Sec. 47105 continued
(c) State Standards for Airport Development. - The Secretary may
approve standards (except standards for safety of approaches) that a
State prescribes for airport development at nonprimary public-use
airports in the State. On approval under this subsection, a State's
standards apply to the nonprimary public-use airports in the State
instead of the comparable standards prescribed by the Secretary under
subsection (b)(3) of this section. The Secretary, or the State with
the approval of the Secretary, may revise standards approved under
this subsection.
(d) Certification of Compliance. - The Secretary may require a sponsor
to certify that the sponsor will comply with this subchapter in
carrying out the project. The Secretary may rescind the acceptance of
a certification at any time. This subsection does not affect an
obligation or responsibility of the Secretary under another law of the
United States.
(e) Preventive Maintenance. - After January 1, 1995, the Secretary may
approve an application under this subchapter for the replacement or
reconstruction of pavement at an airport only if the sponsor has
provided such assurances or certifications as the Secretary may
determine appropriate that such airport has implemented an effective
airport pavement maintenance-management program. The Secretary may
require such reports on pavement condition and pavement management
programs as the Secretary determines may be useful.
(f) Notification. - The sponsor of an airport for which an amount is
apportioned under section 47114(c) of this title shall notify the
Secretary of the fiscal year in which the sponsor intends to submit a
project grant application for the apportioned amount. The notification
shall be given by the time and contain the information the Secretary
prescribes.
Sec. 47106. Project grant application approval conditioned on
satisfaction of project requirements
(a) Project Grant Application Approval. - The Secretary of
Transportation may approve an application under this subchapter for a
project grant only if the Secretary is satisfied that -
(1) the project is consistent with plans (existing at the time
the project is approved) of public agencies authorized by the
State in which the airport is located to plan for the development
of the area surrounding the airport;
(2) the project will contribute to carrying out this subchapter;
(3) enough money is available to pay the project costs that will
not be paid by the United States Government under this
subchapter;
(4) the project will be completed without unreasonable delay; and
(5) the sponsor has authority to carry out the project as
proposed.
(b) Airport Development Project Grant Application Approval. - The
Secretary may approve an application under this subchapter for an
airport development project grant for an airport only if the Secretary
is satisfied that -
(1) the sponsor, a public agency, or the Government holds good
title to the areas of the airport used or intended to be used for
the landing, taking off, or surface maneuvering of aircraft, or
that good title will be acquired;
(2) the interests of the community in or near which the project
may be located have been given fair consideration; and
(3) the application provides touchdown zone and centerline runway
lighting, high intensity runway lighting, or land necessary for
installing approach light systems that the Secretary, considering
the category of the airport and the kind and volume of traffic
using it, decides is necessary for safe and efficient use of the
airport by aircraft.
(c) Environmental Requirements. - (1) The Secretary may approve an
application under this subchapter for an airport development project
involving the location of an airport or runway or a major runway
extension -
(A) only if the sponsor certifies to the Secretary that -
(i) an opportunity for a public hearing was given to
consider the economic, social, and environmental effects of
the location and the location's consistency with the
objectives of any planning that the community has carried
out; and
(ii) the airport management board has voting representation
from the communities in which the project is located or has
advised the communities that they have the right to petition
the Secretary about a proposed project;
(B) only if the chief executive officer of the State in which the
project will be located certifies in writing to the Secretary
that there is reasonable assurance that the project will be
located, designed, constructed, and operated in compliance with
applicable air and water quality standards, except that the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall make
the certification instead of the chief executive officer if -
(i) the State has not approved any applicable State or local
standards; and
(ii) the Administrator has prescribed applicable standards;
and
(C) if the application is found to have a significant adverse
effect on natural resources, including fish and wildlife,
natural, scenic, and recreation assets, water and air quality, or
another factor affecting the environment, only after finding that
no possible and prudent alternative to the project exists and
that every reasonable step has been taken to minimize the adverse
effect.
(2) The Secretary may approve an application under this
subchapter for an airport development project that does not
involve the location of an airport or runway, or a major runway
extension, at an existing airport without requiring an
environmental impact statement related to noise for the project
if -
(A) completing the project would allow operations at the
airport involving aircraft complying with the noise
standards prescribed for "stage 2" aircraft in section 36.1
of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to replace
existing operations involving aircraft that do not comply
with those standards; and
(B) the project meets the other requirements under this
subchapter.
(3) At the Secretary's request, the sponsor shall give the
Secretary a copy of the transcript of any hearing held under
paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection.
(4) (A) Notice of certification or of refusal to certify
under paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection shall be provided
to the Secretary not later than 60 days after the Secretary
receives the application.
(B) The Secretary shall condition approval of the application
on compliance with the applicable standards during
construction and operation.
(5) The Secretary may make a finding under paragraph (1)(C)
of this subsection only after completely reviewing the matter.
The review and finding must be a matter of public record.
(d) Withholding Approval. - (1) The Secretary may withhold approval of
an application under this subchapter for amounts apportioned under
section 47114(c) and (e) of this title for violating an assurance or
requirement of this subchapter only if -
(A) the Secretary provides the sponsor an opportunity for a
hearing; and
(B) not later than 180 days after the later of the date of the
application or the date the Secretary discovers the
noncompliance, the Secretary finds that a violation has occurred.
