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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-02-DT-885
FrontierVision Operating Partners, L. P. )
) NAL/Acct. No. 20032360004
Coudersport, Pennsylvania )
) FRN: 0001-6055-59
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: January 27, 2003
By the District Director, Detroit Office, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find that FrontierVision Operating Partners,
L. P. (``FrontierVision''), has apparently violated Section
17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules1 (``Rules'') by failing to
register towers in two different locations. This section
requires that antenna structure owners register their
antenna structures. We conclude that FrontierVision is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of six
thousand dollars ($6,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. The Commission's obstruction marking and lighting of
antenna structures and registration requirements operate in
concert with the FAA regulations to ensure that antenna
structures do not present hazards to air navigation.
Generally, our rules require that antenna structures located
close to airports or that are greater than 200 feet in
height comply with painting and lighting specifications to
ensure air safety. We require antenna structure owners to
register structures with the Commission and post
registration numbers near the base of structures to allow
for easy contact if problems arise. The Rules require
registration for all antenna structures that may pose a
hazard to air navigation and have been in effect since
1996.2 We have repeatedly advised antenna structure owners
that all existing, unregistered antenna structures subject
to our Rules must be registered immediately or the owners
could face a monetary forfeiture or other enforcement
action.3
3. Commission field agents routinely inspect antenna
structures to determine compliance with antenna structure
marking, painting and lighting requirements and they also
respond to reports of unlit towers. The FAA also routinely
notifies Commission field offices when owners fail to report
that lights have been repaired. On July 25, 2002, an agent
from the Detroit Office conducted an inspection of the
antenna structure located on Webb Ridge Road 0.14 miles east
of the intersection of Webb Ridge Road and KY-59,
approximately 4.2 miles northwest of Olive Hill, Kentucky.
The agent observed no ASR number posted at the site. A
search of Commission records and subsequent contacts with
FrontierVision revealed that the antenna structure was
subject to Part 17 of the Rules, was not registered, and
accordingly, needed to be registered.
4. On July 26, 2002, an agent from the Detroit Office
conducted an inspection of the antenna structure located at
3311 Happy Ridge Road, Ashland, Kentucky. The agent
observed no ASR number posted at the site. A search of
Commission records and subsequent contacts with
FrontierVision revealed that the antenna structure was
subject to Part 17 of the Rules, was not registered, and
accordingly, needed to be registered.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 17.4(a) of the Rules requires the owner of any
existing antenna structure that requires notice of proposed
construction to the Federal Administrative Administration,
to register the structure with the Federal Communications
Commission. According to Commission records, the antenna
structures located at Webb Ridge Road 0.14 miles east of the
intersection of Webb Ridge Road and KY-59, approximately 4.2
miles northwest of Olive Hill, Kentucky, and at 3311 Happy
Ridge Road, Ashland, Kentucky, were not registered.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that
FrontierVision has willfully4 and repeatedly5 violated
Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by failure to register its
antenna structures. The Commission's Forfeiture Policy
Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087,
17113 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303(1999)
(``Forfeiture Policy Statement'')6, sets the base forfeiture
amount for failure to file required forms or information at
three thousand dollars ($3,000). In assessing the monetary
forfeiture amount, we must take into account the statutory
factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended (``Act'').7 These factors 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. Applying the
Forfeiture Policy Statement, statutory factors, and the
inflation adjustments to the base amount of FrontierVision's
violation of $3,000 for each of the two instances of failure
to register its antenna structures, we find no compelling
evidence to support any adjustments to the base forfeiture
amount. Thus, we believe that a total forfeiture amount of
six thousand dollars ($6,000) is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSE
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules8, FrontierVision Operating Partners, L. P. is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of six thousand dollars ($6,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Rules.
8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of
the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, FrontierVision Operating
Partners, 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. 200332360004, FRN:
0001-6055-59.
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Technical and
Public Safety Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. 200332360004,
FRN: 0001-6055-59.
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. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice
of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be
sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group,
445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.9
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 Federal
Communications Commission, Technical & Public Safety
Division, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. 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 NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, to FrontierVision Operating Partners, L.
P., 1 North Main Street, Coudersport, Pennsylvania 16915.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James A. Bridgewater
District Director
Detroit Office
Attachment A: Condensed List of Small Entities
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
2 Antenna structure owners were required to register existing
antenna structures during a two-year filing period between July
1, 1998 and June 30, 1996, and to register new antenna structures
prior to construction. Streamlining the Commission's Antenna
Structure Clearance Procedure, 11 FCC Rcd 4272 (1995).
3 Subsequent to the expiration of the filing period, the
Commission staff issued a Public Notice warning antenna structure
owners to register any unregistered antenna structures subject to
our requirements immediately or face possible monetary
forfeitures or other enforcement action. Public Notice, ``No-
Tolerance Policy Adopted For Unregistered Antenna Structures,''
1999 WL 10060 (WTB rel. Jan. 13. 1999).
4 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations 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 Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b), of the
Act, provides that: ``[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.''
647 C.F.R. § 1.80.
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, and 0.311.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.