The Federal Communications Commission intends to fine Mount Rushmore Broadcasting Inc. - owner of radio stations in Casper and elsewhere in Wyoming and South Dakota - $20,000 for not maintaining its Emergency Alert System and violating other rules, according to FCC records.

If history repeats itself with the company, the FCC's action probably will land in federal court.

The notice of apparent liability for stations KRAL-AM and KIQZ-FM out of Rawlins resulted from inspections conducted by agents of the FCC's Denver enforcement office in April.

The agents found the stations failed to maintain complete public inspection files and failed to operate their registered antenna at an unauthorized location, according to the notice available at the FCC's Web site www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2008.

The report discussed at length the violations about the Emergency Alert System.

Every AM and FM station is part of the nationwide EAS network unless it formally requests an exemption, according to the report by Nikki Shears, district director of the FCC's Western Region Enforcement Bureau.

"The EAS provides the President and state and local governments with the capability to provide immediate and emergency communications and information to the general public. State and local area plans identify local primary sources responsible for coordinating carriage of common emergency messages from sources such as the National Weather Service or local emergency management officials," according to the report.

Participating stations much retransmit required monthly and weekly EAS tests, according to the report. "The requirement that stations monitor, receive and retransmit the required EAS tests ensures the operational integrity of the EAS system in the event of an actual disaster."

The agents' inspection found the EAS equipment was not operational and Mount Rushmore failed to document the equipment's lack of performance.

These EAS violations, as well as those about the public information files and the antenna, were willful and repeated, according to the report.

Mount Rushmore Broadcasting has 30 days from the FCC's "notice of apparent liability" issued on Dec. 10 to either pay the fine or file a written statement asking for a reduction or cancelation of the fine, according to the notice.

An FCC spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., said she could not comment on specific cases under investigation.

A call requesting comment from KIQZ was not returned. A call to the Mount Rushmore Broadcasting office in Casper seeking comment from company president Jan Charles Gray was not returned.

If the company and the FCC are not able to come to an agreement about the "notice of apparent liability," the FCC will issue a formal forfeiture order.

That's happened before with Mt. Rushmore Broadcasting stations, according to FCC records:

- A $4,000 forfeiture order for violations by KRAL and KIQZ in 1998.

- A $10,000 forfeiture order for violations at KAWK-FM in Custer, S.D., in 2002.

- A $3,000 forfeiture order for violations at KZMX-FM in Hot Springs, S.D., in 2002.

In these cases, the Wyoming U.S. Attorney had to sue Mount Rushmore Broadcasting in federal court to recover the fines, according to U.S. District Court records.

Besides FCC violations, Mount Rushmore Broadcasting and some of its stations have been the targets of federal civil lawsuits accusing them of playing music without paying for the right to do so.

In 2001, representatives of songwriters including Garth Brooks, Barbra Streisand and Bob Marley told the court that they had reached a settlement and asked for an order to dismiss the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs were members of the performing rights licensing organization American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). They asked Gray to pay between $750 and $150,000 for each of 35 alleged violations listed in the complaint, or a total of between $26,250 and $5.25 million.

In December 2003, the company that represents songwriters including Paul Simon, Carl Perkins, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards filed a federal lawsuit to stop Casper radio station KMLD-FM from playing their songs without permission.

The New York-based Broadcast Music, Inc., (BMI) asked the court to stop the infringements of the copyrighted music by KMLD-FM, Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc., and Gray.

This lawsuit was settled in 2004.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.