article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds that-- (1) airports play a major role in interstate and foreign commerce; (2) congestion and delays at our Nation's major airports have a significant negative impact on our Nation's economy; (3) airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports are a national priority and should be constructed on an expedited basis; (4) airport capacity enhancement projects must include an environmental review process that provides local citizenry an opportunity for consideration of and appropriate action to address environmental concerns; and (5) the Federal Aviation Administration, airport authorities, communities, and other Federal, State, and local government agencies must work together to develop a plan, set and honor milestones and deadlines, and work to protect the environment while sustaining the economic vitality that will result from the continued growth of aviation. SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF NEW RUNWAYS. Section 40104 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(c) Airport Capacity Enhancement Projects at Congested Airports.--In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall take action to encourage the construction of airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports as those terms are defined in section 47179.''. SEC. 4. AIRPORT PROJECT STREAMLINING. (a) In General.--Chapter 471 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 47153 the following: ``SUBCHAPTER III--AIRPORT PROJECT STREAMLINING ``Sec. 47171. DOT as lead agency ``(a) Airport Project Review Process.--The Secretary of Transportation shall develop and implement a coordinated review process for airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports. ``(b) Coordinated Reviews.--The coordinated review process under this section shall provide that all environmental reviews, analyses, opinions, permits, licenses, and approvals that must be issued or made by a Federal agency or airport sponsor for an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport will be conducted concurrently, to the maximum extent practicable, and completed within a time period established by the Secretary, in cooperation with the agencies identified under subsection (c) with respect to the project. ``(c) Identification of Jurisdictional Agencies.--With respect to each airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport, the Secretary shall identify, as soon as practicable, all Federal and State agencies that may have jurisdiction over environmental-related matters that may be affected by the project or may be required by law to conduct an environmental-related review or analysis of the project or determine whether to issue an environmental-related permit, license, or approval for the project. ``(d) State Authority.--If a coordinated review process is being implemented under this section by the Secretary with respect to a project at an airport within the boundaries of a State, the State, consistent with State law, may choose to participate in such process and provide that all State agencies that have jurisdiction over environmental-related matters that may be affected by the project or may be required by law to conduct an environmental-related review or analysis of the project or determine whether to issue an environmental- related permit, license, or approval for the project, be subject to the process. ``(e) Memorandum of Understanding.--The coordinated review process developed under this section may be incorporated into a memorandum of understanding for a project between the Secretary and the heads of other Federal and State agencies identified under subsection (c) with respect to the project and the airport sponsor. ``(f) Effect of Failure To Meet Deadline.-- ``(1) Notification of congress and ceq.--If the Secretary determines that a Federal agency, State agency, or airport sponsor that is participating in a coordinated review process under this section with respect to a project has not met a deadline established under subsection (b) for the project, the Secretary shall notify, within 30 days of the date of such determination, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the agency or sponsor involved about the failure to meet the deadline. ``(2) Agency report.--Not later than 30 days after date of receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), the agency or sponsor involved shall submit a report to the Secretary, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and the Council on Environmental Quality explaining why the agency or sponsor did not meet the deadline and what actions it intends to take to complete or issue the required review, analysis, opinion, license, or approval. ``(g) Purpose and Need.--For any environmental review, analysis, opinion, permit, license, or approval that must be issued or made by a Federal or State agency that is participating in a coordinated review process under this section with respect to an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport and that requires an analysis of purpose and need for the project, the agency, notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall be bound by the project purpose and need as defined by the Secretary. ``(h) Alternatives Analysis.--The Secretary shall determine the reasonable alternatives to an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport. Any other Federal or State agency that is participating in a coordinated review process under this section with respect to the project shall consider only those alternatives to the project that the Secretary has determined are reasonable. ``(i) Solicitation and Consideration of Comments.