59586 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 197 / Thursday, October 9, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on 

December 12. The meeting on both days 

will be held at the Wright Brothers 

National Memorial Pavilion, 1000 

Croatan Highway (Milepost 7.6), Kill 

Devil Hills, North Carolina 25948. 

These, and any subsequent meetings, 

will be held for the following reason: To 

work with the National Park Service to 

assist in potentially developing special 

regulations for ORV management at 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore. 

The proposed agenda for these 

meetings of the Committee may contain 

the following items: Approval of 

Meeting Summary from Last Meeting, 

Subcommittee and Members’ Updates 

since Last Meeting, Alternatives 

Discussions, National Environmental 

Policy Act Update, and Public 

Comment. However, the Committee may 

modify its agenda during the course of 

its work. The meetings are open to the 

public. Interested persons may provide 

brief oral/written comments to the 

Committee during the public comment 

period of the meetings each day before 

the lunch break and at 5 p.m. on the 

first day of each meeting or file written 

comments with the Park 

Superintendent. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mike Murray, Superintendent, Cape 

Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 

National Park Drive, Manteo, North 

Carolina 27954, (252) 473–2111, 

extension 148. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee’s function is to assist 

directly in the development of special 

regulations for management of ORVs at 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore 

(Seashore). Executive Order 11644, as 

amended by Executive Order 11989, 

requires certain Federal agencies to 

publish regulations that provide for 

administrative designation of the 

specific areas and trails on which ORV 

use may be permitted. In response, the 

NPS published a general regulation at 

36 CFR 4.10, which provides that each 

park that designates routes and areas for 

ORV use must do so by promulgating a 

special regulation specific to that park. 

It also provides that the designation of 

routes and areas shall comply with 

Executive Order 11644, and 36 CFR 1.5 

regarding closures. Members of the 

Committee will negotiate to reach 

consensus on concepts and language to 

be used as the basis for a proposed 

special regulation, to be published by 

the NPS in the Federal Register, 

governing ORV use at the Seashore. The 

duties of the Committee are solely 

advisory. 

Dated: September 26, 2008. 

Michael B. Murray, 

Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National 

Seashore. 

[FR Doc. E8–23779 Filed 10–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–46–M 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R06–OAR–2007–0659; FRL–8727–1] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; 

Louisiana; Approval of Section 

110(a)(1) Maintenance Plans for the 

1997 8-Hour Ozone Standard for the 

Parishes of Calcasieu and St. James 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

revisions to the Louisiana State 

Implementation Plan (SIP) concerning 

maintenance plans addressing the 1997 

8-hour ozone standard for the parishes 

of Calcasieu and St. James. On July 20, 

2007 and August 24, 2007, the State of 

Louisiana submitted separate SIP 

revisions containing maintenance plans 

for the 1997 ozone standard for 

Calcasieu and St. James Parishes, 

respectively. These plans ensure the 

continued attainment of the 1997 8-hour 

ozone National Ambient Air Quality 

Standard (NAAQS) through the year 

2014. These maintenance plans meet the 

statutory and regulatory requirements, 

and are consistent with EPA’s guidance. 

EPA is approving the revisions pursuant 

to section 110 of the Federal Clean Air 

Act (CAA). On March 12, 2008, EPA 

issued a revised ozone standard. 

Today’s action, however, is being taken 

to address requirements under the 1997 

ozone standard. Requirements for the 

areas under the 2008 standard will be 

addressed in future actions. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before November 10, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to 

Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning 

Section (6PD–L), Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, 

Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733. 

Comments may also be submitted 

electronically or through hand delivery/ 

courier by following the detailed 

instructions in the ADDRESSES section of 

the direct final rule located in the rules 

section of this Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ellen Belk, Air Planning Section (6PD– 

L), Multimedia Planning and Permitting 

Division, U.S. EPA, Region 6, 1445 Ross 

Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202–2733, 

telephone (214) 665–2164; fax number 

(214) 665–7263; e-mail address 

belk.ellen@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

final rules section of this Federal 

Register, EPA is approving the State’s 

SIP submittal as a direct final rule 

without prior proposal because the 

Agency views this as a noncontroversial 

submittal and anticipates no adverse 

comments. A detailed rationale for the 

approval is set forth in the direct final 

rule. If no relevant adverse comments 

are received in response to this action, 

no further activity is contemplated. If 

EPA receives adverse comments, the 

direct final rule will be withdrawn and 

all public comments received will be 

addressed in a subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed rule. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

on this action should do so at this time. 

Please note that if EPA receives adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 

as final those provisions of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. 

For additional information, see the 

direct final rule, which is located in the 

rules section of this Federal Register. 

Dated: September 29, 2008. 

Richard E. Greene, 

Regional Administrator, Region 6. 

