The FCC has released a public notice announcing that EAS Participants impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have received an extension for when Form Two is to be filed with the Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB). According to the public notice, the FCC and FEMA still plan to conduct a test of the Emergency Alert System on September 27, 2017 at 2:20 p.m. EDT. Prior to the release of the public notice, EAS Participants – – which includes broadcasters and cable television service providers – – were to have submitted by 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 27, 2017 any corrections to their EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) Form One data as well as “day of test” information using Form Two. Furthermore, by November 13, 2017, all EAS Participants are to have submitted their Form Three test results regarding whether they received and/or retransmitted the EAS message. EAS Participants are still required to participate in the EAS test on September 27, but Form Two and Form Three data for only those impacted by the storms will now both be due on or before November 13, 2017. EAS Participants impacted by this year’s hurricanes and “taking advantage of this extension should describe their particular circumstances in Form Three” when filing with the PSHSB. The Commission reminds EAS Participants not impacted by storm damage that they are still obligated to meet the September 27, 2017 deadline for Forms One and Two.
