Reminder: National EAS Test on September 28 and Related Reporting Requirements

As we reported previously, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have scheduled the second nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to take place on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, at 2:20 PM EDT. If necessary, the back-up secondary test date will be on October 5, 2016. All EAS Participants, including radio and television broadcasters, are required to participate in the national EAS test.

As a further reminder, the FCC requires EAS participants to file the following three forms in connection with the national test, and the filings must be submitted online using the FCC’s EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS):

• ETRS Form 1: was required to be filed by August 26, 2016, and can be amended or modifiedin the system only until September 26, 2016, in order to “update or correct any errors” in the Form.
• ETRS Form 2: the “day of test” Form, must be filed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time onSeptember 28, 2016, to confirm receipt of the national test signal.
• ETRS Form 3: must be filed on or before November 14, 2016, and requires EAS Participants to submit detailed post-test information about their receipt of the national test.

The FCC’s ETRS, including links to log in to the system to complete the required forms, is available here. To complete Forms 2 and 3, stations will need the same log-in information used to complete Form 1.

Should you have any questions regarding the upcoming national EAS test or the required ETRS forms, please contact any of the attorneys in our office.