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                           Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of                )
                                )       File No. EB-02-NY-198
                                )
Blue Ridge Erectors, Inc.       )       NAL/Acct. No. 
200332380007
Bangor, PA                      )
                                )       FRN: 0007-7917-42 


           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE


                                        Released:  December   27, 
2002

By the District Director, New York Office, Enforcement Bureau:

                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this  Notice of  Apparent Liability  for  Forfeiture 
("NAL"), we find that Blue Ridge Erectors, Inc. (``Blue  Ridge'') 
has apparently violated Section 301 of the Communications Act  of 
1934 (``Act''),1  as  amended, by  operating  radio  transmitting 
equipment on 467.250 MHz.  We conclude that Blue Ridge  Erectors, 
Inc. is apparently liable  for forfeiture in  the amount of  five 
thousand dollars ($5,000).

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On August 27, 2002, the FCC New York Office received  a 
complaint of interference  affecting the  frequency 467.250  MHz, 
from an FCC licensed user. 

     3.   On August 28, 2002, Commission agents, using direction-
finding  techniques,  positively  located   the  source  of   the 
interference to Blue Ridge, operating at a waterside construction 
site near Hudson  Street in  Jersey City, NJ  07302.  The  agents 
determined that Blue Ridge  operated portable radio  transmission 
equipment on 467.250 MHz.  There was no evidence of a  Commission 
authorization for this operation in Jersey City, NJ.

     4.   On September  4,  2002,  the New  York  Office  sent  a 
Warning Letter  for  unlicensed  operation, by  First  Class  and 
Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested, to Blue Ridge.

     5.   On September 18, 2002, the  New York Office received  a 
letter from Blue Ridge, in  response to the Warning Letter  dated 
September 4.  In  the letter, Blue  Ridge acknowledged that  they 
had no FCC  license for their  radios used at  the job site  near 
Hudson St. in Jersey City, NJ.    
 



                        III.  DISCUSSION

     6.   Section 301 of  the Act  sets forth  generally that  no 
person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of 
energy or communications  or signals by  radio within the  United 
States except under  and in accordance  with the Act  and with  a 
license granted under  the provisions  of the Act.   A review  of 
Commission's records  showed  that there  was  no evidence  of  a 
Commission authorization to operate this station on the frequency 
467.250 MHz in Jersey City, NJ. 

     7.   Based on  the evidence  before us,  we find  that  Blue 
Ridge operated  radio transmission  equipment on  467.250 MHz  on 
August 28, 2002  without a Commission  authorization in  willful2 
violation of Section 301 of the Act.

     8.   The  Commission's  Forfeiture   Policy  Statement   and 
Amendment of  Section  1.80  of  the  Rules  to  Incorporate  the 
Forfeiture Guidelines,  12 FCC  Rcd 17087,  17113 (1997),  recon. 
denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303(1999) (``Forfeiture Policy  Statement'')3, 
sets  the  base  forfeiture  amount  for  operation  without   an 
instrument  of  authorization  at  $10,000.   In  assessing   the 
monetary  forfeiture  amount,  we  must  take  into  account  the 
statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the  Act,4 
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. In  this case,  Blue 
Ridge has no history of prior offenses, and ceased operating  the 
unlicensed radios  after Commission  agents  warned them  of  the 
violation. Applying  the  Forfeiture  Policy  Statement  and  the 
statutory factors to the instant case and applying the  inflation 
adjustments, we  believe that  a  five thousand  dollar  ($5,000) 
monetary forfeiture is warranted.

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     9.   Accordingly, IT IS  ORDERED THAT,  pursuant to  Section 
503(b) of the  Act5 and  Sections 0.111,  0.311 and  1.80 of  the 
Commission's Rules6, Blue Ridge Erectors, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED 
of their APPARENT  LIABILITY FOR  A FORFEITURE in  the amount  of 
five thousand dollars  ($5,000) for  willfully violating  Section 
301 of the Act. 

     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,  Blue Ridge  Erectors,  Inc. 
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 should note the 
NAL/Acct. No. 200332380007 and FRN: 0007-7917-42.

     12.  Any response  to this  NAL must  be mailed  to  Federal 
Communications  Commission,  Enforcement  Bureau,  Technical  and 
Public Safety Division, 445  12th Street, S.W., Washington,  D.C. 
20554 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. 200332380007. 

     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: Chief,  Revenue and  Receivable  Operations Group,  445  12th 
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.7

     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 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  a copy of  this NOTICE  OF 
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt 
Requested to Blue Ridge Erectors, Inc., P.O. Box 158, Bangor,  PA 
18013.

                                FEDERAL            COMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION




                                Daniel W. Noel
                                District Director
                                New York Office

_________________________

1 47 U.S.C. § 301.

2 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which 
applies to 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 (1991).

347 C.F.R. § 1.80.
4
47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

547 U.S.C. § 503(b).

647 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, and 0.311.

7 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.