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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-02-DL-679
)
East Texas Broadcasting, Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.200332500002
Licensee of AM Broadcast Station )
KPLT and ) FRN 0005-0139-41
Owner of Antenna Structure )
1236893 in Paris, Texas
Mount Pleasant, Texas
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 4, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Dallas Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find East Texas Broadcasting, Inc.
(``East Texas Broadcasting''), licensee of AM Broadcast
station KPLT, Paris, Texas, and owner of antenna structure
1236893 in Paris, Texas, apparently liable for a forfeiture
in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful
and repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'') and willful violation of
Section 73.49 of the Rules.1 Specifically, we find East
Texas Broadcasting, Inc. apparently liable for failing to
register its antenna structure for radio station KPLT and
for failing to enclose its antenna tower with an effective
locked fence.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On November 4, 2002, an agent from the
Commission's Dallas Field Office (``Dallas Office'')
inspected East Texas Broadcasting's antenna structure
located at or near geographical coordinates 33° 38' 09''
North Latitude by 095° 33'14'' West Longitude, in Paris,
Texas. This structure was utilized at AM radio station
KPLT, and had radio frequency (``RF'') potential at the base
of this antenna tower. The agent found the gate to the
tower base fence unlocked. A sign at the base of the
structure displayed Antenna Structure Registration (``ASR'')
number 1053395. The FCC's Antenna Structure Registration
database showed that ASR number 1053395 had been purged from
the database with the notation ``Aged Return Deletion.''
3. On November 14, 2002, East Texas Broadcasting
provided to the Dallas Office correspondence from the FCC to
KPLT, Inc., the former owner of station KPLT and of the
antenna structure, returning KPLT, Inc.'s application for
antenna structure registration due to errors in the
structure's approved height. The process date for the
return of the application was listed as July 9, 1998. East
Texas Broadcasting acquired the antenna structure on or
about August, 2001, and subsequently registered this antenna
structure in their name on December 2, 2002 (ASRN 1236893).
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 17.4(a) of the Rules requires the owner of
an antenna structure that requires notice to the Federal
Aviation Administration (``FAA'') to register the antenna
structure with the Commission. East Texas Broadcasting's
antenna structure required notification to the FAA, and thus
required FCC registration, because the structure height
exceeded 200 feet.2 In addition, Section 17.57 of the Rules
requires the antenna structure owner to immediately notify
the Commission upon any change in ownership information.3
The previous owner of this antenna structure had applied for
registration with the Commission, but the application was
rejected and returned due to errors in the approved height.
Even if, at the time East Texas Broadcasting acquired the
structure in August, 2001, it erroneously believed that the
structure had been properly registered by the previous
owner, East Texas Broadcasting would have discovered that
the structure was not registered when it sought to make the
required notification of a change in ownership. However,
from August, 2001, until December 2, 2002, East Texas
Broadcasting owned an antenna structure that required notice
to the FAA, and thus required Commission registration, yet
East Texas Broadcasting failed to register the structure.
5. Section 73.49 requires antenna towers that have RF
potential at the base to be enclosed within effective locked
fences or other enclosures. The KPLT antenna tower is
series fed and has RF potential at the base. On November 4,
2002, the gated fence surrounding the tower was found
unlocked.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find East
Texas Broadcasting willfully4 and repeatedly5 violated
Section 17.4(a) of the Rules and willfully violated Section
73.49 of the Rules by failing to register its antenna
supporting structure and failing to provide an effective
locked fence or other enclosure around the base of the
antenna.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,6 the
base forfeiture amounts for the violations cited in this
Notice are: $3,000 for failure to file required forms or
information (i.e. failure to file an application for antenna
structure registration) and $7,000 for AM tower fencing. 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.7 Considering the entire record and applying
the 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 Act,8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,9 East Texas Broadcasting, Inc. is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Rules and
willful violation of Section 73.49 of the Rules by failing
to register its antenna supporting structure and failing to
provide an effective locked fence around the base of the
antenna.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, East Texas Broadcasting, 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. 20554.10
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. 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 East Texas Broadcasting, Inc., PO Box
990, Mount Pleasant, Texas 75456.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James D. Wells
Dallas Office, Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 17.4(a) and 73.49.
2 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).
3 47 C.F.R. § 17.57.
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 4387-88
(1991).
5 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).
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, 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.