2014-13977. Information Collection Being Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s). Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 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; and ways to further reduce the information burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently 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 (PRA) that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES:

Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be submitted on or before July 16, 2014. If you anticipate that you will be submitting PRA comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the FCC contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of Management and Budget, via fax at 202-395-5167 or via Internet at [e-mail] and to Benish Shah, Federal Communications Commission, via the Internet at [e-mail]. To submit your PRA comments by email send them to: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Benish Shah, Office of Managing Director, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0004.

Title: Sections 1.1307 and 1.1311, Guidelines for Evaluating the Environmental Effects of Radiofrequency Exposure.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Individuals or households, business or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, and state, local or tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 305,612 Respondents; 305,612 Responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.31 hours (average).

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154, 302, 303 and 307.

Total Annual Burden: 50,065 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $1,396,150.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: N/A.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is a minimal exemption from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), and 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules, that is granted for trade secrets, which may be submitted to the Commission as part of the documentation of test results. The exemption is normally granted for a short time (weeks to months) for requests relating to routine authorizations and for a longer time for requests relating to experimental authorizations. No other assurances of confidentiality are provided to respondents.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after this 60-day comment period in order to obtain the full three-year clearance from them. The Commission is requesting OMB approval for an extension. The Commission has adjusted the total number of respondents/responses, the total annual hourly burden, and the total annual cost to respondents from the previous estimates, based on a division of reporting between licensing and equipment authorization functions. Licenses are typically issued to entities (including individuals) to operate specific facilities at specific locations; an example would be a FM broadcast license, which authorizes operation of an FM broadcast transmitter at a specific location that cannot be changed without FCC permission. Equipment authorizations are typically issued to entities to market equipment to the public; an example would be a cellular telephone, which can be purchased by any individual and operated at-will without a specific license. Additionally, the portion of the information collection relating to equipment authorization is now being captured and reported in OMB 3060-0057.

This information collection is a result of responsibility placed on the FCC by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. NEPA requires that each federal agency evaluate the impact of “major actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” It is the FCC's opinion that this is the most efficient and reasonable method of complying with NEPA with regard to the environmental issue of radiofrequency radiation from FCC-regulated transmitters.

The Commission requires applicants to submit limited information during the licensing and authorization process. In many services, the Commission simply requires licensees to provide reliable service to specific geographic areas, but does not require licensees to file site-specific information. It does not appear that the FCC's present licensing methods can provide public notification of site-specific information without imposing new and significant additional burden to the Commission's applicants. However, we note that applicants with the greatest potential to exceed the Commission's exposure limits are required to perform an environmental evaluation as part of the licensing and authorization process.

The Commission advises concerned members of the public, seeking site-specific information, to contact the FCC for the name and telephone number of the service providers in the concerned party's area. The Commission encourages all service providers to provide site-specific, technical information and environmental evaluation documentation upon public request. In addition, we note alternative sources of information may be state and local governments, which may collect some site-specific information as part of the zoning process.

Federal Communications Commission.

Gloria J. Miles,

Federal Register Liaison, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.