1 PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News media information 202 / 418-0500 Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY 202 / 418-2555 DA 00-35 January 11, 2000 Qwest Communications Line Construction in Richmond, RI, Compliance with the Authorization Requirements Under Section 214 and the Environmental and Historic Preservation Requirements Under NEPA and NHPA NSD File No: NSD-L-00-05 Comments Due: February 11, 2000 The Common Carrier Bureau is seeking comments on whether a line construction project in Richmond, Rhode Island, by Qwest Communications Corporation is subject to the Federal Communcations Commission's jurisdiction under section 214(a) of the Federal Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C  214(a), and, if so, whether Qwest has complied with the Commission's regulations regarding the project. The Bureau invites comments from the public and, in particular, from the Narragansett Indian Tribe Historic Preservation Officer, the Rhode Island State Historic Preservation Officer, and Qwest. The Commission's regulations at 47 C.F.R  63.01 confer blanket authority for domestic new line constructions under section 214(a), but they require that the carrier must first comply with the Commission's environmental regulations, which govern compliance with the National Environmental Protection Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act. The environmental regulations, at 47 C.F.R  1.1301 et seq., require, among other things, that the carrier "initially ascertain whether the proposed facility may have a significant environmental impact" and, if so, prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA). The regulations specify actions that are excluded from environmental processing and actions for which EAs must be prepared. 47 C.F.R  1.1306, 1.1307, and 1.1312. On September 8, 1999, the Advisory Council On Historic Preservation submitted a letter to the Commission asking for assistance in determining whether the Commission has met its requirements under the Advisor Council's regulations regarding this project. On September 9, 1999, in response to a telephone request from the Commission, the office of the Rhode Island State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) submitted, by fax, copies of documentation from its files regarding this project. The fax included: A letter from the SHPO to A. Peter Mair, II of Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc. (PAL) transmitting an archeological permit for the project, dated August 6, 1999; Qwest's approved application for permission (Permit #99-13) to conduct archaeological field investigations and a Task List Scope of Work both stamp-dated received July 29, 1999; A letter from Qwest responding to the SHPO and stating the Qwest will comply with and carry out all of the SHPO's recommendations, stamp-dated received April 16, 1999; A letter from the SHPO to PAL stating its recommendations to Qwest, dated April 8, 1999; Qwest's application for permission to conduct archaeological field investigations and a Task List Scope of Work both stamp-dated received March 12, 1999; A letter to Qwest from the SHPO recommending a cultural resource assessment, dated February 8, 1999; A letter from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation to the SHPO regarding a right of way / utility request for this project, date-stamped received January 22, 1999; A Property Management Preliminary Review Form of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation date-stamped received January 19, 1999; A letter from Qwest to the SHPO stating that it responded to a December 17, 1998 letter from the SHPO, dated January 8, 1999. On September 10, 1999, the Commission replied to the Advisory Council's September 8, 1999, letter, stating that, until it had received the Advisory Council's inquiry, the Commission had not received any application, documentation or other notification about the existence of the project, and indicating that, if the project is subject to the Commission's jurisdiction under section 214 of the Act, it appeared that Qwest had not complied with the Commission's environmental regulations. On September 13, 1999, in response to a telephone request from the Commission, the Narragansett Indian Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (NITHPO) submitted, by fax, copies of its letters to Qwest dated September 8, 1999, regarding compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and a letter from Qwest dated September 3, 1999. On September 15, 1999, NITHPO submitted by fax a copy of its letter to the SHPO dated September 15, 1999, requesting cancellation of Qwest's permit for excavation and directional boring, based on its claim of Qwest non-compliance with Section 106 of NHPA. On September 24, 1999, in response to a telephone request from the Commission, Qwest submitted a copy of the Federal Highway Administration's approval of the project dated June 24, 1999, which was authorized by signature on a Rhode Island Department of Transportation letter-request dated May 27, 1999. On September 27, 1999, the SHPO submitted a copy of a letter to NITHPO dated September 20, 1999, stating that it is satisfied that Qwest complied with all its regulatory requests regarding the archaeological survey and monitoring that it had required, and concluding that it has no reason to cancel the archaeologicial permit issued for this project. On September 28, 1999, the SHPO submitted a copy of a letter to PAL responding to a Qwest letter of September 17, 1999, recommending that certain trenches needed to be excavated be monitored consistent with the scope of work for the project to date, covered by Permit #99-13. All of the documents described above and all additional documents and comments received will be available for review and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554, (202) 418-0270. The Bureau requests that comments responding to this Public Notice refer to file number, NSD-L-00-05. Comments must be filed with the Commission by February 11, 2000, and sent to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. Two copies of the comments should also be sent to Network Services Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 6-A207, Washington, DC 20554. Copies of documents and comments may also be obtained by contacting International Transcription Service at (202) 314-3070. For further information, contact Marty Schwimmer, (202) 418-2320 (voice), mschwimm@fcc.gov, or Al McCloud, (202) 418-2499 (voice), amccloud@fcc.gov, at the Network Services Division, Common Carrier Bureau. The TTY number is (202) 418-0484. -FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION-