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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-01-ST-014
Palouse Country, Inc. )
) NAL/Acct. No.
200132980002
Licensee of Station KMAX(AM) )
) FRN 0001-5660-74
Colfax, Washington )
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: January 2, 2002 Released: January 4,
2002
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (``Order''), we issue a
monetary forfeiture in the amount of eight thousand dollars
($8,000) to Palouse Country, Inc. (``Palouse''), licensee of
Station KMAX(AM), for willful violation of the following Sections
of the Commission's Rules ("Rules"): 73.1400(a)(1)(ii) (operating
KMAX(AM) without required monitors); 73.1560(a) (failure to
operate in compliance with the station license regarding power);
73.1580 (failure to perform periodic complete inspections of the
transmitting system); and 73.1870(c)(3) (failure to provide
verification that the station has been operating as required by
the Rules or the station authorization by making appropriate
entries into the station log).1
II. BACKGROUND
2. On January 12, 2001, the FCC's Seattle, Washington
District Office ("Seattle Office") received information from the
Enforcement Bureau's Technical and Public Safety Division
indicating that KMAX(AM) was not reducing its power at night as
required. On January 17 and 18, 2001, an agent from the Seattle
Office monitored the on-air signal of KMAX(AM), took field
strength measurements, and conducted an inspection of KMAX(AM),
all of which resulted in the discovery of the aforementioned
violations. On March 1, 2001, the District Director of the
Seattle Office issued a Notice of Violation ("NOV") to Palouse.
On March 28, 2001, Palouse submitted a response to the NOV in
which it claimed to have corrected the violations. Palouse also
requested the Commission to consider its past operational history
and good faith efforts to correct the violations. On August 30,
2001, the District Director of the Seattle Office issued a Notice
of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL")2 to Palouse in the
amount of $10,000. On October 5, 2001, Palouse filed a response
to the NAL.3 In its response, Palouse does not dispute the
violations. Rather, it asserts that payment of the forfeiture
amount would cause severe hardship.
III. DISCUSSION
3. Although other factors can be considered, the best
indication of a company's ability to pay a forfeiture amount is
its gross receipts.4 In support of its claim of financial
hardship, Palouse has submitted financial data for the years
1999, 2000, and two months of 2001. After reviewing the
financial data submitted, we find no evidence in Palouse's
response that would support a hardship-based reduction of the
forfeiture amount. The proposed forfeiture amount of $10,000 is
not excessive in light of Palouse's gross revenues. Further, we
note that although Palouse claims to have corrected the
violations, its remedial actions, while commendable, are not a
mitigating factor.5 However, after considering Palouse's overall
history of compliance with the Commission's Rules, we conclude
that it is appropriate to reduce the forfeiture from $10,000 to
$8,000.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
4. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''),6
and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of the Rules,7 Palouse
Country, Inc. IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount
of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) for violating Sections
73.1400(a)(1)(ii), 73.1560(a), 73.1580, and 73.1870(c)(3) of the
Rules.
5. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner
provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules,8 within 30 days of the
release of this Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the
period specified, the case may be referred to the Department of
Justice for collection pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act.9
Payment shall be made by mailing a check or similar instrument,
payable to the order of the "Federal Communications Commission,"
to the Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482,
Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note NAL/Acct.
No. 200132980002, and FRN 0001-5660-74. Requests for full
payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief,
Revenue and Receivables Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554.10
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, a copy of this Order shall
be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to counsel for
Palouse Country, Inc., Jerrold Miller, Esq. at Miller & Miller,
P.C., 1990 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.1400(a)(1)(ii), 73.1560(a), 73.1580, and
73.1870(c)(3).
2 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200132980002 (Enf. Bur., Seattle Office, released August 30,
2001).
3 Palouse's response to the NAL was untimely. See 47 C.F.R.
§ 1.80(f)(3). Nevertheless, we address herein the arguments
raised in the response.
4 See PJB Communications of Virginia, Inc., 7 FCC Rcd 2088,
2089 (1992).
5 See American InfoAge, LLC, 16 FCC Rcd 16185 (Enf. Bur.
2001), citing Station KGVL, Inc., 42 FCC 2d 258, 259 (1973).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
7 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
8 47 C.F.R. ' 1.80.
9 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.