Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Merichem-Sasol USA LLC ) ) Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ) ) File No. 920EF0043 Licensee of Private Land Mobile Radio ) Service Station KD27990, Houston, TX ) ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: June 30, 1999 Released: July 1, 1999 By the Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: I. Introduction 1. This is a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, (the "Act") as amended, and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, against Merichem-Sasol USA LLC ("Merichem"), licensee of Private Land Mobile Radio Service station, KD27990, Houston, TX. For the reasons that follow, we find that Merichem operated this station with an expired license, in apparent violation of Section 301 of the Act, and former Section 90.113 of the Commission's Rules (now Section 1.903 of the Commission's Rules). We conclude that Merichem is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $8,000. II. Background 2. On March 31, 1993, Merichem was issued a license to operate station KD27990. That license expired on June 13, 1998. On December 14, 1998, the Commission received a renewal application from Merichem for station KD27990. On December 21, 1998, the Commission returned the renewal application because it was not filed in a timely manner. The Commission's return notice indicated that the renewal submission was not in compliance with the Commission's Rules because the renewal application was not received within the 30 day reinstatement period. The return notice also instructed Merichem to file FCC Form 600 for a station license, and if required, obtain frequency coordination in accordance with Section 90.175 of the Commission's Rules. 3. On February 17, 1999, over eight months after the license had expired, Merichem filed a written request for the Special Temporary Authority to enable it to continue to operate the station. In its written request, Merichem stated that the license for the above captioned Private Land Mobile station "has expired and a renewal application form 600 is now being processed" and that "radios . . . are critical to the operation of the chemical plant in providing emergency response . . . ." On February 23, 1999, Merichem's request for Special Temporary Authority was returned for additional information, specifically for a more detailed description of the emergency need to continue operation of the license. On February 24, 1999, Merichem replied that "It is imperative that we have radio communication between our employees and emergency personnel . . . vital to the safety of employees and citizens." On March 11, 1999, Merichem was granted a Special Temporary Authority to operate the above captioned Private Land Mobile Radio Service station by Annette Ritchie for Mary Shultz, Chief, Licensing & Technical Analysis Branch, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. On April 13, 1999, the Commission received a new application for a license from Merichem, which is currently pending. III. Discussion 4. Section 301 of the Act provides in pertinent part, "No person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio . . . except under and in accordance with this Act and with a license in that behalf granted under the provisions of this Act." Similarly, former Section 90.113 of the Commission's Rules provided in pertinent part, "No radio transmitter shall be operated . . . except under and in accordance with a proper authorization granted by the Commission. Section 1.903 of the Commission's Rules provides in pertinent part, "Stations in the Wireless Radio Services must be used and operated only in accordance with the rules applicable to their particular service . . . and with a valid authorization granted by the Commission . . . ." Section 503(b) of the Act and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules further provide that a forfeiture penalty may be assessed against a person who is found to have willfully or repeatedly failed to comply with the Commission's rules. The Commission has held that an act or omission is "willful" if it is a conscious act or omission whether or not there is any intent to violate the rule. 5. Based upon Merichem's submissions, we find that Merichem willfully and repeatedly violated Section 301 of the Act, and former Section 90.113 of the Commission's Rules now current Section 1.903 of the Commission's Rules. Once Merichem's license expired, it lacked the required authority to operate the station. Merichem's apparent violation continued from the time the license expired until, at a minimum, the Special Temporary Authority was granted. 6. The guidelines contained in the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement, which became effective on October 14, 1997, specify a base forfeiture amount of $10,000 for operating a station without an instrument of authorization for the service. The guidelines, however, permit the Commission to issue a higher or lower forfeiture than provided in the guidelines. Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act requires the Commission to consider "the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, and, with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and such other matters as justice may require." In this case, taking into consideration all of the factors required by Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Act, including, but not limited to, the nature of the station in question, the length of time during which the unlawful operation took place, and the fact that Merichem's disclosure was prompted by the Commission's return letter, we believe that an $8,000 forfeiture is appropriate. IV. Conclusion and Ordering Clause 7. Based on the foregoing, we find that Merichem continued to operate the station after the expiration of its authorization, in apparent violation of Section 301 of the Act, and former Section 90.113 of the Commission's Rules (now Section 1.903 of the Commission's Rules). Merichem operated the station without valid authorization for approximately nine months. We conclude that a forfeiture in the amount of $8,000 is appropriate. 8. ACCORDINGLY, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Merichem is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and former Section 90.113 of the Commission's Rules (now Section 1.903 of the Commission's Rules). 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  1.80, that within thirty days of the release of this Notice, Merichem SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that copies of this Notice shall be sent, by Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested, to James M. Hinton, Manager Corporate Community Safety & Health, Merichem-Sasol USA LLC, 1914 Haden Road, Houston, TX 77015-6498. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Catherine W. Seidel Chief, Enforcement and Consumer Information Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau