Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1073
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Frandsen Media Company, LLC
Licensee of FM Broadcast Station KGNT
Smithfield, Utah
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File No.:  EB-09-DV-0090
NAL/Acct. No.:  201132800002  
FRN:  0007714009
Facility ID No.: 38274
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted:  July 28, 2014            Released:  July 29, 2014
By the Regional Director, Western Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. We impose a penalty of $9,200 against Frandsen Media Company, LLC (Frandsen) for 
operating its transmitter at an unauthorized power level and exceeding the Commission’s radio frequency 
exposure limits.  Frandsen does not deny the violations, but requests cancellation or reduction of the 
forfeiture, alleging vandalism at the transmitter site and noting its good faith compliance efforts as well as 
its history of compliance with the Commission’s rules. For the reasons stated below, we decline to cancel
the proposed $14,000 forfeiture, but reduce it to $9,200 based on Frandsen’s good faith compliance 
efforts and history of compliance.
2. Specifically, we issue a monetary forfeiture to Frandsen, licensee of FM broadcast station 
KGNT in Smithfield, Utah, for willfully and repeatedly violating:  (1) Section 1.1310 of the 
Commission’s rules (Rules) by failing to comply with radio frequency radiation (RFR) maximum 
permissible exposure limits applicable to facilities, operations, or transmitters; and (2) Section 73.1560(b) 
of the Rules by operating the Station KGNT transmitter at a power level higher than authorized by its 
license.
1
  
II. BACKGROUND
3. On May 4, 2011, the Enforcement Bureau’s Denver Office (Denver Office) issued a 
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) to Frandsen proposing a $14,000 forfeiture against it for 
apparently violating Section 1.1310 of the Rules by failing to comply with the Commission’s RFR 
maximum permissible exposure limit, and Section 73.1560(b) of the Rules by operating the Station KGNT
transmitter at a power level not authorized by its license.
2
  As reflected in the NAL, agents from the Denver
Office inspected the Station KGNT transmitter site on April 14 and 15, 2010, and found that RFR 
measurements taken in an easily accessible, unfenced area at the transmitter exceeded the maximum 
permitted RFR exposure limits.  The agents also determined that Station KGNT’s effective radiated 
power (ERP) was 156% of the stations authorized ERP.
3
  
                                                     
1
47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1310, 73.1560(b).
2
Frandsen Media Company, LLC, Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 26 FCC Rcd 6600 (Enf. Bur. 2011) 
(NAL).  A comprehensive recitation of the facts and history of this case can be found in the NAL and is incorporated 
herein by reference.     
3
NAL, 26 FCC Rcd at 6600–01, paras. 2–5. 
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1073
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4. Frandsen submitted a response to the NAL requesting cancellation or reduction of the 
forfeiture.
4
In its NAL Response, Frandsen argues that the transmitter site was vandalized prior to the 
Denver Office inspection, and the RFR warning signs that were previously posted at the site were stolen.
5
  
Frandsen also argues that it made good faith efforts to comply with the Rules and has a history of 
compliance with the Rules.
6
  
III. DISCUSSION
5. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance with Section 
503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (Act),
7
Section 1.80 of the Rules,
8
and the 
Forfeiture Policy Statement.
9
  In examining Frandsen’s NAL Response, Section 503(b)(2)(E) 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.
10
  As discussed below, we have fully considered 
Frandsen’s NAL Response in light of these statutory factors and find that reduction of the forfeiture is 
warranted. 
6. Frandsen first argues that the area exceeding the RFR maximum permitted exposure limits 
was appropriately marked with RFR warning signs the “previous Fall,” but was subsequently vandalized 
with all of the signs removed from the multiple posts that marked the area.
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  Consequently, Frandsen argues
the proposed forfeiture should be cancelled consistent with the Commission’s decision in Vernon 
Broadcasting,
12
where the Commission cancelled a forfeiture concerning an AM tower fencing violation
after the licensee provided evidence that the fence had been vandalized in between the licensee’s regularly 
recurring inspections and “shortly before the [FCC] inspection.”
13
  We disagree that a cancellation is 
appropriate here. While Frandsen may be correct that its RFR signs were stolen in an act of vandalism, we 
note that its last inspection of the site was at least five months prior to the Denver Office inspection, unlike 
the regularly occurring inspections referenced in Vernon Broadcasting.  As detailed in the NAL, Frandsen
was aware since at least 2005 that a publicly accessible unfenced area existed around the Station KGNT 
transmitter that exceeded the RFR exposure limits.
14
Given that Frandsen cannot show that the vandalism of 
                                                     
