plans 

submitted on ARS on the Commission’s 

website, and in the event a final 

decision is made to deny a plan, directly 

notify the chief executive of the State to 

which the plan applies of that 

determination and the reasons for such 

denial within 30 days of such decision. 

The Order also amends § 11.45 of the 

part 11 rules to enable voluntary 

reporting to the Commission by the 

FEMA Administrator and Tribal, State, 

local, and territorial governments of 

false EAS alerts. 

The Commission notifies the public of 

OMB approval of these rule 

amendments as a modification of a 

previously approved information 

collection. Congress has determined that 

EAS rule changes are necessary to 

increase oversight over the distribution 

of state and local EAS alerts within 

states and to increase false alert 

reporting capabilities to help ameliorate 

confusion or other harmful effects that 

might result from false EAS alerts. The 

internal State EAS Plan processing 

requirements and rule changes adopted 

in the Order will improve State EAS 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 108 / Monday, June 6, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 34215 

Plan processing and administration, 

thereby improving the capabilities and 

efficacy of EAS as a national system for 

distributing vital alert information to all 

Americans in a cost-effective manner. 

The following information collections 

contained in part 11 may be impacted 

by the rule amendments described 

herein. 

State EAS Plans (47 CFR 11.21) 

The establishment of a State EAS Plan 

Content Checklist for SECCs should 

have no impact or lessen SECC burdens, 

and posting it on the FCC’s website, and 

incorporating it as an appendix in the 

ARS user manual, are routine Bureau 

activities. The requirement to ensure 

State EAS Plans are updated annually 

already was contained in § 11.21, and 

thus does not represent a new burden. 

The requirement that the State EAS 

Plan include a certification (which will 

be incorporated into the ARS) by the 

SECC Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson 

that the SECC met (in person, via 

teleconference, or via other methods of 

conducting virtual meetings) at least 

once in the twelve months prior to 

submitting the annual updated plan to 

review and update its State EAS Plan 

should promote added diligence in 

SECC administration of State EAS Plans. 

The Commission estimates the burden 

to SECC members in complying with 

this requirement to be two hours per 

member. 

The rule amendment requiring the 

Bureau approve or reject State EAS 

Plans submitted for approval within 60 

days of receipt does not impose new 

burdens on any entity. The Bureau 

already is charged with reviewing State 

EAS Plans. The internal requirement 

that the Bureau list the approval dates 

of State EAS Plans submitted on ARS on 

the Commission’s website, and in the 

event a final decision is made to deny 

a plan, to directly notify the chief 

executive of the State to which the plan 

applies of that determination and the 

reasons for such denial within 30 days, 

does not impose new burdens on any 

entity. The Bureau already maintains a 

web page on the Commission’s website 

dedicated to SECC and State EAS Plan 

information. 

False EAS Alert Reporting (47 CFR 

11.45) 

The amendment enabling the FEMA 

Administrator and Tribal, State, local, 

and territorial governments to file 

reports of false EAS alerts provides 

another mechanism for the Commission 

to receive information concerning false 

EAS alerts and does not impose burdens 

on any entity. Should any permitted 

government entity voluntarily elect to 

file a false EAS alert report, the burden 

associated with this provision amounts 

to composing an email, which the 

Commission estimates will take an hour 

or less to prepare, and falls within the 

routine activities of government 

employees. False alert reports help the 

Commission to identify, investigate, 

correct and prevent false EAS 

activations, which enhances the EAS’s 

efficacy and the public trust in the EAS. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 11 

Radio, Television. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 11 as 

follows: 

PART 11—EMERGENCY ALERT 

SYSTEM (EAS) 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 11 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154 (i) and (o), 

303(r), 544(g), 606, 1201, 1206. 

§ 11.21 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 11.21 by removing 

paragraph (g). 

§ 11.45 [Amended] 

■ 3. Amend § 11.45 by removing 

paragraph (d). 

[FR Doc. 2022–12076 Filed 6–3–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 220413–0094] 

RIN 0648–BL28 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to 

remove limits on the maximum amount 

of halibut individual fishing quota (IFQ) 

that may be harvested by a vessel, 

commonly known as vessel use caps, in 

IFQ regulatory Areas 4A (Eastern 

Aleutian Islands), 4B (Central and 

Western Aleutian Islands), 4C (Central 

Bering Sea), and 4D (Eastern Bering 

Sea). This action is needed to provide 

additional flexibility to IFQ participants 

in 2022 to ensure allocations of halibut 

IFQ can be harvested by the limited 

number of vessels operating in these 

areas. This action is within the authority 

of the Secretary of Commerce to 

establish additional regulations 

governing the taking of halibut that are 

in addition to, and not in conflict with, 

those adopted by the International 

Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). 

This action is intended to promote the 

goals and objectives of the IFQ Program, 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(Halibut Act), and other applicable laws. 

DATES: Effective June 6, 2022, through 

December 31, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

Categorical Exclusion and the 

Regulatory Impact Review (herein 

referred to as the ‘‘Analysis’’) prepared 

for this action are available from 

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Alaska Region website at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Abby Jahn, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This final rule implements regulations 

for the 2022 IFQ fishing year to 

temporarily remove vessel use caps in 

Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D and exclude 

harvest of IFQ halibut in 2022 from the 

calculation of vessel use caps in IFQ 

regulatory Areas 2C, 3A, or 3B. The 

existing vessel use caps were 

recommended by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

and implemented by NMFS as part of 

the IFQ Program (58 FR 59375; 

November 9, 1993) as regulations that 

were in addition to, and not in conflict 

with, those adopted by the IPHC, 

consistent with the Halibut Act (16 

U.S.C. 773c(c)). The following sections 

describe the IFQ Program; halibut IFQ 

vessel use caps; the rationale for and 

effects from temporarily removing 

vessel use caps in Areas 4A, 4B, 4C, and 

4D; and the regulations implemented 

under this final rule. 

IFQ Program 

Commercial halibut and sablefish 

fisheries in Alaska are subject to 

regulation under the IFQ Program and 

the CDQ Program (50 CFR part 679). A 

key objective of the IFQ Program is to 

support the social and economic 

character of the fisheries and the coastal 

fishing communities where many of 

these fisheries are based. For more 

information about the IFQ Program, 

please refer to Section 2.4 of the 


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