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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File Number: EB-02-BF-
Radio Lake Placid, Inc. ) 178
WIRD ) EB-02-BF-179
WLPW )
Lake Placid, New York )
) NAL/Acct. No.
) 200332280001
FRN: 0003 7652 52
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: October 3, 2002
By the Resident Agent, Buffalo Office, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we
find that Radio Lake Placid, Inc., (``RLP''), licensee of radio
stations WIRD and WLPW, has apparently violated Section 11.35(a)
of the Commission's Rules and Regulations (``Rules'')1, by
failing to have installed an operational Emergency Alert System
(``EAS''). We conclude that RLP is apparently liable for
forfeiture in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On July 2, 2002, Resident Agent Gene Stanbro from the
Commission's Buffalo Office inspected Radio Stations WIRD and
WLPW in Lake Placid, New York. At the time of inspection WIRD
and WLPW had no EAS equipment installed at the main studio.
3. On July 10, 2002, the Buffalo Office issued two
Official Notices of Violation (``NOV'') to RLP for violations
found during the July 2, 2002, inspection. Agent Stanbro cited
Radio Lake Placid for non-compliance with Section 11.35 of the
Rules.
4. On July 16, 2002, the Buffalo Office received a
response from RLP dated July 15, 2002. RLP acknowledged in its
response that it had failed to comply with the Commission's EAS
requirements, and detailed corrective steps that it had taken to
eliminate the violations (e.g., repair and reinstall the
equipment).
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 11.35(a) of the Rules states that stations are
responsible for ensuring that EAS encoders, EAS Decoders and
Attention Signal generating and receiving equipment used as part
of the EAS are installed so that the monitoring and transmitting
functions are available during the times the stations are in
operation.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that RLP
willfully2 and repeatedly3 violated Section 11.35(a) of the rules
by failing to have an operational EAS system. 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'')4, sets the base forfeiture amount at $8000
for failure to install and have operational EAS equipment. In
assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we must take into
account the statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D)
of the Communications Act of 1934 (``Act''), as amended,5 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. The record reveals
that RLP does have an overall history of compliance. However,
the violations are egregious. Applying the Forfeiture Policy
Statement and the statutory factors to the instant case and
applying the inflation adjustments, we believe that an eight
thousand dollar ($8,000) monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act6, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules7, Radio Lake Placid, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of its
APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of eight
thousand dollars ($8,000) for willful and repeated violation of
Section 11.35(a) of the Commissions Rules.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this NOTICE
OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Radio Lake Placid, Inc., 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. 200332280001 and FRN: 0003 7652 52.
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. 200332280001.
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. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice
of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent
to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief, Revenue and
Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554. 8
13. 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 [relevant 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.
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, to Radio Lake Placid, Inc., 17 Wilmington
Road, Lake Placid New York 12946.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Gene J. Stanbro
Resident Agent
Buffalo, New York Office
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.35(a).
2 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to Section 503(b) of the Act, provide that ``the
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).
3 Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b),
provides: [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.
447 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, and 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.