4
See Response of Frandsen Media Company, LLC, to Denver Office, Western Region, Enforcement Bureau (June 
3, 2011) (on file in EB-09-DV-0090) (NAL Response).
5
Id. at 3–8. 
6
Id. at 9.
7
47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
8
47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
9
The Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the 
Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recons. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999) 
(Forfeiture Policy Statement).  
10
47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(E).
11
Response at 3–5. 
12
Vernon Broadcasting Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 60 Rad. Reg. 2d 1275 (1986) (cancelling an AM 
tower fencing violation forfeiture where licensee could show it inspected the fence just prior to the FCC inspection, 
and there was no indication that the licensee was aware of the broken fence or that it had failed to monitor the 
condition of the tower site) (Vernon Broadcasting).  See Response at 7–8.
13
Vernon Broadcasting, 60 Rad. Reg. 2d at 1275, para. 2.
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NAL, 26 FCC Rcd at 6603, para. 9.  In its 2005 renewal application for KGNT, Frandsen detailed the area at the 
site which exceeded the RFR maximum permitted limit and explained the signage and fencing it was maintaining to 
(continued….)
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1073
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the RFR warning signs posted around the area of concern occurred shortly before the Denver Office April 
2010 inspections, we do not believe that Vernon Broadcasting requires that we cancel the proposed 
forfeiture.  However, we do find that the evidence provided by Frandsen shows that the licensee made a 
good faith effort to comply with the RFR Rules, and we reduce forfeiture assessed for the Section 1.1310 
violation by $2,000.
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7. Frandsen also argues for a forfeiture reduction based on its history of compliance with the 
Rules. After reviewing the Commission's records, we agree that a reduction based on Frandsen’s history of 
compliance is warranted, and we reduce the proposed forfeiture by $2,800.  Accordingly, applying the 
Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80 of the Rules, and the statutory factors, we assess a forfeiture of 
$9,200 against Frandsen.  
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Act and Sections 
0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314, and 1.80(f)(4) of the Rules, Frandsen Media Company, LLC, IS LIABLE 
FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount of nine thousand, two hundred dollars ($9,200) for 
violations of Sections 1.1310 and 73.1560(b) of the Rules.
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9. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in Section 1.80 of the 
Rules within thirty (30) calendar days after the release date of this Forfeiture Order.
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If the forfeiture is 
not paid within the period specified, the case may be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice for 
enforcement of the forfeiture pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act.
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Frandsen Media Company, LLC,
shall send electronic notification of payment to WR-Response@fcc.gov on the date said payment is made.  
The payment must be made by check or similar instrument, wire transfer, or credit card, and must include 
the NAL/Account Number and FRN referenced above.  Regardless of the form of payment, a completed 
FCC Form 159 (Remittance Advice) must be submitted.
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  When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the 
Account Number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID) and enter the letters “FORF” in block number 
24A (payment type code). Below are additional instructions you should follow based on the form of 
payment you select:
? Payment by check or money order must be made payable to the order of the Federal 
Communications Commission. Such payments (along with the completed Form 159) must be 
mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-
(Continued from previous page)                                                            
restrict access to the area.  KGNT Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, FCC Form 303-S, File No. 
BRH-20050531BSN, granted September 28, 2005, at Exhibit 13.
15
See, e.g., Sutro Corp., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 15274, 15277, para. 10 (2004) (stating that 
the Commission has “generally provided reductions based on the good faith corrective efforts of a violator when 
those corrective efforts were taken prior to Commission notification of the violation”); Radio One Licenses, Inc.,
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 18 FCC Rcd 15964, 15965, para. 4 (2003) (reductions based on good faith efforts 
to comply generally involve situations where violators demonstrate that they initiated measures to correct or remedy 
violations prior to a Commission inspection or investigation).  By contrast, we decline to reduce the forfeiture for 
the Section 73.1560(b) violation because of the Chief Engineer’s “good faith error” of increasing the power of the 
transmitter immediately before the arrival of the Denver Office agents.  NAL Response at 2.  Inadvertent mistakes 
are not mitigating circumstances that can serve to justify a forfeiture reduction.  See, e.g., Southern California 
Broadcasting Co., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4387, para. 3 (1991).
16
47 U.S.C. § 503(b); 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80(f)(4), 1.1310, 73.1560(b).
17
47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
18
47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
19
An FCC Form 159 and detailed instructions for completing the form may be obtained at 
http://www.fcc.gov/Forms/Form159/159.pdf.
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-1073
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9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank – Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-
GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101.
? Payment by wire transfer must be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank 
TREAS/NYC, and Account Number 27000001. To complete the wire transfer and ensure 
appropriate crediting of the wired funds, a completed Form 159 must be faxed to U.S. Bank 
at (314) 418-4232 on the same business day the wire transfer is initiated.
? Payment by credit card must be made by providing the required credit card information on 
FCC Form 159 and signing and dating the Form 159 to authorize the credit card payment.  
The completed Form 159 must then be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, P.O. 
Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000, or sent via overnight mail to U.S. Bank –
Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 
63101.
10. Any request for making full payment over time under an installment plan should be sent 
to: Chief Financial Officer—Financial Operations, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th 
Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C. 20554.
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  If you have questions regarding payment 
procedures, please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk by phone, 1-877-480-3201, or by 
e-mail, ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov.
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Forfeiture Order shall be sent by both 
First Class Mail and Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, to Frandsen Media Company, LLC, 810 
West 200 North, Logan, Utah, 84323, and to its counsel, Kelly A. Donohue, Esquire, Wilkinson Barker 
Knauer, LLP, 2300 N Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037-1128.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Rebecca L. Dorch
Regional Director, Western Region
Enforcement Bureau
                                                     
20
See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.