[Federal Register: February 8, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 27)]
[Notices]
[Page 7521-7525]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08fe08-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of the Census
[Docket Number 070111009-7786-02]
Census County Division and Equivalent Entities Program for the
2010 Census-Final Criteria
AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of final criteria and program implementation.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces the Bureau of the Census' (Census
Bureau's) final criteria for defining census county divisions (CCDs)
and equivalent entities for the 2010 Census. Based on responses to the
request for comments on proposed criteria published in the Federal
Register of April 6, 2007 (72 FR 17324), the Census Bureau will retain
CCDs as a statistical geographic entity for use in tabulating and
presenting data from the decennial census, the American Community
Survey (ACS), and, as appropriate, other censuses and surveys.
CCDs and equivalent entities are statistical geographic entities
established cooperatively by the Census Bureau and officials of state
and local governments in 22 states \1\ where minor civil divisions
(MCDs) either do not exist or have been unsatisfactory for reporting
census data. The primary goal of the CCD program has been to establish
and maintain a set of
[[Page 7522]]
subcounty \2\ units that have stable boundaries and recognizable names.
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\1\ In Alaska, census subareas are equivalents of CCDs. For
purposes of this notice, the term ``CCD'' will also refer to census
subareas in Alaska.
\2\ For Census Bureau purposes, the term ``county'' includes
parishes in Louisiana; boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities,
and census areas in Alaska; independent cities in Maryland,
Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; districts and islands in American
Samoa, and districts in the U.S. Virgin Islands; municipalities in
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; municipios in
Puerto Rico; and the areas constituting the District of Columbia and
Guam. This notice will refer to all of these entities collectively
as ``counties.''
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In addition to providing final criteria for CCDs, this notice also
contains a summary of comments received in response to proposed
criteria published in the April 6, 2007, Federal Register (72 FR
17324), as well as both the Census Bureau's response to those comments
and a description of the changes made to the criteria.
DATES: This notice's final criteria will be effective on February 8,
2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Geographic Standards and Criteria
Branch, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau, via e-mail at
geo.psap.list@census.gov or telephone at (301) 763-3056.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. History
When CCDs were introduced prior to the 1950 Census, few
alternatives were available for the provision of statistical data
related to relatively stable, subcounty geographic units. Census tracts
were defined in only a subset of metropolitan area counties. MCDs
existed in all counties, but in some states, MCD boundaries changed
frequently enough that they were not useful for comparing statistical
data from one decade to another.
For much of the period from the 1950 Census through the 1980
Census, county subdivisions (MCDs and CCDs) provided the only subcounty
unit of geography at which data users could obtain statistical data for
complete coverage of counties nationwide. The introduction of block
numbering areas (BNAs) in counties without census tracts for the 1990
Census offered an alternate subcounty entity for which data could be
tabulated. For Census 2000, the Census Bureau introduced census tracts
nationwide (in many counties, BNAs were simply relabeled as ``census
tracts'') and the greater dissemination of, and ability to analyze,
data at the census tract level made CCDs less necessary as statistical
reporting units.
II. Summary of Comments Received in Response to the Proposed Criteria
The April 6, 2007, Federal Register (72 FR 17324) notice requested
comment on proposed criteria for CCDs. In addition, the Census Bureau
sought comment regarding the continued identification and use of CCDs
as statistical geographic areas for the tabulation, presentation, and
analysis of statistical data. In raising the question of continued
identification of CCDs, the Census Bureau sought to ascertain the
extent to which data users still found CCDs to be useful geographic
areas given that census tracts are defined nationwide, and that census
tract-level statistical data are widely available and more easily
manipulated using prevailing spreadsheet, database, and geographic
information system software. The Census Bureau noted that it would
consider eliminating CCDs as a census geographic area if commenters no
longer found them to be useful for data presentation and analysis. If
comments indicated continued relevance, the Census Bureau would retain
CCDs.
The Census Bureau received 172 comments in response to the proposed
criteria, all specifically in response to the issue of whether to
retain or eliminate CCDs. Commenters represented a broad range of data
users, including individual data users; local, state, and federal
government agencies; nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations; and
private sector organizations and companies.
The Census Bureau received 164 comments in favor of retaining CCDs,
noting their continued relevance as geographic areas for data
presentation and analysis. Of these, 154 comments related specifically
to retaining the San Fernando Valley CCD in Los Angeles County,
California. Of the other comments in favor of retaining CCDs, six were
received from state departments of health, noting that data for CCDs
are used for analysis and program implementation, particularly in less
populated counties in which CCDs subdivide census tracts and,
therefore, provide data for smaller geographic areas and populations.
Of the remaining eight comments, four were in response to a survey
conducted in the San Fernando Valley, with three in favor of
eliminating CCDs and one undecided. Two commenters (a national trade
association and a nongovernmental policy research organization) favored
elimination of CCDs, stating that as a result of nationwide
availability of data for census tracts, they no longer analyzed data by
CCD.
The Tennessee Office of Information Resources requested replacement
of CCDs in Tennessee with county commissioner districts, commenting
that the latter were more relevant to the ongoing planning and policy
analysis needs of local and state government agencies. County
commissioner districts in Tennessee are legal entities defined for the
purpose of electing county commissioners, and are a type of legal,
administrative MCD. They are redefined after each decennial census, and
their boundaries generally remain stable and unchanged through the
decade. When considering this request, the Census Bureau sought
additional comment from data users in Tennessee, working through the
Tennessee State Data Center (SDC) and its network of affiliates.
Responses to the Tennessee SDC's request for comment generally favored
adoption of county commissioner districts as the county subdivision
type for use in tabulating and presenting Census Bureau data, and
concurred with the Office of Information Resources request to replace
CCDs with county commissioner districts.
In accepting Tennessee's request to switch from CCDs to county
commissioner districts (a type of MCD), the Census Bureau also offers
other CCD states the opportunity to replace CCDs with MCDs, provided
the following conditions are met:
1. There is demonstrated support from a wide range of data users
within the state for the switch from current CCDs to a legally existing
county subdivision;
2. The type of MCD selected for adoption exists in all counties
throughout the state and is well known or easily identifiable by data
users; and
3. The type of MCD selected has relatively stable boundaries, with
changes generally limited to updates or redistricting once following
each census, but stable through the remainder of the decade.
The Census Bureau will consider requests from the other 21 CCD
states to replace CCDs with a type of MCD, based on the conditions
stated above. If the MCDs are to be used for the tabulation of data
from the 2010 Census, requests must be received in writing by April 15,
2008, to provide the Census Bureau sufficient time to consult with data
users in the state through the State Data Center and its network of
affiliates, prepare geographic update materials, and process boundary
submissions.
Changes to the Criteria From the Proposed Rule
The changes made to the final criteria (from the proposed criteria)
in ``Section III, General principles and criteria for CCDs for the 2010
Census'' are as follows:
1. Paragraph 1 in this section appeared in Section C, ``CCD
Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' in the previous
[[Page 7523]]
Federal Register notice (April 6, 2007; 72 FR 17324). We have moved it
to the beginning of Section III in the final criteria because the
wording applies to both the general principles and delineation
criteria. We removed the reference to American Indian reservations and
off-reservation trust lands because these areas are, by definition,
within the United States.
2. Section A, ``General principles,'' paragraph 3, reworded several
sentences to provide greater clarity regarding the relationship between
CCDs and census tracts.
3. Section A, ``General principles,'' paragraph 4, added three
sentences to clarify North Dakota's and Tennessee's requests to use
MCDs rather than CCDs for tabulating data. We made this change to note
Tennessee's recent request in response to the April 6, 2007, Federal
Register (72 FR 17234). The reference to North Dakota's request for the
1970 Census was added to provide an example of a state that had shifted
from CCDs to MCDs.
4. Section B, ``CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' added the first
paragraph, summarizing the criteria that follow in more detail.
5. Section B, ``CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' criteria
relating to community orientation, added the words ``together form a
cohesive community area'' to provide greater clarity.
6. Section B, ``CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' criteria
relating to visible and/or stable boundaries, changed wording in the
last sentence from ``permits'' to ``requires'' that CCDs follow state,
county, and census tract boundaries. This change in wording is
consistent with wording elsewhere in the criteria, with the stated
intent of the CCD program, and with past practice. Additional wording
changes were made to improve clarity.
7. Section B, ``CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' criteria
relating to census tract boundaries, removed the reference to the
Puerto Rico Community Survey because CCDs are not defined in Puerto
Rico. We also deleted the requirement that new CCDs must have a minimum
population of 1,200 (the minimum threshold for a census tract) because
population thresholds and requirements are not consistent with the
general concept of a CCD.
8. Section B, ``CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census,'' criteria
relating to name identification, we added a requirement that the name
of an existing CCD may not be changed unless a compelling reason is
provided. This addition is intended to promote consistency and
continuity from one census to another and avoid needless changes that
may result in confusion among data users.
III. General Principles and Criteria for CCDs for the 2010 Census
The criteria outlined herein apply to the United States,\3\ Puerto
Rico, and the Island Areas.\4\ In accordance with the final criteria,
the Census Bureau may modify and, if necessary, reject any proposals
for CCDs that do not meet the established criteria. In addition, the
Census Bureau reserves the right to modify the boundaries and
attributes of CCDs as required to maintain established geographic
relationships before the final tabulation geography is set for the 2010
Census.
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\3\ For Census Bureau purposes, the United States includes the
50 states and the District of Columbia.