[FR Doc. E8–23866 Filed 10–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration 

47 CFR Chapter III 

Low-Power Television and Translator 

Upgrade Program; Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Telecommunications 

and Information Administration, U.S. 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking, notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: Section 3009 of the Deficit 

Reduction Act (Act) requires the 

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration (NTIA) to 

implement and administer a program 

through which each eligible low-power 

television broadcast station, Class A 

television station, television translator 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 197 / Thursday, October 9, 2008 / Proposed Rules 59587 

1See Title III of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, 

Public Law No. 109–171, 120 Stat. 4, 21 (Feb. 8, 

2006). 

2The October 29, 2007, Federal Register notice 

announcing the Conversion Program stated that an 

eligible station ‘‘must be broadcasting as authorized 

by the FCC, not merely possess a Construction 

Permit,’’ that ‘‘stations that broadcast in digital, 

either on the main channel or on a companion 

channel, will not be eligible,’’ and that ‘‘a 

governmental unit would not qualify for priority 

compensation unless the unit has a separate 

corporate charter and has received a determination 

of non-profit status.’’ The notice also required that 

an applicant to the Conversion Program ‘‘either 

hold an FCC broadcast license or have filed an 

application for a broadcast license prior to 

November 29, 2007.’’ 

3See 47 CFR 73.684, 73.699. 

4See 47 CFR 73.684. 

5See id. 

6Urban Areas and Urban Clusters are areas 

defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, see http:// 

www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua_2k.html. 

station, or television booster station may 

receive reimbursement for equipment to 

upgrade from analog to digital in 

eligible rural communities. NTIA will 

hold public meetings regarding the 

implementation of this Low-power 

Television Upgrade Program (Upgrade 

Program) 1 in Washington, DC and Las 

Vegas, Nevada. 

DATES: The meeting will be held in 

Washington DC on October 24, 2008, at 

10 a.m. Eastern Time, and in Las Vegas, 

Nevada on October 28, 2008, at 3:30 

p.m. Mountain Time. 

ADDRESSES: The Washington, DC 

meeting will be held at the U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Ave., NW. The Las Vegas, 

Nevada meeting will be held at the 

Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, 129 

Fremont Street. The locations of both 

meetings will also be announced on the 

NTIA Web site www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information regarding the meetings, 

contact William Cooperman, Broadcast 

Division Director, at (202) 482–5802. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NTIA will 

host two public meetings related to its 

implementation of the Upgrade Program 

authorized under Section 3009 of the 

Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, as 

amended by the DTV Transition 

Assistance Act (Pub. L. 110–295). As 

amended, section 3009 of the Act 

contains, in its entirety, the following 

language: 

Sec. 3009. Low-Power Television and 

Translator Upgrade Program 

(a) Establishment.—The Assistant 

Secretary shall make payments of not to 

exceed $65,000,000, in the aggregate, 

during fiscal years 2009 through 2012, 

from the Digital Television Transition 

and Public Safety Fund established 

under section 309(j)(8)(E) of the 

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

309(j)(8)(E)) to implement and 

administer a program through which 

each licensee of an eligible low-power 

television station may receive 

reimbursement for equipment to 

upgrade low-power television stations 

from analog to digital in eligible rural 

communities, as that term is defined in 

section 610(b)(2) of the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1937 (7 U.S.C. 

950bb(b)(2)). Such reimbursements shall 

be issued to eligible stations on or after 

February 18, 2009. Priority 

reimbursements shall be given to 

eligible low-power television stations in 

which the license is held by a non-profit 

corporation and eligible low-power 

television stations that serve rural areas 

of fewer than 10,000 viewers. 

(b) Eligible Stations.—For purposes of 

this section, the term ‘‘eligible lowpower television station’’ means a lowpower television broadcast station, Class 

A television station, television translator 

station, or television booster station— 

(1) that is itself broadcasting 

exclusively in analog format; and 

(2) that has not converted from analog 

to digital operations prior to the date of 

enactment of the Digital Television 

Transition and Public Safety Act of 

2005. 

Section 610(b)(2) of the Rural 

Electrification Act of 1937 (7 U.S.C. 

950bb(b)(2)), which is referenced in 

Section 3009(a), contains, in its entirety, 

the following language: ‘‘the term 

‘eligible rural community’ means any 

area of the United States that is not 

contained in an incorporated city or 

town with a population in excess of 

20,000 inhabitants.’’ 

Matters To Be Considered: NTIA will 

discuss the following topics at the 

public meetings and will also provide 

an opportunity for public comment on 

these matters. 

1. Station Eligibility: How to define an 

eligible station. Issues that will be 

discussed include the following: 

(1) Whether a facility must hold an 

FCC license to be considered 

‘‘broadcasting’’ or be permitted to hold 

an FCC construction permit or program 

test authority. 

