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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                 )
                                )
Dead Air Broadcasting Company,   )     File Number:  EB-03-ST-090
Inc.                             )
                                )     NAL/Acct. No. 200432980001
Owner of Unregistered Antenna    )                FRN  0010640480
Structure                        )
Dillon, Montana
                                               


         NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE

                                        Released:  March 29, 
          2004 

By  the  District   Director,  Seattle  Office,  Enforcement 
Bureau:


                         I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   In   this  Notice   of   Apparent  Liability   for 
Forfeiture  (``NAL''), we  find that  Dead Air  Broadcasting 
Company,  Inc. ("Dead  Air"), licensee  of AM  radio station 
KDBM  and  owner of  an  unregistered  antenna structure  in 
Dillon,   Montana,  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 Dead  Air is 
apparently liable  for a forfeiture  in the amount  of three 
thousand dollars ($3,000).


                         II.  BACKGROUND

     2.   On  May  16,  2002,  an  agent  from  the  Seattle 
District Office conducted an  inspection of AM radio station 
KDBM.  At the  time of the inspection,  no antenna structure 
registration  number  was  displayed  at  the  base  of  the 
structure.   The structure  is  approximately  80 meters  in 
height (265 feet) and is required to be lighted and painted.  
The structure  is located  at 45°14'13'' north  latitude and 
112°38'32'' west  longitude. At the time  of the inspection, 
the Vice President for Dead  Air could not locate or produce 
a  registration for  the  subject tower.   The structure  is 
owned by Dead Air, the licensee of KDBM.

     3.   On  June 13,  2002,  the  Seattle District  Office 
issued  a Notice  of Violation  (``NOV'') to  Dead Air,  for 
violation of Section 17.4(g)  of the Commission's Rules, for 
failure to post the ASR number at the base of the structure.

     4.   On  June 27,  2002,  the  Seattle District  Office 
received a  response to the  NOV.  The response  stated that 
following  an  extensive review  of  the  files, no  current 
Antenna  Structure  Registration   number  had  been  found.  
Evidence was  found that  the previous  owners filed  an ASR 
application in 1998,  but Dead Air had  no confirmation that 
it was received.  The response  further stated that Dead Air 
would apply for an ASR number and post it in accordance with 
the Rules.

     5.   On August 9, 2002, Dead Air submitted a supplement 
to the June 24, 2002, reply to the NOV, and stated that Dead 
Air had  completed a  new FCC Form  854 that  duplicated the 
original  registration that  was submitted  by the  previous 
owners on October 28, 1996.

     6.   On  March  26,  2003,   agents  from  the  Seattle 
District  Office   conducted  an  inspection  of   the  KDBM 
transmitter  site.    At  the  time of  the  inspection,  no 
antenna structure  registration number was displayed  at the 
base of the structure.

     7.   A  follow-up  search   of  the  Antenna  Structure 
Registration database on  April 3, 2003, and  April 4, 2003, 
revealed no registration for the antenna structure.  

     8.   On  October  22,  2003, agents  from  the  Seattle 
District  Office   conducted  an  inspection  of   the  KDBM 
transmitter  site.    At  the  time of  the  inspection,  no 
antenna structure  registration number was displayed  at the 
base of the structure.

     9.   A  follow-up  search   of  the  Antenna  Structure 
Registration  database  on  February 3,  2004,  revealed  no 
registration for the antenna structure.  


                    III.      DISCUSSION

     10.  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.3  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.4

     11.  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.5  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.6   The  Rules requiring  antenna  structure 
registration  for all  antenna  structures that  may pose  a 
hazard to  air navigation have  been in effect  since 1996.7  
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.8

     12.  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.   Dead Air owns  the antenna 
structure used by AM radio  station KDBM in Dillon, Montana.  
This structure requires notice of proposed construction, and 
therefore, Commission registration,  because the structure's 
height  exceeds  200  feet.9   Dead  Air  is  aware  of  the 
responsibility  and  obligation   to  register  the  antenna 
structure.  Dead Air received a  Notice of Violation in June 
of  2002, for  failing to  register the  structure and  Dead 
Air's  President represented  to the  Commission in  June of 
2002,  that  the  structure  would  be  registered.   As  of 
February  3,  2004,  the  antenna  structure  had  not  been 
registered.

     13.  Based on the evidence before us, we find that Dead 
Air  apparently willfully  and  repeatedly violated  Section 
17.4(a)  of the  Rules by  failing to  register its  antenna 
structure with the Commission.

     14.  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'')10  and Section  1.80 of  the Rules,11  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.12  
Considering  the  entire  record and  applying  the  factors 
listed above, this case warrants a $3,000 forfeiture.


                         ORDERING CLAUSES

     15.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  THAT,  pursuant  to 
Section 503(b) of  the Act,13 and Sections  0.111, 0.311 and 
1.80 of the Rules,14 Dead Air Broadcasting Company, 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.15  

     16.  IT IS  FURTHER ORDERED  THAT, pursuant  to Section 
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of 
this NAL, Dead Air Broadcasting Company, Inc., SHALL PAY the 
full  amount of  the  proposed forfeiture  or  SHALL FILE  a 
written statement  seeking reduction or cancellation  of the 
proposed forfeiture.

     17.  .   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. 20554.16.

     18.  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.  

     19.  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.  

     20.  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.

     21.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED  THAT a copy of this NOTICE 
OF  APPARENT  LIABILITY shall  be  sent  by Certified  Mail, 
Return  Receipt Requested,  and  regular mail,  to Dead  Air 
Broadcasting  Company,  Inc.,  610  North  Montana,  Dillon, 
Montana 59725.

                              FEDERAL         COMMUNICATIONS 
COMMISSION

                         

                              Dennis Anderson
                              District   Director,   Seattle 
Office


Enclosure:  FCC List of Small Entities, October 2002

_________________________

1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).

2 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

3 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

4 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 or any rule or 
regulation of the Commission authorized by 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."

5 47 C.F.R. § 17.21.

6 47 C.F.R. § 17.4.

7 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).

8 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.

9  47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).

10 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied 15 FCC Rcd 303 
(1999).

11 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.

12 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).

13 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).

14 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.

15 47 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).

16  47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.