# Presentation: 915098

## Airport Compliance

-  The FAA Airport Compliance Program establishes the policy and guidelines for monitoring the compliance of airport sponsors with their obligations to the United States.

## Compliance Program Background

-  Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, and Federal Aviation Act of 1958,
- Charged the FAA with  responsibility for the regulation of air commerce and for the promotion, encouragement, and development of civil aeronautics.
- Recipient assumes obligations, either by contract or by restrictive covenants in property deeds, to maintain and operate its airport facilities.

## Airport Compliance 

- Is  contractually based.
- 		Not attempt to control or direct airport 	Monitor and enforce Govt rights.
- Grants are made in exchange for binding commitments to assure the public interest in civil aviation will be served.
- FAA is responsible for seeing these commitments are met.

## Airport Sponsor Assurances

- Different sets, depending on project
- Airport Development
- Planning
- Noise
- PFC
- Part A General
- Required in application and becomes part of grant
- Part B Duration and Applicability
- Useful life, not more than 20 years
- No limit on land

## Sponsor Certification

-  1.  General Federal Requirements (about 50)
- Federal Legislation
- 49 USC, Davis-Bacon, Civil Rights Act, FLSA
- Executive Orders
- EEO, Wetlands, Environmental Justice
- Federal Regulations
- Uniform Relocation and Property Acquisition Act,  Architectural Barriers Act
- OMB Circulars
- A-87 Cost principles, A-133 Audits

## Sponsor Certification

- 2. Responsibility and authority of the sponsor
-   legal authority to apply, finance and carry out project
- 3.  Sponsor fund availability (enough money)
- 4.  Good title to landing area
- 5.  Preserving rights and powers
-   No adverse actions
-   Will not sell lease encumber or transfer
-   Reserve sufficient rights and authority

## Sponsor Certification

- 6.    Consistency with local plans.
- 7.    Consideration of local interest
- 8.    Consultation with users
- 9.    Public Hearings
- 10.  Air and water quality standards
- 11.  Pavement maintenance (after 1/1/1995)
- 12.  Terminal development prerequisites
- Have all required safety equipment
- 13.   Accounting system, audits

## Sponsor Certification

- 14.  Minimum wage rates
- 15.  Veteran’s Preference
- 16.  Conformity to plans and specs
- 17.  Construction inspection and approval
- 18.  Planning projects
- 19.  Operation and maintenance
- 20.  Hazard removal and mitigation
- 21.  Compatible land use

## Sponsor Certification

- 22.  Economic nondiscrimination
- 23.  Exclusive rights
- 24.  Fee and rental structure
- 25.  Airport revenue
- 26.  Reports and Inspections
- 27.  Use by government aircraft
- 5 aircraft/ 300 landings

## Sponsor Certification

- 28.  Land for federal facilities
- Modified-free space / land for At facilities
- 29.  Airport layout plan
- Keep it current / no changes negatively impacting
- Race/color/creed
- 30.  Civil Rights
- 31.  Disposal of land
- FAA must approve / publish in Federal Register

## Sponsor Certification

- 32.  Engineering and design services
- Negotiated and meet Title IX of Fed Property and Admin Services Act of 1949
- 33.  Foreign Market restrictions
- Buy American
- 34.  Policies, standards and specifications
-  Use our standards and specs
- 35.  Relocation and real property acquisition
- 36.  Access by intercity buses
- 37.  Disadvantaged Business Enterprises.

## Specific Assurances

- Specific Assurances

-  Sponsor Rights & Powers  (5)
-  Restriction/Denial of Access (22a)
-  Unjust Discrimination  (22a)
-  Uniform Rents/Fees/Charges  (22c)
-  Self Servicing  (22f)
-  Reasonable Terms & Conditions (22h)
-  Exclusive Rights  (23)
-  Airport Revenue Generation  (24)
-  Airport Revenue Use  (25)

## PRESERVING RIGHTS & POWERS  

- Sponsor will not do anything  which would deprive it of any of the rights and powers necessary to perform the assurances in the grant agreement without the written approval of the FAA.

## PRESERVING RIGHTS & POWERS 

- Sponsor will act promptly to acquire, extinguish or modify any outstanding rights or claims of right of others which would interfere with such performance.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

-  a. It will make the airport available as an airport for public use on reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination to all types, kinds and classes of aeronautical activities, including commercial aeronautical activities offering services to the public at the airport.

