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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-02-OR-302
)
Greenwood Acres Baptist Church ) NAL/Acct. No.200332620004
Licensee of AM Broadcast Station )
KASO located ) FRN 0007-7594-00
in Minden, Louisiana )
Shreveport, Louisiana
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: December 5, 2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, New Orleans Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find Greenwood Acres Baptist Church
(``Greenwood''), licensee of AM broadcast station KASO,
Minden, Louisiana, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000) for willful
violation of Sections 73.49 and 73.3526(a)(2) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find
Greenwood apparently liable for failing to maintain an
effective locked fence enclosing its antenna tower, and
failing to maintain all required material in its public
inspection file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On September 12, 2002, an agent from the FCC
Enforcement Bureau's New Orleans Office inspected AM
broadcast station KASO. During the inspection, the agent
observed that, although KASO's antenna tower has
radiofrequency potential at the base, the gate on the fence
enclosing the tower was not locked. Furthermore, there was
a hole in a portion of the fence that rendered the fence
ineffective. Additionally, the station's public inspection
file was missing most of the required material including the
station's most recent application to the Commission, a copy
of the service contour map, a copy of the current ownership
report, requests from candidates for political office, and
the Issues/Programs Lists.
III. DISCUSSION
3. Section 73.49 of the Rules requires that antenna
towers having radio frequency potential at the base must be
enclosed within an effective locked fence or other
enclosure. On September 12, 2002, the gate on the fence
enclosing KASO's tower was unlocked and a portion of the
fence contained a hole which rendered the fence ineffective.
4. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules requires that
every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, TV or Class A TV
station in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain
a public inspection file containing the material, relating
to that station, described in paragraphs (e)(1) through
(e)(10) and (e)(13); and additionally, every commercial AM
or FM station shall maintain for public inspection a file
containing the material, relating to that station, described
in paragraphs (e)(12) and (e)(14). On September 12, 2002,
KASO's public inspection file was missing most of the
required material including the station's most recent
application to the Commission, a copy of the service contour
map, a copy of the current ownership report, requests from
candidates for political office, and the Issues/Programs
Lists.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find Greenwood
willfully2 violated Sections 73.49 and 73.3526(a)(2) of the
Rules by failing to maintain an effective locked fence
enclosing its antenna tower, and failing to maintain all
required material in its public inspection file.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,3 the
base forfeiture amount for violations concerning AM tower
fencing is $7,000, and the base forfeiture amount for
violations of the public file rules is $10,000. In
assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must also take
into account the statutory factors set forth in Section
503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``Act''), which include 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 other such matters as justice
may require.4 Considering the entire record and applying
the factors listed above, this case warrants a $17,000
forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,5 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,6 Greenwood Acres Baptist Church is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000) for willful
violation of Sections 73.49 and 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules
for failure to maintain an effective locked fence enclosing
its antenna tower, and failure to maintain all required
material in its public inspection file.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Greenwood Acres Baptist Church SHALL PAY the full
amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
9. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture
Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.
The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced
above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue
and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.7
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
11. The Commission will not consider reducing or
canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability
to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax
returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial
statements prepared according to generally accepted
accounting practices (``GAAP''); or (3) some other reliable
and objective documentation that accurately reflects the
petitioner's current financial status. Any claim of
inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for
the claim by reference to the financial documentation
submitted.
12. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002), the
FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding the
size of entities involved in forfeitures. If you qualify as
a small entity and if you wish to be treated as a small
entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to us within
thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your response to the
NAL or in a separate filing to be sent to the Technical &
Public Safety Division. Your certification should indicate
whether you, including your parent entity and its
subsidiaries, meet one of the definitions set forth in the
list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications Business
Opportunities (OCBO) set forth in Attachment A of this
Notice of Apparent Liability. This information will be used
for tracking purposes only. Your response or failure to
respond to this question will have no effect on your rights
and responsibilities pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act. If you have questions regarding any of
the information contained in Attachment A, please contact
OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL shall
be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt
Requested to Greenwood Acres Baptist Church, 7480 Greenwood
Road, Shreveport, Louisiana 71119.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James C. Hawkins
District Director, New Orleans
Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.49 and 73.3526(a)(2).
2 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed
under Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term
`willful', when used with reference to the commission or
omission of any act, means the conscious and deliberate
commission or omission of such act, irrespective of any
intent to violate any provision of this Act . . . .'' See
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387-88
(1991).
3 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
6 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
7 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.