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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-03-AT-085
Palmetto Broadcasting Company, Inc. )
Licensee of Radio Station WAIM and ) NAL/Acct. No.
200332480024
Owner of Unregistered Antenna Structure )
Used at Radio Station WAIM )
)
Anderson, South Carolina )
) FRN: 0008-9109-45
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: May 7,
2003
By the, Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
("NAL"), we find Palmetto Broadcasting Company, Inc., (?Palmetto?),
licensee of AM radio station WAIM, Anderson, South Carolina, and
owner of an unregistered antenna structure utilized by radio
station WAIM, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of
five thousand dollars ($5,000) for willful and repeated violation
of Sections 11.61(a) and 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules
(?Rules?).1 Specifically, we find Palmetto Broadcasting Company,
Inc. apparently liable for failing to conduct tests of the
Emergency Alert System (?EAS?) and for failing to register its
antenna structure.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On April 16, 2003, an agent from the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's Atlanta Office conducted an inspection of WAIM's EAS
installation and its antenna structure. No Antenna Structure
Registration could be produced and a check of the FCC Antenna
Structure Registration database confirmed that the structure was
not registered. Palmetto is the owner of the antenna structure
and the WAIM station license requires that the antenna structure
be painted and lighted since it is over 200 feet tall.
3. An inspection of WAIM's EAS installation revealed that
the station did not conduct either weekly or monthly EAS tests.
When asked to produce station logs for the previous three months,
station personnel could produce no records of any EAS tests or
activations, reasons for failure to receive and conduct such
tests, or any entries showing EAS equipment had been removed from
service for repair. The station's general manager stated that he
could not remember when the station had last conducted an EAS
test.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 11.61(a) of the Rules requires that broadcast
stations conduct weekly and monthly tests of the EAS. On April
16, 2003, and for at least three months prior, station WAIM
failed to conduct any EAS tests. The station's logs showed no
evidence that the station conducted any of the required EAS tests
or received any EAS activations, no entries explaining the
failure to receive and conduct such tests or activations, and no
entries showing EAS equipment had been removed from service for
repair.1 Section 17.4(a) of the Rules provides that the owner of
an antenna structure that requires notice of proposed
construction to the Federal Aviation Administration (?FAA?) must
register the structure with the Commission. Palmetto's antenna
structure required notification to the FAA because the structure
exceeded 200 feet in height.2 Therefore, Palmetto's antenna
structure required Commission registration. As of April 16,
2003, Palmetto had failed to register its antenna structure used
as part of station WAIM.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Palmetto
willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated Sections 11.61(a) and 17.4(a)
of the Rules by failing to conduct required EAS tests and by
failing to register its antenna structure.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,5 the base
forfeiture amount for failure to file required forms or
information to register the antenna structure is $3,000, and for
failure to conduct EAS tests (i.e., failure to make required
measurements or conduct required monitoring) is $2,000. 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.?6 Considering the
entire record and applying the factors listed above, this case
warrants a $5,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act7 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,8 Palmetto Broadcasting Company, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED
of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of five
thousand dollars ($5,000) for willful and repeated violation of
Sections 11.61(a) and 17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to conduct
EAS tests and by failing to register its antenna structure.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty (30) days of the release date of this
NAL, Palmetto Broadcasting Company, 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. Request for payment of
the full amount of NAL under an installment plan should be sent
to: Chief, Revenue and Receivable 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 Palmetto Broadcasting Company, Inc., 2203 Old
Williamston Rd., Anderson, SC 29621.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director, Atlanta Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment A
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.61(a) and 17.4(a).
1 EAS tests and activations, failure to receive such tests and
activations, and EAS equipment malfunctions must be recorded in
the station log. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.35(a)-(b), 11.54(b)(12),
11.55(c)(7) and 11.61(b).
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 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 Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b),
provides: [t]he 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.
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 and 1.80.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.