(2) Whether a facility meets the 

statutory requirement ‘‘broadcasting 

exclusively in analog format’’ if it has a 

construction permit, program test 

authority, or license for a digital 

companion channel or has flash cut to 

digital. 

(3) Whether NTIA should establish a 

uniform deadline of eligibility (DOE) 

applicable to all applicants that NTIA 

will use when determining a station’s 

eligibility regarding the two previous 

items. If so, should the DOE be (1) the 

date of enactment of the Act (i.e., 

February 8, 2006), (2) the closing date 

for receipt of Upgrade Program 

applications for the applicable grant 

round, (3) the same date as the 

Expenditure Start Date discussed in the 

section titled Reimbursement, below, or 

(4) some other date. 

(4) Whether a governmental 

subsidiary can be considered a 

nonprofit corporation and therefore may 

qualify for ‘‘priority reimbursement.’’ 

(5) Whether NTIA should adopt the 

same requirements regarding station 

eligibility for the Upgrade Program as 

NTIA adopted for the Digital-to-Analog 

Conversion Program (Conversion 

Program) and published in the October 

29, 2007, Federal Register (72 FR 

61109–61114). The Conversion Program 

was established under Section 3008 of 

the Act and contains language identical 

to Section 3009 establishing the 

Upgrade Program regarding the 

definition of an eligible station.2

2. Eligible Communities: How NTIA 

could implement the statutory 

requirement that an eligible station must 

be ‘‘in eligible rural communities’’ (i.e., 

‘‘any area of the United States that is not 

contained in an incorporated city or 

town with a population in excess of 

20,000 inhabitants.’’) Issues to be 

discussed will include the most 

appropriate method of designating an 

eligible rural community, including the 

following: 

(1) Whether NTIA should determine 

an eligible rural community based on 

the population within the station’s 

(a) Community of license, or 

(b) FCC 50/50 contour,3 or 

(c) Grade A coverage,4 or 

(d) Grade B coverage,5 or 

(e) P coverage contour per Section 

74.707 of the FCC Rules. 

(2) Whether NTIA should determine 

an eligible rural community based on 

some other definition or formula (e.g., 

the number, or percentage, of people 

served by the station living in rural 

areas outside Urban Areas or Urban 

Clusters of more than 20,000).6

3. Reimbursement: The statute 

provides for reimbursement to an 

otherwise eligible station that has not 

converted from analog to digital 

operations prior to the ‘‘date of 

enactment of the Digital Television 

Transition and Public Safety Act of 

2005’’ (i.e., February 8, 2006). Issues 

that will be discussed include whether 

NTIA should accept all expenditures for 

eligible costs after February 8, 2006, for 

reimbursement, or, in order to provide 

fair and equitable notice to all potential 

applicants to the Upgrade Program, 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with PROPOSALS
59588 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 197 / Thursday, October 9, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

7The October 29, 2007, Federal Register notice 

regarding the Conversion Program, stated that ‘‘in 

sum, an applicant requesting priority compensation 

must (i) be a non-profit corporation; or (ii) serve 

fewer than 10,000 people within the low-power 

station’s 50/50 service contour.’’ 

establish another date (‘‘Expenditure 

Start Date’’) after which applicant 

expenses would be eligible for 

reimbursement. If NTIA were to 

establish the Expenditure Start Date 

after February 8, 2006, should it be any 

of the following? 

(1) The date of this notice, or 

(2) The date that NTIA announces the 

availability of funds to start the Upgrade 

Program, or 

(3) The closing date for receipt of 

Upgrade Program applications for the 

applicable grant round, or 

(4) The date that NTIA awards 

Upgrade Program funds to an applicant, 

or 

(5) The Deadline of Eligibility date 

discussed earlier in the section on 

Eligibility. 

4. Priority Reimbursement: How NTIA 

can implement the requirement that 

priority reimbursement shall be given to 

‘‘eligible low-power television stations in 

which the license is held by a non-profit 

corporation and eligible low-power 

television stations that serve rural areas 

of fewer than 10,000 viewers.’’ Issues to 

be discussed include whether NTIA 

should 

(1) Have an exclusive period during 

which only applicants who qualify for 

the priority can apply? 

(2) Establish a priority reimbursement 

category within a larger grant round? 

(3) Provide additional points, if the 

grants are competitive, to those 

applicants which meet the criteria for 

priority reimbursement? 

(4) Require that stations meet both 

criteria (licensee held by a non-profit 

corporation and that serve rural areas of 

fewer than 10,000 viewers) in order to 

receive the priority? 

