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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules pace with changes in technology and industry protocols. The preparation work, coordination of the site visit, and approval of the communications site management plan takes approximately 2
days for a local employee to complete, at an estimated cost of $652 for employee salary and benefits a GS11, step 1, employee at a daily rate of $326, see calculations above, travel costs of $2,500 using standard per diem rates and typical travel costs for a national or regional communications site specialist to visit the site and complete the work, and $30.37 for vehicle expenses 1 day of vehicle use at $11.87 per day and an estimated 50 miles driven at $0.37 per mile. The salary costs for the national or regional communications site specialist that visits the site were included under the program oversight and management costs described below, so they are not included in the estimate of total costs for communications site management plans. The total annual estimated cost of $436,000 for development, approval, and maintenance of communications site management plans was determined by multiplying the annual estimated cost of $3,182.37 per site by 137, the total number of communications site management plans that would be completed or updated each year, rounded.

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Program Oversight and Management The Agency estimated a total annual programmatic administrative cost of approximately $2,149,000 for program oversight and management of the Agencys communications use program, including a trained and dedicated staff of 14 employees; overhead for travel, staff training, office space, supplies, and information technology development and support; biannual employee training; and the cost of obtaining or improving access to communications sites on NFS lands. Specifically, the total estimated annual cost of program oversight and management was based on the following:
Salary, benefits, and overhead costs: Costs for general program administration, salary, and overhead costs of approximately $1,727,000 for the 14 employees needed to manage the program, ranging from a GS9 to a GS
14 employee.
Staff training: Costs of approximately $122,000 for 2 yearly employee trainings for communications use management. Each 1-week training session includes the cost of training materials, the venue, and incidental costs for 23 employees 20 students, who are employees who administer the
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communications use program at the field level, and 3 instructors.
Access: Costs of approximately $300,000 for obtaining or improving access to communications sites fiber optic cable authorizations are exempt from this cost because they do not require additional access.
Of the above listed costs, the total estimated allocations for the 3,715
communications use authorizations for wireless uses are as follows: $2,799,215
for annual on-site reviews of communications sites, $435,985 for development, approval, and maintenance of communications site management plans, $1,542,617 for general program administration prorated to 3,715 of the total 4,159
authorizations this cost applies to, $108,961 for training prorated to 3,715
of the total 4,159 authorizations this cost applies to, and $300,000 for obtaining or improving access to communications sites. This results in a wireless use authorization cost total of approximately $5,186,777. Divided by 3,715 authorizations for wireless uses, the annual programmatic administrative fee for wireless use authorization is set at $1,400 $1,396.17 rounded to the nearest hundred dollars.
For the 444 communications use authorizations for fiber optic cable, the total estimated annual programmatic administrative costs include $184,367
for general program administration prorated to 444 of the total 4,159
authorizations, and $13,023 for training prorated to 444 of the total 4,159
authorizations, resulting in a total of $197,390. The annual programmatic administrative fee for those authorizations is calculated by dividing $197,390 by 444 authorizations for fiber optic cable, which equals $444.57, or $400 rounded to the nearest hundred dollars.
Section 8705f of the 2018 Farm Bill authorizes the Agency to retain and spend the annual programmatic administrative fee revenues that would be collected under the proposed rule to cover the costs of administering the Agencys communications use program.
The total fees proposed here would collect $5,186,777 for wireless use authorizations and $197,390 for fiber optic cable use authorizations, a total of $5,384,167 to be collected and retained by the Forest Service for administering the communications use program.
Proposed Revisions to Agency Directives FSH 2709.11, Chapter 90
The Agency is proposing to revise its directives in FSH 2709.11, Chapter 90,
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concurrently with this rulemaking.
Consistent with section 8705c3 of the 2018 Farm Bill and the proposed revisions to the Agencys regulations, the proposed directive would amend Chapter 90 to implement an annual $1,400 programmatic administrative fee for communications use authorizations for wireless uses and an annual $400
programmatic administrative for communications use authorizations for fiber optic cable and provide for updating the two annual programmatic administrative fees every 5 years. The proposed directive would also amend Chapter 90 to establish direction on expenditure of annual programmatic administrative fee revenues.
Upon adoption of a final rule, a separate notice will be published in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the proposed directive, including information on how to comment on the directive and a link to the proposed directive, which will be posted on the Agencys website.
Regulatory Certifications Executive Order 12866
For rules designated as significant by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs OIRA in the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Order E.O. 12866, as supplemented by E.O. 13563, directs agencies to conduct a regulatory impact analysis, including an assessment of costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety, and distributive impacts.
E.O. 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and promoting flexibility. The regulatory impact analysis must assess both the costs and benefits of the regulation, recognizing quantifiable analysis is not always possible, but that a reasoned determination be made that the benefits justify the regulatory costs.
The Agency conducted a regulatory impact analysis for the proposed amendments to 36 CFR part 251, subpart B, and FSH 2709.11, Chapter 90, to charge an annual programmatic administrative fee for new and existing communications use authorizations to cover the costs of administering a more modernized, efficient, and enhanced Agency communications use program.
The regulatory impact analysis compares the costs to administer the communications use program under the existing regulations with the costs to administer the more modernized, efficient, and enhanced
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