United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-05-07 monographic deposited born digital 33 p. GA 1.13:RCED-99-109 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109 P0b002ee18039af70 f:rc99109 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109 RCED-99-109 Land management Federal property management Transportation safety Airports Noncompliance Internal controls Land use agreements Sanctions Monitoring Federal Aid to Airports Program FAA Airport Development Aid Program FAA Airport Improvement Program Hesler-Noble Field Airport (MS) Bader Field Airport (NJ) Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport (MO) Queen City Municipal Airport (PA) Letter Report RCED

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO provided information on: (1) the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) monitoring of general aviation airports' compliance with federal land-use requirements; and (2) FAA's use of enforcement tools to resolve cases of noncompliance.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) FAA does not adequately monitor general aviation airports' compliance with federal requirements and does not have the internal controls in place to protect the federal government's investment in the airports from mismanagement, fraud, waste, and abuse; (2) although FAA's compliance policy clearly calls for monitoring airports to ensure they meet federal requirements, only 4 of FAA's 23 field offices monitor compliance; (3) this monitoring, however, relies primarily on airports themselves certifying that they are complying with federal requirements; (4) in 1994, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General concluded that relying on such certifications was insufficient for ensuring compliance with federal requirements on revenue use, noting that 14 of the 15 airport owners identified as not complying with revenue use requirements had previously certified that they were in compliance; (5) one result of FAA's lack of monitoring is that airports' unauthorized use of land has gone undetected in some cases for over a decade; (6) unauthorized use has resulted in the loss or diversion of millions of dollars in airport revenues from general aviation airports, typically owned by a local government; (7) in some cases, increased risks to aviation safety also resulted; (8) FAA determined that birds attracted by an unauthorized landfill at Hesler-Noble Field in Laurel, Mississippi, posed a possible danger to aircraft; (9) FAA generally addresses airports' noncompliance with federal requirements through negotiation and settlement rather than the use of available enforcement actions; and (10) when negotiations are unsuccessful and persistent noncompliance occurs, FAA has not always taken appropriate enforcement action--such as withholding transportation grants, taking back the title to airport land, or taking action through the courts. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109.pdf GAO/RCED-99-109 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-109 Letter Report GAO/RCED-99-109; General Aviation Airports: Unauthorized Land Use; Land management Federal property management Transportation safety Airports Noncompliance Internal controls Land use agreements Sanctions Monitoring Federal Aid to Airports Program FAA Airport Development Aid Program FAA Airport Improvement Program Hesler-Noble Field Airport (MS) Bader Field Airport (NJ) Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport (MO) Queen City Municipal Airport (PA) Title 49 Section 46301 Title 49 Section 47107 Title 49 Section 47125 Title 49 Section 47152 49 U.S.C. 46301 49 U.S.C. 47107 49 U.S.C. 47125 49 U.S.C. 47152 Public Law 103-122 Public Law 103-331 Public Law 104-264