[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2266-2267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-733]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces March 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 entitlement 
funds including those unused from prior years, shall be in the form of 
a project application (SF 424) submitted to the cognizant FAA Airports 
office no later than March 1, 1999.
    This notice is promulgated to expedite and prioritize grants prior 
to the March 30, 1999, AIP expiration date as established by Public Law 
105-227 (the Omnibus Act). Absent an acceptable application by March 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 April 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 those funds in FY 1999 after March 
31, only if legislation is enacted prior to October 1, 1999, to 
authorize the AIP beyond March 31. 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 March 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

[[Page 2267]]

discretionary use. Inasmuch as the FAA will be able to obligate these 
funds after March 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, January 4, 1999.
Stan Lou,
Manager, Programming Branch.
[FR Doc. 99-733 Filed 1-12-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M