*Pages 1--7 from Microsoft Word - 4544.doc* Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Amendment of Section 73.202( b), ) Table of Allotments, ) FM Broadcast Stations. ) ) (Huachuca City, Arizona ) MM Docket No. 00- 208 ) RM- 9977 ) (Rio Rico, Arizona) ) MM Docket No. 00- 209 ) RM- 9978 ) (Sonoita, Arizona) ) MM Docket No. 00- 210 ) RM- 9979 ) (Pine Level, Alabama) ) MM Docket No. 00- 211 ) RM- 9993 NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING Adopted: October 18, 2000 Released: October 27, 2000 Comment Date: December 18, 2000 Reply Date: January 2, 2001 By the Chief, Allocations Branch 1. Before the Commission for consideration is a multiple docket Notice of Proposed Rule Making setting forth separate proposals to amend the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202( b) of t he Rules. Each pet it ioner has st at ed that it will apply for its request ed channel, if allot t ed. We believe that each proposal warrants consideration because it complies with our technical requirements and would serve the public interest. 2. This is a mult iple docket Not ice of Proposed Rule making issued in response t o a Commission Public Notice released October 2, 1998 (DA 98- 1987). We are combining separate FM allotment proposals into a single Notice of Proposed Rule Making. Each proposal has its own docket and rule making number and the Commission's Reference Center will maintain a separate file for each docket . As discussed in the Public Not ice, this procedure will conserve Commission resources and expedite the processing of FM allotment petitions for rule making by avoiding duplicative actions. We request comments and/ or counterproposals to the following proposals: 1 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 2 (1) MM Docket No. 00- 208, RM- 9977 Petitioner: Santa Cruz Broadcasting c/ o Susan A. Marshall, Esq. Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC 1300 North 17 th Street 11 th Floor Arlington, VA 22209 Proposal: Allot Channel 232A to Huachuca City, Arizona (pop. 1,782), 1 as that locality’s first local aural transmission service. Community Present Proposed Huachuca City, Arizona -- 232A Coordinates: 31- 32- 30 NL; 110- 23- 20 WL Additional Information: The proposed allotment requires a site restriction 10. 9 kilometers (6. 8 miles) sout hwest of the communit y to avoid a short -spacing to St at ion KXKQ, Channel 231C1, Safford, AZ, at coordinates 32- 39- 01 NL; 109- 50- 53 WL. Petitioner is requested to submit additional information to demonstrate that Huachuca City is a bona fide community for allotment purposes. Additionally, Huachuca City is located within 320 kilometers (199 miles) of the U. S.- Mexico border and the allotment, as proposed, will result in short spacings towards the following three Mexican allotments: Channel 232A, Sasabe, Sonora; Channel 232B, Magdalena, Sonora; and Channel 233A, Naco, Sonora. Therefore, concurrence by the Mexican government in the proposed allotment of Channel 232A at Huachuca City, as a specially negotiated short- spaced allotment must be obtained. FCC Contact: Nancy Joyner, (202) 418- 2180. (2) MM Docket No. 00- 209; RM- 9978 Petitioner: Santa Cruz Broadcasting c/ o Susan A. Marshall, Esq. Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC 1300 North 17 th Street 11 th Floor Arlington, VA 22209 1 Population figures reported herein were taken from 1999 U. S. Census data. 2 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 3 Proposal: Allot Channel 300A to Rio Rico, (pop. 1,407), as that locality's first local aural transmission service. Community Present Proposed Rio Rico, Arizona -- 300A Coordinates: 31- 24- 00 NL; 110- 57- 30 WL Additional Information: No site restriction is required for this proposal. Petitioner is requested to provide additional information to demonstrate that Rio Rico is a bona fide community for allotment purposes. Additionally, Rio Rico is located within 320 kilometers (199 miles) of the U. S.- Mexico border and the allotment, as proposed, will result in short spacings towards the following two Mexican allotments: Channel 300B, Caborca, Sonora; and Channel 300B, Agua Prieta, Sonora. Therefore, concurrence by the Mexican government in the allotment, as a specially negotiated short- spaced allot ment must be obt ained. FCC Contact: Nancy Joyner, (202) 418- 2180. (3) MM Docket No. 00- 210; RM- 9979 Petitioner: Santa Cruz Broadcasting c/ o Susan A. Marshall, Esq. Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC 1300 North 17 th Street 11 th Floor Arlington, VA 22209 Proposal: Allot Channel 263A to Sonoita, Arizona, 2 as that locality’s first local aural transmission service. Community Present Proposed Sonoita, Arizona -- 263A Coordinates: 31- 40- 46 NL; 110- 39- 17 WL Additional Information: No site restriction is required for this proposal. Petitioner is requested to 2 Petitioner states that according to the Sonoita Chamber of Commerce, Sonoita, and its surrounding area, contains a population of 2,400 persons. However, the Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide (2000 Ed.) attributes Sonoita with a population of 100 persons. Therefore, petitioner is requested to provide official documentation of the population it attributes to Sonoita. 3 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 4 provide additional information to demonstrate that Sonoita is a bona fide community for allotment purposes. Additionally, Sonoita is located within 320 kilometers (199 miles) of the U. S. -Mexico border and the allot ment , as proposed, will result in a short spacing t owards Channel 263B in Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico. Therefore, concurrence by the Mexican government in the allotment, as a specially negotiated short- spaced allotment must be obtained FCC Contact: Nancy Joyner, (202) 418- 2180. (4) MM Docket No. 00- 211; RM- 9993 Petitioner: Susannah Lane Hodges John A. Borsari, Esq. c/ o Borsari & Assoc., PLC P. O. Box 29 Arlington, VA 22210 Proposal: Allot Channel 248A to Pine Level, Alabama, 3 as that locality’s first local aural transmission service. Community Present Proposed Pine Level, Alabama -- 248A Coordinates: 32- 04- 04 NL; 86- 03- 35 WL Additional Information: No site restriction is required for this proposal. Petitioner is requested to provide additional information to demonstrate that Pine Level is a bona fide community for allotment purposes. FCC Contact: Nancy Joyner, (202) 418- 2180 3. Comment s, reply comment s, count erproposals and ot her pleadings filed in response to this multiple docket Notice of Proposed Rule Making should reference only the specific docket to which t he filing pert ains. The Commission's aut horit y to inst it ut e rule making proceedings, showings required, cut- off procedures, and filing requirements are contained in the attached Appendix and are 3 Petitioner states that Pine Level contains a population of 400 persons according to the 1990 U. S. Census. However, Pine Level is not listed in the Census as a separate population grouping. Rather, it is listed therein as a county subdivision. See, Cloverdale, Mongtomery and Warrior, Alabama, 10 FCC Rcd 13630 (1995). Further, the Rand McNally Commercial Atlas and Marketing Guide (2000 Ed.) records Pine Level as a geographical location containing a population of 300 persons. Therefore, petitioner is requested to provide official documentation of the population it attributes to Pine Level. 4 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 5 incorporated by reference herein. In particular, we note that a showing of continuing interest is required in paragraph 2 of the Appendix before a channel will be allotted. 4. Interested parties may file comments on or before December 18, 2000, and reply comments on or before January 2, 2001, and are advised to read the Appendix for the proper procedure. Addit ionally, a copy of any filing should be served on the pet it ioner list ed for the part icular docket. 5. The Commission has det ermined that the relevant provisions of the Regulat ory Flexibilit y Act of 1980 do not apply to rule making proceedings to amend the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202( b) of the Commission's Rules. See Certification that Sections 603 and 604 of the Regulatory Flexibilit y Act Do Not Apply to Rule Making to Amend Sect ions 73. 202( b) and 73.606( b) of the Commission's Rules, 46 FR 11549, February 9, 1981. 