Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 March 31, 2010 DA 10-571 Karen M. Tait, M.D. Health Officer County of Lake Health Services Department 922 Bevins Court Lakeport, CA 95453-9739 Dear Ms. Tait: This letter grants your request, dated March 22, 2010, on behalf of the County of Lake Health Services Department (the County) for a waiver to permit certain Amateur Radio Service licensees to transmit communications on behalf of their employers during an upcoming government emergency drill. In your request, you state that the County will be holding a multi-county emergency response exercise on May 4, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The scenario will focus on emergency response to a spill involving multiple hazardous chemicals at the junction of Highways 20 and 16, near the border of Lake and Colusa Counties. Amateur communications will be used to test communications in the event of a failure of primary communications systems. The drill will take place in Lake, Colusa, Sonoma, and Mendocino Counties. Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 97.113(a)(3), prohibits amateur licensees from transmitting communications in which they have a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer. You therefore request a waiver of this rule to permit the following amateur licensees who are County employees to transmit communications on behalf of their employer in connection with this exercise: Karen Tait, KI6SAH; Brandy Borg, KI6LAC; Valdine Kuhn, KI6SZB; Linda Fraser, KJ6ASB; Wilma Rawlings, KJ6ASG; Carol Ripplinger, KJ6ASI; and David Hendrick, N1PPP. You also request a similar waiver for amateur licensees listed in your request who are employees of other entities participating in these drills, employees of participating health care facilities and other counties, to transmit on behalf of their employers in connection with this exercise.1 Section 1.3 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.3, provides that the Commission may waive its rules if good cause for waiver is shown. We conclude that grant of the waiver request is appropriate under the circumstances presented. The public interest in facilitating the May 4, 2010 public safety exercise by permitting the specified amateur licensees to participate warrants this limited waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3). This waiver grant permits transmission of communications by the amateur licensees listed in your request on behalf of their employers during the May 4, 2010 exercise, and immediately prior to the exercise for the purpose of operational testing of equipment. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the waiver request of the County of Lake Health Services Department, dated March 22, 2010, IS GRANTED. 1 The request, including the entire roster, is set forth in the Commission’s Universal Licensing System as an attachment under each of the licenses listed above. County of Lake Health Services Department Page 2 This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131, 0.331. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Scot Stone Deputy Chief, Mobility Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau