[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 72 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 18653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9428]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration


Deadline for Submission of Application Under the Airport 
Improvement Program (AIP) for Fiscal Year 1999 for Sponsor Entitlement 
and Cargo Funds

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces May 1, 
1999, as the deadline for each airport sponsor to have on file with the 
FAA an acceptable fiscal year 1999 grant application for funds 
apportioned to it under the AIP.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Stanley Lou, Manager, Programming Branch, Airports Financial 
Assistance Division, Office of Airport Planning and Programming, APP-
520, on (202) 267-8809.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 47105(f) of Title 49, United States 
Code, provides that the sponsor of each airport to which funds are 
apportioned shall notify the Secretary by such time and in a form as 
prescribed by the Secretary, of the sponsor's intent to apply for the 
funds apportioned to it (entitlements). Notification of the sponsor's 
intent to apply during fiscal year 1999 for any of its available 
entitlement funds including those unused from prior years, shall be in 
the form of a project application submitted to the cognizant FAA 
Airports office no later than May 1, 1999.

    This notice is promulgated to expedite and prioritize grants prior 
to the May 31, 1999, AIP expiration date as established by Public Law 
106-6 (the Interim Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act). 
Absent an acceptable application by May 1, FAA will defer an airport's 
entitlement funds until the next fiscal year. Pursuant to the authority 
and limitations in section 47117(g), FAA will issue discretionary 
grants in an aggregate amount not to exceed the aggregate amount of 
deferred entitlement funds.
    In prior fiscal years, FAA has had sufficient program flexibility 
to permit sponsors to provide notice later than the deadline date, or 
to use entitlement funds later in a fiscal year in spite of filing no 
notice to that effect. In FY 1999, however, FAA must make all 
discretionary grant awards prior to June 1, 1999, including 
discretionary grants of entitlement funds that are available to, but 
will not be used by, the airport sponsors to which they have been 
apportioned. Airport sponsors that fail to notify FAA by the deadline 
date that they intend to use all or a portion of their entitlement 
funds in FY 1999 may have access to these funds in FY 1999 after May 
31, only if legislation is enacted prior to October 1, 1999, to 
authorize the AIP beyond September 30. This includes prior year 
entitlement funds that remain available to an airport sponsor only 
through fiscal year 1999. In all other cases, airport sponsors may 
request unused entitlements after September 30, 1999.
    The FAA views the receipt of this notice from the sponsors of 
primary commercial service airports as particularly important this 
fiscal year. The ability to use the contract authority associated with 
unused entitlement funds on a discretionary basis during the current 
truncated program will allow FAA to obligate additional critically 
needed AIP funds by May 31. This abbreviated ``year-end conversion'' 
will result in more discretionary dollars for airport development. For 
these reasons, the FAA will rely heavily upon the extent to which 
responses to the required notice indicate the availability of unused 
entitlement funds for discretionary use. Inasmuch as the FAA will be 
able to obligate these funds after May 31 as entitlements only with the 
enactment of follow-on authorizing legislation, sponsors are advised to 
give careful consideration to decisions related to the use of 
entitlement funds during fiscal year 1999.

    Issued in Washington, DC on April 4, 1999.
Stan Lou,
Manager, Programming Branch.
[FR Doc. 99-9428 Filed 4-14-99; 8:45 am]
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