--In applying subsections (g) and (h), the Secretary shall solicit and consider comments from interested persons and governmental entities. ``Sec. 47172. Categorical exclusions ``Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall develop and publish a list of categorical exclusions from the requirement that an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement be prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for projects at airports. ``Sec. 47173. Access restrictions to ease construction ``At the request of an airport sponsor for a congested airport, the Secretary of Transportation may approve a restriction on use of a runway to be constructed at the airport to minimize potentially significant adverse noise impacts from the runway only if the Secretary determines that imposition of the restriction-- ``(1) is necessary to mitigate those impacts and expedite construction of the runway; ``(2) is the most appropriate and a cost-effective measure to mitigate those impacts, taking into consideration any environmental tradeoffs associated with the restriction; and ``(3) would not adversely affect service to small communities, adversely affect safety or efficiency of the national airspace system, unjustly discriminate against any class of user of the airport, or impose an undue burden on interstate or foreign commerce. ``Sec. 47174. Airport revenue to pay for mitigation ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 47107(b), section 47133, or any other provision of this title, the Secretary of Transportation may allow an airport sponsor carrying out an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport to make payments, out of revenues generated at the airport (including local taxes on aviation fuel), for measures to mitigate the environmental impacts of the project if the Secretary finds that-- ``(1) the mitigation measures are included as part of, or are consistent with, the preferred alternative for the project in the documentation prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); ``(2) the use of such revenues will provide a significant incentive for, or remove an impediment to, approval of the project by a State or local government; and ``(3) the cost of the mitigation measures is reasonable in relation to the mitigation that will be achieved. ``(b) Mitigation of Aircraft Noise.--Mitigation measures described in subsection (a) may include the insulation of residential buildings and buildings used primarily for educational or medical purposes to mitigate the effects of aircraft noise and the improvement of such buildings as required for the insulation of the buildings under local building codes. ``Sec. 47175. Airport funding of FAA staff ``(a) Acceptance of Sponsor-Provided Funds.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may accept funds from an airport sponsor, including funds provided to the sponsor under section 47114(c), to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants in order to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with an airport development project. ``(b) Administrative Provision.--Instead of payment from an airport sponsor from funds apportioned to the sponsor under section 47114, the Administrator, with agreement of the sponsor, may transfer funds that would otherwise be apportioned to the sponsor under section 47114 to the account used by the Administrator for activities described in subsection (a). ``(c) Receipts Credited as Offsetting Collections.--Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, any funds accepted under this section, except funds transferred pursuant to subsection (b)-- ``(1) shall be credited as offsetting collections to the account that finances the activities and services for which the funds are accepted; ``(2) shall be available for expenditure only to pay the costs of activities and services for which the funds are accepted; and ``(3) shall remain available until expended. ``(d) Maintenance of Effort.--No funds may be accepted pursuant to subsection (a), or transferred pursuant to subsection (b), in any fiscal year in which the Federal Aviation Administration does not allocate at least the amount it expended in fiscal year 2002, excluding amounts accepted pursuant to section 337 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (115 Stat. 862), for the activities described in subsection (a). ``Sec. 47176. Authorization of appropriations ``In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated under section 106(k), there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation, out of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under section 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9502), $2,100,000 for fiscal year 2003 and $4,200,000 for each fiscal year thereafter to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports. ``Sec. 47177. Judicial review ``(a) Filing and Venue.--A person disclosing a substantial interest in an order issued by the Secretary of Transportation or the head of any other Federal agency under this part or a person or agency relying on any determination made under this part may apply for review of the order by filing a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or in the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the person resides or has its principal place of business. The petition must be filed not later than 60 days after the order is issued. The court may allow the petition to be filed after the 60th day only if there are reasonable grounds for not filing by the 60th day. ``(b) Judicial Procedures.--When a petition is filed under subsection (a) of this section, the clerk of the court immediately shall send a copy of the petition to the Secretary or the head of any other Federal agency involved. The Secretary or the head of such other agency shall file with the court a record of any proceeding in which the order was issued. ``(c) Authority of Court.--When the petition is sent to the Secretary or the head of any other Federal agency involved, the court has exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, amend, modify, or set aside any part of the order and may order the Secretary or the head of such other agency to conduct further proceedings. After reasonable notice to the Secretary or the head of such other agency, the court may grant interim relief by staying the order or taking other appropriate action when good cause for its action exists. Findings of fact by the Secretary or the head of such other agency are conclusive if supported by substantial evidence. ``(d) Requirement for Prior Objection.--In reviewing an order of the Secretary or the head of any other Federal agency under this section, the court may consider an objection to the action of the Secretary or the head of such other agency only if the objection was made in the proceeding conducted by the Secretary or the head of such other agency or if there was a reasonable ground for not making the objection in the proceeding. ``(e) Supreme Court Review.--A decision by a court under this section may be reviewed only by the Supreme Court under section 1254 of title 28. ``(f) Order Defined.--In this section, the term `order' includes a record of decision or a finding of no significant impact. ``Sec. 47178. Definitions ``In this subchapter, the following definitions apply: ``(1) Airport sponsor.--The term `airport sponsor' has the meaning given the term `sponsor' under section 47102. ``(2) Congested airport.