§ 73.3598 - Period of construction.

§ 73.3598 Period of construction.

(a) Except as provided in the last two sentences of this paragraph (a), each original construction permit for the construction of a new TV, AM, FM or International Broadcast; low power TV; low power FM; TV translator; FM translator; or FM booster station, or to make changes in such existing stations, shall specify a period of three years from the date of issuance of the original construction permit within which construction shall be completed and application for license filed. An eligible entity that acquires an issued and outstanding construction permit for a station in any of the services listed in this paragraph (a) shall have the time remaining on the construction permit or eighteen months from the consummation of the assignment or transfer of control, whichever is longer, within which to complete construction and file an application for license. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an “eligible entity” shall include any entity that qualifies as a small business under the Small Business Administration's size standards for its industry grouping, as set forth in 13 CFR parts 121 through 201, at the time the transaction is approved by the FCC, and holds:

(1) 30 percent or more of the stock or partnership interests and more than 50 percent of the voting power of the corporation or partnership that will hold the construction permit; or

(2) 15 percent or more of the stock or partnership interests and more than 50 percent of the voting power of the corporation or partnership that will hold the construction permit, provided that no other person or entity owns or controls more than 25 percent of the outstanding stock or partnership interests; or

(3) More than 50 percent of the voting power of the corporation that will hold the construction permit if such corporation is a publicly traded company.

(b) The period of construction for an original construction permit shall toll when construction is prevented by the following causes not under the control of the permittee:

(1) Construction is prevented due to an act of God, defined in terms of natural disasters (e.g., floods, tornados, hurricanes, or earthquakes);

(2) The grant of the permit is the subject of administrative or judicial review (i.e., petitions for reconsideration and applications for review of the grant of a construction permit pending before the Commission and any judicial appeal of any Commission action thereon), or construction is delayed by any cause of action pending before any court of competent jurisdiction relating to any necessary local, state or federal requirement for the construction or operation of the station, including any zoning or environmental requirement;

(3) [Reserved]

(4) A request for international coordination, with respect to a construction permit for stations in the Low Power FM service, on FM channels reserved for noncommercial educational use, and for noncommercial educational full power television stations, has been sent to Canada or Mexico on behalf of the station and no response from the country affected has been received; or

(5) Failure of a Commission-imposed condition precedent prior to commencement of operation.

(c) A permittee must notify the Commission as promptly as possible and, in any event, within 30 days, of any pertinent event covered by paragraph (b) of this section, and provide supporting documentation. All notifications must be filed in LMS and must be placed in the station's local public file. For authorizations to construct stations in the Low Power FM service, on FM channels reserved for noncommercial educational use, and for noncommercial educational full power television stations, the Commission will identify and grant an initial period of tolling when the grant of a construction permit is encumbered by administrative or judicial review under the Commission's direct purview (e.g., petitions for reconsideration and applications for review of the grant of a construction permit pending before the Commission and any judicial appeal of any Commission action thereon), a request for international coordination under paragraph (b)(4) of this section, or failure of a condition under paragraph (b)(5) of this section. When a permit is encumbered by administrative or judicial review outside of the Commission's direct purview (e.g., local, state, or non-FCC Federal requirements), the permittee is required to notify the Commission of such tolling events.

(d) A permittee must notify the Commission promptly when a relevant administrative or judicial review is resolved. Tolling resulting from an act of God will automatically cease six months from the date of the notification described in paragraph (c) of this section, unless the permittee submits additional notifications at six-month intervals detailing how the act of God continues to cause delays in construction, any construction progress, and the steps it has taken and proposes to take to resolve any remaining impediments. For authorizations to construct stations in the Low Power FM service, on FM channels reserved for noncommercial educational use, and for noncommercial educational full power television stations, the Commission will cease the tolling treatment and notify the permittee upon resolution of either:

(1) Any encumbrance by administrative or judicial review of the grant of the construction permit under the Commission's direct purview;

(2) The request for international coordination under paragraph (b)(4) of this section; or

(3) The condition on the commencement of operations under paragraph (b)(5) of this section.

(e) Any construction permit for which construction has not been completed and for which an application for license has not been filed, shall be automatically forfeited upon expiration without any further affirmative cancellation by the Commission.

[63 FR 70050, Dec. 18, 1998, as amended at 65 FR 7648, Feb. 15, 2000; 68 FR 12761, Mar. 17, 2003; 69 FR 53352, Sept. 1, 2004; 73 FR 5684, Jan. 30, 2008; 73 FR 28369, May 16, 2008; 74 FR 8879, Feb. 27, 2009; 85 FR 7890, Feb. 12, 2020; 89 FR 7261, Feb. 1, 2024]