6. For further information concerning a proceeding listed above, contact the FCC contact listed for that proceeding. For purposes of this restricted notice and comment rule making proceeding, members of the public are advised that no ex parte presentations are permitted from the time the Commission adopts a Notice of Proposed Rule Making until the proceeding has been decided and such decision is no longer subject to reconsideration by the Commission or review by any court. An ex parte presentation is not prohibited if specifically requested by the Commission or staff for the clarification or adduction of evidence or resolution of issues in the proceeding. However, any new written information elicited from such a request or a summary of any new oral information shall be served by the person making the presentation upon other parties to the proceeding unless the Commission specifically waives this service requirement . Any comment which has not been served on the petitioner constitutes an ex parte presentation and shall not be considered in the proceeding. Any reply comment which has not been served on the person( s) who filed the comment, to which the reply is directed, constitutes an ex parte presentation and shall not be considered in this proceeding. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION John A. Karousos Chief, Allocations Branch Policy and Rules Division Mass Media Bureau 5 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 6 APPENDIX 1. Pursuant to authority found in Sections 4( i), 5( c)( 1), 303( g) and (r) and 307( b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.61, 0.204.( b) and 0.283 of the Commission's Rules, IT IS PROPOSED TO AMEND the FM Table of Allotments, Section 73.202( b) of the Commission's Rules and Regulations, as set forth in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making to which this Appendix is at t ached. 2. Showings Required. Comments are invited on the proposal( s) discussed in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making to which this Appendix is at t ached. Proponent (s) will be expect ed t o answer whatever questions are presented in initial comments. The proponent of a proposed allotment is also expected to file comments even if it only resubmits or incorporates by reference its former pleadings. It should also restate its present intention to apply for the channel if it is allotted and, if authorized, to build a st at ion prompt ly. Failure to file may lead to denial of the request . 3. Cut- off Procedures. The following procedures will govern the consideration of filings in this proceeding. (a) Counterproposals advanced in this proceeding itself will be considered if advanced in init ial comment s, so that part ies may comment on them in reply comment s. They will not be considered if advanced in reply comments. (See Section 1.420( d) of the Commission's Rules). (b) With respect to petitions for rule making which conflict with the proposal( s) in this Not ice, they will be considered as comment s in the proceeding, and Public Notice to this effect will be given as long as they are filed before the date for filing initial comment herein. If they are filed later t han that , they will not be considered in connect ion wit h the decision in this docket . (c) The filing of a counterproposal may lead the Commission to allot a different channel than was requested for any of the communities involved. 4. Comments and Reply Comments; Service. Pursuant to applicable procedures set out in Sections 1.415 and 1.420 of the Commission's Rules and Regulat ions, int erest ed part ies may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates set forth in the Notice of Proposed Rule Making to which this Appendix is attached. All submissions by parties to this proceeding or by persons acting on behalf of such part ies, must be made in writ t en comment s reply comment s, or ot her appropriat e pleadings. Comment s shall be served on the pet it ioner by the person filing the comment s. Reply comments shall be served on the person( s) who filed comments to which the reply is directed. such comments and reply comments shall be accompanied by a certificate of service. (See Section 1.420( a), (b) and (c) of the Commission's Rules.) Comment s should be filed wit h t he Secret ary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, 445 Twelfth Street, SW.; TW- A325, Washington, D. C. 20554. 6 Federal Communications Commission DA 00- 2420 7 5. Number of Copies. In accordance with the provisions of Section 1.420 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations, an original and four copies of all comments, reply comments, pleadings, briefs, or other documents shall be furnished the Commission. 6. Public Inspection of Filings. All filings made in this proceeding will be available for examination by interested parties during regular business hours in the Commission's Reference Information Center (Room CY- A257) at its headquarters, 445 Twelfth Street, SW., Washington, D. C. 7