\4\ For Census Bureau purposes, the Island Areas include
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands are an aggregation of nine U.S.
territories: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston
Atoll, Kingman Reef, the Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra
Atoll, and Wake Island.
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A. General Principles
1. The primary goal of the CCD program is to establish and maintain
a set of subcounty units that have stable boundaries and recognizable
names. The boundaries of CCDs usually coincide with visible features or
stable, significant legal boundaries, such as the boundary of an
American Indian reservation, federally managed land, or conjoint
incorporated places. CCDs have no legal status as statistical
geographic entities and are defined only for the tabulation and
presentation of statistical data.
2. A CCD usually represents a single contiguous area consisting of
one or more communities, trading centers, or, in some instances, major
land uses that are relatively compact in shape.
3. A CCD shall have a relationship to existing census tracts,
either encompassing one or more census tracts or having two or more
CCDs nest within a single census tract. The boundaries of a CCD, or
combination of nested CCDs, align with census tract boundaries. Note
that a county with a population less than the optimum population for a
census tract (less than 4,000 people) may contain more CCDs than census
tracts. For example, McCone County, Montana, which has a 2006 estimated
population of 1,760, contains only one census tract, but is divided
into two CCDs.
4. Since the 1950s, the Census Bureau has worked with state and
local officials to replace MCDs with CCDs for the collection,
presentation, and analysis of Census Bureau data, particularly in
states in which MCDs do not provide governmental services and
functions, and in which MCD boundaries tend to change between decennial
censuses. As of Census 2000, CCDs were defined in 22 states: Alabama,
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. North
Dakota adopted CCDs for use in tabulating and presenting data from the
1970 Census. Following the 1970 Census, North Dakota requested that the
Census Bureau again use MCDs to tabulate and present statistical data.
For the 2010 Census, Tennessee has requested that the Census Bureau
replace its CCDs with county commissioner districts, a type of legal,
administrative MCD.
B. CCD Criteria for the 2010 Census
CCDs must (1) have community orientation, (2) have visible and/or
stable boundaries, (3) conform to census tract boundaries, and (4) have
recognizable names.
1. Community Orientation
Each CCD should center on one or more places and encompass
additional surrounding territory that together form a cohesive
community area. The definition of community should take into account
factors such as production, marketing, consumption, and the integrating
factor of local institutions.
The locality on which a CCD is centered usually is an incorporated
place or an unincorporated community, which might be identified as a
census designated place. In some cases, the CCD may center on a major
area of significantly different topography, land use, or ownership,
such as a large military installation or American Indian reservation. A
CCD should always comprise a reasonably compact, continuous land area,
generally with road access to all areas within the CCD.
2. Visible and/or Stable Boundaries
To make the location of CCD boundaries less ambiguous, the
boundaries should follow, wherever possible, visible and identifiable
features. The use of visible features makes it easier to locate and
identify CCD boundaries over time, as the locations of most visible
features in the landscape change infrequently, making data collection
easier and more reliable, while reducing the possibility for data
allocation errors. The Census Bureau requires that CCDs follow state
and county boundaries, conform to census
[[Page 7524]]
tract boundaries, and allows CCDs to follow the boundaries of federally
recognized American Indian reservations, and federal-, state-, or
locally-managed land.
The following features are acceptable:
a. County boundaries (always a CCD boundary);
b. Census tract boundaries, which usually follow visible,
perennial, natural, and cultural features, such as roads, rivers,
canals, railroads, or above-ground, high-tension power lines;
c. Legally defined, federally recognized American Indian
reservation boundaries;
d. The boundaries of federal-, state-, or locally-managed land,
such as National Parks, National Monuments, National Forests, other
types of large parks or forests, airports, marine ports, prisons,
military installations, or other facilities; and
e. Conjoint city limits (in certain situations, such as city limits
that change infrequently).
f. When the above types of features are not available for use as
CCD boundaries, the Census Bureau may, at its discretion, approve other
nonstandard, visible features, such as ridge lines, above-ground
pipelines, streams, or fence lines. The Census Bureau may also accept,
on a case-by-case basis, the boundaries of selected nonstandard and
potentially nonvisible features, such as the boundaries of cemeteries,
golf courses, glaciers, or the straight-line extensions of visible
features and other lines-of-sight.
3. Census Tract Boundaries; Population Size
Whenever possible, a CCD should encompass one or more contiguous
census tracts, or multiple CCDs should constitute a single census
tract. Therefore, CCD boundaries should be consistent with census tract
boundaries. Population size is not as important a consideration with
CCDs as it is with census tracts. Historically, CCDs have ranged from a
few hundred people (in selected situations) to more than one million.
However, data quality and availability may be factors that local
governments and planners should consider in defining statistical
geographic areas. As a general rule, period estimates of demographic
characteristics of small population areas from the ACS will be subject
to higher variances than comparable period estimates for areas with
larger populations. In addition, the Census Bureau's disclosure rules
may have the effect of restricting the availability and amount of data
for areas with small populations.
