49 U.S.C. § 47107 — Project grant application approval conditioned on assurances about airport operations

(a) General Written Assurances — The Secretary may approve an airport development grant only with written assurances, satisfactory to the Secretary, covering 22 points: (1) the airport will be available for public use on reasonable conditions and without unjust discrimination; (2) air carriers making similar use of the airport will be charged in substantially comparable ways for facilities related to air transportation, and face similar regulations and conditions — except for reasonable differences, such as between tenants and nontenants, or between signatory and nonsignatory carriers; (3) the airport operator will not unreasonably withhold "tenant" or "signatory" status from a carrier that takes on obligations substantially similar to carriers who already hold that status; (4) no one providing, or intending to provide, aeronautical services to the public will get an exclusive right to use the airport — it is not "exclusive" to let just one fixed-base operator serve the airport if (A) it would be unreasonably costly, burdensome, or impractical for more than one operator to provide the services, and (B) allowing a second operator would require shrinking the space leased to the existing one; (5) fixed-base operators making similar use of the airport will face the same charges; (6) an air carrier using the airport may service itself, or use any fixed-base operator the airport lets service other carriers; (7) the airport and its facilities will be operated and maintained suitably, considering climate and flood conditions; (8) closing the airport temporarily for a nonaeronautical reason must first be approved by the Secretary; (9) proper action will be taken to protect terminal airspace needed for instrument and visual operations — including minimum flight altitudes — by clearing existing airport hazards and preventing new ones; (10) reasonable action, including zoning, has been or will be taken to restrict nearby land uses to ones compatible with normal airport operations; (11) facilities built with federal financial assistance, and any facility usable for aircraft landing and takeoff, will always be available free of charge to government aircraft alongside other aircraft — except that if government use is substantial, the government may be charged a reasonable, proportionate share of operating and maintenance costs; (12) the airport will give the government, without charge, any property interest in land, water, or buildings the Secretary decides is needed to build — at government expense — facilities for air traffic control or navigation; (13) the airport will maintain a schedule of charges that (A) makes the airport as self-sustaining as the circumstances (including traffic volume and how easy fees are to collect) allow, and (B) excludes the government's grant-funded share of project costs — under this subchapter or two earlier aviation laws — from the rate base used to set those charges; (14) project accounts and records will use a standard accounting system the Secretary prescribes after consulting public agencies; (15) the airport will submit any annual or special financial and operations reports the Secretary reasonably requests, and make them available to the public; (16) the airport will maintain a current layout plan that (A) follows a form the Secretary prescribes, (B) — subject to subsection (x) — the Secretary must review and approve or disapprove, along with any revision, before it takes effect, (C) the airport will not alter unless the alteration is either outside the Secretary's review authority under subsection (x), or matches the Secretary-approved plan, and (D) if an alteration is within the Secretary's authority under (B) but does not match the approved plan, and the Secretary decides it adversely affects the safety, utility, or efficiency of aircraft operations or of government-connected property, the airport must, if the Secretary asks, either (i) fix the problem in a way the Secretary approves, or (ii) pay to relocate and restore the property to its earlier level of safety, utility, efficiency, and operating cost, except this does not apply to a relocation or replacement meeting the conditions in section 47110(d); (17) if any phase of the project received funding under this subchapter, every contract or subcontract for program or construction management, planning or feasibility studies, architecture, engineering, surveying, mapping, and related services will be awarded the way architectural and engineering contracts are negotiated under chapter 11 of title 40, or an equally strict qualifications-based process the sponsor prescribes; (18) the airport and its records will be open to Secretary inspection on reasonable request, and a budget report will be publicly available at reasonable times and places; (19) the airport will submit to the Secretary, and make public, a detailed annual report listing (A) all amounts it paid to any other unit of government and why, and (B) all services and property it provided to other units of government and what it was paid in return; (20) the airport will permit, to the maximum extent practicable, intercity buses and other transportation modes to access it, though the sponsor has no obligation to fund special facilities for that; (21) if the airport and an aircraft owner agree the owner will pay to build a hangar at the airport, the airport will grant that owner a long-term lease for the hangar, on terms the airport may set; and (22) the airport may not restrict or prohibit the sale or self-fueling of 100-octane low-lead aviation gasoline to general aviation aircraft operators, if that fuel was available at the airport at any time in 2022, until the earlier of (A) December 31, 2030, or (B) the date the airport or a retail fuel seller there offers an unleaded aviation gasoline that (i) the FAA Administrator has authorized as a replacement for nearly all piston-engine aircraft and engine models, and (ii) meets an industry consensus or other standard the Administrator finds makes it safe to use, produce, and distribute.

