
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-181 Section 155(b)]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-71 Section 123(a)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-181 Section 310]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-181 Section 514(c)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-181 Section 514(d)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-181 Section 737]
[CITE: 49USC47106]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                     SUBTITLE VII--AVIATION PROGRAMS
 
                  PART B--AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT AND NOISE
 
                    CHAPTER 471--AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT
 
                    SUBCHAPTER I--AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT
 
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.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1254; Pub. L. 103-
305, title I, Secs. 108, 109, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1573.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
47106(a)..............................  49 App.:2208(b) (1)(A)-(D).      Sept. 
3, 1982, Pub. L. 97-248, Secs.
                                                                          503(a
)(8), 509(b)(1)(A)- (D), (2)-(4),
                                                                          (5) (
last sentence words after 11th
                                                                          comma
), (6)(B)-(8), 96 Stat. 673, 683,
                                                                          684.
47106(b)..............................  49 App.:2202(a)(8).
                                        49 App.:2208(b) (2)-(4).
47106(c) (1)(A).......................  49 App.:2208(b)(6)(A).           Sept. 
3, 1982, Pub. L. 97-248, Sec.
                                                                          509(b
)(6)(A), 96 Stat. 684; Oct. 31,
                                                                          1992,
 Pub. L. 102-581, Sec.  113(b),
                                                                          106 S
tat. 4881.
47106(c) (1)(B).......................  49 App.:2208(b)(7)(A) (1st, 2d
                                         sentences).
47106(c) (1)(C).......................  49 App.:2208(b)(5) (last
                                         sentence words between 11th
                                         and 12th commas and after last
                                         comma).
47106(c)(2)...........................  49 App.:2208(b)(8).
47106(c)(3)...........................  49 App.:2208(b)(6)(B).
47106(c)(4)...........................  49 App.:2208(b)(7)(A) (last
                                         sentence), (B).
47106(c)(5)...........................  49 App.:2208(b)(5) (last
                                         sentence words between 12th
                                         and last commas).
47106(d)..............................  49 App.:1731.                    May 21
, 1970, Pub. L. 91-258, 84 Stat.
                                                                          219, 
Sec.  31; added Feb. 18, 1980,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 96-193, Sec.  206, 94 Stat.
                                                                          55; S
ept. 3, 1982, Pub. L. 97-248,
                                                                          Sec. 
 524(e), 96 Stat. 697.
47106(e)..............................  49 App.:2218(b) (related to      Sept. 
3, 1982, Pub. L. 97-248, 96 Stat.
                                         application).                    324, 
Sec.  519(b) (related to
                                                                          appli
cation); added Dec. 30, 1987,
                                                                          Pub. 
L. 100-223, Sec.  112(2), 101
                                                                          Stat.
 1504.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (a)(1), the word ``reasonably'' is omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (a)(2), the words ``carrying out'' are substituted for 
``accomplishment of the purposes of'' for consistency in the revised 
title.
    In subsection (a)(3), the words ``that portion of'' are omitted as 
surplus.
    In subsection (a)(5), the words ``which submitted the project grant 
application'' and ``legal'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b), before clause (1), the words ``for an airport'' 
are added for clarity. In clause (1), the words ``or an agency thereof'' 
are omitted surplus. In clause (3), the words ``that the Secretary . . . 
decides is necessary'' are substituted for ``when it is determined by 
the Secretary that any such item is required'' to eliminate unnecessary 
words.
    In subsection (c)(1)(B), before subclause (i), the words ``chief 
executive officer'' are substituted for ``Governor'' because this 
chapter applies to the District of Columbia which does not have a 
Governor. The words ``except that the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall make the certification instead of the chief 
executive officer if'' are substituted for ``In any case where . . . 
certification shall be obtained from such Administrator'' for clarity. 
Subclause (i) is substituted for ``such standards have not been 
approved'' for clarity.
    In subsection (c)(2), before clause (A), the words ``Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law'' are omitted as surplus. The words ``that 
does not involve the location of an airport or runway, or a major runway 
extension'' are substituted for ``(other than an airport development 
project in which paragraph (7)(A) applies)'' for clarity. The words 
``the preparation of'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (B), the words 
``statutory and administrative'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (c)(4)(A), the words ``to the Secretary'' are added 
for clarity.
    In subsection (c)(5), the words ``full and'' are omitted as surplus. 
The words ``in writing'' are omitted as surplus because of the 
requirement that the decision be a matter of public record.
    In subsection (d)(1), the words ``(as defined by section 1711(8) of 
this Appendix, as in effect on February 18, 1980)'' are omitted because 
of the definition of ``air carrier airport'' in section 47102 of the 
revised title.
    In subsection (d)(2), the words ``Notwithstanding any other 
provision of the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 [49 App. 
U.S.C. 2201 et seq.]'' and ``single'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (e)(1) and (2), the word ``sponsor'' is substituted 
for ``applicant'' for consistency.
    In subsection (e)(1), before clause (A), the words ``under this 
subchapter'' are added for consistency in this section. The word 
``other'' is omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (e)(2)(A), the word ``mutual'' is omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (e)(3), the words ``adversely affected'' are 
substituted for ``aggrieved'' for consistency in the revised title and 
with other titles of the United States Code. The words ``the date on 
which'' are omitted as surplus.


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 103-305 added subsec. (e), 
redesignated former subsec. (e) as (d), and struck out former subsec. 
(d) which read as follows:
    ``(d) General Aviation Airport Project Grant Application Approval.--
(1) In this subsection, `general aviation airport' means a public 
airport that is not an air carrier airport.
    ``(2) The Secretary may approve an application under this subchapter 
for an airport development project included in a project grant 
application involving the construction or extension of a runway at a 
general aviation airport located on both sides of a boundary line 
separating 2 counties within a State only if, before the application is 
submitted to the Secretary, the project is approved by the governing 
body of each village incorporated under the laws of the State and 
located entirely within 5 miles of the nearest boundary of the 
airport.''
