******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect or Word to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the Word or WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) WS COMMUNICATIONS, L.L.C. ) File No. 99030159 ) NAL/Acct. No. X32080007 Licensee of Station KWGL(FM) ) JJS Ouray, Colorado ) ) NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Adopted: March 15, 2000 Released: March 16, 2000 By the Chief, Enforcement Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we find that WS Communications, L.L.C. (``WS''), licensee of station KWGL(FM), Ouray, Colorado, apparently violated Section 73.3526 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526, by not maintaining a public inspection file from February 1999 through August 1999. We also find that WS violated the former version of the same rule from December 1997 through October 1998 by failing to keep its public inspection file in its community of license. We conclude that WS is apparently liable for a ten thousand dollar ($10,000) forfeiture. II. BACKGROUND 2. On February 26, 1999, the Mass Media Bureau received a complaint alleging that WS and Western Slope Communications, L.L.C. (``Western Slope''), a commonly-owned limited-liability company and the licensee of KZKS(FM), Rifle, Colorado, were not in compliance with the Commission's main studio and public inspection file requirements.1 As a result of that complaint, the Commission sent WS and Western Slope a letter of inquiry on August 3, 1999. 3. WS and Western Slope responded to the Commission's letter of inquiry on September 16, 1999. With respect to KWGL(FM), WS stated that from the time it acquired the station in April 1995 until February 1999, the public inspection file was maintained at its main studio in Ridgway, Colorado. From February 1999, when WS moved its main studio, through August 1999, WS did not maintain a public inspection file for KWGL(FM) at any location. In August 1999, WS established the public inspection file at the Ouray Public Library in Ouray, Colorado. In September 1999, WS also established its public inspection file at its current main studio location in Montrose, Colorado. 4. WS states that it has taken steps to avoid future violations of the Commission's public inspection file rule by replacing the station's General Manager with a new Station Manager, ``who is aware of the Commission's public file requirements and is committed to fully complying with those requirements.'' III. DISCUSSION 5. Section 73.3526(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(a), requires all licensees of commercial broadcast stations to maintain a public inspection file containing certain designated information. Section 73.3526(b) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(b), currently requires that the public inspection file be maintained at the main studio. This requirement became effective on October 30, 1998. See 63 Fed. Reg. 56578 (October 22, 1998). Prior to October 30, 1998, a station whose main studio was located outside the community of license was required, with one exception not pertinent here, to maintain its public inspection file at an accessible location in its community of license. See former Section 73.3526(d) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(d) (1997). 6. WS violated the current rule from February 1999, when it ceased maintaining a public inspection file, until September 1999, when it reestablished the public inspection file at its main studio in Montrose. We note that while the file was placed in Ouray in August 1999, that file was not established in the proper location. WS also violated the former version of the rule from the time it acquired the station in April 1995 until the rule was changed on October 30, 1998 because it did not keep the public inspection file in the community of license. For this violation, we will assess a forfeiture only for the period from December 11, 1997 until October 30, 1998 because WS' application for renewal of license was granted on December 11, 1997,2 and a forfeiture for violations prior to that time is barred by the statute of limitations. See 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(6)(A). 7. Section 503(b) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 503(b) and Section 1.80(a) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(a), each state that any person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with the provisions of the Communications Act or the Commission's rules shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty. For purposes of Section 503(b) of the Communications Act, the term ``willful'' means that the violator knew it was taking the action in question, irrespective of any intent to violate the Commission's rules. See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4387-4388 (1991). Furthermore, a continuing violation is ``repeated'' if it lasts more than one day. Id., 6 FCC Rcd at 4388. 8. The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement sets a base forfeiture amount of $10,000 for public file violations. The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 12 FCC Rcd 17087, 17113 (1997), recon. denied FCC 99-407 (released December 28, 1999). In this case, the existence of multiple violations, the duration of the violations, and WS's total failure to maintain a public inspection file for a six-month period are aggravating factors. On the other hand, we note that, during the earlier violation, WS maintained a public inspection file (although at the wrong location). While WS has replaced personnel in order to prevent future violations, those remedial efforts do not excuse prior violations. See Sonderling Broadcasting Corp., 69 FCC 2d 289, 291 (Broadcast Bureau 1977), citing Executive Broadcasting Corp., 3 FCC 2d 699 (1966). Considering the records as a whole, we believe that a $10,000 forfeiture is appropriate for the violations in this case. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 9. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 503(b), and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80, that WS Communications, L.L.C. is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 73.3526 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Commission's rules, that within thirty days of the release of this Notice, WS SHALL PAY to the United States 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 may be made by credit card through the Commission's Credit and Debt Management Center at (202) 418-1995 or by mailing a check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482. The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. referenced above. 12. The response, if any, must be mailed to Charles W. Kelley, Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W, Room 3-B443, Washington DC 20554 and MUST INCLUDE the file number listed above. 13. 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. 14. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Credit and Debt Management Center, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914. 15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice shall be sent, by Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested, to WS Communications, L.L.C., c/o Brill & Meisel, 488 Madison Avenue, Suite 500, New York, New York 10022, and to WS' counsel, Tom W. Davidson, Esq., Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION David H. Solomon Chief, Enforcement Bureau _________________________ 1 At the time of the complaint, the call sign of WS's station was KURA(FM). The call sign of the station was changed to KWGL on March 1, 1999. For ease of reference, we will use the current call letters when referring to the station. The remaining allegations in the complaint will be addressed separately. 2 See Broadcast Actions, Report No. 44139 (released December 11, 1997) (File No. BRH-19961202Q1).