Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
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
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
) File No. EB-02-PA-371
)
Mega Communications of Camden Licensee, L.L.C. )
NAL/Acct. No. 200332400011
WEMG )
New York, New York ) FRN: 0006-14-5031
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 28, 2003
By the District Director, Philadelphia Office, Enforcement
Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
(``NAL''), we find that Mega Communications of Camden Licensee,
L.L.C. (``Mega''), the licensee of broadcast station WEMG(AM),
Camden, New Jersey, has apparently violated Section 11.35(a) of
the Commission's Rules (the ``Rules'').1 This section requires
that stations make entries in the logs indicating the reasons why
any Emergency Alert System (``EAS'') tests were not received. We
conclude that Mega is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On November 18, 2002, an agent from the Enforcement
Bureau's Philadelphia Office inspected the EAS equipment of
station WEMG. The EAS equipment was located at the station's
main studio at 1080 North Delaware Avenue, Suite 500,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19125-4330. During the inspection,
the agent found that WEMG was monitoring only one broadcast
station for EAS activations. WEMG had connected two radio
receivers to the EAS equipment to monitor the broadcasts of
stations WKDN and WPST. However, only one radio receiver was
properly tuned and monitoring the broadcasts of WKDN. The other
radio receiver was not monitoring the broadcasts of any station
because the unit's tuning had drifted.
3. The agent reviewed the EAS logs for station WEMG to
determine if it was receiving all of the EAS tests from broadcast
stations WKDN and WPST. The agent found that WEMG failed to
receive a Required Weekly Test (``RWT'') from WPST between March
13, 2002 and May 12, 2002, between May 15, 2002 and November 2,
2002 and between November 4, 2002 and November 18, 2002. There
were no entries in the WEMG station logs explaining the reason
why the EAS tests were not received.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 11.35 of the Rules requires that AM 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 monitoring and
transmitting functions are available during the time the station
and system are in operation. Additionally, broadcast stations
must determine the cause of any failure to receive tests or
activations specified in Section 11.61(a)(1) and (2).2
Appropriate entries must be made in the broadcast station log as
specified in Section 73.1820 and 73.1840 of this chapter
indicating the reasons why any tests were not received.3 WEMG
failed to receive a RWT from WPST between March 13, 2002 and May
12, 2002, between May 15, 2002 and November 2, 2002 and between
November 4, 2002 and November 18, 2002. There were no entries in
the WEMG EAS logs explaining why the EAS tests were not received,
or any indication that the station's chief operator or other
personnel attempted to identify the source of any problem with
the EAS equipment.
5. Based on the evidence before us, we find that WEMG
willfully4 and repeatedly5 violated Section 11.35(a) of the
Rules. The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and
Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the
Forfeiture Guidelines, 12 FCC Rcd 17087, 17113 (1997), recon.
denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303(1999) (``Forfeiture Policy Statement''),6
sets the base forfeiture amount for failure to maintain required
records at $1,000. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount,
we must take into account the statutory factors set forth in
Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of 1934,7 (the
``Act''), as amended, which include 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. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement and the
statutory factors to the instant case and applying the inflation
adjustments, we believe that a one thousand dollar ($1,000)
monetary forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Act,8 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the
Rules,9 Mega is hereby NOTIFIED of its APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A
FORFEITURE in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for its
failure to maintain required records.
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, Mega 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 should note the
NAL/Acct. No. 200332400011 and FRN: 0006-14-5031.
9. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Technical and
Public Safety Division, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20554 and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct. No. 200332400011 and FRN:
0006-14-5031.
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: Chief, Revenue and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th
Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.10
12. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002,
Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002), the FCC is
engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding the size of
entities involved in forfeitures. If you qualify as a small
entity and if you wish to be treated as a small entity for
tracking purposes, please so certify to us within thirty (30)
days of this NAL, either in your response to the NAL or in a
separate filing to be sent to the Technical and Public Safety
Division. Your certification should indicate whether you,
including your parent entity and its subsidiaries, meet one of
the definitions set forth in the list provided by the FCC's
Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) set forth
in Attachment A of this Notice of Apparent Liability. This
information will be used for tracking purposes only. Your
response or failure to respond to this question will have no
effect on your rights and responsibilities pursuant to Section
503(b) of the Communications Act. If you have questions
regarding any of the information contained in Attachment A,
please contact OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NOTICE OF
APPARENT LIABILITY shall be sent by Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, to Mega Communications of Camden Licensee,
L.L.C., 8121 Georgia Avenue 10th Floor, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
John E. Rahtes
District Director
Philadelphia Office
Attachment A - FCC's List of Small Entities
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 11.35(a).
2 47 C.F.R. §§ 11.61(a)(1), and 11.61(a)(2).
3 47 C.F.R. §§ 73.1820, and 73.1840.
4 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies 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).
5 Section 312(f)(2), which also applies to Section 503(b),
provides: [t]he term ``repeated'', when used with reference to
the commission or omission of any act, means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission or
omission is continuous, for more than one day.
6 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
7 47 U.S.C § 503(b)(2)(D).
8 47 U.S.C § 503(b).
9 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111 and 0.311.
10 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.