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 ) File Number EB-03-OR-261
)
Citadel Broadcasting Company ) NAL/Acct. No.200432620002
Licensee of AM Station KDYS )
in Lafayette, Louisiana ) FRN 0001595214
Las Vegas, Nevada )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: January 14, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, New Orleans Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find Citadel Broadcasting Company
(``Citadel''), licensee of radio station KDYS(AM),
Lafayette, Louisiana, apparently liable for a forfeiture in
the amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000) for willful
and repeated violation of Section 73.49 of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find Citadel
apparently liable for failing to enclose the station's six
antenna towers within effective locked fences or other
enclosures.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On October 9, 2003, agents from the FCC Enforcement
Bureau's New Orleans Office (``New Orleans Office'')
inspected AM station KDYS licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana.
The agents observed that each of the six gates on the fences
surrounding the six antenna towers, that had radio frequency
potential at the base, were unlocked. In addition, the
property did not have a perimeter fence to prevent
unauthorized access to the antenna towers.
3. On October 21, 2003, the New Orleans Office issued a
Letter of Inquiry (``LOI'') to Citadel concerning the
unlocked gates.
4. On November 18, 2003, the New Orleans Office received a
response to the above LOI. The response stated that during
the last week of September 2003, the station's chief
engineer had unlocked the fences surrounding each tower in
order to have repairs performed on them.
III. DISCUSSION
5. Section 73.49 of the Rules requires that antenna
towers having radio frequency potential at the base must be
enclosed within effective locked fences or other enclosures.
On October 9, 2003, the fences at the base of the six
antenna towers for station KDYS(AM) were not locked,
rendering them ineffective in preventing access to the
antenna towers. In their reply to the LOI, Citadel
acknowledges that they were aware of, and responsible for,
the gates being unlocked since the last week of September,
2003.
6. Based on the evidence before us, we find Citadel
willfully2 and repeatedly3 violated Section 73.49 of the
Rules by failing to enclose the station's antenna towers
within effective locked fences or other enclosures.
7. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,4 the
base forfeiture amount for violations involving AM tower
fencing is $7,000. 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.5 Considering the entire
record and applying the factors listed above, this case
warrants a $7,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,7 Citadel Broadcasting Company is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of seven thousand dollars ($7,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 73.49 of the Rules by failing
to enclose the station's antenna towers within effective
locked fences or other enclosures.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Citadel Broadcasting Company SHALL PAY the full
amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written
statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
10. 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. 20554.8
11. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street S.W., Washington, DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Spectrum Enforcement Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct.
No. referenced above.
12. 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.
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 NAL shall
be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return Receipt
Requested to Citadel Broadcasting Company, City Center West,
Suite 400, 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89128.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James C. Hawkins
District Director, New Orleans
Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 73.49.
2 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).
3 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).
4 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.