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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
WPGS, Inc. ) File No. EB-02-TP-242
Owner of Antenna Structure Registration ) NAL/Acct. No.:
200232700018
Number 1055007 in Mims, Florida ) FRN: 0003-7757-23
Titusville, Florida )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: July 17, 2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office:
I. Introduction
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find that WPGS, Inc., owner of antenna structure
registration number 1055007 in Mims, Florida, willfully and
repeatedly violated Section 17.51 of the Commission's Rules
(``Rules'')1 by failing to exhibit tower lights from sunset to
sunrise. We conclude that WPGS, Inc. is apparently liable for a
forfeiture in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
II. Background
2. On April 23, 2002, agents from the Commission's Tampa
Field Office (``Tampa Office'') investigated a report of a tower
light outage in Mims, Florida. The agents observed that antenna
structure 1055007, owned by WGPS, Inc., located at 4220 Golden
Shores Blvd. in Mims, Florida, was not illuminated per its
assigned painting and lighting specifications. The top beacon
was extinguished on the antenna structure between local sunset
and sunrise.
3. On April 25, 2002, agents from the Tampa Office re-
inspected antenna structure, 1055007, in Mims, Florida. The top
beacon was still extinguished at that time. The agents
interviewed the Chief Operator of AM broadcast station WPGS2 who
stated that he was aware of the light outage a ``couple of days''
before, but he did not log the outage nor did he contact the
FAA.3
4. On May 13, 2002, the Tampa Office received a letter
from the owner of the property at 4220 Golden Shore Blvd.
advising that the top beacon had been extinguished on antenna
structure 1055007 for over two months. The property owner stated
that he had contacted the station engineer for radio station WPGS
the day after he noticed the outage.
III. Discussion
5. Section 17.51 of the Rules requires tower lighting be
exhibited from sunset to sunrise. WPGS, Inc. failed to exhibit
the required lights on the WPGS tower from at least April 23 to
April 25, 2002.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that WPGS,
Inc. repeatedly4 and willfully5 violated Section 17.51 of the
Rules by failing to exhibit required obstruction lighting on its
antenna structure between sunset and sunrise.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules, the base
forfeiture amount for the violation cited in this Notice is
$10,000.6 Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended (``Act''), requires us to take into account
``...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
such other matters as justice may require.''7 Considering the
entire record and applying the statutory factors listed above,
this case warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.
IV. Ordering Clauses
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,9 WPGS, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY
FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of $10,000 for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.51 of the Commission's Rules.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release of this
NAL, WPGS, Inc. 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 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 note the
FRN and NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.
11. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division, and must include the FRN and
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.
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 NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Federal
Communications Commission, Chief, Revenue and Receivables
Operations Group, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.10
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this notice shall
be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, to WPGS, Inc. 805 North Dixie Ave., Titusville, FL
32796.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
District Director
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.51.
2 WPGS, Inc. is licensee of radio station WPGS (AM) as well as
owner of the antenna structure used by the radio station.
3 Antenna structure owners must notify the FAA of any observed or
otherwise known extinguishment of any top steady burning light
or any flashing obstruction light not corrected within 30
minutes, see 47 C.F.R. § 17.48(a), and must maintain a record of
such information, see 47 C.F.R. § 17.49.
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 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 4387-88 (1991).
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, and 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.