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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Lycom Communications, Inc. ) File No. EB-03-CF-484
Owner of Antenna Structure number 1242391 )
Near Louisa, Kentucky ) NAL/Acct. No. 200432340003
)
) FRN 0008-0624-14
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted: December 22, 2004 Released: December 28,
2004
By the Assistant 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 Lycom Communications, Inc.
(``Lycom''), owner of Antenna Structure number 1242391,
for willful and repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 The noted
violation involves Lycom's failure to register its
antenna structure.
2. On February 27, 2004, the Commission's Columbia,
Maryland, Field Office (``Columbia Office'') issued a
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (``NAL'') to
Lycom for a forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 to Lycom
for willful and repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of
the Rules.2 Lycom filed its response to the NAL on
March 23, 2004.
II. BACKGROUND
3. On July 16, 2003, an agent from the Columbia Office
inspected an antenna structure located near Louisa,
Kentucky (``the Louisa tower''), at 38º 05' 18'' North
Latitude, 82º 36' 44'' West Longitude. The Commission's
Antenna Structure Registration (``ASR'') data base
showed that there was no registered antenna structure at
that location. The agent determined through his
investigation that Lycom owns the Louisa tower. The
Commisssion's ``towpub'' data base3 indicates that the
Federal Aviation Administration (``FAA'') assigned
painting and lighting requirements to the Louisa tower
on June 10, 1966.4
4. On February 27, 2004, the Columbia Office issued a NAL
for a forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 to Lycom for
willful and repeated violation of Section 17.4(a) of the
Rules. In its response, Lycom admits that it did not
register the Louisa tower but seeks cancellation of the
proposed monetary forfeiture on the basis of the efforts
of its contractor, Francis Technical Services
(``Francis''), to register the antenna structure. Lycom
also argues that it never intended to make use of the
Louisa tower and would have dismantled it but for
Francis's request to use it.
5. The ASR data base indicates that Lycom registered the
Louisa tower on March 8, 2004.
III. DISCUSSION
6. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was
assessed in accordance with Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (``Act''),5
Section 1.80 of the Rules,6 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) (``Policy Statement''). Section
503(b) of the Act requires that the Commission, in
examining Lycom's response, 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 such other matters as justice may require.7
7. Section 17.4(a) of the Rules requires the owners of
existing antenna structures that were assigned painting
or lighting requirements before July 1, 1996, to
register those antenna structures with the Commission no
later than July 1, 1998.8 Lycom concedes that the
Louisa tower was unregistered until March 8, 2004. We
find that Lycom willfully9 and repeatedly10 violated
Section 17.4(a) of the Rules by failing to register its
antenna structure.
8. Lycom argues that Francis's efforts to register the
Louisa tower warrant cancellation of the proposed
monetary forfeiture. No mitigation is warranted on
that basis. Lycom did not engage Francis as its agent
until after the FCC agent inspected the Louisa tower and
informed Lycom that the tower was unregistered. As the
Commission stated in Seawest Yacht Brokers, 9 FCC Rcd
6099, 6099 (1994), ``corrective action taken to come
into compliance with Commission rules or policy is
expected, and does not nullify or mitigate any prior
forfeitures or violations.'' 11
9. Lycom's argument that it never intended to make use of
the Louisa tower and, but for Francis's request to use
the tower, would have dismantled it is not material. As
owner of the Louisa tower, Lycom is responsible for it.
10. We have examined Lycom's response to the NAL pursuant
to the statutory factors above, and in conjunction with
the Policy Statement as well. As a result of our
review, we conclude that Lycom willfully and repeatedly
violated Section 17.4(a) of the Rules and that neither
cancellation nor reduction of the proposed $3,000
monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act, and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80(f)(4) of the Rules,12 Lycom IS LIABLE FOR A
MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of three thousand
dollars ($3,000) for failure to register its antenna
structure, in willful and repeated violation of Section
17.4(a) of the Rules.
12. 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.13 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 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. Requests for full payment under an installment
plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and Receivables
Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20554.14
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall
be sent by First Class and Certified Mail Return Receipt
Requested to Lycom Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 1114,
Louisa, Kentucky, and to its counsel, Ernest M. Pitt,
Jr., Esq., Holbrook & Pitt, 200 Federal Building, 1500
Carter Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
George R. Dillon
Assistant Chief, Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 17.4 (a).
2 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No.
200432340003 (Enf. Bur., Columbia Office, released February 27,
2004).
3 The ``towpub'' data base contains information about antenna
structures that were assigned painting and lighting requirements
before the ASR requirement went into effect on July 1, 1996.
4 FAA Study CLE-OE-66-158.
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 Lycom's tower was assigned painting and lighting requirements
before July 1, 1996, by FAA Study CLE-OE-66-158.
9 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,'
... 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).
10 As 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).
11 See also Callais Cablevision, Inc., 17 FCC Rcd 22626, 22629
(2002); Radio Station KGVL, Inc., 42 FCC 2d 258, 259 (1973); and
Executive Broadcasting Corp., 3 FCC 2d 699, 700 (1966).
12 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4).
13 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
14 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.