On Tuesday the FAA published a Notice of modification of Airport Improvement Program grant assurances in the Federal Register for public comment. The AIP grants are provided to airport sponsors for airport planning, airport development, noise compatibility planning or noise mitigation. “Upon acceptance of the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant by an airport sponsor, the assurances become a contractual obligation between the airport sponsor and the Federal government.”
According to the Notice, “Modifications to the AIP grant assurances are primarily being made to remove grant assurances that govern the application and implementation of an AIP project that expires with the completion of the project and place them as grant agreement conditions or as certifications as part of the application process.” New proposed assurances are also explained and discussed in the Notice.
The Notice includes a table that compares the existing assurances (available online here) with the proposed modified assurances, as well as a description of the modified and new assurances. An interesting new addition is the requirement that an airport operator who agrees to allow an aircraft owner to construct a hangar “will” grant the aircraft owner a “long-term lease for the hangar that is subject to such terms and conditions on the hangar as the airport owner or operator may impose.” Other new assurances relate to competitive access for air carriers and non-discrimination against disadvantaged business enterprises.
Comments to the proposed modifications may be delivered or mailed to the FAA, Airports Financial Assistance Division, APP-500, Attn: Mr. Kendall Ball, Room 619, 800 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591 no later than September 23, 2004. If you have questions or would like further information you can contact Mr. Kendall Ball, Airport Improvement Program Branch, APP 520, Airports Financial Assistance Division, Room 619, FAA, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, Telephone (202) 267-7436.
