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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-04-DL-066
Steve Williams )
d.b.a. American Broadcasting of ) NAL/Acct. No. 200432500003
Texas )
Owner of Three Unregistered ) FRN 0005003868
Antenna Structures )
In )
Waco, TX
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: September 7, 2004
Released: September 9, 2004
By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (``Order''), we issue a
monetary forfeiture in the amount of three thousand dollars
($3,000) to Steve Williams d.b.a. American Broadcasting of
Texas (``Williams''), owner of a three-tower directional
array located at or near geographical coordinates 31º 34'
10''N and 97º 00'01''W, Waco, Texas, for willful and
repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the Commission's
Rules (``Rules'').1 The noted violation involves Williams's
failure to register the three-tower directional array with
the Commission.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 2, 2004, two agents from the Commission's
Dallas Field Office (``Dallas Office'') inspected a three-
tower directional array located at or near geographical
coordinates 31º 34' 10''N and 97º 00'01''W (three towers) in
Waco, Texas. The agents noted that the structures were
painted and fitted with red lighting. A sign was posted on
the property entrance, which stated ``Tower Registration
Number Pending'' and ``KBBW-AM radio Facility #1322.''
3. On April 8, 2004, agents from the Dallas Office
checked the Commission's Antenna Structure Registration
(``ASR'') database and found that these towers were not
registered.
4. On April 13, 2004, a Letter of Inquiry (``LOI'')
was sent to Williams concerning the three towers. In his
April 27, 2004 response, Williams stated he acquired the
towers when he bought Station KBBW(AM) on June 11, 1986.
Williams also stated that he completed the registration
paperwork for the three towers when the ASR system was
implemented, but failed to submit the registration for
filing.
5. On July 9, 2004, the Dallas Office issued a Notice
of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Williams in the
amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for the apparent
willful and repeated failure to register each of the three
towers as required by Section 17.4(a) of the Rules.2 In its
response, Williams requests cancellation or reduction of the
proposed forfeiture because Williams fully complied with the
Commission's requests in its LOI and initiated steps to
ensure that the three towers are registered. Specifically,
following receipt of the LOI, Williams hired a surveyor to
verify the coordinates of the towers and an engineering firm
to submit the necessary studies to the Federal Aviation
Administration (``FAA'') to obtain a no hazard
determination. Williams asserts it will immediately
register the three towers after it receives an FAA no hazard
determination.
III. DISCUSSION
6. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was
assessed in accordance with Section 503(b) of the Act,3
Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules (``Rules''),4 and The
Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of
Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture
Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC
Rcd 303 (1999) (``Forfeiture Policy Statement''). In
examining Williams's response, Section 503(b) of the Act
requires that the Commission take into account 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.5
7. Section 17.4(a) of the Rules provides that the
owner of any proposed or existing antenna structure that
requires notice of proposed construction to the FAA must
register the structure with the Commission. Williams's
antenna structures required notification to the FAA because
each of the structures exceeded 200 feet in height.6
Therefore, each of Williams's antenna structures required
Commission registration. Williams stated that it acquired
the three towers in 1986. Williams also admitted that it
completed the registration paperwork to register the three
towers when the ASR system was implemented but failed to
submit the paperwork. Finally, Williams admits in its
response that the three antenna structures are still not
registered, nearly eight years after they were first
required to be registered, because it has not yet received a
no hazard determination from the FAA.
8. Williams asserts that the forfeiture should be
reduced or cancelled because it took prompt action to comply
with the registration requirements by seeking a no hazard
determination from the FAA after it received the LOI.
Williams's remedial actions, however, to correct promptly
violations after they have been identified by an agent is
expected and does not warrant a reduction in the forfeiture
amount.7
9. We have examined Williams's response to the NAL
pursuant to the statutory factors above, and in conjunction
with the Forfeiture Policy Statement. As a result of our
review, we conclude that Williams willfully8 and repeatedly9
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Rules and find no basis for
cancellation or reduction of the $3,000 forfeiture proposed
for these violations. Moreover, Williams should register
the three towers promptly after it receives a no hazard
determination by the FAA and must notify us when
registration is complete.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of the
Commission's Rules,10 Steve Williams d.b.a. American
Broadcasting of Texas IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in
the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for willfully
and repeatedly violating Section 17.4(a) of the Rules.
11. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the
manner provided for in Section 1.80 of the Rules 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.11 Payment by check or money
order may be mailed to Forfeiture Collection Section,
Finance Branch, Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box
73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. Payment by overnight
mail may be sent to Bank One/LB 73482, 525 West Monroe, 8th
Floor Mailroom, Chicago, IL 60661. Payment by wire
transfer may be made to ABA Number 071000013, receiving bank
Bank One, and account number 1165259. The payment should
note NAL/Acct. No. 200432500003, and FRN 0005003868.
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. 20554.12
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section
308(b) of the Act,13 Steve Williams d.b.a. American
Broadcasting of Texas must submit a report stating whether
he has successfully registered the three towers, no more
than thirty (30) days following a determination of no hazard
by the FAA, to the Federal Communications Commission,
Enforcement Bureau, South Central Region, 520 NE Colbern
Road, Lee's Summit, MO 64086, Attention: Regional Counsel.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order
shall be sent by First Class and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Steve Williams d.b.a. American
Broadcasting of Texas, Radio Station KBBW-AM, 1019
Washington St., Waco, TX 76701 and Mark N. Lipp, Counsel for
Steve Williams, Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P., 1455 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004-1008.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
David H. Solomon
Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
147 C.F.R. § 17.4(a).
2Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200432500003 (Enf. Bur., Dallas Office, July 9, 2004)
(``NAL''). The amount of the proposed forfeiture was equal
to the base forfeiture amount for such a violation.
347 U.S.C. § 503(b).
447 C.F.R. § 1.80.
547 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
6See 47 C.F.R. § 17.7(a).
7See AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd 21861, 21864-
75 (2002); Sonderling Broadcasting Corp., 69 FCC 2d 289,
291 (1978); Odino Joseph, 18 FCC Rcd 16522, 16524, para. 8
(Enf. Bur. 2003); South Central Communications Corp., 18
FCC Rcd 700, 702-03, para. 9 (Enf. Bur. 2003); Northeast
Utilities, 17 FCC Rcd 4115, 4117, para. 13 (Enf. Bur.
2002).
8Section 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,' ... 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).
9As provided by 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), a continuous
violation is ``repeated'' if it continues for more than one
day. The Conference Report for Section 312(f)(2)
indicates that Congress intended to apply this definition
to Section 503 of the Act as well as Section 312. See H.R.
Rep. 97th Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982). See Southern
California Broadcasting Company, 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4388
(1991) and Western Wireless Corporation, 18 FCC Rcd 10319
at fn. 56 (2003).
1047 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
1147 U.S.C. § 504(a).
12See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.
1347 U.S.C. § 308(b).