## Aeronautical Uses                                  	        (Types / Kinds / Classes)

-  Scheduled Service / Air Taxi & Charter Ops
-  Aircraft Sales / Rental / Storage
-  Aircraft Repair / Maintenance / Fueling
-  Flight Instruction
-  Aerial Advertising / Photography / Spraying
-  Parachute Operations
-  Ultra light Vehicle Operations

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

-  b.	In any agreement, under which a right at the airport is granted to any person to conduct any aeronautical activity furnishing services to the public at the airport, the sponsor will insert and enforce provisions requiring the contractor to-
-  (1)  furnish said services on a reasonable, and not unjustly discriminatory, basis to all users thereof, and

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- (2)   charge reasonable, and not unjustly discriminatory, prices for each unit or service, provided that the contractor may be allowed to make reasonable and nondiscriminatory discounts, rebates, or other similar types of price reductions to volume purchasers.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- c.	Each fixed-based operator at the airport shall be subject to the same rates, fees, rentals, and other charges as are uniformly applicable to all other fixed-based operators making the same or similar uses of such airport and utilizing the same or similar facilities.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- d.	Each air carrier using such airport shall have the right to service itself or to use any fixed-based operator that is authorized or permitted by the airport to serve any air carrier at such airport.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- e.      Each air carrier using such airport (whether as a tenant, nontenant, or subtenant of another air carrier tenant) shall be subject to such nondiscriminatory and substantially comparable rules, regulations, conditions, rates, fees, rentals, and other charges with respect to facilities directly and substantially related to providing air transportation as are applicable to all such air carriers which make similar use of such airport and utilize similar facilities, subject to reasonable classifications.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- Classification or status as tenant or signatory shall not be unreasonably withheld by any airport provided an air carrier assumes obligations substantially similar to those already imposed on air carriers in such classification or status

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- f.  It will not exercise or grant any right or privilege which operates to prevent any person operating aircraft on the airport from performing any services on its own aircraft with its own employees [including, but not limited to maintenance, repair, and fueling] that it may choose to perform.

## 22. Commercial Aeronautical Activity by Sponsor 

- g.	In the event the sponsor itself exercises any of the rights and privileges referred to in this assurance, the services involved will be provided on the same conditions as would apply to the furnishing of such services by commercial aeronautical service providers authorized by the sponsor under these provisions.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- h.  The sponsor may establish such reasonable, and not unjustly discriminatory, conditions to be met by all users of the airport as may be necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the airport.

## 22.  Economic Nondiscrimination

- i.  The sponsor may prohibit or limit any given type, kind or class of aeronautical use of the airport if such action is necessary for the safe operation of the airport or necessary to serve the civil aviation needs of the public.

## Airport Revenue

- Money made from airport operations should stay on the airport.
- Sponsor may recoup costs.
- Commercial service airports must report.
- Diversion of revenue may result in loss of transportation $ and triple damages.

## What is airport revenue?

- Money resulting from the operation of the airport.
- Fees, landing, fuel flowage, tie-down, leases
- Money resulting from the sale of airport lands or equipment.
- Income on-airport parking lots.
- Income from minerals taken from airport property.

## What is not airport revenue?

- Income from businesses or facilities built on land leased from the airport.
- Stadium, general licensing fees
- Fines
- Passenger Facility Charges
- Restricted use revenue (49 U.S.C 40117)

## Permitted uses of airport revenue

- Capital or operating costs of the airport
- Cost of marketing the airport
- Share of promotional expenses
- Certain directly or indirectly allocated costs.

## When is it “Diverted”?

- Sponsor charges more than the service is reasonably worth
- Sponsor gives away use of airport property for charitable purposes.
- Sponsor uses property without paying for it.
- Maintenance or storage facility, equipment use

## Fee and Rental Structure

- Maintain rate structure to make the airport as self-sustaining as feasible.
- Federal share of a project can not be rate based.
- Market conditions rule.
- I.E. RKS

## Surplus Property

- Aeronautical use
- Reasonable rate
- Non-aeronautical use
- Fair market value rates
- Sale of real property requires Federal Register publication
- May have NEUP
- Only HQ DOD can release

## Non-Surplus Gov’t Property

- FAA cannot release
- Only owning agency can release
- BLM, GSA
- Used only for airport purposes
- Not used for revenue generation
- Does not include mineral rights

## Complaints

- Part 13
- Part 16
- Rates and Charges

## Minimum Standards and Rules Regulations

- Commercial aeronautical activity offered to the public
- Level playing field
- Keeps open entry
- Fair, reasonable and necessary
- Who cares?
- You do
- Why?

## Issues you are likely to see

- Self-service (fueling)
- Proprietary exclusive
- Lease rates
- Access to the airport
- Minimum Standards
- Independents

## Issues you are likely to see

- Land use issues
- Airport revenue
- FBO relationships
- Hissing contests
- Airport maintenance
- Land releases

## Or, another way of looking at it...

- The airport is a sandbox, there are rules for playing in it to keep everyone safe.
- Everyone has to follow the rules.
- Allow as many in the sandbox as will reasonably fit.
- No one is more ‘special’ than another

## Some thoughts

-  Sometimes the biggest jerks are right.

-  There are always at least two sides to
-    the story.