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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  654 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of  )  ) 


 Amendment  of  Section  73.202(  b),  )  MM  Docket  No.  99-  61  Table  of  Allotments,  )  RM-  9448 
 FM  Broadcast  Stations.  )  (Polson,  Montana  )  ) 


 REPORT  AND  ORDER  (Proceeding  Terminated) 
 Adopted:  March  15,  2000  Released:  March  24,  2000 
 By  the  Chief,  Allocations  Branch: 
 1.  In  response  to  a  petition  filed  by  Mountain  West  Broadcasting  (“  Mountain  West”),  the  Commission  has  before  it  for  consideration  the  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making,  14  FCC  Rcd  2888 
 (1999),  requesting  the  allotment  of  Channel  259C3  at  Polson,  Montana.  Mountain  West  filed  comments  restating  its  interest  in  the  allotment  of  Channel  259C3  at  Polson.  No  other  comments 
 were  received  in  response  to  the  Notice  in  this  proceeding. 
 2.  As  stated  In  the  Notice,  the  proposal  for  Channel  259C3  at  Polson,  Montana,  complies  with  the  Commission’s  spacing  requirements.  We  noted  that  the  community  of  Polson  is  located  on  the 
 Flathead  Indian  Reservation  and  requested  parties  to  address  this  issue  when  filing  comments.  1  In  response,  Mountain  West  stated  that  it  had  identified  several  potential  transmitter  sites  that  are 
 located  outside  the  boundaries  of  the  Flathead  Indian  Reservation  that  would  provide  the  required  70  dBu  service  to  Polson.  Mountain  West  indicated  that  these  sites  are  located  in  the  Mission  Mountain 
 Range  and  at  an  area  just  north  of  the  community  of  Proctor,  Montana.  However,  Mountain  West  did  not  provide  coordinates  or  any  type  of  information  that  would  enable  Commission  staff  to 
 review  these  sites.  Further,  although  not  requested,  Mountain  West  failed  to  provide  any  documentation  indicating  that  approval  for  a  transmitter  site  on  the  Reservation  could  be  obtained. 
 A  staff  engineering  analysis  was  unable  to  locate  any  theoretical  sites  outside  of  the  Flathead  Indian  Reservation  that  provided  70  dBu  coverage  to  Polson  without  line-  of-  site  problems.  At  the 
 allotment  stage  we  do  not  require  a  detailed  analysis  demonstrating  site  availability,  but  rather  a  showing  that  a  theoretical  site  is  available  for  the  allotment  that  complies  with  all  technical 


 1  Polson  is  located  in  Lake  County  at  the  southern  end  of  Flathead  Lake,  halfway  between  Missoula  and  Kalispell, 
 Montana,  on  US  Highway  93.  Polson,  incorporated  in  1910,  is  the  largest  city  on  the  Flathead  Indian  Reservation.  According  to  the  Polson  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  amount  of  land  area  in  Polson  is  4.667  square  kilometers  with 


 a  population  of  3,283  people. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  00-  654 
 requirements.  In  light  of  the  above,  we  do  not  believe  that  Mountain  West  has  met  its  obligation  to  demonstrate  that  a  theoretical  site  is  available  for  the  allotment  of  Channel  259C3  at  Polson, 
 Montana.  See  Cusseta,  Georgia,  3  FCC  Rcd  (1991).  Therefore,  we  will  deny  Mountain  West’s  proposal. 


 3.  In  view  of  the  above,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  That  the  Petition  for  Rule  Making  filed  by  Mountain  West  Broadcasting  (RM-  9448),  requesting  the  allotment  of  Channel  259C3  at  Polson, 
 Montana,  IS  DISMISSED. 
 4.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  That  this  proceeding  IS  TERMINATED. 
 5.  For  further  information  concerning  this  proceeding,  contact  Kathleen  Scheuerle,  Mass  Media  Bureau,  (202)  418-  2180. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 John  A.  Karousos  Chief,  Allocations  Branch 
 Policy  and  Rules  Division  Mass  Media  Bureau 
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