Description of document: US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) (formerly Broadcasting Board of Governors) Operations and Stations Division (T/EOS) Monthly Reports, 2014-2019 Requested date: 21-October-2019 Release date: 05-March-2020 Posted date: 23-March-2020 Source of document: USAGM FOIA Office Room 3349 330 Independence Ave. SW Washington, D.C. 20237 ATTN: FOIA/PRivacy Act Officer Fax: (202) 203-4585 Email: [email protected] The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is a First Amendment free speech web site, and is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. 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UNITED STATES U.S. AGENCY FOR BROADCASTING BOARD OF GLOBAL MEDIA GOVERNORS 330 Independence Avenue SW I Washington, DC 20237 I usagm,gov Office of the General Counsel March 5. 2020 RE: Request Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act- FOIA #20R003 This letter is in response to your Freedom oflnformation Act (FOIA) requests dated October 21. 2019 to the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which the Agency received on the same date. In your requests, you asked for the following -- FOIA20-003 "An electronic copy ofeach T/EOS (Operations and Stations Division) monthly report produced since April 15, 2014. " The Agency has completed its search for and review of the records responsive to your request. Copies of nonexempt records are enclosed. We redacted signatures under FOIA Exemption (b)(6) (protecting information. the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy) and Exemption (b)(7c) (protecting personal information in law enforcement records the disclosure of which could reasonable be expect to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy). We did not withhold any other information or records responsive to your request. The Agency is waiving all fees for this request and the enclosed records are provided to you at no charge. This concludes the Agency's response to your request and it is now closed. You may contact me or the Agency's FOIA Public Liaison at 202-203-4550 for any further assistance and to discuss any aspect of your request. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (001S) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services National Archives and Records Administration 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS College Park, Maryland 20740-6001 E-mail at [email protected] Telephone at 202-741-5770 Toll free at 1-877-684-6448 Voice of America 1 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty I Office of Cuba Broadcasting I Radio Free Asia I Middle East Broadcasting Networks FOIA20-003 Facsimile at 202-741-5769 Finally, if you are not satisfied with this response to your request, you may file an administrative appeal with the Agency by writing to: Chairperson, Access Appeal Committee, USAGM, Suite 3349, 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20237. Your appeal must be postmarked or transmitted by facsimile to 202-203-4548 within 90 days of the date of this letter. If you have any questions regarding your request, please contact me at 202-203-4550 or the Office of the General Counsel at the above address or at [email protected]. Dana Sade Assistant General Counsel Enclosure 2 OPERATIONS AND STATIONS DIVISION (T/EOS) MONTHLY REPORT FOR APRIL 2014 DISPOSAL OF THE DELANO TRANSMITTING STATION: Delano Transmitting Station has been reported as excess real property to GSA’s Property Disposal Division in San Francisco, California. GSA has completed the Federal Screening Process and no other government agency has expressed an interest in the site. GSA is now in the process of screening the property for possible use by Homeless providers, and due to the interest shown in the property for this purpose, the screening may not be completed until the 3rd Quarter, FY 2014. Due to the isolated location of the site, GSA believes that any homeless request will be denied and GSA will then put the site up for sale at the end of this screening process. (No change from last month) The Antique Wireless Association is requesting the donation of a complete Collins 821A-1 transmitter, a second remote control console from a second transmitter, and an analog studio board from Delano. The AWA’s plan for the equipment is to display the transmitter and its remote control console at a museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The second remote control console and the analog audio board will be displayed in its Bloomfield, New York museum. The proposal to declare the requested equipment as excess to the agency’s needs so that it can be donated to the AWA by GSA is being staffed. (No change from last month) DIPOSAL OF SITE-A AT THE EDWARD R. MURROW TRANSMITTING STATION: Since the Marine Corps cannot budget for the purchase of Site A until FY 2017, GSA has decided not to wait on the Marine Corps and will proceed with the disposal of the site. While the disposal process proceeds, the Marine Corps would like to continue to use the property on a reimbursable basis. The agreement between the Agency and the Marine Corps for the use of the site was effective July 16, 2013. The U.S. Navy has advised the agency that it would like to renew the agreement to allow the Marine Corps to use Site A for another year. On April 24, 2014, the Agency provided the U.S. Navy approval to exercise the first one-year renewal, which will go into effect on July 16, 2014. BOTSWANA TRANSMITTING STATION: The Botswana Transmitting Station reports that in March: The Station was visited by (b) (6) , a medical doctor with the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) in Selebi Phikwe. He was accompanied by other BDF officials. A tour of the station was conducted. The Selebi Phikwe Town Counselor, (b) (6) , paid a courtesy visit to the Station to meet with the Station Manager. The Station was visited by 15 officers from the BDF. The purpose of the visit was to tour the Station and to meet with the Station Manager. The delegation consisted of the new commander of the BDF’s Eastern Military Garrison, (b) (6) and his deputy, (b) (6) . The Station Manager and Admin Supervisor visited the Selebi Phikwe Police Commander, Superintendent (b) (6) . EDWARD R. MURROW TRANSMITTING STATION: The Greenville Transmitting Station reports that in March, (b) (6) from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting visited the site. GERMANY TRANSMITTING STATION: The Germany Transmitting Station reports that in March: A Station technician traveled to Ghana to service the TV and radio stations in Accra that were experiencing WiMAX interferences. WiMAX is an alternative method of providing wireless broadband access. The work in Ghana was very difficult due to the environmental and technical conditions at the FM sites. For these reasons, the technician only was able to restore the reception of VOA Africa 24 at the TV-Africa station. The TVRO system at the E-TV station, which is equipped with a very small mesh antenna and located in the direct vicinity of a WiMAX system, could not be restored, and currently, no IBB signal is being received at this station. In Djibouti, extensions to the FM and medium wave Operating and Maintenance contracts were signed by CON and Radio Television Djibouti. However, the required extension to the bilateral agreement is still pending approval by the Ministry of Communication. In Orzu, Tajikistan, German technicians were on site to continue the installation of the second Continental SW transmitter. The startup of the transmitter is scheduled for May 2014. KUWAIT TRANSMITTING STATION: The Kuwait Transmitting Station reports that in March: The Station Manager attended a meeting at Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Legal Affairs Department to discuss the process of documenting and signing the Station’s recently renewed Operating Agreement. Also attending the meeting were the Embassy’s Deputy Charge of Mission and the Public Affairs Officer. The very cordial meeting closed with the understanding that the MFA Legal section will consult with the Ministry of Information on the document protocol specifics and will shortly get back to the Embassy with a way to proceed with the formal Agreement signing. (b) (6) of T/EB visited the Station to inspect the antenna tower sections received from IBB Greenville for the planned HF antenna expansions. (b) worked closely with Resident Engineer, (b) (6) , on determining which tower sections would(6) be used to erect the planned rhombic and dipole antennas, placement areas for the antennas and transmission lines, and associated contractual issues. The Station also was visited by a group of first and second tour Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) from Embassy Kuwait, who were given a tour of the facilities.