Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 98, May 21, 2010, Pages 28463-28750 Page: 28,524

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Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 98/Friday, May 21, 2010/Proposed Rules

Commission therefore proposes to
amend the relevant rules to allow
antenna structure owners, as an
alternative to providing a copy of Form
854R, to notify tenant licensees and
permittees that the structure has been
registered, and give the tenant licensees
and permittees the antenna structure's
registration number along with the link
for the Commission's antenna structure
registration Web site. This notification
may be done using paper mail or
electronic mail. The Commission seeks
comment on this proposal.
5. Notification of Construction or
Dismantlement
38. Section 17.57 requires that
antenna structure owners notify the
Commission within 24 hours of
construction or dismantlement of an
antenna structure, and immediately for
changes in height or ownership. In its
Biennial Review comments, PCIA
recommends changing 17.57 to
harmonize the timing for these
requirements with FAA rules. In its
Petition for Rulemaking, PCIA indicates
specifically that its proposal in this
regard would be to change from 24
hours to five days the time for
notification of construction or
dismantlement, and to change from
"immediately" to five days the time for
notification of changes in height or
ownership. Cingular and NAB support
the concept of harmonization of the
Commission's rules with FAA rules
regarding notification of construction
and/or dismantlement.
39. The Commission tentatively
concludes that the Commission should
not adopt these proposed changes.
Initially, the Commission notes that
neither PCIA nor Cingular cites the
relevant FAA requirements or explains
why they are appropriate for the
Commission's purposes. In any event,
these FCC notification requirements
promote accuracy of the Commission's
information, and it would not appear to
create any conflict for them to be stricter
than the FAA's. Given the simple nature
of notification filings, commenters have
not shown that the time frames are
unreasonably burdensome. The
Commission seeks comment on this
issue, including discussion of any
burdens that the existing rule may
impose.
6. Facilities on Federal Land
40. Section 17.58 of the Commission's
rules provides that any application
proposing new or modified transmitting
facilities to be located on land under the
jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service or
the Bureau of Land Management shall

include a statement that the facilities

will be so located, and that the
applicant shall comply with the
requirements of 1.70 of the rules. This
rule was adopted in 1967, along with
former 1.70, which prescribed
procedures for handling applications
involving the use of certain lands and
reservations under the jurisdiction of
the U.S. Government. Those procedures
were abolished in 1977 at the request of
the Department of Agriculture and the
Department of the Interior, at which
point that iteration of 1.70 was
deleted. As 17.58 was intended to
promote compliance with procedures
that no longer exist, the Commission
now proposes to delete 17.58. The
Commission seeks comment on this
proposal, including whether there is any
reason to retain a requirement that the
Commission be notified of facilities on
Forest Service or Bureau of Land
Management lands.
III. Conclusion
41. By this NPRM, the Commission
proposes various clarifications and
amendments to the part 17 rules, in
order to allow antenna structure owners
to more efficiently and cost effectively
ensure their compliance with those
rules. The Commission seeks comment
on these proposals.
IV. Procedural Matters
A. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
42. As required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act of 1980, see 5 U.S.C. 603,
as amended (RFA), the Commission has
prepared this present Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the
possible significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities by
the policies and rules proposed in this
Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM). Written public comments are
requested on this IRFA. Comments must
be specifically identified as responses to
the IRFA and must be filed by the
deadlines for comments on the Notice
provided in Section V.A. of the item.
The Commission will send a copy of the
NPRM, including this IRFA, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small
Business Administration (SBA). In
addition, the NPRM and IRFA (or
summaries thereof) will be published in
the Federal Register.
1. Need for and Objectives of the
Proposed Rules
43. Section 303(q) of the
Communications Act vests in the
Commission the authority to require
painting and/or lighting of radio towers
that may constitute a hazard to air
navigation. Part 17 of the Commission's

rules sets forth procedures for

identifying those antenna structures that
might affect air navigation, consistent
with recommendations made by the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
and for registering such structures with
the Commission. The Commission
requires owners of antenna structures to
register with the Commission those
structures that meet the registration
criteria and to exercise primary
responsibility for the prescribed
painting and lighting. The proposed
rules seek to achieve the best framework
to continue to fulfill the Commission's
statutory responsibility to require
antenna structure owners, registrants
and Commission licensees to do
whatever is necessary to prevent
antenna structures from being hazards
or menaces to air navigation.
44. The Commission proposes to
amend 17.4(a) and 17.21, 17.22
(redesignated as 17.21(c)), and 17.23
and to delete 17.17(a) of the
Commission's rules regarding antenna
structure registration and painting and
lighting specifications. The Commission
also proposes conforming edits to
1.61(a)(5) and 17.1(b). These
proposed changes are intended to clarify
the relationship between the
Commission's rules and procedures and
those of the FAA and to ensure
continued consistency in those rules
and procedures. The Commission also
asks whether to amend 17.17(b)
(redesignated as 17.24) by providing
that a revised FAA Circular does not
impose new obligations on already-
approved antenna structures.
45. In order to clarify the obligations
of antenna structure owners and to
conform the Commission's regulations
to Commission and FAA practice, the
Commission proposes adding new
sections to 17.4 specifying that any
change in height of one foot or greater,
any change in coordinates of one second
or greater, or any change in marking and
lighting specifications requires prior
approval from the FAA and the
Commission. The Commission also
proposes to consider whether to specify
accuracy standards or survey methods
in order to ensure consistency of data.
46. The Commission proposes to
delete 17.7 and 17.14 of the
Commission's rules, which are
restatements of FAA rules, and to
substitute cross-references to relevant
FAA rules in 17.4 of the Commission's
rules. This change could reduce the risk
of confusion in the event the FAA were
to change its criteria.
47. The Commission proposes to
amend its rules governing inspection
and maintenance of lighting by: (1)
Amending 17.47 to eliminate or

reduce requirements to perform

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United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 75, Number 98, May 21, 2010, Pages 28463-28750, periodical, May 21, 2010; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc52679/m1/70/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.

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