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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Mountain Union Telecom, LLC ) File Number EB-01-SF-449
Registered Owner of ASR Number ) NAL/Acct. No. 200332960001
1014930 ) FRN 0007-3301-03
Dozier, California )
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: December 31, 2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, San Francisco Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture, we find that Mountain Union Telecom, LLC,
(``Mountain Union''), the registered owner of Antenna
Structure Registration (``ASR'') number 1014930 in Dozier,
California apparently willfully and repeatedly violated
Sections 17.4(g) and 17.57 of the Federal Communications
Commission (``FCC'' or ``Commission'') Rules and Regulations
(``Rules'') by failing to display the antenna structure
registration number near the base of the antenna structure
and by failing to notify the Commission of a change in
ownership information.1 We conclude, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``Act''),2 that Mountain Union is apparently liable for
forfeiture in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 28, 2002, agents from the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's San Francisco Field Office inspected an antenna
structure located at 38-17-08 north latitude, 121-5-02 west
longitude near Dozier, California. At the time of the
inspection, a telephone number was posted, but no ASR number
was posted at the base of the antenna structure. According
to the FCC's ASR database, on March 28, 2002, Pacific &
Eastern Digital Transmission Service was the registered
owner of the antenna structure number 1014930. Further
investigation revealed that Mountain Union acquired the
structure more than six months prior to that date.
3. On April 17, 2002, the San Francisco Field Office
issued a Notice of Violation to Mountain Union for violating
the Rules by failing to post the ASR number and failure to
update the structures ownership information. Mountain Union
replied on April 22, 2002, stating that updated ownership
information had been submitted to the FCC on Form 854 on
April 5, 2002 and the ASR number was posted at the base of
the structure on April 19, 2002.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person
who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially
with the terms and conditions of any license, or willfully
or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of
the Act or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the
Commission thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture
penalty. The term "willful" as used in Section 503(b) has
been interpreted to mean simply that the acts or omissions
are committed knowingly and ``repeated'' means the
commission or omission of the act more than once or for more
than one day.3
5. Section 17.4(g) of the Rules states that the ASR
number must be displayed in a conspicuous place so that it
is readily visible near the base of the antenna structure.
At the time of the inspection, the ASR number was not
displayed.
6. Section 17.57 of the Rules requires antenna
structure owners to immediately notify the Commission using
FCC Form 854 upon any change in ownership information. At
the time of the inspection, ASR number 1014930 was still
registered to the structure's prior owner. Mountain Union
failed to timely notify the Commission of the change in
ownership. On April 5, 2002, Mountain Union filed the
required updated ownership information for the structure
with the Commission.
7. Based on the evidence before us, we find that on
March 28, 2002 Mountain Union failed to post the ASR number
for the tower number 1014930, and failed to timely notify
the Commission of the change in ownership of the structure
in willful and repeated violation of Sections 17.4(g) and
17.57 of the Rules.
8. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules and
The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment
of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture
Guidelines, ("Forfeiture Policy Statement"),4 the base
forfeiture amount for failure to post the antenna structure
registration number is $2,000 and the base forfeiture amount
for failure to file required forms or information is
$3,000.5 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
(``Act''), as amended, which include the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation(s), 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.6 Considering the entire
record and applying the statutory factors listed above, a
$5,000 forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules, Mountain Union Telecom, LLC., is hereby
NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for willful and
repeated violation of Sections 17.4(g) and 17.57 of the
Rules.7
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the
release date of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Mountain
Union Telecom, LLC SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
11. 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 must include the FRN and the NAL/Acct. No.
referenced in the caption.
12. 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 FRN
and NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.
13. 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.
14. Requests for payment of the full amount of this
Notice of Apparent Liability under an installment plan
should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief,
Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.8
15. 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 Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Technical and
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.
16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, to Mountain Union Telecom, LLC, 851 Irwin
Street, Suite 209, San Rafael, CA 94901.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
David Hartshorn
Acting District Director, San
Francisco Office
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 17.4(g) and 17.57.
2 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3 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 or any
rule or regulation of the Commission authorized by this
Act...." See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC
Rcd 4387 (1991). Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to
Section 503(b), provides: ``[t]he term ``repeated'', when
used with reference to the commission or omission of any
act, means the commission or omission of such act more than
once or, if such commission or omission is continuous, for
more than one day.
4 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303
(1999).
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4); American Tower Corporation, 16
FCC Rcd 1282 (2001) ($2000 is an appropriate base forfeiture
amount for failure to post the ASR).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80 and 17.4(g) and 17.57.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.