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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Dewey D. Lankford ) File Number EB-02-AT-305
)
Owner of Unregistered Antenna ) NAL/Acct. No.200232480018
Structure located at 33° 41' 15'' )
North Latitude by 85° 49' 49'' ) FRN 0007-6936-41
West Longitude in Anniston, )
Alabama )
Anniston, Alabama
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: September
24, 2002
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we
find that Dewey D. Lankford (``Lankford''), owner of the antenna
structure located at coordinates 33° 41' 15'' North Latitude and
85° 49' 49'' West Longitude, in Anniston, Alabama, willfully
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules''),1
by failing to register the antenna structure. We find Lankford
apparently liable for forfeiture in the amount of three thousand
dollars ($3,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On June 26, 2002, an agent of the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Atlanta Office (``Atlanta Office'') inspected the AM
broadcast tower of radio station WANA located at 33° 41' 15''
North Latitude and 85° 49' 49'' West Longitude, in Anniston,
Alabama. The agent noted that the structure was painted and had
lighting, however, the tower was not registered with the
Commission.
3. On June 26, 2002, the agent inspected radio station
WANA and verified that the antenna structure was owned by the
licensee of WANA, Dewey D. Lankford, and that the structure was
not registered with the Commission. The station license for WANA
requires that the antenna structure be painted and lighted since
it is over 200 feet tall. The WANA station inspection was
conducted with the operator on duty.
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. Lankford's 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 FCC on
the WANA broadcast station license. Therefore, Lankford's
antenna structure required Commission registration. Based on the
evidence before us, we find that Dewey D. Lankford willfully3
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules by failing to
register his antenna structure.
5. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Commission's
Rules,4 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''),5 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
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act,6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules,7 Dewey D. Lankford is hereby NOTIFIED of his
APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of three
thousand dollars ($3,000) for willfully 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.
7. 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, Dewey D. Lankford SHALL PAY
the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a
written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture.
8. 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. 20554.8
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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 Dewey D. Lankford, 1111 Wilmer
Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
Atlanta Office
_________________________
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 47 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, 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.