*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 30704* Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 In the Matter of Faith Bible College, Inc. Licensee of FM Broadcast Station WTGF Milton, Florida ) ) ) ) ) ) ) File Number EB- 02- TP- 221 NAL/ Acct. No. 200232700010 FRN: 0006- 7335- 47 NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE Released: June 4, 2002 ` By the Enforcement Bureau, Tampa Office: I. INTRODUCTION 1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, we find that Faith Bible College, Inc. (“ Faith”), licensee of FM broadcast station WTGF in Milton, Florida, willfully violated Section 11.35( a) of the Commission's Rules (“ Rules”) by failing to maintain operational Emergency Alert System (“ EAS”) equipment. 1 We conclude that Faith Bible College, Inc. is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($ 8,000). II. BACKGROUND 2. On March 13, 2002, an agent from the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Tampa Field Office inspected Faith’s FM broadcast station WTGF, Milton, Florida. The inspection revealed that the station had EAS equipment installed but the equipment was turned off. WTGF’s Chief of Operations stated that the EAS decoder had a speaker problem and had not been operational for one week. There were no logs available at the time of inspection that indicated any equipment failures, that the equipment was removed from service, or that the station ever conducted the required weekly and monthly EAS tests. III. DISCUSSION 3. Section 11.35( a) of the Rules sets forth that broadcast stations are responsible for ensuring that EAS Encoders, EAS Decoders and Attention Signal generating and receiving equipment used as part of the EAS are installed so that the monitoring and transmitting functions are available during the times the stations are in operation. Additionally, entries must be made in the broadcast station log indicating that EAS equipment has been taken out of service for repair and reasons why required tests were not conducted. 2 On March 13, 2002, the installed EAS equipment at WTGF was turned off and thus incapable of operation. Also, there were no entries in the station log indicating equipment malfunction or 1 47 C. F. R. §§ 11.35( a), 17.4( a) 2 47 C. F. R. § 11.35( a)-( b) 1 2 repair, nor reasons for failure to conduct required EAS tests. 4. Based on the evidence before us, we find that on March 13, 2002, Faith Bible College, Inc. willfully 3 violated Section 11.35( a) of the Rules by failing to maintain operational readiness of its EAS equipment. 5. Pursuant to Section 1.80( b)( 4) of the Rules, the base forfeiture amount for EAS equipment not installed or operational is $8,000. 4 Section 503( b)( 2)( D) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (“ Act”), requires us to 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 Considering the entire record and applying the statutory factors listed above, this case warrants an $8,000 forfeiture. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 503( b) of the Act, 6 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the Rules, 7 Faith Bible College, Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of eight thousand dollars ($ 8,000) for willful violation of Section 11.35( a) of the Commission's Rules. 7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY, Faith Bible College, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture. 8. Payment of the forfeiture may be made 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 must include the FRN and NAL/ Acct. No. referenced in the letterhead above. 9. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12 th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau- Technical & Public Safety Division, and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/ Acct. No. and FRN referenced in the letterhead above. 3 Section 312( f)( 1) of the Act, 47 U. S. C. § 312( f)( 1), which applies equally to Section 503( b) of the Act, provides that “[ t] he term ‘willful, ’ when used with reference to the commission or omission of any act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of such act, irrespective of any intent to violate any provision of this Act ….” See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991). 4 47 C. F. R. § 1.80( b)( 4) 5 47 U. S. C. § 503( b)( 2)( D) 6 47 U. S. C. § 503( b). 7 47 C. F. R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80. 2 3 10. 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. 11. Requests for payment of the full amount of this Notice of Apparent Liability under an installment plan should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S. W., Washington, D. C. 20554. 8 12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Faith Bible College, Inc., 1207 Hamilton Bridge Road, Milton, FL 32570. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Ralph M. Barlow District Director, Tampa Office Enforcement Bureau 8 See 47 C. F. R. § 1.1914. 3