Sec.  73.3598   Period of construction.

   (a) 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. 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.

   (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:

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

   (ii) 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.

   (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]