[EAS] NWS Status as an EAS Monitoring Source

[Rod Zeigler]

Dave, et. al,
As to reporting NWS to the FCC due to reception issues, the best advice 
I can give you is to keep meticulous records of correspondence and 
actions taken on your part to mitigate the situation so you can prove 
that you have taken every reasonable action. There are no regulatory 
requirements that I know of, and this is the reason why. The FCC, NWS, 
and FEMA are all parts of different Federal agencies. These agencies are 
notorious for staying in their own lanes when it comes to dealing with 
other Federal agencies.
The FCC has authority only over their licensees and enforcing the FCC 
rules and regulations EXCEPT when it involves other Federal agencies. 
The FCC has required their licensees to incorporate FEMA IPAWS into 
their EAS monitoring sources, and that is the limit of their interest in 
the matter. If FEMA decides to quit sending alerts over IPAWS there is 
nothing the FCC can do about it. If an EAS participant is unable to 
receive IPAWS due to reasons beyond their control (ISP blocking it or 
something like that) all the participant can do is document, document, 
document. In this particular instance the FCC may go after the ISP and 
try to find out what is happening, but that would be because the FCC has 
jurisdiction over the delivery technology, not the originator.  If the 
NWS cannot get a good signal into a certain spot and the EAS participant 
has exhausted all reasonable means to receive that signal, there is 
nothing the FCC can do to the NWS to make them get a signal to that 
area. NWS does not have FCC licenses for their transmitters. Those come 
from a completely different government agency NTIA (National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration) that coordinates 
Federal government frequency usage. That agency and the FCC work 
together on spectrum usage, but nothing beyond that.  This is also why 
the FCC attorney said that NWS is an optional monitoring source. This is 
the limit of their involvement.
Figuring out how the various Federal agencies work together is an 
education in itself.
My advice is to contact Brian Smith at NWO-Valley and see what 
information/advice he may have for you. He is on the Nebraska SECC and 
is the NWS Warning Coordinator for Nebraska.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Regards,
Rod

-- 
R. V. Zeigler, Dir. of Eng.
Nebraska Rural Radio Assn.
KRVN AM & FM  KAMI
Chairman, Ne. SECC
www.krvn.com