4. Name Identification
The names of existing CCDs shall not be changed unless a
compelling reason is provided, such as when the name from which the CCD
was derived has changed, as in the case of Bainbridge Island,
Washington, when the name of the city (Winslow) changed.
A new CCD usually is named after the largest population
center or historically central place within it (e.g., Taos, Chimayo, or
Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico).
Where a CCD contains multiple centers with relatively
equal importance, a CCD name may represent the two or three centers
(e.g., Mount Pleasant-Moroni, Utah).
A CCD may be named after the American Indian Reservation
(e.g., Hualapai, Arizona or Nez Perce, Idaho) or a prominent land use
area (e.g., Federal Reservation, Washington or Yellowstone National
Park, Wyoming) in which it is partially or wholly located.
A CCD may be named after a prominent physical feature
(e.g., Mount Rainier, Washington) or a distinctive region within the
county (e.g., Death Valley, California; Everglades and Lower Keys,
Florida).
If there is no clear cultural focus or topographic name
that can be applied, a CCD name shall consist of the county name and a
compass direction to indicate the portion of the county in the CCD or a
place name and a compass direction to give the CCD location relative to
the place. The directional indicator precedes a county name (e.g.,
Northeast Cobb, Georgia). If a place name is used, the directional
indicator follows it (e.g., Del Rio Northwest, Texas).
In all cases, the objective is to clearly identify the extent of
the CCD by means of an area name since CCD names always should be
meaningful to data users. Any name used as a CCD name must also be
recognized by the Board on Geographic Names for federal use and appear
in the Geographic Names Information System maintained by the U.S.
Geological Survey. This includes any individual names combined to make
a hyphenated CCD name.
IV. Definitions of Key Terms
American Indian reservation--A federally recognized American Indian
land area with boundaries established by final treaty, statute,
executive order, and/or court order, and over which a federally
recognized American Indian tribal government has governmental
authority. Along with reservations, designations such as colonies,
communities, pueblos, rancherias, and reserves apply to American Indian
reservations.
Block group--A statistical subdivision of a census tract consisting
of all census blocks whose numbers begin with the same digit in a
census tract. A block group is the smallest geographic entity for which
the Census Bureau normally tabulates sample data.
Census block--A geographic area bounded by visible and/or
nonvisible features in the Census Bureau's Master Address File/
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing database.
A block is the smallest geographic entity for which the Census Bureau
tabulates decennial census data.
Census designated place--A statistical geographic entity with a
concentration of population, housing, and commercial structures that is
identifiable by name, but is not within an incorporated place.
Census tract--A small, relatively permanent statistical geographic
division of a county defined for the tabulation and publication of
Census Bureau data. The primary goal of the census tract program is to
provide a set of nationally consistent small, statistical geographic
units, with stable boundaries that facilitate analysis of data across
time.
Conjoint--A description of a boundary shared by two adjacent
geographic areas.
Contiguous--A description of a geographic entity having an
uninterrupted outer boundary, such that it forms a single, connected
piece of territory. Noncontiguous areas form separate, disconnected
pieces.
Federally managed land--Territory that is federally owned and/or
administered by an agency of the U.S. federal government, such as the
National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, or Department of
Defense.
Incorporated place--A type of governmental unit, incorporated under
state law as a city, town (except in New England, New York, and
Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York), or village,
generally to provide specific governmental services for a concentration
of people within legally prescribed boundaries.
Minor civil division--The primary governmental or administrative
division of a county in 28 states, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas
having legal boundaries, names, and descriptions. MCDs represent many
different types of legal entities with a wide variety of
characteristics, powers, and functions depending on the state and type
of MCD. In some states, some or all of the
[[Page 7525]]
incorporated places also constitute MCDs.
Nonvisible feature--A map feature that is not visible on the
ground, such as a city or county boundary through space, a property
line running through space, a short line-of-sight extension of a road
to another visible feature, or a point-to-point line of sight.
Visible feature--A map feature that can be seen on the ground, such
as a road, railroad track, major above-ground transmission line or
pipeline, river or stream, shoreline, fence, sharply defined mountain
ridge, or cliff. A nonstandard visible feature is a feature that may
not be clearly defined on the ground (such as a ridge), may be seasonal
(such as an intermittent stream), or may be relatively impermanent
(such as a fence). The Census Bureau generally requests verification
that nonstandard features pose no problem in their location during
fieldwork by Census Bureau staff.
Executive Order 12866
This notice has been determined to be not significant under
Executive Order 12866.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This program notice does not represent a collection of information
subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.,
Chapter 35.
Dated: February 5, 2008.
Steve H. Murdock,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. E8-2348 Filed 2-7-08; 8:45 am]
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