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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
MCC Georgia LLC ) File No. EB-03-AT-064
Owner of Antenna Structure Registration ) NAL/Acct. No.:
200332480022
Number 1022429 in McIntyre, Georgia ) FRN: 0004-3413-
68
Middletown, New York )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: April 15, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Atlanta Office:
I. Introduction
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find that MCC Georgia LLC, owner of antenna
structure registration number 1022429 in McIntyre, Georgia,
willfully and repeatedly violated Section 17.51 of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'')1 by failing to exhibit obstruction
lighting from sunset to sunrise. We conclude that MCC Georgia
LLC is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
II. Background
2. On March 4 and 5, 2003, an agent from the Commission's
Atlanta Field Office observed that antenna structure 1022429,
owned by MCC Georgia LLC, located at 32º 49' 39.0'' North
Latitude, 083º 12' 44.0'' West Longitude in McIntyre, Georgia,
was not illuminated per its assigned painting and lighting
specifications. On both days, the top beacon was extinguished on
the antenna structure between local sunset and sunrise.
3. On March 6, 2003, the agent contacted the Federal
Aviation Administration (``FAA''), and determined that they had
not been notified of the light extinguishment. The agent also
interviewed a representative of MCC Georgia LCC who confirmed
ownership of the structure, was unaware of the outage and was not
aware as to whether the FAA had been contacted. Subsequently, on
March 24, 2003, another representative of MCC Georgia LCC stated
that, after the agent's call, the structure was inspected on
March 6, 2003, and the top beacon was found extinguished. The
representative stated that there was no daily observation
procedure, no monitoring equipment, and no automatic alarm to
monitor the status of the structure's lighting system.
III. Discussion
4. Section 17.51 of the Rules requires red obstruction
lighting be exhibited from sunset to sunrise. MCC Georgia LLC's
antenna structure registration number 1022429 requires red lights
be exhibited on this structure from sunset to sunrise. MCC
Georgia LLC failed to exhibit the required lights on its antenna
structure from at least March 4 to March 5, 2003. In addition,
MCC Georgia LLC failed to immediately notify the FAA of the
improper functioning of the structure's lighting2 and failed to
inspect the structure's lighting system for proper operation.3
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find that MCC
Georgia LLC repeatedly4 and willfully5 violated Section 17.51 of
the Rules by failing to exhibit required obstruction lighting on
its antenna structure between sunset and sunrise.
6. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules, the base
forfeiture amount for the violation cited in this Notice is
$10,000.6 Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended (``Act''), requires us to take into account
``...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
such other matters as justice may require.''7 Considering the
entire record and applying the statutory factors listed above,
this case warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.
IV. Ordering Clauses
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,9 MCC Georgia LLC is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT
LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of $10,000 for willful
and repeated violation of Section 17.51 of the Commission's
Rules.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Commission's Rules, within thirty days of the release of this
NAL, MCC Georgia LLC 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 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 must note the
FRN and NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above.
Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL under an
installment plan should be sent to: Federal Communications
Commission, Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445
12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554.10
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division, and must include the FRN and
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead 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 MCC Georgia LLC, 100 Crystal Run Road, Middletown,
NY 10941.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Fred L. Broce
District Director
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.51.
2 Owners of registered antenna structures with assigned lighting
must immediately report to the FAA any known improper functioning
of any top or flashing light. See 47 C.F.R. § 17.48(a).
3 See 47 C.F.R. § 17.47.
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 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).
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, and 1.80.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.