(b) Written Assurances on Use of Revenue — (1) The Secretary may approve a development grant only with written assurance that local aviation-fuel taxes (except ones already in effect on December 30, 1987) and the airport's revenue will be spent on the capital or operating costs of (A) the airport, (B) the local airport system, or (C) other local facilities the airport owns or operates that are directly and substantially related to moving passengers or property by air. (2) This does not apply if a law or debt agreement, in effect by September 2, 1982, already lets the airport's revenue — including local fuel taxes — support not just the airport but also the owner's other general debts or facilities. (3) This subsection does not stop a state aviation-fuel tax from funding a state aviation program, or airport revenue from being used, on or off the airport, for a noise-mitigation purpose.

(c) Written Assurances on Acquiring Land — (1) Land counts as needed for an airport purpose (other than noise compatibility) if (A)(i) it may be needed for an aeronautical purpose, including a runway protection zone, or serves as noise buffer land, and (ii) revenue from temporary uses of it helps the airport be financially self-sufficient; and (B) for land bought with a grant received by December 30, 1987, the government office that made the grant was told how the land was being used, did not object, and the land is still used that way. (2) The Secretary may approve a development land-acquisition grant only with written assurance that (A) if the land was or will be acquired for a noise-compatibility purpose (including as an undeveloped or compatibly developed noise buffer), the airport will (i) dispose of it at fair market value as soon as practical once it is no longer needed for that purpose, (ii) keep or reserve an interest ensuring it stays compatible with the airport's noise levels, and (iii) reinvest the government's proportional share of the proceeds in another project at the airport, or transfer it to another airport, as the Secretary prescribes under paragraph (4); or (B) if the land was or will be acquired for another airport purpose, the airport will (i) dispose of it at fair market value, or pay the government its proportional share of that value, once no longer needed, (ii) keep an interest ensuring compatible use, and (iii) reinvest the government's share of proceeds the same way under paragraph (4). (3) Proceeds under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) and (B)(iii) deposited in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund are available as described in subsection (f). (4) In approving reinvestment or transfer under paragraph (2)(A)(iii) or (2)(B)(iii), the Secretary must give preference, in this order: (A) reinvestment in an approved noise-compatibility project; (B) reinvestment in a project eligible under section 47117(e); (C) reinvestment in a development project eligible under section 47114, 47115, or 47117; (D) transfer to another public airport's sponsor for an approved noise-compatibility project there; or (E) payment to the Secretary for deposit in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. (5) (A) Leasing noise-compatibility land at fair market value is not a "disposal" under paragraph (2). (B) The airport may use revenue from such a lease for a development project eligible under section 47114, 47115, or 47117. (C) The Secretary must coordinate with each airport to ensure these leases stay consistent with noise-buffering purposes. (D) This paragraph applies to land acquired before, on, or after it became law.

(d) Assurances of Continuation as Public-Use Airport — For a privately owned public-use airport, the Secretary may approve a development grant only with assurance the airport will keep functioning as a public-use airport for the "economic life" — which must be at least 10 years — of any facility built there with federal financial assistance under this subchapter.

(e) Written Assurances of Opportunities for Small Business Concerns — (1) The Secretary may approve a development grant only with written assurance the airport will act, to the maximum extent practicable, to ensure at least 10 percent of businesses selling consumer products or services there are small business concerns owned and controlled by a socially and economically disadvantaged individual, or qualified HUBZone small business concerns, both as separately defined by law. (2) The airport may count businesses run through a management contract or subcontract toward this goal — a disadvantaged-owned management contract's dollar value counts toward both the participation total and the base used to calculate the percentage, but a non-disadvantaged-owned contract's value and the revenue it generates may not be added to that base. (3) Except as paragraph (4) provides, the airport may also count purchases of goods and services from disadvantaged business enterprises toward the goal, but the airport and its businesses must make good-faith efforts to pursue direct ownership arrangements, including joint ventures and franchises, where practicable. (4) (A) The airport must include car rental firms' revenue in the base used to calculate the percentage goal. (B) The airport may require a car rental firm to meet its share of the goal by purchasing or leasing from a disadvantaged business enterprise; if it does, the firm may comply by purchasing or leasing vehicles from any qualifying disadvantaged-owned or HUBZone small business. (C) This does not require a car rental firm to restructure itself to allow direct ownership arrangements. (5) This subsection does not preempt (A) a state or local law, regulation, or policy the airport's governing body has enacted, or (B) a state or local government's or airport's authority to adopt or enforce rules about disadvantaged business enterprises. (6) The airport may let a qualifying disadvantaged-owned or HUBZone small business participate through a direct contractual agreement. (7) An air carrier or other business conducting aeronautical activities at the airport may not be counted toward the small-business percentage goal. (8) By April 29, 1993, the Secretary was required to prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.