--The term `congested airport' means an airport that accounted for at least 1 percent of all delayed aircraft operations in the United States in the most recent year for which such data is available and an airport listed in table 1 of the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Capacity Benchmark Report 2001. ``(3) Airport capacity enhancement project.--The term `airport capacity enhancement project' means-- ``(A) a project for construction or extension of a runway, including any land acquisition, taxiway, or safety area associated with the runway or runway extension; and ``(B) such other airport development projects as the Secretary may designate as facilitating a reduction in air traffic congestion and delays.''. (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 471 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SUBCHAPTER III--AIRPORT PROJECT STREAMLINING ``47171. DOT as lead agency. ``47172. Categorical exclusions. ``47173. Access restrictions to ease construction. ``47174. Airport revenue to pay for mitigation. ``47175. Airport funding of FAA staff. ``47176. Authorization of appropriations. ``47177. Judicial review. ``47178. Definitions.''. SEC. 5. GOVERNOR'S CERTIFICATE. Section 47106(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1)-- (A) by inserting ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (A)(ii); (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); (2) in paragraph (2)(A) by striking ``stage 2'' and inserting ``stage 3''; (3) by striking paragraph (4); and (4) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4). SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN AIRPORT CAPACITY PROJECTS. Section 47504(c)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended-- (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (C); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting ``; and''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(E) to an airport operator of a congested airport (as defined in section 47178) and a unit of local government referred to in paragraph (1)(A) or (1)(B) of this subsection to carry out a project to mitigate noise in the area surrounding the airport if the project is included as a commitment in a record of decision of the Federal Aviation Administration for an airport capacity enhancement project (as defined in section 47178) even if that airport has not met the requirements of part 150 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.''. SEC. 7. LIMITATIONS. Nothing in this Act, including any amendment made by this Act, shall preempt or interfere with-- (1) any practice of seeking public comment; and (2) any power, jurisdiction, or authority of a State agency or an airport sponsor has with respect to carrying out an airport capacity enhancement project. Passed the House of Representatives July 9, 2002. Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, Clerk. By Martha C. Morrison, Deputy Clerk.
summary: Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002 - (Sec. 3) Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take action to encourage the construction of airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports.(Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop and implement a coordinated review process for such projects, which shall provide that all environmental reviews, analyses, opinions, permits, licenses, and approvals that must be issued or made by a Federal agency or airport sponsor for such a project will be conducted concurrently in cooperation with all Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction over environmental-related matters.Requires: (1) the Secretary determine the reasonable alternatives to an airport capacity enhancement project at a congested airport; and (2) any other participating Federal or State agency to consider only those alternatives the Secretary has determined are reasonable.Authorizes the Secretary, at the request of an airport sponsor for a congested airport, to approve a restriction on use of a runway to be constructed at the airport to minimize potentially significant adverse noise impacts from the runway only if the restriction is necessary and the most appropriate and cost-effective measure (taking into consideration associated environmental trade-offs) to mitigate such impacts and expedite runway construction.Authorizes the Secretary, in specified circumstances, to allow an airport sponsor carrying out such a project to make payments, out of airport revenues (including local taxes on aviation fuel), for measures to mitigate the environmental impacts of the project, including aircraft noise.Permits the FAA Administrator to accept funds from an airport sponsor to hire additional staff or obtain the services of consultants in order to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with an airport development project.Authorizes appropriations to facilitate timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with airport capacity enhancement projects at congested airports.Permits a person disclosing a substantial interest in an order issued by the Secretary or the head of any other pertinent Federal agency to apply for judicial review of the order. Prescribes procedures and requirements for such an appeal.(Sec. 5) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary approve a project grant application only if the chief executive officer of the State in which the project will be located certifies that there is reasonable assurance that the project will be located, designed, constructed, and operated in compliance with applicable air and water quality standards.Revises the approval criteria without the requirement of an environmental impact statement for an airport development project that does not involve the location of an airport or runway, or a major runway extension, at an existing airport. Allows such a project without an environmental impact statement if completing the project would allow airport operations involving aircraft complying with the noise standards prescribed for "stage 3" aircraft (currently "stage 2" aircraft).(Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to incur obligations to make grants to an operator of a congested airport and a specified unit of local government to carry out a project to mitigate noise in the area surrounding the airport, if the project is included as a commitment in an FFA record of decision for an airport capacity enhancement project, even if that airport has not met certain regulatory requirements.