Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 63273-63274 [2020-21492]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63273-63274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21492]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0004; FRS 17099]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collections. 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 collection burden on 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 Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject 
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before December 
7, 2020. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0004.
    Title: Sections 1.1307 and 1.1311, Guidelines for Evaluating the 
Environmental Effects of Radiofrequency Exposure.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision 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 and Responses: 335,441 Respondents; 335,441 
Responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.0833 hours (5 minutes)-20 hours.
    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(i), 302, 303, 303(r), and 307.
    Total Annual Burden: 41,997 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $2,933,431.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    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 
and privileged or confidential commercial or financial information, 
which may be submitted to the Commission as part of the documentation 
of test results. No other assurances of confidentiality are provided to 
respondents.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this revised 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.
    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 December 2019 RF Exposure Second Report and Order, ET Docket 
Nos. 03-137 and 13-184, FCC 19-126, amended Sec. Sec.  1.1307, 2.1091 
and 2.1093 requiring approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(85 FR 18131, April 1, 2020). The Commission subsequently stated that 
the amendments to these rules affects information collections under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. 85 FR 33578 (June 2, 2020). Revision to 
information collection effected by amendments to Sec. Sec.  2.1091 and 
2.1093 is reported separately under OMB Information Collection 3060-
0057.
    In amended Sec.  1.1307, the Commission revised its implementing 
rules to reflect modern technology and current uses. The Commission 
streamlined the criteria for determining when an applicant or licensee 
is exempt from our radio frequency (RF) exposure evaluation criteria by 
replacing service-based exemptions with a formula-based approach. For 
those applicants and licensees who do not qualify for an exemption, the 
Commission provided more flexibility to establish compliance with our 
RF exposure limits. The Commission also specified methods that RF 
equipment operators can use to mitigate the risk of excess exposure, 
both to members of the public and trained workers (such as training, 
supervision, and signage). The amended rules provide more efficient, 
practical, and consistent RF exposure evaluation procedures and 
mitigation measures to help ensure compliance with the existing RF 
exposure limits.
    Most of the changes to Sec.  1.1307 represent clarification or 
simplification of existing requirements and are not expected to 
significantly increase or decrease the estimated burden to respondents 
or to the Federal government. To address components of the amended 
requirements that were not included in previous burden estimates, 
isolated revisions were made to the burden estimates as summarized in 
the supporting statement of the Information Collection. To update 
burden estimates based on most recently available data, the Commission 
also adjusted the total number of respondents/responses, the total 
annual hourly burden, and the

[[Page 63274]]

total annual costs from the previous estimates, based on licensing data 
for calendar year 2019.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-21492 Filed 10-6-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P