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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File Number EB-04-SF-006
Redwood Family Services, Inc. )
) NAL/Acct. No. 200432960001
Owner of Unregistered Antenna )
Structure ) FRN 0008692188
Madera, California
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: January 30, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, San Francisco Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find that Redwood Family Services, Inc.
(``Redwood''), owner of an unregistered antenna structure,
Madera, California, apparently willfully and repeatedly
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's Rules
(``Rules'') by failing to register the antenna structure.1
We conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended,2 that Redwood is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of three
thousand dollars ($3,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On August 12, 2002, an agent from the FCC
Enforcement Bureau's San Francisco Office inspected
Redwood's antenna structure located at the approximate
coordinates of 36°57'58'' north latitude and 120°02'06''
west longitude, near 28050 Avenue 15, Madera, California,
and found it to be part of AM broadcast station KHOT's
transmission system.3 At the time of the inspection, no
antenna structure registration number was displayed at the
base of the structure. The structure is approximately 65
meters in height (213 feet) and is lighted and painted. The
FCC agent checked the FCC Antenna Structure Registration
database and found no record that this structure was
registered with the Commission. On December 17, 2002, the
San Francisco Office issued a Notice of Violation to Redwood
for violating Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to
register the antenna structure. Redwood replied on January
29, 2003, stating that they were ``working on the
registration of the tower.''
3. A follow-up search of the Antenna Structure
Registration database on January 8, 2004, revealed no
registration for the antenna structure.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person
who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially
with the terms and conditions of any license, or willfully
or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of
the Act or of any rule, regulation or order issued by the
Commission there under, shall be liable for a forfeiture
penalty.4 The term "willful" as used in Section 503(b) has
been interpreted to mean simply that the acts or omissions
are committed knowingly and the term "repeated" means the
commission or omission of the Act more than once or for more
than one day.5
5. Generally, the Rules require that antenna
structures that are greater than 200 feet in height comply
with painting and lighting specifications designed to ensure
air safety.6 Antenna structure owners must register antenna
structures with the Commission and post ASR numbers at the
base of antenna structures to allow for easy contact if
problems arise.7 The Rules requiring antenna structure
registration for all antenna structures that may pose a
hazard to air navigation have been in effect since 1996.8
The Commission has repeatedly advised antenna structure
owners that all existing, unregistered antenna structures
subject to the Rules must be registered immediately or the
owners will face a monetary forfeiture or other enforcement
action.9
6. Specifically, Section 17.4(a) of the Rules requires
that the owner of any proposed or existing antenna structure
that requires notice of proposed construction to the Federal
Aviation Administration must register the structure with the
Commission. Redwood owns the antenna structure used by AM
broadcast station KHOT near Madera, California. This
structure requires notice of proposed construction, and
therefore, Commission registration, because the structure's
height exceeds 200 feet.10 Redwood is aware of its
responsibility and obligation to register the antenna
structure. Redwood received a Notice of Violation in
December of 2002 for failing to register the structure and
Redwood's Vice President represented to the Commission in
January of 2003 that the structure would be registered. Yet
to date, the antenna structure has not been registered.
Based on the evidence before us, we find that Redwood
apparently willfully and repeatedly violated Section 17.4(a)
of the Rules by failing to register its antenna structure
with the Commission.
7. Pursuant to The Commission's Forfeiture Policy
Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines (``Forfeiture Policy
Statement'')11 and Section 1.80 of the Rules,12 the base
forfeiture amount for failure to file required forms or
information (e.g., failure to file an antenna registration
form) is $3,000. 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 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.13
Considering the entire record and applying the factors
listed above, this case warrants a $3,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,14 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,15 Redwood Family Services, Inc., is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE
in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for willful
and repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by
failing to register its antenna structure with the
Commission.16
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Redwood Family Services, Inc., 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. 20554.17
11. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street S.W., Washington D.C. 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 Redwood Family Services, Inc., P. O.
Box 180, Tahoma, California 96142.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Thomas N. Van Stavern
District Director, San Francisco
Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
2 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3 Redwood Family is licensee of radio station KHOT as well
as owner of the antenna structure used by KHOT.
4 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
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 (1991).
Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 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."
6 47 C.F.R. § 17.21.
7 47 C.F.R. § 17.4.
8 Antenna structure owners were required to register
existing antenna structures during a two-year filing period
between July 1, 1996 and June 30, 1998, and to register new
antenna structures prior to construction. Streamlining the
Commission's Antenna Structure Clearance Procedure, 11 FCC
Rcd 4272 (1995).
9 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). In addition, in June and July 1999, the
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau sent letters to licensees
informing them that the Commission had no valid registration
for their antenna site and that owners and, to the extent
they were liable, tenants could face monetary forfeitures
for antenna structures that remained unregistered.
10 47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).
11 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied 15 FCC Rcd 303
(1999).
12 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
13 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
14 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
15 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
16 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
17 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.