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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                 )
                                 )
Alpine Broadcasting, Ltd.        )
Licensee of Station KKIT(FM)     )     File No. EB-00-DV-409
Angel Fire, New Mexico           )
Facility ID # 43767              )     and
                                 )
Alpine Broadcasting Ltd.         )     File No. EB-00-DV-504
Partnership                      )
Licensee of Station KXMT(FM)     )     NAL/Acct. No. 200232800002
Taos, New Mexico                 )     FRN  0005-9526-68
Facility ID # 18421              ) 


              NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                             Released:  May 16, 2002 

By the District Director, Denver Office, Enforcement Bureau:


                         I.  INTRODUCTION

     1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), 
we find that Alpine Broadcasting Ltd., licensee of station KKIT, Angel 
Fire, New Mexico, and Alpine Broadcasting Ltd. Partnership, licensee 
of station KXMT, Taos, New Mexico, (collectively referred to as 
"Alpine") apparently willfully violated Section 11.35(a) of the 
Commission's Rules ("Rules")1 for failure to have operational 
Emergency Alert System ("EAS") equipment.  We conclude, pursuant to 
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act")2, 
that Alpine is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of 
sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000).


                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2. On August 9, 2001, a Denver Office Agent inspected KKIT and 
KXMT.  At the time of inspection, the EAS equipment, although present, 
was not installed and connected so as to be operational.  There were 
no entries in the station log indicating that the EAS equipment had 
ever been operational or had been taken out of service for repair. 



                         III.  DISCUSSION

     3. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who 
willfully fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions 
of any license, or willfully fails to comply with any of the 
provisions of the Act or of any rule, regulation or order issued by 
the Commission thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty.3  
The term "willful" as used in Section 503(b) has been interpreted to 
mean simply that the acts or omissions are committed knowingly.4 

     4. Commission licensees are responsible for familiarizing 
themselves and complying with applicable statutes and Commission Rules 
and policies, regardless of the length of time the licensee has been 
engaged in broadcasting.5 The Rules provide that every AM and FM 
broadcast station is part of the nationwide EAS network and is 
categorized as a participating national EAS source unless the station 
affirmatively requests authority to not participate.6  The EAS 
provides the President and state and local governments with the 
capability to provide immediate and emergency communications and 
information to the general public.7 State and local area plans 
identify local primary sources responsible for coordinating carriage 
of common emergency messages from sources such as the National Weather 
Service or local emergency management officials.8 

     5. Section 11.35(a) of the Rules states that "[b]roadcast 
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 and systems are 
in operation."  Based on the evidence before us, we find that on 
August 9, 2001, Alpine willfully violated Section 11.35(a) of the 
Commission's Rules by failing to have EAS equipment installed so that 
the monitoring and transmitting functions were available.  

     6. The base forfeiture amount set by The Commission's Forfeiture 
Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to 
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, ("Forfeiture Policy 
Statement"),9 and Section 1.80 of the Commissions Rules,10 for EAS 
equipment not installed or operational is $8,000.  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 Act,11 
which include the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the 
violation(s), and with respect to the violator, the degree of 
culpability, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other 
such matters as justice may require.  Application of the base amount 
to the captioned Alpine stations' violations results in a base 
forfeiture amount of $8,000 for each station.  KKIT and KXMT serve two 
different EAS local areas under the State of New Mexico EAS plan.  
Therefore, failure to have operational EAS equipment is applied to 
each station separately.  Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement and 
the statutory factors to the instant case, a $16,000 forfeiture is 
warranted.  


                      IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 503(b) of 
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,12 and Sections 0.111, 
0.311 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules,13 each of the Alpine 
captioned licensees, is hereby NOTIFIED of an APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A 
FORFEITURE in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) each for 
violation of Sections 11.35(a) of the Rules, 47 C.F.R. §11.35(a), 
representing a total forfeiture of $16,000. 

     8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the 
Commission's Rules14 within thirty days of the release date of this 
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, each of the captioned licensees 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 must include the FCC Registration Number 
(FRN) and the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.

     10.  The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal 
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Technical and Public 
Safety Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554 and 
must include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.  

     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:  
Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, 
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.15

     13.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF APPARENT 
LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail # 7001 0320 0002 9702 4412, 
Return Receipt Requested, to Alpine Broadcasting Ltd., and Alpine 
Broadcasting Ltd. Partnership, P. O. Box 2158, Ketchum, ID  83340.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Leo E. Cirbo
                              District Director, Denver Office



_________________________

     1  47 C.F.R. § 11.35(a).

     2  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     3  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     4 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 (1991).

     5 See Bay Television, Inc., 10 FCC Rcd 11509 (1995) (rejecting 
licensee's request for lenient treatment because it had been on the 
air for barely six months.); Radio One Licensees, Inc., Memorandum 
Opinion and Order, DA 02-219 (Enf. Bur. Jan 31, 2002) (rejecting 
licensee's request for lenient treatment because the station had been 
acquired less than six months before, noting also that the licensee 
was an experienced broadcaster).

     6  47 C.F.R. §§ 11.11 and 11.41.

     7  47 C.F.R. §§ 11.1 and 11.21.

     8  47 C.F.R. § 11.18. State EAS plans contain guidelines that 
must be followed by broadcast and cable personnel, emergency officials 
and National Weather Service personnel to activate the EAS for state 
and local emergency alerts.  The state plans include the EAS header 
codes and messages to be transmitted by the primary state, local and 
relay EAS sources.

     9  12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).

     10  47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

     11  47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

     12  47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

     13  47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.

     14  47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

     15 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.