49 U.S.C. § 47101 — Policies

(a) General. It is U.S. policy that: (1) safe operation of the airport and airway system is the top aviation priority; (2) projects and actions that prevent runway incursions should (A) improve airport surface surveillance and (B) reduce the surface safety risks that are essential to safe operation; (3) aviation facilities should be built and run to minimize their noise impact on nearby communities; (4) special emphasis should go to developing reliever airports; (5) proper steps should make it easier to develop and expand cargo hub airports; (6) intermodal connections at airports — linking air travel to other transportation — should be encouraged, to serve passengers and cargo well and boost economic development; (7) airport development projects should protect and improve natural resources and environmental quality; (8) airport projects that increase passenger and cargo capacity should be pursued as fully as feasible, to improve safety and efficiency and cut delays; (9) non-aviation use of navigable airspace should be allowed, but never at the cost of airspace or airport safety and capacity; (10) artificial limits on airport capacity (A) are not in the public interest, (B) should only be used to ease air traffic delays after other, less burdensome options have failed, and (C) should not unfairly treat different types or classes of aircraft differently; (11) special focus should go to converting old military air bases to civilian use, and to finding and improving more joint-use facilities; (12) the airport improvement program should encourage new technology — like in-pavement runway and taxiway lighting and other incursion-prevention tools — new concepts, and new approaches that improve safety, capacity, and efficiency in building airports and running the air transportation system, including new concrete and materials that cut upfront costs, cut downtime, and last longer, and should encourage new technology proposals; (13) airport fees, rates, and charges must be reasonable, and may only be used for purposes this subchapter allows; and (14) airports should be as financially self-sufficient as their circumstances allow, and when setting new fees or raising revenue from any source, airport owners and operators should not try to build surpluses beyond what's needed for airport-system purposes, other purposes allowed under section 47107(b)(1), reasonable reserves, and funds to help with financing and cover contingencies. (b) National Transportation Policy. (1) It is a U.S. goal to build a national intermodal transportation system that moves passengers and property efficiently; the country's economic future depends on confronting global competition, falling productivity growth, energy vulnerability, air pollution, and the need to rebuild U.S. infrastructure. (2) U.S. leadership in the world economy, its wealth, its industries' competitiveness, and its standard and quality of life are all at stake. (3) A national intermodal transportation system links different, complementary forms of transportation to move passengers and property as efficiently as possible; by cutting transportation costs, it helps U.S. industry compete globally. (4) Every form of transportation, including aviation and future transportation systems, should help cut energy use and air pollution while growing the economy. (5) An intermodal transportation system connects transportation hubs, giving people efficient travel and access to business centers, population centers, and rural areas, plus links to other transportation and to other cities. (6) Being flexible and well-connected across transportation types is central to getting the most value from U.S. resources. (7) U.S. transportation infrastructure must be reshaped so the country can compete economically in the 21st century global economy; the U.S. can no longer rely on its sheer size and must recognize its economy is now part of the global marketplace. (8) The U.S. must make a national commitment to rebuild its infrastructure through a national intermodal transportation system, so its industries can be more productive and better compete globally. (c) Capacity Expansion and Noise Abatement. It is in the public interest to recognize that expanding airport capacity affects aircraft noise. Any effort to raise capacity can affect the surrounding community. Land uses near airports that don't fit with airport noise must be reduced, and noise mitigation efforts must be given high priority. (d) Consistency With Air Commerce and Safety Policies. Every airport and airway program should be carried out consistently with section 40101(a), (b), (d), and (f) — the goals of fostering competition, preventing unfair competition in air transportation, keeping essential air transportation, and preventing unjust or discriminatory practices, including between categories and classes of aircraft. (e) Adequacy of Navigation Aids and Airport Facilities. This subchapter should provide enough navigation aids and airport facilities for places with scheduled commercial air service. These facilities may include (1) reliever airports, and (2) heliports the Secretary of Transportation designates to ease congestion at commercial service airports, by shifting passengers from fixed-wing aircraft to helicopters. (f) Maximum Use of Safety Facilities. This subchapter should be carried out consistently with a full airspace system plan, giving top priority to commercial service airports, to make the most of safety facilities. As money and other safety needs allow, this includes installing, running, and maintaining: (1) electronic or visual vertical guidance on every runway; (2) grooving or friction treatment on every primary and secondary runway; (3) distance-to-go signs on every primary and secondary runway; (4) a precision approach system, vertical visual guidance system, and full approach lighting for every primary runway; (5) a nonprecision instrument approach for every secondary runway; (6) runway end identifier lights on every runway lacking an approach light system; (7) surface movement radar at every Category III airport; (8) a taxiway lighting and sign system; (9) runway edge lighting and marking; (10) radar approach coverage for every airport terminal area; and (11) runway and taxiway incursion prevention devices, including integrated in-pavement lighting systems. (g) Intermodal Planning. To carry out the policy in (a)(6), the Secretary of Transportation must (1) work with state and local officials to develop airport plans and programs based on overall transportation needs — coordinated with other transportation planning, and considering long-range land-use plans and social, economic, environmental (including long-term resilience to natural hazards and severe weather), system-performance, and energy-conservation goals; this process must be ongoing, cooperative, and as thorough as the complexity of the transportation problems requires; (2) encourage airport sponsors and state and local officials to develop airport master and system plans that (A) coordinate aviation planning with metropolitan planning, (B) evaluate aviation needs as part of multimodal planning, (C) weigh passenger convenience and airport ground access, (D) integrate with metropolitan plans so airport development accounts for land use and ground transportation access, and (E) consider how severe weather events affect long-term operational resilience; and (3) encourage metropolitan planning organizations — especially in areas with more than 200,000 people — to create membership seats for airport operators. (h) Consultation. To carry out the policy in (a)(7), the Secretary of Transportation may consult with the Secretary of the Interior and the EPA Administrator about any project in a grant application that involves locating an airport or runway, or a major runway extension, that may significantly affect (1) natural resources, including fish and wildlife; (2) natural, scenic, and recreational assets; (3) water and air quality; or (4) any other factor affecting the environment.