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

In the Matter of                 )
                                 )
Pacific Broadcasting Company     )
Licensee of Station KDB (FM)     )    File No. EB-02-LA-142
Santa Barbara, California        )    NAL/Acct. No. 200232900006
Facility ID # 51169              )    FRN  0003-7476-31
                                 )

              NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                             Released:  July 30, 2002 

By the District Director, Los Angeles Office, Enforcement Bureau:


                         I.  INTRODUCTION

     1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), 
we find that Pacific Broadcasting Company (``Pacific''), licensee of 
station KDB, Santa Barbara, California, apparently willfully violated 
Section 11.61 of the Commission's Rules ("Rules")1 by failing to 
monitor either of the Local Primary stations (``LP1'' and ``LP2'') 
designated in the Emergency Alert System ("EAS") Local Area Plan for 
Santa Barbara County, and failing to receive and retransmit required 
weekly and monthly EAS tests.  We conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"),2 that Pacific 
is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of two thousand 
dollars ($2,000).


                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2. On February 12, 2002, Agents of the Los Angeles Office 
inspected KDB.  At the time of inspection, neither the designated LP1 
(station KHTY) or LP2 (station KTYD) was being monitored.  In fact, 
only one source was being monitored in violation of Section 1.6 of the 
Santa Barbara County Emergency Alert System Plan which requires that 
two local primary sources be monitored.  Station KDB was monitoring 
the National Weather Service, a recommended additional source but not 
a replacement for the designated local primary stations.  A thorough 
review of the station log for the period beginning January 1, 2002 
through February 12, 2002, revealed that station KDB was only 
monitoring one source, the National Weather Service (KLOX).  The 
station logs also revealed that none of the required monthly or weekly 
tests from the designated LP1 and LP2 sources had been received or 
retransmitted during the period from January 1, 2002 through February 
12, 2002. 


                         III.  DISCUSSION

     3. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who 
willfully fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions 
of any license, or willfully 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.3  
The term "willful" as used in Section 503(b) has been interpreted to 
mean simply that the acts or omissions are committed knowingly.4 

     4. The Rules provide that every AM and FM broadcast station is 
part of the nationwide EAS network and is categorized as a 
participating national EAS source unless the station affirmatively 
requests authority to not participate.5  The EAS provides the 
President and state and local governments with the capability to 
provide immediate and emergency communications and information to the 
general public.6  State and local area plans identify local primary 
sources responsible for coordinating carriage of common emergency 
messages from sources such as the National Weather Service or local 
emergency management officials.7 

     5. The Rules require all broadcast stations to ensure that EAS 
encoders, EAS decoders and attention signal generating and receiving 
equipment is installed so that the monitoring and transmitting 
functions are available during the times the station is in operation.8  
The Rules also require AM and FM stations to (a) receive monthly EAS 
tests from designated local primary EAS sources and retransmit the 
monthly test within 60 minutes of its receipt and (b) conduct tests of 
the EAS header and EOM codes at least once a week at random days and 
times.9  Based on the evidence before us, we find that on February 12, 
2002, Pacific willfully violated Section 11.61 of the Commission's 
Rules by failing to monitor the LP1 and LP2 stations as designated in 
the EAS Local Area Plan for Santa Barbara County and failing to 
receive or retransmit the required monthly and weekly EAS tests.  

     6. The base forfeiture amount set by The Commission's Forfeiture 
Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to 
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, ("Forfeiture Policy 
Statement"),10 and Section 1.80 of the Commissions Rules,11 for EAS 
equipment not installed or operational is $8,000.  The Forfeiture 
Policy Statement does not establish a base forfeiture amount for 
violating the Commission's rule requiring the monitoring, receipt and 
retransmission of the required monthly and weekly EAS tests from the 
designated LP1 and LP2 sources.  Therefore we must determine what an 
appropriate amount should be for this violation.12  It is necessary to 
monitor the designated LP1 and LP2 sources and to receive and 
retransmit the required EAS tests from these designated sources to 
ensure the operational integrity of the EAS system in the event of an 
actual disaster.  The requirement that stations monitor, receive and 
retransmit the required EAS tests is similar in both nature and 
severity to other required operational readiness checks.  As failure 
to make measurements or conduct required monitoring carries a base 
forfeiture amount of $2,000, pursuant to the Forfeiture Policy 
Statement, the forfeiture will be assessed in the amount of $2,000.

     7. 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 Act,13 which include the nature, circumstances, extent, and 
gravity of the violation(s), and with respect to the violator, the 
degree of culpability, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay, 
and other such matters as justice may require.  Applying the 
Forfeiture Policy Statement and the statutory factors to the instant 
case, a $2,000 forfeiture is warranted.  


                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 503(b) of 
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,14 and Sections 0.111, 
0.311 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Pacific Broadcasting Company 
is hereby NOTIFIED of an APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the 
amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for violation of Section 11.61 
of the Rules.15 

     9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the 
Commission's Rules16 within thirty days of the release date of this 
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Pacific Broadcasting Company SHALL PAY 
the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written 
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed 
forfeiture.

     10.  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 FCC Registration Number 
(FRN) and the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.

     11.  The response, if any, 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. referenced in the caption.  

     12.  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.  

     13.  Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of 
Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent to:  
Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, 
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.17

     14.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY 
shall be sent by Certified Mail # 7001 2510 0001 5861 0209, Return 
Receipt Requested, to Pacific Broadcasting Company, 23 W. Micheltorena 
St., Santa Barbara, California 93101.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Catherine Deaton
                              District Director, Los Angeles Office



_________________________

     1  47 C.F.R. § 11.61.

     2  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     3  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     4  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 (1991).

     5  47 C.F.R. §§ 11.11 and 11.41.

     6  47 C.F.R. §§ 11.1 and 11.21.

     7  47 C.F.R. § 11.18. State EAS plans contain guidelines that 
must be followed by broadcast and cable personnel, emergency officials 
and National Weather Service personnel to activate the EAS for state 
and local emergency alerts.  The state plans include the EAS header 
codes and messages to be transmitted by the primary state, local and 
relay EAS sources.

     8  47 C.F.R. § 11.35.

     9  47 C.F.R. § 11.61.  The required monthly and weekly tests are 
required to conform with the procedures in the EAS Operational 
Handbook.  See also, Amendment of Part 11 of the Commission's Rules 
Regarding the Emergency Alert System, EB Docket No. 01-66, Report and 
Order, FCC 02-64 (Feb. 26, 2002); 67 Fed Reg 18502 (April 16, 2002) 
(effective May 16, 2002, the required monthly EAS test must be 
retransmitted within 60 minutes of receipt.) 

     10  12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 
(1999).

     11  47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

     12  The fact that the Forfeiture Policy Statement does not 
specify a base amount does not indicate that no forfeiture should be 
imposed.  The Forfeiture Policy Statement states that ``any omission 
of a specific rule violation from the?[Forfeiture Policy 
Statement]?should not signal that the Commission considers any unlisted 
violation as nonexistent or unimportant.''  Forfeiture Policy 
Statement, 12 FCC Rcd at 17,099.  See e.g., American Tower 
Corporation, 16 FCC Rcd 1282 (2001). 

     13  47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

     14  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     15  47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80, 11.61.

     16  47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

     17  See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.