Federal Communications Commission DA 21-xxx DA 21-869 Released: July 20, 2021 PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU ANNOUNCES DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING STATE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) PLANS USING THE ALERT REPORTING SYSTEM (ARS) AND COMPLIANCE WITH STATE EAS PLAN CONTENT REQUIREMENTS AND EAS DESIGNATIONS PS Docket No. 15-94 In this Public Notice, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) announces that the one-year deadline for filing State EAS Plans via the ARS, and the deadline for compliance with both the State EAS Plan content rules in sections 11.21(a)(1)-(7) and the EAS designations in section 11.18 of the EAS rules, See 47 CFR §§ 11.21(a)(1)-(7) and 11.18, respectively. is July 5, 2022. State EAS Plans describe state and local EAS operations and contain guidelines that must be followed to activate the EAS. See 47 CFR § 11.21. The plans are administered by State Emergency Communications Committees (SECC). The ARS is an online filing system adopted in 2018 to modernize State EAS Plan submissions, and provide uniformity across State EAS Plans, in terms of both format and terminology, while affording sufficient flexibility to accommodate each SECC’s unique needs. See Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System, Report and Order, PS Docket No. 15-94, 33 FCC Rcd 3627, 3630-35, paras. 7-18 (2018) (State Plan Order). In adopting the ARS, the Commission indicated that electronic submission of State EAS Plans via ARS would be required within one year of publication in the Federal Register of a public notice announcing the availability of the ARS to receive such information. See Report and Order at 33 FCC Rcd 3645-46, para. 54. Such notice was published on July 1, 2021. See Federal Communications Commission, Alert Reporting System Available for Filing of State Emergency Alert System Plans, 86 Fed. Reg. 35089 (July 1, 2021) (Federal Register Notice). We observe that prior to this Federal Register publication, on May 25, 2021, the Bureau released a Public Notice announcing that ARS is available for the filing of State EAS Plans, and that its publication in the Federal Register would trigger the one-year deadline for filing State EAS Plans on ARS. See Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Announces the Alert Reporting System (ARS) is Available for Filing of State Emergency Alert System Plans, Public Notice, PS Docket 15-94, DA 21-593, 2021 WL 2144212 (PSHSB May 25, 2021). Accordingly, State EAS Plans are required to be submitted via ARS on or by July 5, 2022. We note that the one-year filing deadline is July 2, 2022, which is a Saturday, and the following Monday is a federal holiday, thus, under the Commission’s rules for computing time, the next business day is July 5. See 47 CFR §§1.4(j), 1.4(l). As explained in the Federal Register Notice, when the Commission adopted the ARS, it also amended its rules governing State EAS Plan content requirements and EAS designations. See Federal Register Notice. See also Report and Order at 33 FCC Rcd 3635, 3638-3643, paras. 35-47, 19, respectively; 47 CFR §§ 11.21 and 11.18, respectively. EAS designations are the terms used to identify key EAS alert sources, such as National Primary and Local Primary stations. See 47 CFR § 11.18. The Commission indicated that compliance with such new State EAS Plan content rules and EAS designations would become required at the same time as the filing deadline for electronic submission of State EAS Plans in the ARS. See Report and Order at 33 FCC Rcd 3645-3646, paras. 54-55. Accordingly, compliance with the State EAS Plan content requirements set forth in sections 11.21(a)(1)-(7) and the EAS designations set forth in section 11.18 of the EAS rules will be required on or by July 5, 2022. See 47 CFR §§ 11.21(a)(1)-(7) and 11.18, respectively. For further information about ARS and/or the filing process, please contact David Munson at (202) 418-2921 or David.Munson@fcc.gov. -FCC- 2