(5) Use the same benchmark in 

determining the priority reimbursement 

population requirement (‘‘rural areas of 

fewer than 10,000 viewers’’) as used in 

determining population eligibility 

requirement (‘‘any area of the United 

States that is not contained in an 

incorporated city or town with a 

population in excess of 20,000 

inhabitants’’)? 

(6) Adopt the same requirements 

regarding priority reimbursement for the 

Upgrade Program as it adopted for the 

Conversion Program and published in 

the October 29, 2007, Federal Register 

(72 FR 61109–61114). The Conversion 

Program was established under Section 

3008 of the Act and contains language 

identical to Section 3009 establishing 

the Upgrade Program regarding priority 

consideration (reimbursement).7

5. Eligible Equipment and Costs: The 

Act states that reimbursement shall be 

given for ‘‘equipment to upgrade lowpower television stations from analog to 

digital,’’ but does not provide further 

guidance regarding which equipment or 

costs should be supported by the 

program. 

Issues that will be discussed include 

what costs or equipment should be 

eligible for reimbursement under the 

program and whether there should be a 

formula or limit on the amount of funds 

awarded to a single station. If so, what 

should they be or how should they be 

determined? 

6. Application Selection: Issues to be 

discussed include how applications 

should be selected for funding and 

whether NTIA should consider any of 

the following alternatives: 

(1) Uniform grants. If all 7,000 lowpower facilities were eligible for the 

program, each facility could receive a 

grant of approximately $9,000; if only 

half the facilities were eligible for the 

program, the uniform grant would be 

approximately $18,000, etc. 

(2) First-come, first served. NTIA 

could fund complete applications from 

otherwise eligible stations on a firstcome, first-served basis, until all funds 

are awarded. A provision would have to 

be devised to provide for the facilities 

that meet the statutory requirements for 

priority reimbursement. 

(3) Competitive grant cycle. If NTIA 

were to awards funds on a competitive 

basis, what selection factors and criteria 

should it establish to evaluate 

applications? 

(4) Single or multiple grant cycles. 

How many grant cycles should NTIA 

plan to award the funds during the 

authorized period FY 09–FY 12? 

7. Administrative Procedures to 

Award Grants: Issues to be discussed 

include the administrative matters 

related to the efficient implementation 

of the Upgrade Program, including 

preparation and submission of 

applications, payment of funds, and 

grantee post-award obligations. 

Time and Date: The Washington 

meeting will held on October 23, 2008 

from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and the Las 

Vegas meeting on October 28, 2008, 

from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. These times 

and the agenda topics are subject to 

change. Please refer to NTIA’s Web site, 

www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv, for the most upto-date meeting agenda. 

Place: The meetings will be held in 

Washington, DC at the U.S. Department 

of Commerce and in Las Vegas, Nevada 

at the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. 

Status: Interested parties are invited 

to attend and to submit written 

comments. Interested parties are 

permitted to file comments 

electronically via e-mail to 

lptv@ntia.doc.gov. Comments provided 

via email may be submitted in one or 

more of the formats specified below. 

Comments may be filed with NTIA at 

any time before the meeting, and 

through November 14, 2008. If 

interested parties wish to submit 

comments for consideration by NTIA in 

advance of the meeting, they should be 

sent to the above listed address and 

received by close of business one week 

prior to the meeting to provide 

sufficient time for review. Comments 

received after such time may not be 

reviewed prior to the meeting. 

Alternatively, interested parties may 

also submit paper submissions. 

Paper comments should be sent to: 

LPTV Program, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, Room 4812, 1401 

Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20230. Please note that all material 

sent via the U.S. Postal Service 

(including ‘‘Overnight’’ or ‘‘Express 

Mail’’) is subject to delivery delays of up 

to two weeks due to mail security 

procedures at the Department of 

Commerce. All written comments 

received will be posted on the NTIA 

Web site at www.ntia.doc.gov/lptv. 

It would be helpful if paper 

submissions also include a CD or DVD 

in HTML, ASCII, Word or WordPerfect 

format (please specify version). CDs or 

DVDs should be labeled with the name 

and organizational affiliation of the filer, 

and the name of the word processing 

program used to create the document. 

Because of space limitation, 

attendance at the meeting will be 

determined on a first-come, first-served 

basis. The meeting will be physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Individuals requiring special services, 

such as sign language interpretation or 

other ancillary aids, are asked to 

indicate this to [name] at least two (2) 

days prior to the meeting. Members of 

the public will have an opportunity to 

ask questions at the meeting. 

Individuals who would like to submit 

questions in writing should e-mail their 

questions to Lynn Chadwick at 

lchadwick@ntia.doc.gov. 

Dated: October 2, 2008. 

Meredith Attwell Baker, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for 

Communications and Information. 

[FR Doc. E8–23841 Filed 10–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P 


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