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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-03-CF-401
)
Louisa Communications, Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.
200432340001
WZAQ )
Louisa, Kentucky ) FRN: 0003 7801 03
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: January
12, 2004
By the District Director, Columbia Office, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
("NAL"), we find that Louisa Communications, Inc. (``Louisa'')
has apparently violated Section 17.4(a)(2) of the Commission's
Rules1 (``Rules''), by failing to register its antenna structure.
We conclude that Louisa is apparently liable for a forfeiture in
the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On July 16, 2003, an agent from the Commission's
Columbia, Maryland office inspected WZAQ in Louisa, Kentucky.
The agent found that there was no record at the station showing
that the station's tower at 38° 10´ 33´´ North Latitude and 82°
37´ 39´´ West Longitude, near Louisa, Kentucky was registered
with the FCC. The Commission's Antenna Structure Registration
database showed no record of this structure having been
registered.
3. During the inspection on July 16, 2003, the agent
interviewed the station's manager and the station's owner and
verified that Louisa owned the tower. During the interviews, the
agent noted that both individuals indicated knowledge that the
antenna structure needed to be registered, but assumed that the
station's attorney had taken care of the matter.
4. The Commission issued a license to Louisa dated January
16, 1992. The license shows the antenna structure is 91 meters
above ground level and requires painting and lighting in
accordance with paragraphs 1, 3, and 11, and 21 of FCC Form 715.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 17.4(a)(2) of the Rules requires antenna
structures that had been assigned painting or lighting
requirements prior to July 1, 1996 be registered prior to July 1,
1998. The station license lists antenna structure painting and
lighting requirements. As of the date of this Notice, Louisa
still has not registered the antenna structure.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Louisa
willfully2 and repeatedly3 violated Section 17(4)(a) of the Rules
by failing to register its antenna structure. 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'')4, sets the base forfeiture amounts at $3,000
for failure to file the required forms or information (e.g.
failure to register the antenna structure). In assessing the
monetary forfeiture amount, we must take into account the
statutory factors set forth in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (``Act''), as amended,5 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. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement
and the statutory factors to the instant case and applying the
inflation adjustments, we believe that a three thousand dollar
($3,000) monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
7. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,7 Louisa is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR
A FORFEITURE in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for
willful and repeated violation Section 17.4(a)(2) of the Rules by
failing to register an existing antenna structure that had been
assigned painting or lighting requirements prior to July 1, 1996.
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, Louisa Communications 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. 200432340001, and FRN 0003 7801 03.
10. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Spectrum
Enforcement Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20554 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. 200432340001.
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. 20554.8
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 Spectrum Enforcement 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.
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, to Louisa Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 176,
Louisa, KY 41230.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Charles C. Magin
District Director
Columbia Office
Attachment A: Condensed List of Small Entities
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 17.4(a)(2)
2 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).
3 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.
447 C.F.R. § 1.80.
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, and 0.311.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.