Federal Communications Commission	DA 21-724


DA 22-724
Released: July 6, 2022

PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU OFFERS 
FURTHER INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE ON THE FILING OF 
STATE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) PLANS
	
PS Docket No. 15-94


In this Public Notice, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB or the Bureau) encourages State Emergency Communications Committees (SECCs) that have not yet submitted their State Emergency Alert System (EAS) Plans in the Alert Reporting System (ARS), which were due July 5, 2022, See 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, Public Notice, DA 21-869, 36 FCC Rcd 11861 (PSHSB July 20, 2021).  The Bureau observes that this deadline applied to the initial submission of plans.  Any SECC that submitted a plan in ARS prior to the July 5, 2022, deadline has satisfied the timely filing requirement, even if the plan was subsequently rejected because it required corrections as submitted.  
 to do so as soon as possible.  State EAS Plans, which govern EAS operations and activation procedures in their respective states, must be filed annually and must receive the approval of the Chief of PSHSB. 47 CFR § 11.21; see Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System, PS Docket No. 15-94, Report and Order, 33 FCC Rcd 3627, 3629-30, paras. 4, 7 (2018); Amendment of the Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System; Wireless Emergency Alerts, PS Dockets 15-94, 15-91, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 36 FCC Rcd 10694 (2021) (2021 Order).
 

In light of the Congressionally-recognized importance of State EAS Plans in promoting the overall effectiveness of the EAS and in ensuring the public can receive potentially life-saving messages, See 47 U.S.C. § 1206(b)(1)(B) (“Not later than 180 days after January 1, 2021, the Commission shall adopt regulations that . . . provide that each SECC, not less frequently than annually, shall . . . submit to the Commission an updated State EAS Plan . . . .”).  
 the Bureau stands ready to assist any SECCs that may need help either with the Commission’s rules governing State EAS Plans or with utilizing the ARS.  The Bureau remains committed to seeing that the State EAS Plans are submitted, corrected if necessary, and approved at the soonest feasible date.  

A list of the State EAS Plans that have been submitted via ARS and approved by the Bureau’s Chief can be viewed on the Commission’s website on the SECC Resources web page (https://www.fcc.gov/SECC-Resources#Approved), under the heading “Approved State EAS Plans.” See 2021 Order, 36 FCC Rcd at 10709, para. 26 (directing Bureau to issue Public Notice regarding this web page).  
  The list will be updated as additional plans are approved.

For aid in completing State EAS Plan submissions, or for further information about ARS and the filing process, please contact any of the following:

David Munson at (202) 418-2921 or david.munson@fcc.gov. 
Maureen Bizhko at (202) 418-0011 or maureen.bizhko@fcc.gov.
Chris Fedeli at (202) 418-1514 or christopher.fedeli@fcc.gov.

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