Opinion ID: 702285
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Achernar's Application

Text: 11 Achernar argues that the Commission's conclusion that the public interest would be served best by the denial of its application was arbitrary and capricious. Achernar's primary contention is that the Commission failed to consider all aspects of the problem, as required by rule 73.1030(a). Achernar asserts that the Commission's denial of its application was unreasonable because such denial prevented needed television service to Charlottesville and the zone without any benefit to NRAO's activities. According to Achernar, the Commission never undertook the necessary balancing process because its consideration of the issue ended when it discovered that the proposed station would cause interference and preclude simultaneous broadcast and astronomical use of the channel under NRAO's standards. Because the FCC failed to exercise its discretion by considering the entire record, Achernar maintains that its decision is not due deference. See Cities of Carlisle and Neola v. FERC, 741 F.2d 429, 433 (D.C.Cir.1984). 12 Achernar maintains that the Commission's rigid protection of the zone defeats the rule's stated intent to provide a means of protecting NRAO's observations without impeding the development of broadcast services to the Quiet Zone since the denial of a license that would not damage NRAO directly impedes such development. Provision of a second service and transmission outlet is listed as a priority under the FCC's service objectives. Achernar challenges the Commission's refusal to credit the applicant's provision of a second service to much of the Quiet Zone. The Commission has not simply refused to give weight to this factor, but has actively held against Achernar the public interest benefits its service would provide. Memorandum Opinion, 6 F.C.C.R. at 5394. The Commission's Sixth Report on Television Allocations, Vol. 1, Part 3, Rad.Reg. (P & F) 91.601, 91.620 (1952), which carried out the mandate of 47 U.S.C. Secs. 151 and 307(b), established five priorities for channel allocation: (1) a first service to all parts of the country; (2) a local station in each community; (3) a choice of two services to all parts of the country; (4) two stations in each community; and (5) additional stations based on population, location and number of services available. The existing channel in Charlottesville satisfies the first two priorities. Achernar asserts that its proposed station would serve the remainder. 13 Achernar contends that the FCC's decision prevents Charlottesville from getting its second outlet, leaving a service dearth that is otherwise found only in sparsely populated areas of Montana or Wyoming. While the adoption of the Quiet Zone policy clearly created special considerations affecting the allocation of Channel 64, Achernar asserts that the policy was intended as a qualification on, and not a rejection of, Quiet Zone service. The Commission has not, as it has done in other instances, dedicated Channel 64 exclusively to radio astronomy, nor has it designated the channel a secondary radio astronomy frequency. See Report and Order: Channel 37 Reserved for Radio Astronomy, FCC 63-901, 1 Rad.Reg.2d (P & F) 1501, 1509 (1963). Moreover, the Commission has not deleted Channel 64 despite the existence of the observatory and the creation of the Quiet Zone. 14 Noting that appropriate administrative control is the essence of the FCC's regulatory mandate, FCC v. Pottsville Broadcasting Co., 309 U.S. 134, 138, 60 S.Ct. 437, 439, 84 L.Ed. 656 (1940), Achernar contends that the Commission failed to exercise such control in this case because it improperly delegated its responsibility to NRAO, a private entity with a potential conflict of interest. See Sierra Club v. Sigler, 695 F.2d 957, 962 n. 3 (5th Cir.1983). Achernar asserts that the FCC gave dispositive weight to NRAO's administrative convenience rather than its actual scientific needs and ignored its own rulemaking determination to preserve both radio astronomy and broadcasting. This is evidenced by the FCC's failure to credit Achernar's proposed service to underserved areas and the Commission's assertion that this underservice is simply the natural result of the Commission's administration of [the Quiet Zone] policy over the years.... Memorandum Opinion, 6 F.C.C.R. at 5394. 15 Finally, Achernar argues that direct use of Channel 64 by NRAO does not have to be precluded if the Commission were to grant Achernar's application subject to a shared-use condition. The record established that Channel 64 is virtually unused by the NRAO, whose activities could feasibly be protected by a shared-use condition. In an attempt to accommodate the NRAO, Achernar offered to make the channel available to NRAO from midnight to 6:00 a.m. upon 30 days notice. Achernar claims that the FCC based its rejection of a sharing agreement on specific terms of the proposed agreement rather than considering the concept and allowing Achernar to remedy any specific objections by creating a different agreement. 