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 )
)
Georgia Transmission Corp. ) File Number EB-02-AT-319
)
Owner of Unregistered Antenna ) NAL/Acct. No.200332480009
Structure located at 31° 31' 49'' )
North Latitude by 82° 52' 45'' ) FRN 0007-7097-28
West Longitude in Douglas, )
Georgia )
Tucker, Georgia
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 Georgia Transmission Corp. (``Georgia
Transmission''), owner of the antenna structure located at
coordinates 31° 31' 49'' North Latitude and 82° 52' 45'' West
Longitude, in Douglas, Georgia, 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 Georgia
Transmission Corp. apparently liable for failing to register its
antenna structure.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On July 24, 2002, an agent of the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Atlanta Office (``Atlanta Office'') inspected the
antenna structure located at 31° 31' 49'' North Latitude and 82°
52' 45'' West Longitude, in Douglas, Georgia. The agent noted
that the structure was painted and had continuously operating
strobe lighting, however, the tower was not registered with the
Commission.
3. On September 24, 2002, the agent interviewed a
representative of Georgia Transmission Corp., who verified that
Georgia Transmission Corp. was the owner of the antenna structure
and that the structure was not registered with the Commission.
The former license for the microwave station on the structure
required that the antenna structure be lighted since it is over
200 feet tall.
III. DISCUSSION
4. 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. Georgia
Transmission's antenna structure required notification to the FAA
because the structure exceeded 200 feet in height.2 In addition,
the structure had been assigned lighting requirements by the FCC
on the former microwave station license held by the structure's
previous owner. Therefore, Georgia Transmission's antenna
structure required Commission registration. From at least July
24 to September 24, 2002, Georgia Transmission failed to register
its antenna structure with the Commission.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find Georgia
Transmission willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated Section 17.4(a)
of the Rules by failing to register its antenna structure.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Commission's
Rules,5 the base forfeiture amount for failing to register an
antenna structure is $3,000 (failure to file required forms or
information). 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
statutory factors listed above, this case warrants a $3,000
forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. 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 Georgia Transmission Corp. 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 an antenna
structure that requires notification to the Federal Aviation
Administration.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this NAL,
Georgia Transmission Corp. SHALL PAY the full amount of the
proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking
reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
9. 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
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL shall be
sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested
to Georgia Transmission Corp., 2100 E. Exchange Place, Tucker,
Georgia 30084.
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)
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.