§ 101501 — Airports In Or Near System Units

(a) In this section, the terms “airport”, “project”, “project costs”, “public agency”, and “sponsor” have the meanings given the terms in section 47102 of title 49. (1) The Secretary may plan, acquire, establish, construct, enlarge, improve, maintain, equip, operate, regulate, and protect airports in the continental United States in, or in close proximity to, System units, when the Secretary determines that the airports are necessary to the proper performance of the functions of the Department of the Interior. (2) The Secretary shall not acquire, establish, or construct an airport under this section unless the airport is included in the national plan of integrated airport systems formulated by the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 47103 of title 49. (3) The operation and maintenance of airports under this section shall be in accordance with the standards and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation. (1) To carry out this section, the Secretary may— (A) acquire necessary land and interests in or over land; (B) contract for the construction, improvement, operation, and maintenance of airports and incidental facilities; (C) enter into agreements with other public agencies providing for the construction, operation, or maintenance of airports by those agencies or jointly by the Secretary and those agencies on mutually satisfactory terms; and (D) enter into other agreements and take other action with respect to the airports as may be necessary to carry out this section. (2) This section does not authorize the Secretary to acquire any land, or interest in or over land, by purchase, condemnation, grant, or lease, without first obtaining the consent of the Governor of the State, and the consent of the chief executive official of the State political subdivision, in which the land is located. (d) To carry out this section, the Secretary may— (1) sponsor projects under subchapter I of chapter 471 of title 49 independently or jointly with other public agencies; and (2) use, for payment of the sponsor’s share of the project costs of those projects, any funds that may be— (A) contributed or otherwise made available to the Secretary for those purposes; or (B) appropriated or otherwise specifically authorized for that purpose. (e) All airports under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, unless otherwise specifically provided by law, shall be operated as public airports, available for public use on fair and reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination.