[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 145 (Monday, November 13, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H11865-H11866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DIRECTING TREATMENT OF BOUNDARIES OF LAWRENCE COUNTY AIRPORT, 
                           COURTLAND, ALABAMA

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5111) to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
Administration to treat certain property boundaries as the boundaries 
of the Lawrence County Airport Courtland, Alabama, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5111

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LAWRENCE COUNTY AIRPORT, COURTLAND, ALABAMA.

       (a) In General.--With respect to the airport located at 
     Courtland, Lawrence County, Alabama (formerly known as the 
     George C. Wallace Airport), the Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration shall treat as the boundaries of the 
     airport property those boundaries shown on the airport layout 
     drawing produced by Garver, Inc., dated March 8, 1999, and 
     approved by the Jackson Airport District Office of the 
     Administration.
       (b) Treatment of Nonairport Property.--The Administrator 
     may not treat as airport property any real property not 
     designated as airport property in the drawing referred to in 
     subsection (a) regardless of whether such real property was 
     designated as airport property at any time prior to March 8, 
     1999.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
McGovern) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
will be very brief. This bill would declare that the boundaries of the 
airport in Lawrence County, Alabama, are the boundaries set forth in 
the airport layout plan of March 8, 1999.
  The effect of this bill is to remove Federal use restrictions on 
about 200 acres and let Lawrence County use the land to meet local 
needs.
  Originally, this property was part of a military air base. It was 
transferred to Alabama at the end of World War II. Alabama's 
aeronautics commission ran the airport until 1980 when it sold it to 
TVA. The TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority, sold it to Lawrence 
County in 1985.
  Lawrence County applied for and received an Airport Improvement 
Program grant from the FAA in the late 1980s. At that time it submitted 
an airport layout plan showing the boundaries of the airport as 
containing about 600 acres.
  On March 8, 1999, the airport revised its airport layout plan. The 
revised plan showed the airport as containing only 414 acres.
  The FAA believes the 1980s airport layout plan, with 600 acres, 
controls. That is when the airport received its AIP grant from the FAA 
and promised to use its land only for airport purposes.
  Generally, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
vigorously defends the need to preserve airport land. Last year, the 
Subcommittee on Aviation held a hearing on this subject. And AIR 21 
contains several procedural protections to help preserve our Nation's 
airports.
  However, in this case the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt) has 
made a strong case for the need for this change. He has shown that the 
airport really only requires 414 acres to handle the aviation needs of 
the community. Also, it is my understanding that the FAA now supports 
reducing the size of the airport to 414 acres, but it does not feel it 
can do so without this legislation. Moreover, the FAA had previously 
given the airport a release from the deed restrictions on this land.
  Therefore, for all these reasons, I support this bill and urge its 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill sponsored by the gentleman 
from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), which directs the FAA to use a revised 
March 8, 1999, airport layout plan to determine the boundaries of the 
Lawrence County Airport, located in Courtland, Alabama. However, this 
bill is based on a unique set of circumstances and should not be viewed 
as a precedent for diverting revenues from the sale of airport 
property.
  In the late 1980s, a master plan for Lawrence County Airport prepared 
by the Industrial Development Board of Lawrence County included more 
airport property than was needed for the current and foreseeable 
requirements of the airport. Although the excess property was included 
in exhibits to Federal grant agreements as airport property, it was not 
material to any FAA decision to award Airport Improvement Program funds 
for the development of the airport. In addition, the excess property 
was not included in the airport layout plan recently approved by the 
FAA.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill would confirm the boundaries of the airport 
shown on the airport layout plan approved by the FAA on March 8, 1999, 
and release the sponsor from the obligation to put the proceeds of sale 
for property not within the agreed boundaries of the airport into the 
airport account.
  Based on these unique circumstances, I urge my colleagues to support 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may

[[Page H11866]]

consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), the sponsor of 
this legislation.

                              {time}  1900

  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster); the ranking member, the gentleman from 
Minnesota Mr. Oberstar); and the gentleman from Tennessee (Chairman 
Duncan) for working with me to bring this bill for making a technical 
correction to the boundaries of the Lawrence County Airport to the 
floor this evening.
  Back in 1999, as it has been stated before, the FAA approved a 
revised layout plan for the Lawrence County Airport in Courtland, 
Alabama, which states that the ownership and the management of the 
airport consists of approximately 414 acres. This plan has been 
approved by the FAA and the local industrial development board in 
Lawrence County, Alabama.
  The FAA subsequently uncovered a map submitted in 1989 with a grant 
application for runway improvements showing the airport as consisting 
of approximately 600 acres. The additional acreage was incorporated 
into the grant application to accommodate an extension of the existing 
5,000 foot runway to 7,000 feet each over a period of 20 years. There 
is no need for aircraft which require a 7,000 foot in the area, and 
this plan has not proceeded.
  Due to the discrepancy between the old grant application and the 
FAA's revised layout plan, Lawrence County is not able to use the 
property. H.R. 5111 makes technical and conforming changes that clarify 
that the 414 acre layout plan is in effect.
  Again, I would like it thank the chairman and the other members of 
the committee for their support, and ask my colleagues to support H.R. 
5111.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I do not intend to object to the bill 
sponsored by the Gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Aderholt, which directs 
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to use a revised March 8, 
1999 airport layout plan to determine the boundaries of the Lawrence 
County Airport, located in Courtland, Alabama. However, I want to make 
it clear that this bill should not be viewed as a precedent for 
diverting revenues from the sale of airport property.
  Since 1982, and in subsequent reauthorization legislation, Congress 
has placed very strict conditions on the use of airport revenues to 
ensure that the revenues would be used primarily for airport purposes. 
In 1999, FAA issued its final revenue use policy, which states that any 
revenue from the sale of airport real property not acquired with 
Federal assistance will be considered airport revenue. Accordingly, the 
policy requires that the airport operator deposit the fair market value 
from the sale of the property into the airport account.
  In the situation at hand, a master plan for Lawrence County Airport 
prepared by the Industrial Development Board of Lawrence County in the 
late 1980's showed more airport property that was needed for the 
current and foreseeable requirements of the airport. The excess 
property was included in exhibits to Federal grant agreements as 
airport property, but was not material to any FAA decision to award 
Airport Improvement Program funds for the development of the airport. 
However, the FAA recently approved an airport layout plan allowing for 
limited commercial development on approximately 200 acres of land 
surrounding the Lawrence County Airport.
  This bill would confirm the boundaries of the airport shown on the 
airport layout plan approved by the FAA on March 12, 1999, and release 
the sponsor from the obligation to put the proceeds of sale for 
property not within the agreed boundaries of the airport into the 
airport account.
  This narrow legislation is based on a unique set of circumstances and 
should not be considered a precedent for a change in the clear policy 
on use of airport revenues. I am strongly supportive of requiring that 
proceeds from the sale or rental of airport property must be used for 
the capital and operating costs of the airport.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5111.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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