Document ID: FAA-2009-0924-0003
Agency: faa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Airport Compliance Program
Posted Date: 2009-10-13T04:00Z

[Federal Register: October 13, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 196)]
[Notices]               
[Page 52524-52525]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13oc09-108]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2009-0924]

 
Airport Compliance Program

AGENCY: Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Notice of availability of FAA Order 5190.6B, Airport Compliance 
Manual.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of FAA Order 5190.6B, 
Airport Compliance Manual, issued September 30, 2009. Order 5190.6B 
cancels and replaces Order 5190.6A, Airport Compliance Requirements, 
issued on October 2, 1989. Order 5190.6B provides current guidance to 
FAA employees on administration and implementation of the FAA airport 
compliance program. This program implements FAA's responsibilities for 
the enforcement of the obligations of airport operators to the United 
States Government arising from FAA grant agreements and from federal 
deeds of property for airport use. The order updates cancelled Order 
5190.6A by reflecting statutes, policy changes, case decisions and 
complaint resolution procedural rules issued since 1989 and by 
including more specific guidance material on a number of compliance 
subjects. FAA orders are intended for the use of FAA employees.

DATES: FAA Order 5190.6B was issued on September 30, 2009 and was 
effective upon issuance. Comments received by March 31, 2010 will be 
considered by the agency in a determination whether any further 
revision of the order is required.

ADDRESSES: You can get an electronic copy of FAA Order 5190.6B on the 
FAA Airports Web site at http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/
publications/orders/compliance_5190.6/.
    You may send comments identified by Docket Number, FAA-2009-0924 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending your 
comments electronically.
     Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Routing 
Symbol M-30, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Hand Delivery: To Docket Operations, Room W12-140 on the 
ground floor of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590; between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    For more information on the notice and comment process, see the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Privacy: We will 
post all comments we receive, without change, to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information you provide. 
For more information, see the Privacy Act discussion in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Docket: To read 
background documents or comments received, go to http://
www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room W12-140 on the ground floor 
of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Erhard, Manager, Airport 
Compliance Division, ACO-100, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, telephone (202) 267-
3187; facsimile: (202) 267-5769; e-mail: charles.erhard@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Documents

    You can get an electronic copy of this notice and all other 
documents in this docket using the Internet by:
    (1) Searching the Federal eRulemaking portal (http://
www.regulations.gov/search);
    (2) Visiting the FAA's Regulations and Policies web page at http://
www.faa.gov/regulations_policies.

Background

    Order 5190.6, Airport Compliance Requirements, was issued on August 
24, 1973. Order 5190.6 was cancelled and replaced by Order 5190.6A, 
Airport Compliance Requirements, on October 2, 1989. Each of these 
orders, while it was in effect, served as the handbook or manual for 
FAA employees responsible for monitoring and enforcing the compliance 
of airport operators with obligations to the federal government. Those 
obligations most commonly arise from conditions, or assurances, 
contained in agreements with the FAA for grants in aid to airports, and 
from the terms in deeds of property transferred by the federal 
government for airport use.
    The current FAA airport grant program is the Airport Improvement 
Program (AIP), established by the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 
1982 as amended, 49 U.S.C. 47101 et seq. (AAIA). Section 47107 requires 
the Secretary of Transportation to obtain certain assurances from an 
airport operator as a condition of receiving a grant under the AIP. The 
FAA implements this requirement with a standard set of grant assurances 
for airport sponsors, which can be viewed on the FAA Airports Web site 
at: http://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/grant_assurances/.
    An airport operator may also have Federal obligations under a deed 
of property transferred under the Surplus Property Act of 1944, as 
amended, 49 U.S.C. 47151-47153, or the Federal Airports Act of 1946, as 
amended, 49 U.S.C. 47125.
    Since 1989, there have been substantial changes to the laws and 
policies relating to the Federal obligations of airport operators, and 
also changes to the procedures for investigating and resolving 
complaints

[[Page 52525]]

over apparent noncompliance. These changes include:
     New statutory direction on airport rates and charges and 
on the use of airport revenue, 49 U.S.C. 47107(k) through (p), 47129, 
and 47133.
     The DOT Policy Regarding the Establishment of Airport 
Rates and Charges in 1996, as partially voided by a decision of the 
U.S. court of appeals in 1997 and revised by an agency amendment in 
2008;
     Rules of Practice for Federally Assisted Airport 
Enforcement Proceedings, 14 CFR Part 16, issued in 1996;
     The FAA Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of 
Airport Revenue, issued in 1999;
     Enactment of 49 U.S.C. 47134, establishing a pilot program 
for airport privatization;
     More than 105 determinations issued under 14 CFR Part 16 
by the FAA Office of Airport Safety and Standards, the Office of 
Compliance and Operations, and the Associate Administrator for 
Airports, as well as decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals on 
petitions for review of agency determinations.
    To incorporate these changes and provide the most useful and 
current program guidance to agency employees, the Office of Compliance 
and Field Operations has updated and revised the manual, and issued the 
new manual as Order 5190.6B on September 30, 2009.

Request for Public Comment

    Order 5190.6B became effective when issued, and FAA employees are 
using the order as the primary manual for implementation of the FAA 
airport compliance program. The FAA expects that future changes to the 
manual may be necessary to reflect new decisions by federal courts, 
amendments to the agency's authorizing statutes, and the Associate 
Administrator for Airports' interpretations of agency policy in case 
determinations issued under 14 CFR part 16. For that reason the agency 
plans periodic reviews of the manual, with the first review being 
approximately one year after the issuance date, in September 2010.
    While the FAA generally does not request public comment on internal 
orders, the agency has established a docket for public comments on 
Order 5190.6B in recognition of the interest of all segments of the 
airport community in the FAA's airport compliance program. The agency 
will consider all comments received by March 31, 2010, in this first 
review of Order 5190.6B. Comments received after that date may be 
considered if consideration will not delay agency action on the review. 
The purpose of the review will be to ensure that the summaries of 
agency policy in the order accurately reflect the current legal 
authorities that define an airport operator's obligations. Comments 
that address that purpose will be the most useful to the agency in its 
review.

Notice of availability

    Order 5190.6B, Airport Compliance Manual, issued September 30, 2009 
is available for review and downloading from the FAA Airports Web site 
at: http://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/publications/orders/
compliance_5190.6.

    Issued in Washington, DC on October 1, 2009.
Randall S. Fiertz,
Director, Office of Compliance and Field Operations.
[FR Doc. E9-24627 Filed 10-9-09; 8:45 am]

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