A company that has filed an application with the FCC for a license to cover a FM translator station in Oklahoma is facing a potential monetary forfeiture for two key violations of the Commission’s rules.
For one, it did not submit its License to Cover Application until after the necessary submission date. Furthermore, this licensee also operated the FM translator after its Construction Permit expired.
A Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture was issued on Wednesday (8/18) to Potter Radio LLC, which could face a $3,500 financial hit for the aforementioned rule flubs.
Potter Radio was issued a CP for K236CT in Pawhuska, Okla., on January 4, 2018. That permit expired three years later.
On August 4, 2020, Potter requested six months of additional time in which to construct the Translator, citing construction delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau extended the Construction Permit until July 4, 2021.
There’s one slight problem: Potter did not file a covering license application by Independence Day 2021. As such, the CP expired on its own terms that day, pursuant to
section 73.3598(e) of the Rules.
On July 23, Potter moved forward with the filing of a “Petition for Reconsideration of
Cancellation of Construction Permit” on the grounds that the FM Translator was constructed prior to the expiration of the CP. Media Bureau staff considered the petition as a waiver request.
What did the Bureau do? It granted the waiver, reinstated the CP, and gave Potter until August 13 to file a covering license application for the CP.
An application was filed on August 2.
From there, the Bureau reviewed the situation and determined that a $7,000 base forfeiture was appropriate. However, taking into consideration all of the factors, it cut that forfeiture in half in its NAL. The key reason: An FM translator is a secondary service.
“We will grant the Application by separate action upon the conclusion of this forfeiture proceeding if there are no issues other than the apparent violation that would preclude grant of the Application,” Audio Division Chief Al Shuldiner ruled.
The FM translator rebroadcasts KWON-AM 1400 in Bartlesville, Okla., due north of Tulsa.
