Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
******************************************************** 
                      NOTICE
********************************************************

This document was converted from Microsoft Word.

Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.

All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.

Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.

If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.

*****************************************************************




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



In the Matter of                   )
                                                            )
Sutro Corporation, c/o John H.     )   File Number EB-02-PO-
Runkle                             )   136
Owner of Antenna Structure at      )   NAL/Acct. No. 
44º03'44'' North                   )   200232920001
   Latitude and 116º54'22'' West   )   FRN 0007-2822-39
Longitude                          )
Payette, Idaho                     )




           NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                             Released:  July  31, 
2002

By the Enforcement Bureau, Portland Resident Agent Office:

                        I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we 
find that Sutro Corporation c/o John H. Runkle, willfully and 
repeatedly violated Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules 
(``Rules'')1 by failing to register its antenna structure located 
in Payette, Idaho at 44º03'44'' North Latitude and 116º54'22'' 
West Longitude.  We find Sutro Corporation c/o John H. Runkle 
apparently liable for forfeiture in the amount of three thousand 
dollars ($3,000).

                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On November 30, 1995, the Commission adopted rules 
          requiring tower owners to conform to antenna structure 
          registration procedures.2  On January 13, 1999, the 
          Commission released a Public Notice, ``No-Tolerance 
          Policy Adopted For Unregistered Antenna Structures,'' 
          stating that the Commission would ``issue monetary 
          forfeitures to owners and licensees whose structures 
          are not in compliance with the Commission's 
          registration and lighting rules.''3 

     3.   On May 23, 2002, a search of the Commission's antenna 
          structure registration records was conducted while 
          investigating a radio frequency interference problem.  
          The search  revealed that the 405 foot tower located at 
          44º03'44'' North Latitude and 116º54'22'' West 
          Longitude in Payette, Idaho was not registered with the 
          Commission.  According to the City of Payette tax 
          assessor's office, the tower belongs to Sutro 
          Corporation c/o John H. Runkle.  

     4.   On June 11, 2002, an Agent from the Portland Resident 
          Agent Office advised John H. Runkle that the tower must 
          be registered.  A subsequent search on July 30, 2002, 
          of the Commission's antenna structure registration 
          records found that the tower remains unregistered. 


                        III.  DISCUSSION

     5.   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.4  The term ``repeated'' means the commission 
          or omission of such act more than once or for more than 
          one day.5 

     6.   The Commission's antenna structure registration, 
          construction, marking and lighting requirements operate 
          in concert with FAA regulations to ensure that antenna 
          structures do not present hazards to air navigation.  
          Generally, Sections 17.4 and 17.7 of the Rules require 
          owners of antenna structures that are greater than 200 
          feet in height to register the structure with the 
          Commission and comply with prescribed painting and 
          lighting specifications designed to ensure air safety. 

     7.   Specifically, Section 17.4(a) of the Rules provides 
that, effective July 1, 1996, owners of any existing antenna 
structures that require notification to the Federal Aviation 
Administration (e.g., structures 200 feet or more in HAAT) must 
register the structure with the Commission.  Section 17.4(a)(2) 
of the Rules provides that, effective July 1, 1998, owners of an 
antenna structure that had been assigned painting or lighting 
requirements prior to July 1, 1996, must register the structure 
with the Commission.  The tower structure located at 44º03'44'' 
North Latitude and 116º54'22'' West Longitude and owned by Sutro 
Corporation c/o John H. Runkle requires registration, yet is 
unregistered.  Based on the evidence before us, we find that 
Sutro Corporation c/o John H. Runkle willfully and repeatedly 
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules by failing to 
register the antenna structure.


     8.   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'') and Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,6 for 
failure to file required forms is $3,000.  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 Act, 
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.  Considering the 
record as a whole and the statutory factors listed above, this 
case warrants a forfeiture in the amount of $3,000.

                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     9.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 
503(b) of the Act,7 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the 
Commission's Rules, Sutro Corporation c/o John H. Runkle is 
hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the 
amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for willfully and 
repeatedly violating Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules by 
failing to register an antenna structure that requires 
notification to the Federal Aviation Administration.8

     10.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of 
the Commission's Rules,9 within thirty days of the release date 
of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Sutro Corporation c/o John 
H. Runkle 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. and FRN referenced above.

     12.  The response, if any, must be mailed to the 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. and FRN referenced above.  

     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. 20554.10 

     14.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF 
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt 
Requested to Sutro Corporation c/o John H. Runkle, P.O. Box 1826, 
Boise, Idaho 83701.      


                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                         

                              James M. Lafontaine
                              Resident Agent, Portland Office
                              Enforcement Bureau
_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).

2 Streamlining the Commission's Antenna Structure Clearance 
Procedures and Revision of Part 17 of the Commission's Rules 
Concerning Construction, Marking, and Lighting of Antenna 
Structures, WT Docket No. 95-5, Report and Order, 11 FCC Rcd 4272 
(1995).

3 Public Notice, "No-Tolerance Policy Adopted for Unregistered 
Antenna Structures," 1999 WL 10060 (WTB rel. January 13, 1999).

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 provisions of 
this Act....'' See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC 
Rcd 4387 (1991).

5 Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C § 312(f)(2), which also 
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under 
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[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.''

6 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 
47 C.F.R. §1.80.

7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80, 17.4.

9 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.