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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File Number EB-04-TP-098
GB Enterprises Communications )
Corp. ) NAL/Acct. No. 200532700011
Licensee of WHNR )
1505 Dundee Road ) FRN 0009590217
Winter Haven, Florida 33884
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released:
August 30, 2005
By the District Director, Tampa Field Office, South Central
Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find that GB Enterprises
Communications Corp (``GB Enterprises''), licensee of radio
station WHNR-AM, in Cypress Gardens, Florida, apparently
willfully and repeatedly violated Sections 73.49 and 73.3526
of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'')1 by failing to enclose
its antenna structures within effective locked fences and
failing to maintain a complete public inspection file. We
conclude, pursuant to section 503(b) of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''), that GB Enterprises is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of ten
thousand five hundred dollars ($10,500).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 22, 2004, agents from the Commission's
Tampa, Florida Office of the Enforcement Bureau (``Tampa
Office'') inspected radio station WHNR-AM at its
studio/transmitter site located on 1505 Dundee Road, Winter
Haven, Florida. The Tampa Office issued a Notice of
Violation to GB Enterprises for various violations of the
Rules, including violations of Sections 73.49 and 73.3526,
for failing to enclose its antenna structures within
effective locked fences and failing to maintain a complete
public inspection file.2 GB Enterprises responded to the
Notice of Violation on November 29, 2004 and claimed to have
corrected the noted violations.
3. On January 13, 2005, agents from the Tampa Office
inspected radio station WHNR-AM at its studio/transmitter
site located on 1505 Dundee Road, Winter Haven, Florida. At
the time of the inspection, the station's public file was
missing the manual entitled "The Public and Broadcasting"
and its radio issues/programs list. The agents also
observed an approximately one-foot gap between the gate and
fence of one of the station's antenna structures and a
missing gate for another structure's fence.
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 thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture
penalty. The term ``willful'' as used in Section 503(b) has
been interpreted to mean simply that the acts or omissions
are committed knowingly.3 The term ``repeated'' means the
commission or omission of such act more than once or for
more than one day.4
5. Section 73.49 of the Rules requires that antenna
towers having radio frequency potential at the base (series
fed, folded unipole, and insulated base antennas) must be
enclosed within effective locked fences or other
enclosures.5 Individual tower fences need not be installed
if the towers are contained within a protective property
fence. On March 22, 2004, agents from the Tampa Office
inspected WHNR's three antenna structure array and found
that the fences surrounding antenna structures one and two
were not locked and that those fences had fallen down in
several places. In response to the Notice of Violation, GB
Enterprises stated that it did not know how the fences
became damaged and that it repaired the fences shortly after
the inspection. However, it also stated in its response
that, following those repairs, its fences were damaged by
hurricanes and that the additional repairs would be
completed soon. On January 13, 2005 agents from the Tampa
Office again inspected WHNR's three antenna structure array
and noticed that the fences surrounding antenna structures
one and two appeared similar to their condition on March 22,
2004, except that there were locks and chains attached to
the gates. The agents also observed that the fence
surrounding antenna structure three was missing its gate and
that there was an approximately one-foot gap between the
gate and the fence surrounding antenna structure two.
Because the fences surrounding the antenna structures had
large gaps and/or missing gates, the station's antenna
structures were not enclosed within effective locked fences.
Moreover, the agents observed that there was no protective
property fence surrounding the perimeter of the property.
6. Section 73.3526 of the Rules requires AM and FM
broadcast stations to maintain for public inspection a
public inspection file containing the material, relating to
that station, described in paragraphs (e)(1) through
(e)(10), (e)(12), (e)(13), and (e)(14) of this section.6 On
March 22, 2004, agents from the Tampa Office requested to
inspect the station's public file. The public file was
missing the written designation of the chief operator, the
most recent ownership report, the Political File, the ``The
Public and Broadcasting'' manual, and the radio
issues/programs list. On January 13, 2005, agents from the
Tampa Office again found that station's public file was
incomplete. The file was missing the most recent version of
``The Public and Broadcasting'' manual and the radio
issues/programs list.
7. Based on the evidence before us, we find GB
Enterprises apparently willfully and repeatedly violated
Sections 73.49 and 73.3526 of the Rules by failing to
enclose its antenna structures within effective locked
fences and failing to maintain a complete public inspection
file.
8. 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"), and Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,7 the base
forfeiture amount for AM tower fencing (failure to enclose
antenna structures within effective locked fences) is seven
thousand dollars ($7,000). Although the base forfeiture
amount for violation of the public file rules is ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), because WHNR-AM's public file
contained a portion of the required items, a downward
adjustment of the base forfeiture amount for this violation
to $3,500 is warranted. 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.8 Considering the entire record and applying the
factors listed above, we conclude that GB Enterprises is
apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $10,500.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended,9 and Sections 0.111, 0.311, 0.314 and 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules,10 GB Enterprises Communications Corp. is
hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE
in the amount of ten thousand five hundred dollars ($10,500)
for willfully and repeatedly violating Sections 73.49 and
73.3526 of the Rules.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, GB Enterprises Communications Corp. SHALL PAY the
full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a
written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture.
11. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal
Communications Commission. The payment must include the
NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No. referenced above. Payment
by check or money order may be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 358340, Pittsburgh, PA
15251-8340. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to Mellon
Bank /LB 358340, 500 Ross Street, Room 1540670, Pittsburgh,
PA 15251. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA
Number 043000261, receiving bank Mellon Bank, and account
number 911-6106.
12. Requests for payment of the full amount of this
NAL under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief,
Revenue and Receivable Operations Group, 445 12th Street,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.11
13. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Field
Office, 2203 N. Lois Avenue, Suite 1215, Tampa, Florida
33607 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
14. 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.
15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to GB Enterprises Communications Corp. at
its address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ralph M. Barlow
District Director
Tampa Office
South Central Region, Enforcement
Bureau
_________________________
147 C.F.R. §§ 73.49, 73.3526.
2Notice of Violation, NOV No. V20043270006 (Enf. Bur., Tampa
Office, May 5, 2004).
3Section 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).
4Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which
also applies to violations for which forfeitures are
assessed under 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.''
547 C.F.R. § 73.49.
647 C.F.R. § 73.3526.
747 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
847 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
947 U.S.C. § 503(b).
1047 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80.
11See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.