(f) Availability of Amounts — Money deposited in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund under (1) subsection (c)(2)(A)(iii) is available to the Secretary for development or planning grants under section 47104; (2) subsection (c)(2)(B)(iii) is available to the Secretary (A) for a grant under section 47115(b), and (B) for use under section 47114(d)(2) at another airport in the same state where the land was disposed of; and (3) subsection (c)(2)(B)(iii) money is in addition to, and not counted against, amounts made available to the Secretary under section 48103 or subject to apportionment under section 47114.

(g) Ensuring Compliance — (1) To ensure compliance with this section, the Secretary (A) must prescribe the requirements sponsors need to meet, and (B) may contract with a public agency. (2) The Secretary may approve a project grant application only if satisfied those requirements under paragraph (1)(A) have been, or will be, met.

(h) Modifying Assurances and Requiring Compliance With Additional Assurances — (1) In general: Before modifying an assurance that has been in effect since December 29, 1987, or requiring compliance with an additional assurance, the Secretary must (A) publish notice of the proposed change in the Federal Register, and (B) provide an opportunity for public comment. (2) Public notice before waiver of aeronautical land-use assurance: Before modifying an assurance under subsection (c)(2)(B) that requires property to be used for an aeronautical purpose, the Secretary must give the public at least 30 days' notice.

(i) Relief From Obligation To Provide Free Space — When a sponsor provides a property interest the Secretary uses to build a facility at government expense, the Secretary may relieve the sponsor of an obligation, under this chapter or two earlier aviation laws, to provide the government free space in an airport building — to the extent that space is no longer needed for air traffic control or navigation activities.

(j) Use of Revenue in Hawaii — (1) This defines "duty-free merchandise" and "duty-free sales enterprise" using the Tariff Act of 1930, and "highway" and "Federal-aid system" using title 23. (2) Despite subsection (b)(1), Hawaii may use revenue from off-airport duty-free sales — under a contract between Hawaii and a duty-free seller — to build or rebuild a Federal-aid highway within 10 road miles of an airport that helps people reach it, but only if that revenue, plus everything else Hawaii collects that fiscal year to run its airports and pay related debt, exceeds 150 percent of that year's projected airport costs. (3) (A) Hawaii may use only the amount of that revenue above the 150 percent threshold. (B) The most Hawaii may use this way is $250,000,000. (4) If an airport fee — for rent, landing, or service — rose faster than the Honolulu Consumer Price Index between May 4, 1990 and December 31, 1994, the $250 million cap in paragraph (3)(B) is reduced by the extra revenue that fee increase produced, beyond what the CPI change would explain. (5) Hawaii must calculate its own costs, revenue, and projected increases under this subsection and report them to the Secretary; a report is approved unless the Secretary disapproves it within 30 days. (6) Hawaii is not eligible for a grant under section 47115 in any fiscal year it uses revenue from the sales described in paragraph (2). Hawaii must repay to the Secretary of Transportation any amount it receives in that fiscal year under a grant it was not eligible to receive because of this paragraph. The Secretary must deposit that repayment in the discretionary fund established under section 47115. (7) (A) This subsection applies only to duty-free sales revenue from May 5, 1990 through December 30, 1994, and to related amounts in Hawaii's Airport Revenue Fund from before May 4, 1990. (B) That revenue may be used under paragraph (2) in any Hawaiian fiscal year, including one beginning after 1994.

