ARRL Asks FCC Chairman to Recuse Himself from BPL
Vote
NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 13, 2004--The ARRL has asked FCC Chairman
Michael K. Powell to recuse himself from participating October 14 when
the full Commission considers a broadband over power line (BPL) Report
and Order in the proceeding, ET Docket 04-37. The League alleges
Powell broke the Commission's own ex parte rules by appearing at a
broadband over power line (BPL) demonstration in Manassas, Virginia, just
two days before the FCC meeting. In general, Sunshine Agenda rules
prohibit any such contacts between the FCC and stakeholders once a
proceeding has formally been placed on the FCC agenda.
"It's a glaring, glaring violation of the ex parte
rules," ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, asserted today.
Because of the short fuse involved, Imlay filed the
Motion
for Recusal of Chairman Michael K. Powell October 12 via e-mail
on an "emergency basis." The petition asks that Powell recuse
himself from participating in the BPL proceeding, "both generally
and specifically," at the October 14 meeting.
Powell, an open proponent of BPL, played host to Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission Pat Wood III as they toured various sites in
Manassas, the site of a BPL field trial, and explained why BPL may be
another broadband option.
The ARRL's motion asserts that Powell "either knew or should have
known that his participation in that presentation is in clear violation
of Section 1.1203 of the Commission's Rules." As a result, the
League said, the FCC's consideration of a Report and Order in the
proceeding "is irrevocably tainted."
The FCC released its October 14 meeting agenda on Thursday, October 7.
The ARRL learned the following day that Powell and Wood were planning to
attend the BPL demonstration. The City of Manassas is running a BPL field
trial on its municipal power system. The ARRL immediately protested via
e-mail "in the strongest possible terms," but did not receive
any response until October 12, since Monday, October 11, was a federal
holiday for Columbus Day.
Imlay said he finally heard back from two staffers in the FCC Office of
General Counsel who said that the attendance by Powell and Powell's legal
aide was legal under an exception to the ex parte rules spelled
out in Section 1.1204, Subsection 10, of the FCC's rules.
For more information on BPL, visit the
"Broadband Over Power Line (BPL)
and Amateur Radio" page on the ARRL Web site.