Fort Meyers Broadcasting will pay a $20,000 civil penalty for starting to clear land for a 1,500-foot tower before completing an environmental review. The payment is part of an agreement between the FCC and the broadcaster to end litigation.
Under the Commission’s Environmental Rules, applicants and licensees are required to assess whether certain proposed facilities may significantly affect the environment, as defined in section 1.1307 of the Rules. Specifically, section 1.1307(a)(3) requires a licensee or applicant to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for facilities that may have a significant environmental effect. The licensee or applicant must consider whether the proposed site may affect threatened or endangered species or designated critical habitats.
FMBC owns WINK-TV and FM, as well as WTLQ-FM in Florida. It told the FCC it was replacing a 1,500-foot tall broadcast tower with another one of the same height that needed to support both television and FM stations as a result of the television spectrum repack.
In July and August 2020, it engaged contractors to perform the required environmental review, antenna structure registration procedures, and construction for a proposed wireless communications tower within a designated critical habitat of the endangered Florida bonneted bat in Punta Gorda, FL. The FCC says during the ASR application and environmental review process, FMBC admitted to pre construction activities. In November 2020, “the broadcaster filed an ASR application and EA related to the Punta Gorda tower depicting the premature clearing,” said the Enforcement Bureau in the Consent Decree.
Specifically, FMBC admitted it “began construction by clearing vegetation” at the tower site that August, according to the agency. Since beginning its investigation, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau ended its environmental review and authorized tower construction.
This May, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said the tower was subject to the construction conditions detailed in the record, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Standard Protection Measures for the Eastern Indigo snake. “In addition, to address the loss of an estimated 29 potential roost trees due to premature clearing, Fort Meyers Broadcasting Company contributed $29,000 to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida’s conservation fund for the bonneted bat,” noted the WTB. “Further, the guy wires will be equipped with visual bird diverters, and if any security lighting is required at the telecommunications facility, the Fort Meyers Broadcasting Company has volunteered to use down-shielded, motion-activated security lights to further avoid bird attraction to the facility.”
The FCC said FMBC violated the Environmental and ASR Rules by failing to complete the requisite environmental review and antenna structure registration processes before beginning tower construction. “Specifically, it failed to initiate and complete the environmental review of whether the proposed tower could have a significant effect on the environment or may affect listed threatened or endangered species prior to clearing land within the critical habitat,” noted the Enforcement Bureau.
As part of the Consent Decree, FMBC admits guilt and agrees to pay the fine within 30 days. The broadcaster also agrees to designate a compliance officer and develop a mitigation plan to prevent future occurrences.
In exchange, the FCC stops the investigation.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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