It is not just lip service when we say to take Emergency Alert System protocols seriously. That’s a reality one Montana radio group recently experienced firsthand after a Federal Communications Commission inspection revealed multiple rule violations.
The FCC issued a violation notice on Oct. 23 to BMG Billings over alleged Emergency Alert System compliance failures at four of its radio stations.
On July 29, in response to a complaint, an agent from the Denver field office inspected 98.5 KEWF(FM), 107.5 KRPM(FM), 105.1 KYSX(FM), all licensed to Billings, and 101.9 KRSQ(FM), licensed to Laurel.
(Read the FCC’s notice of violation.)
According to the FCC’s account, the agent observed that the station was monitoring a secondary EAS source that was not assigned to them and was not listed in the Montana State EAS Plan. FCC rules require participants to monitor two assigned EAS sources as specified in their state’s EAS plan.
The bureau said that the stations’ chief operator failed to take necessary steps to correct the use of the secondary EAS source.
Also, the agent could not locate signed records demonstrating EAS tests were conducted. Stations must maintain records of each EAS test and activation in their station log, either manually by the chief operator or by automatic devices meeting the commission’s requirements.
The violation notice is an initial enforcement step and does not preclude the bureau from further action, including issuing a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture, the bureau said.
BMG Billings has 20 days from the Oct. 23 release date to submit a statement explaining the violations, detailing corrective actions taken to prevent recurrence and outlining a timeline for any pending fixes.