(2) The 180-day period may be extended by -
(A) agreement between the Secretary and the sponsor; or
(B) the hearing officer if the officer decides an extension
is necessary because the sponsor did not follow the schedule
the officer established. (3) A person adversely affected by
an order of the Secretary withholding approval may obtain
review of the order by filing a petition in the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
or in the court of appeals of the United States for the
circuit in which the project is located. The action must be
brought not later than 60 days after the order is served on
the petitioner.
(e) Reports Relating to Construction of Certain New Hub Airports. - At
least 90 days prior to the approval under this subchapter of a project
grant application for construction of a new hub airport that is
expected to have 0.25 percent or more of the total annual enplanements
in the United States, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report
analyzing the anticipated impact of such proposed new airport on -
(1) the fees charged to air carriers (including landing fees),
and other costs that will be incurred by air carriers, for using
the proposed airport;
(2) air transportation that will be provided in the geographic
region of the proposed airport; and
(3) the availability and cost of providing air transportation to
rural areas in such geographic region.
Sec. 47107. Project grant application approval conditioned on assurances
about airport operations
(a) General Written Assurances. - The Secretary of Transportation may
approve a project grant application under this subchapter for an
airport development project only if the Secretary receives written
assurances, satisfactory to the Secretary, that -
(1) the airport will be available for public use on reasonable
conditions and without unjust discrimination;
(2) air carriers making similar use of the airport will be
subject to substantially comparable charges -
(A) for facilities directly and substantially related to
providing air transportation; and
(B) regulations and conditions, except for differences based
on reasonable classifications, such as between -
(i) tenants and nontenants; and
(ii) signatory and nonsignatory carriers;
(3) the airport operator will not withhold unreasonably the
classification or status of tenant or signatory from an air
carrier that assumes obligations substantially similar to those
already imposed on air carriers of that classification or status;
(4) a person providing, or intending to provide, aeronautical
services to the public will not be given an exclusive right to use
the airport, with a right given to only one fixed-base operator to
provide services at an airport deemed not to be an exclusive
right if -
(A) the right would be unreasonably costly, burdensome, or
impractical for more than one fixed-base operator to provide
the services; and
(B) allowing more than one fixed-base operator to provide the
services would require reducing the space leased under an
existing agreement between the one fixed-base operator and
the airport owner or operator;
(5) fixed-base operators similarly using the airport will be
subject to the same charges;
(6) an air carrier using the airport may service itself or use any
fixed-base operator allowed by the airport operator to service any
carrier at the airport;
(7) the airport and facilities on or connected with the airport
will be operated and maintained suitably, with consideration given
to climatic and flood conditions;
(8) a proposal to close the airport temporarily for a
nonaeronautical purpose must first be approved by the Secretary;
(9) appropriate action will be taken to ensure that terminal
airspace required to protect instrument and visual operations to
the airport (including operations at established minimum flight
altitudes) will be cleared and protected by mitigating existing,
and preventing future, airport hazards;
(10) appropriate action, including the adoption of zoning laws,
has been or will be taken to the extent reasonable to restrict the
use of land next to or near the airport to uses that are
compatible with normal airport operations;
(11) each of the airport's facilities developed with financial
assistance from the United States Government and each of the
airport's facilities usable for the landing and taking off of
aircraft always will be available without charge for use by
Government aircraft in common with other aircraft, except that if
the use is substantial, the Government may be charged a
reasonable share, proportionate to the use, of the cost of
operating and maintaining the facility used;
(12) the airport owner or operator will provide, without charge to
the Government, property interests of the sponsor in land or water
areas or buildings that the Secretary decides are desirable for,
and that will be used for, constructing at Government expense,
facilities for carrying out activities related to air traffic
control or navigation;
(13) the airport owner or operator will maintain a schedule of
charges for use of facilities and services at the airport -
(A) that will make the airport as self-sustaining as possible
under the circumstances existing at the airport, including
volume of traffic and economy of collection; and
(B) without including in the rate base used for the charges
the Government's share of costs for any project for which a
grant is made under this subchapter or was made under the
Federal Airport Act or the Airport and Airway Development Act
of 1970;
(14) the project accounts and records will be kept uing a standard
system of accounting that the Secretary, after consulting with
appropriate public agencies, prescribes;
(15) the airport owner or operator will submit any annual or
special airport financial and operations reports to the Secretary
that the Secretary reasonably requests and make such reports
available to the public;
(16) the airport owner or operator will maintain a current layout
plan of the airport that meets the following requirements:
(A) the plan will be in a form the Secretary prescribes;
(B) the Secretary will approve the plan and any revision or
modification before the plan, revision, or modification takes
effect;
(C) the owner or operator will not make or allow any
alteration in the airport or any of its facilities if the
alteration does not comply with the plan the Secretary
approves, and the Secretary is of the opinion that the
alteration may affect adversely the safety, utility, or
efficiency of the airport; and
(D) when an alteration in the airport or its facility is made
that does not conform to the approved plan and that the
Secretary decides adversely affects the safety, utility, or
efficiency of any property on or off the airport that is
owned, leased, or financed by the Government, the owner or
operator, if requested by the Secretary, will -
(i) eliminate the adverse effect in a way the Secretary
approves; or
(ii) bear all cost of relocating the property or its
replacement to a site acceptable to the Secretary and of
restoring the property or its replacement to the level
of safety, utility, efficiency, and cost of operation
that existed before the alteration was made;
(17) each contract and subcontract for program anagement,
construction management, planning studies, feasibility studies,
architectural services, preliminary engineering, design,
engineering, surveying, mapping, and related services will be
awarded in the same way that a contract for architectural and
engineering services is negotiated under title IX of the Federal
Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 541 et
seq.) or an equivalent qualifications-based requirement
prescribed for or by the sponsor;
(18) the airport and each airport record will be available for
inspection by the Secretary on reasonable request, and a report of
the airport budget will be available to the public at reasonable
times and places; and
(19) the airport owner or operator will submit to the Secretary
and make available to the public an annual report listing in
detail -
(A) all amounts paid by the airport to any other unit of
government and the purposes for which each such payment was
made; and
(B) all services and property provided to other units of
government and the amount of compensation received for
provision of each such service and property.
