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 )
)
CB Radio, Inc. ) File Number EB-02-AT-398
)
Owner of Unregistered Antenna ) NAL/Acct. No.200332480016
Structure located at 36° 20' 07'' )
North Latitude by 82° 13' 03'' ) FRN 0007-8859-81
West Longitude in Elizabethton, )
Tennessee )
Elizabethton, Tennessee
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released:
January 23, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find CB Radio, Inc. (``CB Radio''),
owner of the antenna structure of AM broadcast station WBEJ
located at coordinates 36° 20' 07'' North Latitude and 82°
13' 03'' West Longitude, in Elizabethton, Tennessee,
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 CB Radio, Inc. apparently liable for
failing to register its antenna structure.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On September 25, 2001, an agent of the FCC
Enforcement Bureau's Atlanta Field Office (``Atlanta
Office'') inspected radio station WBEJ(AM). The inspection
revealed that the antenna structure of WBEJ(AM) was not
registered with the Commission. On October 4, 2001, a
Notice of Violation was issued to CB Radio for failure to
register the WBEJ(AM) antenna structure with the Commission.
3. On October 29, 2002, an agent of the Atlanta
Office inspected radio station WBEJ(AM) and the associated
antenna structure located at 36° 20' 07'' North Latitude and
82° 13' 03'' West Longitude, in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
The agent noted that the structure was painted and lighted,
however, the structure was not registered with the
Commission. The station license for WBEJ(AM) requires that
the antenna structure be painted and lighted since it is
over 200 feet tall.
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. CB Radio'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 WBEJ(AM) station license. Therefore, CB Radio's antenna
structure required Commission registration. From at least
September 25, 2001 to October 29, 2002, CB Radio's antenna
structure used as part of Station WBEJ(AM) was not
registered with the Commission.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find CB Radio
willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated Section 17.4(a) of the
Rules by failing to register its antenna structure.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Commission's
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 CB Radio has a history of
violating the same provision that is the subject of this
NAL. 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 CB Radio, Inc. 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 by failing to
register an antenna structure that requires notification to
the Federal Aviation Administration.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, CB Radio, Inc. 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 CB Radio, Inc., 626 ½ E. Elk Avenue,
Elizabethton, TN 37643.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
Atlanta Office, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
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 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.