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-03-KC-005
)
The Helicon Group L.P. ) NAL/Acct. No.200332560014
Owner of Unregistered Antenna )
Structure Located 37° 05' 02'' ) FRN 0005-0994-60
North Latitude and 96° 11' 11'' )
West Longitude, near Sedan, )
Kansas )
St. Louis, Missouri
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: April 4, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Kansas City Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find The Helicon Group L.P.
(``Helicon''), owner of the antenna structure located at
coordinates 37° 05' 02'' North Latitude and 96° 11' 11''
West Longitude, just south of Sedan, Kansas, apparently
liable for a forfeiture in the amount of three thousand
dollars ($3,000) for willful and repeated violation of
Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1
Specifically, we find Helicon apparently liable for failure
to register its antenna structure.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On January 14, 2003, an agent of the FCC
Enforcement Bureau's Kansas City Office inspected the
antenna structure located at 37° 05' 02'' North Latitude and
96° 11' 11'' West Longitude, near Sedan, Kansas. The agent
noted that the structure was painted and fitted with red
lighting, however, there was no evidence of tower
registration with the Commission. A telephone conversation
later in the day with Mr. Strain of Helicon confirmed the
tower was not registered.
3. On January 23, 2003, the agent spoke with a
representative of Helicon who verified that The Helicon
Group L.P. owned the antenna structure since about January
2000 and that the structure was not registered with the
Commission. The Federal Aviation Administration (``FAA'')
study for the structure required that the tower be painted
and lighted since it is over 200 feet tall.
III. DISCUSSION
·
4. Section 17.4(a) of the Rules provides that the
owner of any proposed or existing antenna structure that
requires notice of proposed construction to the FAA must
register the structure with the Commission. Helicon's
antenna structure required notification to the FAA because
the structure exceeded 200 feet in height.2 Therefore,
Helicon's antenna structure required Commission
registration. From at least January 2000 to January 23,
2003, The Helicon Group L.P. failed to register its antenna
structure with the Commission.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find The
Helicon Group L.P. willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated
Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to register its
antenna structure with the Commission from January 2000
until January, 2003.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,5 the
base forfeiture amount for failing to register an antenna
structure is $3,000 (failure to file required forms or
information). 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.6 Considering the entire
record and applying the statutory factors listed above, this
case warrants a $3,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. 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 Rules,8 The Helicon Group L.P. is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Rules for
failing to register its antenna structure.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, The Helicon Group L.P. 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 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. 20554.9
10. 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.
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. 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.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to The Helicon Group L.P., 12405
Powerscourt Drive, St. Louis, MO 63131-3674.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Robert C. McKinney
District Director
Kansas City Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
2 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).
3 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).
4 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).
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.