Sec.  73.3598   Period of construction.

   (a) Except as provided in the last two sentences of this paragraph, each
   original construction permit for the construction of a new TV, AM, FM or
   International  Broadcast;  low power TV; TV translator; TV booster; 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. Except as provided in the last
   two sentences of this paragraph, each original construction permit for the
   construction of a new LPFM station shall specify a period of eighteen months
   from  the  date  of  issuance  of the construction permit within which
   construction shall be completed and application for license filed. A LPFM
   permittee unable to complete construction within the time frame specified in
   the original construction permit may apply for an eighteen month extension
   upon a showing of good cause. The LPFM permittee must file for an extension
   on or before the expiration of the construction deadline specified in the
   original construction permit. An eligible entity that acquires an issued and
   outstanding construction permit for a station in any of the services listed
   in this paragraph 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 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; or

   (3) A request for international coordination, with respect to an original
   construction permit for a new DTV station, has been sent to Canada or Mexico
   on behalf of the station and no response from the country affected has been
   received, or the licensee or permittee is challenging the response from
   Canada or Mexico on the grounds that the facility as approved would not
   permit the station to serve the population that is both approved by the
   Commission and served by the station's TV (analog) facility to be vacated by
   February 17, 2009.

   (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 triplicate with the Secretary and must be placed in the
   station's local public file.

   (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.

   (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 9954 , Feb. 25, 2008;  73 FR 28369 , May 16, 2008]