Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
******************************************************** 
                      NOTICE
********************************************************

This document was converted from Microsoft Word.

Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.

All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.

Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.

If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.

*****************************************************************




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


In the Matter of                   )      File Number EB-02-OR-356
                                     )
Victory & Power Ministries, Inc.   )     NAL/Acct. No.200332620005
Licensee of AM Broadcast Station   )
WPFC                               )              FRN 0008-0778-77
Baton Rouge, Louisiana             )


         NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                 Released: February 14, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, New Orleans Office:

                      I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.  In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture 
(``NAL''),  we   find  Victory  &  Power   Ministries,  Inc. 
(``Victory  Ministries''), licensee  of radio  station WPFC, 
apparently liable for a forfeiture  in the amount of twenty-
five  thousand dollars  ($25,000) for  willful violation  of 
Sections 11.35(a), 73.49, and 73.3526(c) of the Commission's 
Rules   (``Rules'').1    Specifically,   we   find   Victory 
Ministries  apparently   liable  for  failing   to  maintain 
operational  Emergency  Alert  System  (``EAS'')  equipment, 
failing to  provide an effective locked  fence enclosing the 
station's antenna  tower, and failing to  have the station's 
public  inspection  file  available  for  inspection  during 
regular business hours.

                       II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On  November  13,  2002, an  agent  from  the  FCC 
Enforcement  Bureau's   New  Orleans  Office   inspected  AM 
broadcast station  WPFC located  in Baton  Rouge, Louisiana.  
The station's EAS equipment  was not functioning because the 
encoder/decoder unit  was not connected to  any receivers in 
order  to   monitor  an  incoming  alert   signal.   Station 
personnel were unable  to produce any logs  noting EAS tests 
sent or  received, or  any notation that  the unit  had been 
removed from  service for  repair.  During  this inspection, 
conducted during  regular business hours,  station personnel 
were unable  to locate the station's  public inspection file 
to make  it available for  inspection.  Upon arrival  at the 
transmitter site, the  agent observed the gate  on the fence 
enclosing  the  station's  antenna tower  was  unlocked  and 
standing open.  No person, other than the station's contract 
engineer accompanying  the agent during the  inspection, was 
at the antenna  tower site when the agent  observed the open 
gate.  The  antenna tower  had radio frequency  potential at 
its base and  the property was not enclosed  in an effective 
perimeter fence.

                      III.  DISCUSSION

     3.  Section 11.35(a) of the Rules states that broadcast 
stations and  cable systems  and wireless cable  systems 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 that 
the stations or  systems are in operation.   On November 13, 
2002,  the station  did  not have  EAS monitoring  equipment 
installed.

     4.   Section 73.49  of  the Rules  states that  antenna 
towers having radio frequency potential  at the base must be 
enclosed within effective locked fences or other enclosures.  
On November  13, 2002, the  gate on the fence  enclosing the 
antenna  tower for  station WPFC  was observed  unlocked and 
standing open.

     5.  Section 73.3526(c) requires that a station's public 
inspection  file be  available  for inspection  at any  time 
during  regular  business  hours.  During  regular  business 
hours  on November  13,  2002, station  personnel could  not 
locate the public  inspection file to make  it available for 
inspection.

     6.  Based  on the evidence  before us, we  find Victory 
Ministries willfully2 violated Sections 11.35(a), 73.49, and 
73.3526(c) of  the Rules by failing  to maintain operational 
EAS equipment, failing to  provide an effective locked fence 
enclosing the  station's antenna tower, and  failing to have 
the   station's  public   inspection   file  available   for 
inspection during regular business hours.

     7.  Pursuant  to Section 1.80(b)(4) of  the Rules,3 the 
base  forfeiture amount  for failing  to have  EAS equipment 
installed  or operational  is  $8,000,  the base  forfeiture 
amount for violations involving  AM tower fencing is $7,000, 
and the  base forfeiture  amount for public  inspection file 
violations is $10,000.  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 Communications Act 
of  1934, as  amended (``Act''),  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.4   Considering the  entire 
record  and applying  the  factors listed  above, this  case 
warrants a $25,000 forfeiture.

                    IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 
503(b) of  the Act,5 and  Sections 0.111, 0.311 and  1.80 of 
the  Rules,6  Victory &  Power  Ministries,  Inc. is  hereby 
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY  FOR A FORFEITURE in the 
amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for willful 
violation of Sections 11.35(a), 73.49, and 73.3526(c) of the 
Rules  by failing  to  maintain  operational EAS  equipment, 
failing to  provide an effective locked  fence enclosing the 
station's antenna  tower, and failing to  have the station's 
public  inspection  file  available  for  public  inspection 
during regular business hours.

     9.   IT IS  FURTHER ORDERED  THAT, pursuant  to Section 
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of 
this NAL,  Victory &  Power Ministries,  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 NAL 
under an installment plan should  be sent to: Chief, Revenue 
and  Receivables Operations  Group, 445  12th Street,  S.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20554.7

     11. The  response, if  any, must  be mailed  to Federal 
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th 
Street S.W., 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. 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 Technical & 
Public Safety 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 NAL shall 
be sent  by regular mail  and Certified Mail  Return Receipt 
Requested to  Victory &  Power Ministries, Inc.,  6940 Harry 
Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806.  


                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                         James C. Hawkins
                         District   Director,  New   Orleans 
Office
                         Enforcement Bureau

Attachment
_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.35(a), 73.49, and 73.3526(c).

2 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).



3 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).



4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).



5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).



6 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.

7 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.