(k) Policies and Procedures To Ensure Enforcement Against Illegal Diversion of Airport Revenue — (1) In general: By 90 days after August 23, 1994, the Secretary had to establish policies to promptly and effectively enforce subsections (a)(13) and (b) and related grant assurances, recognizing the exemption in subsection (b)(2), and using Department of Transportation Inspector General reports on revenue diversion and other relevant information. (2) Revenue diversion: These policies must, at minimum, prohibit diverting airport revenue — except as subsection (b) allows — through (A) payments that do not reflect the value of services or facilities actually provided to the airport, (B) using airport revenue for general economic development, marketing, or promotion unrelated to airports, (C) payments in lieu of taxes that exceed the value of services provided, or (D) payments to make up for lost tax revenue beyond stated tax rates. (3) Efforts to be self-sustaining: For subsection (a)(13), the policies must consider whether airports made reasonable efforts to be as self-sustaining as possible when setting new rates and charges. (4) Administrative safeguards: The policies must require internal controls, auditing requirements, and enough Department of Transportation staff to respond fully and promptly to complaints about possible violations of subsections (a)(13) and (b), and to alert the Secretary to them. (5) Statute of limitations: In addition to the deadline in subsection (m)(7), (A) any request by a sponsor or other governmental entity for repayment of off-airport service costs, or reimbursement of capital or operating expenses, must be filed within 6 years of when the expense was incurred, and (B) airport funds used to pay such a late request are treated as an illegal diversion of airport revenue under subsection (m).

(l) Audit Certification — (1) In general: The Secretary, acting through the FAA Administrator, must require that anyone getting a project grant, or other federal financial assistance for an airport, include in their required annual audit a review of how that project-grant or other federal funding was handled at the airport. (2) Content of review: That review must give reasonable assurance the funds were paid or transferred consistent with this chapter and any other applicable law or regulation.

(m) Recovery of Illegally Diverted Funds — (1) In general: Within 180 days of an audit or report identifying an illegal diversion of airport revenue — as determined under subsections (b) and (k) and section 47133 — the Secretary, through the Administrator, must (A) review the audit or report, (B) do appropriate fact-finding, and (C) hold a hearing and make a final determination on whether the diversion occurred. (2) Notification: If the Secretary finds diversion occurred, the sponsor and airport must get written notice of (A) the finding, and (B) the sponsor's obligation to reimburse the airport. (3) Administrative action: The Secretary may withhold funds otherwise due to the sponsor — including funds due to a state, municipality, or related transit agency — if the sponsor (A) was notified it must reimburse the airport, and (B) had a chance to but failed to do so. (4) Civil action: If the sponsor does not pay within 180 days of notice, and withholding is not enough, the Secretary may bring a civil action, making the sponsor liable for double the diverted amount plus interest, as determined under subsection (n). (5) Disposition of penalties: (A) Amounts withheld go to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. (B) Civil penalties collected by a court also go to that Fund. (6) Reimbursement: Once an amount is collected from a sponsor under paragraph (4), the Secretary must, as soon as practical, transfer an equal amount (plus interest) from the Trust Fund to the affected airport. (7) Statute of limitations: No one may sue to recover illegally diverted funds — under subsections (b) and (k) or section 47133 — more than 6 years after the diversion occurred.

(n) Interest — (1) In general: Except as paragraph (2) provides, the Secretary must charge interest on illegally diverted revenue at double the average Treasury tax-and-loan-account interest rate for that calendar year, rounded to the nearest whole percentage point. (2) Adjustment of interest rates: If that Treasury rate rises from one calendar quarter to the next, the Secretary of the Treasury may adjust the interest rate charged to reflect that change. (3) Accrual: Interest starts accruing from the date of the actual illegal diversion. (4) Determination of applicable rate: The rate charged (A) is whatever rate was in effect on the date interest began accruing, and (B) stays fixed at that rate for as long as the debt is owed.

(o) Payment by Airport to Sponsor — If an audit or other review finds an airport owes a sponsor money for activities the sponsor conducted, or expenditures the sponsor made, for the airport's benefit, interest is calculated the same way as in subsection (n)(1) through (4), except it starts from the date the Secretary or Administrator made that determination.

(p) — Despite the written assurances in subsections (a) through (o), a general aviation airport with more than 300,000 annual flight operations may be exempted from having to accept scheduled passenger air carrier service if (1) no scheduled passenger carrier provided service at the airport in the 5 years before January 1, 2002; (2) the airport is located within or underneath the Class B airspace of an airport holding an operating certificate under section 44706; and (3) that certificated airport does not contribute to significant passenger delays, as defined in the DOT/FAA "Airport Capacity Benchmark Report 2001."

(q) — An airport meeting the three conditions of subsection (p) is not subject to section 47524's prohibition on all scheduled passenger service.

(r) Competition Disclosure Requirement — (1) In general: The Secretary may approve a development grant for a large or medium hub airport only with assurance the sponsor will provide the information described in paragraph (2), at the time and in the form the Secretary requires. (2) Competitive access: On February 1 and August 1 each year, an airport that in the previous 6 months could not accommodate a carrier's request for gate or facility access — to provide or expand service — must report to the Secretary (A) describing the requests, (B) explaining why they could not be accommodated, and (C) giving a time frame, if any, for accommodating them. (3) Sunset provision: This subsection stops applying starting October 1, 2028.

