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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
NRS Enterprises, Inc. ) File Number EB-02-AT-329
)
Owner of Unregistered Antenna ) NAL/Acct. No.200332480004
Structure located at 35° 20' 36'' )
North Latitude by 086° 12' 00'' ) FRN 0000-0394-46
West Longitude in Tullahoma, )
Tennessee )
Tullahoma, Tennessee
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: November 5, 2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find NRS Enterprises, Inc.
(``NRS''), owner of the antenna structure located in Tullahoma,
Tennessee, apparently liable for a
forfeiture in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for
willful and repeated violation of Section
17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we
find NRS apparently liable for failing to register its antenna
structure.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On April 7, 1999, an agent from the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Atlanta Office (``Atlanta
Office'') inspected the antenna structure located at licensed
geographical coordinates 35° 20' 36''N / 086° 12' 00''W and
belonging to NRS Enterprises, Inc, licensee of AM radio station
WJIG in Tullahoma,
Tennessee. A Notice of Violation (``NOV'') was issued to NRS on
April 9, 1999 for failure to register its antenna structure.
3. On April 20, 1999, the Atlanta Office received a reply
to the NOV from WJIG indicating they ordered the tower
registration form from the FCC and would submit it when received.
In a letter dated April 20, 1999, WJIG stated that they obtained
and submitted the antenna registration form and would display the
registration number at the tower structure when it was received.
4. On July 29, 2002, the Commission's Atlanta Office
received a report of an unlit antenna
structure in Tullahoma, Tennessee belonging to AM radio broadcast
station WJIG. The Commission's Antenna Structure Registration
database showed no registered antenna structures within a two
mile radius of the licensed geographical coordinates 35° 20'
36''N / 086° 12' 00''W for radio station WJIG, nor any structures
registered to NRS.
5. On August 25, 2002, an agent from the Atlanta
Office inspected the tower structure located
at licensed geographical coordinates 35° 20' 36''N / 086° 12'
00''W and belonging to NRS Enterprises, Inc, licensee of AM radio
station WJIG in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The tower lights were in
operation but the antenna structure registration number was not
found at or near the tower structure. Still on August 25, 2002,
the agent conducted an inspection of AM radio station WJIG and no
tower registration certificate could be produced.
6. On September 27, 2002, WJIG faxed a copy of the tower
registration form they state was
sent to the FCC in April 1999 but WJIG failed to provide a tower
registration certificate. In addition, the registration form was
missing evidence of an FAA study which is required for antenna
structure registration.
7. On November 5, 2002, a search of the Commission's
Antenna Structure Registration
database still indicated no registered antenna supporting
structure within a two mile radius of the licensed geographical
coordinates 35° 20' 36''N / 086° 12' 00''W for radio station
WJIG, nor any antenna supporting structure registered to NRS
Enterprises, Inc.
III. DISCUSSION
8. 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 (``FAA'') 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. NRS's
antenna structure required notification to the FAA because the
structure exceeded 200 feet in height.2 Therefore, NRS's antenna
structure required Commission registration. From at least April
7, 1999, to November 4, 2002, NRS failed to register its antenna
structure with the Commission.
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find NRS willfully3
and repeatedly4 violated Section
17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to register its antenna
supporting structure.
10. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,5 the base
forfeiture amount for failure to file
required forms or information (i.e. failure to file an
application for antenna structure registration) 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 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.6 Considering the
entire record and applying the factors listed above, this case
warrants a $3,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. 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 Rules,8 NRS Enterprises, Inc. is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in
the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to
register its antenna supporting structure.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty days
of the release date of this NAL, NRS Enterprises, Inc. SHALL PAY
the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a
written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture.
13. 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. 20554.9
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL shall be
sent by regular mail and
Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to NRS Enterprises, Inc.,
607 E. Carroll Street, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
Atlanta Office, Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
2 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).
3 Section 312(f)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``Act''), 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which applies equally 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).
4 The 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.'' 47 U.S.C. §
312(f)(2).
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
747 U.S.C. § 503(b).
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.