16 The FCC responds that there is substantial evidence in support of its decision that the grant of either application would preclude use by NRAO of a portion of the spectrum that is especially important to radio astronomy. Although Achernar points out that NRAO could have adjusted for this interference as it does for interference from other sources, the FCC avers that this does not mean that it was unreasonable to conclude that it was not in the public interest to compel NRAO to make such an accommodation. Moreover, the Commission contends that the service dearth to which Achernar's operation would respond is the natural result of the Quiet Zone policy and that its application is accordingly not entitled to consideration on that basis. Memorandum Opinion, 6 F.C.C.R. at 5394. As for the feasibility of sharing, the Commission maintains that it offered a full explanation for its rejection of this proposal based on the restrictions such an arrangement would place on NRAO's use of Channel 64, the concomitant constraints on research, and the inconvenience in negotiating for varying proposals. See id. at 5395-96. 17 The Quiet Zone rule, 47 C.F.R. Sec. 73.1030(a), was designed to permit resolution of potential problems of interference to NRAO without impeding the development of broadcast services. Report and Order: Protection of Radio Astronomy Frequencies, FCC 58-1111, 17 Rad.Reg. (P & F) 1738, 1741 (1958). Under the rule, the FCC is to consider all aspects of the problem and take whatever action is deemed appropriate. 47 C.F.R. Sec. 73.1030(a). Failure to weigh the entire record would constitute reversible error even absent the rule's specific directive: While agency expertise deserves deference, it deserves deference only when it is exercised; no deference is due when the agency has stopped shy of carefully considering the disputed facts. Cities of Carlisle and Neola, 741 F.2d at 433. The Commission's failure to follow the clear dictate of its own rule to consider all aspects of the problem, 47 C.F.R. Sec. 73.1030(a), violates the rudimentary principle that agencies are bound to adhere to their own rules and procedures. Teleprompter Cable Comm. Corp. v. FCC, 565 F.2d 736, 742 (D.C.Cir.1977). Moreover, [t]he Commission's notion of the public interest cannot justify its failure to abide by its own rules and to act in a manner consistent with its own precedents. Id. 18 While we normally owe deference to the FCC's determination of public policy, Achernar makes a strong argument that there is a difference between deciding that a broadcast license would interfere with NRAO's use of Channel 64 and deciding that use of Channel 64 would interfere with NRAO's activities overall and that NRAO's convenience always takes precedence over increased service to the public. The Commission's denial was not based on consideration of all aspects of the problem. It has been treating the rule as requiring a choice between astronomy and broadcasting from the outset. This choice is not compelled by rule 73.1030(a) nor any other policy. Unlike many FCC rules, section 73.1030 neither prescribes nor proscribes; it simply calls upon Quiet Zone applicants to notify NRAO of their proposals. If NRAO anticipates an interference problem which cannot be solved informally, the rule indicates that the Commission should resolve the problem by considering all aspects of it. 47 C.F.R. Sec. 73.1030(a). 19 The purpose of the Quiet Zone was not to deny service. On the contrary, in the Report and Order adopting the Quiet Zone rule, the Commission stated that its intent was to provide protection for NRAO's observations without sacrificing needed broadcast services in the zone. Although the Commission aimed to provide maximum protection necessary to NRAO, it also recognized the need for broadcast services within the proposed restricted zone and does not believe that the proposed procedure for applicants within the zone will hamper such services. Protection of Radio Astronomy Frequencies, 17 Rad.Reg. (P & F) at 1741. Moreover, the FCC specifically pointed out that the rules being adopted, while for the purpose of establishing a system by which radio astronomy observations near Green Bank may be protected, are not intended to impede the development of radio services. Id. (emphasis added). It cautioned that [a]ppropriate consideration of radio astronomy problems and of radio service problems will be necessary on the part of all parties concerned to the end that neither activity will be adversely affected. Id. 20 The Commission's failure to examine shared use of the channel as a viable option was unreasonable and arbitrary. Although the FCC does not have to consider every alternative, its cursory rejection of an option that appears to serve precisely the agency's purported goals suggests a lapse of rational decisionmaking. Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ v. FCC, 779 F.2d 702, 714 (D.C.Cir.1985). The sharing option should have been examined in a reasoned decisionmaking process. 21 Moreover, the Commission's failure to address Achernar's arguments regarding its blind acceptance of NRAO's objections is troubling. If the Commission examined NRAO's standards and found them acceptable in light of other valid goals of reaching underserved areas, it should articulate its findings and the underlying rationale. In failing to engage in reasoned decisionmaking, the Commission ignored the dictate of the Report and Order setting up the Quiet Zone, which expressly states that the Commission is not required automatically to accede to such objections as NRAO may make but will be guided by the public interest aspects of each application. Protection of Radio Astronomy Frequencies, 17 Rad.Reg. (P & F) at 1741. It seems that in the allocation of stations within--or in the case of Lindsay, near--the Quiet Zone the Commission has abdicated in favor of NRAO. This it cannot do.