(s) Agreements Granting Through-The-Fence Access to General Aviation Airports — (1) In general: Subject to paragraph (2), a general aviation airport sponsor is not violating this subtitle, or any grant assurance made as a condition of federal airport-development assistance, solely because it enters an agreement letting a nearby residential landowner access the airfield for (A) that person's own aircraft, or (B) aircraft the person authorizes. (2) Through-the-fence agreements: (A) In general: Such an agreement between the sponsor and property owner, or an association representing the owner, must be a written agreement setting out the rights, responsibilities, charges, duration, and other terms the sponsor determines are necessary. (B) Terms and conditions: The agreement must require the property owner, at minimum, to (i) pay access charges comparable to those charged to on-airport tenants making similar use, (ii) bear the cost of building and maintaining the infrastructure needed for airfield access, (iii) keep the property residential and noncommercial for the agreement's duration, (iv) prohibit access to the airport from other properties through the owner's property, and (v) prohibit any aircraft refueling on the property. (3) Exemption: These terms and conditions do not apply to an agreement made before the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 that the Secretary finds does not comply, if the property is subject to deed or lease restrictions considered perpetual and hard to bring into compliance — but this exemption ends if the Secretary determines the sponsor and property owners are able to modify the agreement.

(t) Renewal of Certain Leases — (1) In general: Despite subsection (a)(13), renewing a "covered lease" is not treated as violating a written-assurance requirement. (2) Covered lease defined: a lease that (A) originally began before October 7, 2016, (B) provides a nominal lease rate, (C) is leased to a federal or state government entity, and (D) either (i) supports Air Force or Air National Guard aircraft operations at, or remotely from, the airport, or (ii) is for the National Guard's use of nonaeronautical airport land or facilities.

(u) Construction of Recreational Aircraft — (1) In general: Building a "covered aircraft" is treated as an aeronautical activity for purposes of (A) determining an airport's compliance with a grant assurance or other law, and (B) receiving federal financial assistance for airport development. (2) Covered aircraft defined: an aircraft (A) used or intended for recreational purposes only, and (B) built, or being built, by a private individual at a general aviation airport.

(v) Community Use of Airport Land — (1) In general: Despite subsections (a)(13), (b), and (c) and section 47133, and subject to paragraph (2), a public-use airport sponsor is not violating this subtitle or any grant assurance solely because it has (A) entered an agreement, including a revised one, with a local government for interim, compatible recreational use of airport property below fair market value, or (B) permanently restricted airport property to compatible recreational and public-park use without collecting fair market value for it. (2) Restrictions: (A) Interim compatible recreational purpose: Paragraph (1)(A) applies only if (i) the agreement was initially made before the FAA's February 16, 1999 Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue was published; (ii) the agreement is subordinate to any existing or future agreement with the Secretary, including grant assurances; (iii) the property was bought using a federal land-acquisition grant issued before January 1, 1989; (iv) the sponsor gave written notice that the property will not be needed for aeronautical use in the next 10 years; (v) the agreement runs no more than 2 years to prepare the property and no more than 10 years of recreational use; (vi) the recreational purpose will not affect the airport's aeronautical use; (vii) the sponsor certifies it is not responsible for preparation, startup, operation, or maintenance costs of the recreational use; and (viii) the use is consistent with federal land-use compatibility criteria under section 47502. (B) Recreational use: Paragraph (1)(B) applies only if (i) the property was bought using a federal land-acquisition grant issued before January 1, 1989; (ii) it has been continuously leased or licensed for recreational or public-park use to a government or nonprofit entity since July 1, 2003; (iii) the sponsor certified that the use does not, and will not, affect aeronautical needs; (iv) the sponsor certifies it is not responsible for operating, maintenance, or other costs of the use; (v) the use is consistent with section 47502's compatibility criteria; and (vi) the sponsor will either (I) lease the property to a government or nonprofit entity to operate and maintain at no cost to the sponsor, or (II) transfer title to a local government entity under a permanent deed restriction ensuring compatible airport use. (3) Revenue from certain sales of airport property: Despite other law, a sponsor leasing or selling property as described in paragraph (2)(B)(vi) may (A) do so below fair market value, and (B) subject to subsection (b), keep the revenue for use consistent with section 47133. (4) Secretary review and approval: If the sponsor certifies in writing that it meets this subsection's requirements, none of the actions this subsection permits require Secretary review or approval. (5) Statutory construction: Nothing in this subsection allows diverting airport revenue to pay for the capital or operating costs of the community recreational use. (6) Aeronautical use/purpose defined: These terms (A) mean all activities that involve or are directly related to operating aircraft, including activities that make aircraft operation possible and safe; (B) include services at an airport directly and substantially related to moving passengers, baggage, mail, and cargo; and (C) exclude anything not described in (A) or (B), including aviation-related uses that do not need to be located at an airport, such as flight kitchens and airline reservation centers.

