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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Morris Communications, Inc. ) File Number EB-02-AT-217
)
Owner of Unregistered Antenna ) NAL/Acct. No.200232480011
Structure located at 33° 58' 12'' )
North Latitude by 79° 02' 03'' ) FRN 0001-8848-57
West Longitude in Adrian, South )
Carolina )
Greenville, South Carolina
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: July 8,
2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we
find that Morris Communications, Inc. (``Morris
Communications''), owner of the antenna structure located at
coordinates 33° 58' 12'' North Latitude and 79° 02' 03'' West
Longitude, in Adrian, South Carolina, willfully violated Section
17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules''),1 by failing to
register the antenna structure. We find Morris Communications
apparently liable for forfeiture in the amount of three thousand
dollars ($3,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On May 7, 2002, an agent of the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Atlanta Office (``Atlanta Office'') inspected the tower
located at 33° 58' 12'' North Latitude and 79° 02' 03 West
Longitude, 0.1 of a mile south of the intersection of Costie
Allen Road and Cartrette Road, in Adrian, South Carolina. The
agent noted that the structure was painted and had lighting
however the tower was not registered with the Commission.
3. On May 22, 2002, the agent held a telephone
conversation with Trace Morris, Morris Communications, and
verified that the antenna structure was owned by Morris
Communications, and that the structure was not registered with
the Commission. Mr. Morris stated that earlier attempts had been
made to register the structure, but the application for Antenna
Structure Registration (``ASR'') was returned by the FCC.
4. On May 29, 2002, Morris Communications sent the Atlanta
Office a copy of an ASR application that was filed twice in 1999.
The application was date stamped ``received'' by the Commission's
Wireless Bureau on January, 29, 1999, and again on August 9,
1999. The January 29, 1999 submission was returned to Morris
Communications with a cover letter indicating that the
application was incomplete regarding item 28, the environmental
assessment. Morris again re-submitted the same application as
evidenced by the second date stamp received by the Commission's
Wireless Bureau on August 9, 1999. Morris stated that the second
filing of the ASR application was returned by the Commission,
without explanation.
5. Still on May 29, 2002, after being notified by the
agent of the failure to register the structure, Morris
Communications filed another ASR application with the Commission.
III. DISCUSSION
6. 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. Morris
Communications' antenna structure required notification to the
FAA because the structure exceeded 200 feet in height.2 In
addition, the structure had been assigned painting and lighting
requirements by the FAA. Therefore, Morris Communications'
antenna structure required Commission registration. Although
Morris Communications made two attempts to register the
structure, it has been over two years since the last attempt,
with no evidence of any further attempts since August, 9 1999.
Based on the evidence before us, we find that Morris
Communications, Inc. willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated Section
17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules by failing to register its
antenna structure.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Commission's
Rules,5 the base forfeiture amount for the violation cited in
this Notice of Apparent Liability is $3,000 (failure to file
required forms or information). Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''),6 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 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
8. 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,8 Morris Communications, Inc. 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.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this Notice of Apparent Liability, Morris Communications, 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 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 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. 20554.9
11. 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.
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. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this Notice of
Apparent Liability shall be sent by regular mail and Certified
Mail Return Receipt Requested to Morris Communications, Inc.,
P.O. Box 16419, Greenville, South Carolina 29606.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
Atlanta Office
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R § 17.4.
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'' means the commission or omission of an
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.