(b) Written Assurances on Use of Revenue. - (1) The Secretary of
Transportation may approve a project grant application under this
subchapter for an airport development project only if the Secretary
receives written assurances, satisfactory to the Secretary, that local
taxes on aviation fuel (except taxes in effect on December 30, 1987)
and the revenues generated by a public airport will be expended for
the capital or operating costs of -
(A) the airport;
(B) the local airport system; or
(C) other local facilities owned or operated by the airport owner
or operator and directly and substantially related to the air
transportation of passengers or property.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply if a provision
enacted not later than September 2, 1982, in a law controlling
financing by the airport owner or operator, or a covenant or
assurance in a debt obligation issued not later than September 2,
1982, by the owner or operator, provides that the revenues,
including local taxes on aviation fuel at public airports, from
any of the facilities of the owner or operator, including the
airport, be used to support not only the airport but also the
general debt obligations or other facilities of the owner or
operator. (3) This subsection does not prevent the use of a State
tax on aviation fuel to support a State aviation program or the
use of airport revenue on or off the airport for a noise
mitigation purpose.
(c) Written Assurances on Acquiring Land. - (1) In this subsection,
land is needed for an airport purpose (except a noise compatibility
purpose) if -
(A)(i) the land may be needed for an aeronautical purpose
(including runway protection zone) or serves as noise buffer
land; and (ii) revenue from interim uses of the land contributes
to the financial self-sufficiency of the airport; and
(B) for land purchased with a grant the owner or operator
received not later than December 30, 1987, the Secretary of
Transportation or the department, agency, or instrumentality of
the Government that made the grant was notified by the owner or
operator of the use of the land and did not object to the use and
the land is still being used for that purpose.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation may approve an application
under this subchapter for an airport development project grant
only if the Secretary receives written assurances, satisfactory to
the Secretary, that if an airport owner or operator has received
or will receive a grant for acquiring land and -
(A) if the land was or will be acquired for a noise
compatibility purpose -
(i) the owner or operator will dispose of the land at
fair market value at the earliest practicable time
after the land no longer is needed for a noise
compatibility purpose;
(ii) the disposition will be subject to retaining or
reserving an interest in the land necessary to ensure
that the land will be used in a way that is compatible
with noise levels associated with operating the
airport; and
(iii) the part of the proceeds from disposing of the
land that is proportional to the Government's share of
the cost of acquiring the land will be paid to the
Secretary for deposit in the Airport and Airway Trust
Fund established under section 9502 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9502) or, as the
Secretary prescribes, reinvested in an approved noise
compatibility project; or
(B) if the land was or will be acquired for an airport
purpose (except a noise compatibility purpose) -
(i) the owner or operator, when the land no longer is
needed for an airport purpose, will dispose of the land
at fair market value or make available to the Secretary
an amount equal to the Government's proportional share
of the fair market value;
(ii) the disposition will be subject to retaining or
reserving an interest in the land necessary to ensure
that the land will be used in a way that is compatible
with noise levels associated with operating the
airport; and
(iii) the part of the proceeds from disposing of the
land that is proportional to the Government's share of
the cost of acquiring the land will be reinvested, on
application to the Secretary, in another eligible
airport development project the Secretary approves
under this subchapter or paid to the Secretary for
deposit in the Fund if another eligible project does
not exist.
(3) Proceeds referred to in paragraph (2)(A)(iii) and (B)(iii) of
this subsection and deposited in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund
are available as provided in subsection (f) of this section.
(d) Assurances of Continuation as Public-Use Airport. - The Secretary
of Transportation may approve an application under this subchapter for
an airport development project grant for a privately owned public-use
airport only if the Secretary receives appropriate assurances that the
airport will continue to function as a public-use airport during the
economic life (that must be at least 10 years) of any facility at the
airport that was developed with Government financial assistance under
this subchapter.
Continued