(w) Mothers' Rooms — (1) In general: The Secretary may approve a development grant only with written assurances the airport will maintain (A) a lactation area in the secure ("sterile") part of each passenger terminal building, and (B) a baby-changing table in at least one men's and one women's restroom in each passenger terminal building. (2) Applicability: (A) Airport size: This requirement applies only to applications submitted by (i) medium or large hub airports starting in fiscal year 2021, and (ii) "applicable small hub airports" — ones designated small hub during 2020-2022, or any later consecutive 3-year period — starting in fiscal year 2023. (B) Preexisting facilities: On the airport's application, the Secretary may find that a lactation area existing on October 5, 2018 complies with paragraph (1)(A), even if it is missing one of the listed features. (C) Special rule: This requirement does not apply, for a period the Secretary determines, if construction or maintenance activities make it impracticable or unsafe for the lactation area to be located in the secure zone. (3) Definitions: (A) "Lactation area" means a room that (i) is shielded from view and free from public intrusion, for expressing breast milk; (ii) has a lockable door; (iii) includes a place to sit, a table or flat surface, a sink or sanitizing equipment, and an electrical outlet; (iv) is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including wheelchair users; and (v) is not located in a restroom. (B) "Sterile area" has the meaning given in a specific federal regulation (49 CFR 1540.5).

(x) Scope of Airport Layout Plan Review and Approval Authority of Secretary — (1) Authority over projects on land acquired without federal assistance: For subsection (a)(16)(B), on a project proposed on land the airport acquired without federal assistance, the Secretary may review and approve or disapprove only the portions of the plan, or a revision, that (A) materially affect the safe and efficient operation of aircraft at, to, or from the airport, (B) adversely affect the safety of people or property on the ground from aircraft operations, or (C) significantly reduce the value of prior federal investment. (2) Limitation on non-aeronautical review: (A) In general: The Secretary may not require approval for, or directly or indirectly regulate or place conditions on — including through a grant assurance — a project not subject to paragraph (1). (B) Review and approval authority: If only part of a proposed project is subject to the Secretary's review and approval under subsection (a)(16)(B), the Secretary may not extend that authority to the project's other, non-aeronautical parts. (3) Notice: (A) In general: An airport must submit to the Secretary a notice of intent to proceed with a project, or part of one, that is outside the Secretary's review authority under this subsection, if the project was not on the airport's most recently submitted layout plan. (B) Failure to object: If the Secretary does not object within 45 days of receiving that notice, the project, or that part of it, is treated as being outside the Secretary's review and approval authority under subsection (a)(16)(B).

(y) Universal Changing Station — (1) In general: In fiscal year 2030 and each year after, the Secretary may approve a development grant only with written assurance the airport will install or maintain, consistent with a specific accessibility regulation, (A) at least one private, single-use room with a universal changing station that meets the standards under paragraph (2)(A) and is accessible to all individuals, including people with disabilities, in each passenger terminal building, and (B) signage at or near the station's entrance showing its location. (2) Standards required: Within 2 years of this subsection becoming law, the U.S. Access Board must (A) establish comprehensive accessible design standards for universal changing tables, and standards for the privacy, accessibility, and sanitation of the room housing one, and (B) consult with entities experienced in how people with disabilities use universal changing stations while doing so. (3) Applicability: (A) Airport size: This requirement applies only to applications submitted by medium or large hub airports. (B) Special rule: It does not apply, for a period the Secretary determines, if construction or maintenance activities make it impracticable or unsafe for the station to be located in the secure zone. (4) Exception: On the airport sponsor's application, the Secretary may find that a universal changing station existing before the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 complies with paragraph (1), even if it is missing one or more required standards or features. (5) Definitions: (A) "Disability" has the meaning given in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. (B) "Sterile area" has the meaning given in 49 CFR 1540.5. (C) "Universal changing station" means one that meets the Access Board's standards under paragraph (2)(A). (D) "United States Access Board" means the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.