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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of )
Electronic Corporate Pages, Inc. ) File No. EB-09-HU-0060
Owner of Antenna Structure ) NAL/Acct. No. 201032540001
ASR # 1048971 ) FRN 0014645576
Florence, Texas )
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: October 8, 2009
By the Resident Agent, Houston Office, South Central Region, Enforcement
Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL"), we find
that Electronic Corporate Pages, Inc. ("ECPI"), owner of antenna
structure number 1048971, in Florence, Texas, apparently willfully and
repeatedly violated Sections 17.51(b) and 17.57 of the Commission's
Rules ("Rules") by failing to exhibit all medium intensity obstruction
lighting as specified and failing to notify immediately the Commission
upon change in ownership information. We conclude, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"), that
ECPI is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of thirteen
thousand dollars ($13,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On August 11, 2009, the Commission's Houston Office of the Enforcement
Bureau ("Houston Office") received a complaint stating that antenna
structure number 1048971 was unlit and the owner listed in the
registration could not be reached. On that date, an agent from the
Houston Office consulted the Commission's Antenna Structure
Registration ("ASR") database and noted that Clifford Langford was
listed as the owner of antenna structure number 1048971.
3. On September 2, 2009, agents from the Houston Office inspected antenna
structure number 1048971. According to the registration for ASR number
1048971, the antenna structure is to display medium intensity
obstruction lighting during both daytime and nighttime operation.
During the daytime, the agents observed that the structure's medium
intensity obstruction lights were not operational. The agents asked a
person conducting work on the tower the name of the current tower
owner. The worker stated that antenna structure number 1048971 was
owned by ECPI. Agents contacted the owner of ECPI, who stated he
purchased the antenna structure in January 2009 and had not updated
the registration to reflect the new ownership. The owner, who was
unaware of the outage, also stated the obstruction lighting for
antenna structure number 1048971 was not currently being monitored by
daily visual observations or by an automatic alarm system. Later that
day, after inspecting the tower, the owner informed the agent that the
electricity to the structure had been turned off. The owner added that
the power had been restored and that the lights were now functioning
properly.
4. On September 4, 2009, ECPI's owner informed an agent from the Houston
Office that the individual who was visually monitoring the obstruction
lighting recently moved away. The owner did not know when the
individual moved away and admitted that no other person had been hired
to resume the daily observations.
5. On September 8, 2009, ECPI's owner informed an agent from the Houston
office that a person had been hired to monitor visually the lights on
antenna structure number 1048971 on a daily basis until an automatic
monitoring system is functional.
III. DISCUSSION
6. 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) of the Act has
been interpreted to mean simply that the acts or omissions are
committed knowingly. The term "repeated" means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or for more than one day.
7. Section 17.51(b) of the Rules requires that all medium intensity
obstruction lighting be exhibited as specified. Section 17.47 of the
Rules requires owners of antenna structures to observe structure
lights visually once every 24 hours to ensure that all lights are
functioning properly as required or employ an automatic alarm system
designed to detect any failure in the lights. Antenna structure number
1048971 is required to display medium intensity obstruction lighting
during both daytime and nighttime operation. On September 2, 2009,
agents from the Houston Office observed that the medium intensity
obstruction lighting on antenna structure number 1048971 was not
functioning. ECPI was not monitoring the antenna structure lights once
daily and did not have a functioning automatic alarm system.
Accordingly, ECPI was unaware of the lighting outage prior to the
inspection. ECPI also discovered that the electricity to the antenna
structure had been disconnected for an undisclosed period of time.
Accordingly, the lights on antenna structure number 1048971 were not
functioning on more than one day. ECPI was aware that the lights on
its antenna structure were not being monitored for multiple days. Its
failure to monitor the lights prevented it from detecting the repeated
outage.
8. Section 17.57 of the Rules requires that the owner of an antenna
structure for which an Antenna Structure Registration Number has been
obtained must immediately notify the Commission upon any change in
ownership information. ECPI purchased antenna structure number 1048971
in January 2009. As of September 2, 2009, the previous owner was still
listed on the antenna structure registration as the current owner. On
September 2, 2009, ECPI's owner admitted that he had not updated the
structure's ownership information.
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find that ECPI apparently
willfully and repeatedly violated Sections 17.51(b) and 17.57 of the
Rules by failing to exhibit all medium intensity obstruction lighting
as specified and failing to immediately notify the Commission upon
change in ownership information.
10. 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 of the Rules, the
base forfeiture amount for failing to comply with prescribed lighting
is $10,000 and the base forfeiture amount for failing to file required
forms or information 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)(E) of the Act, which include the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations, and with respect
to the violator, the degree of culpability, and history of prior
offenses, ability to pay, and other such matters as justice may
require. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80 of the
Rules, and the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude that
ECPI is apparently liable for a $13,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311,
0.314 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, Electronic Corporate Pages,
Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in
the amount of thirteen thousand dollars ($13,000) for violations of
Sections 17.51(b) and 17.57 of the Rules.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the
Commission's Rules within thirty days of the release date of this
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Electronic Corporate
Pages, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or
SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of
the proposed forfeiture.
13. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by credit card, check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission. The payment must include the Account Number and FRN Number
referenced above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to
Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO
63197-9000. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to U.S. Bank -
Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St.
Louis, MO 63101. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number
021030004, receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001. For
payment by credit card, an FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be
submitted. When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account
number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the letters
"FORF" in block number 24A (payment type code). Requests for full
payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief Financial
Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625,
Washington, D.C. 20554.8 If you have questions, please contact the
Financial Operations Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email:
ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. If payment is made, ECPI will send electronic
notification on the date said payment is made to
SCR-Response@fcc.gov.
14. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, South Central Region, Houston Office,
9597 Jones Road #362, Houston, Texas, 77065 and must include the
NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the caption.
15. 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.
16. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability
for Forfeiture shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, and regular mail, to Electronic Corporate Pages, Inc. at
its address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Lee R. Browning
Resident Agent,
Houston Office
South Central Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S:S: 17.51(b), 17.57.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
In response to a complaint they received about the tower, the Federal
Aviation Administration ("FAA") issued a Notice to Airmen regarding
antenna structure number 1048971.
Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. S: 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. S: 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."
47 C.F.R. S: 17.47.
ECPI did not notify the FAA of the lighting outage. See 47 C.F.R. S:
17.48.
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R.
S:1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b), 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80, 17.51(b)
and 17.57.
8 See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
(...continued from previous page)
(continued....)
Federal Communications Commission
4
Federal Communications Commission