Title 49TransportationRelease 119-73

§47173 Airport funding of FAA staff

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE VII— - AVIATION PROGRAMS › Part PART B— - AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT AND NOISE › Chapter CHAPTER 471— - AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - AVIATION DEVELOPMENT STREAMLINING › § 47173

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The FAA Administrator can take money from an airport sponsor, including money from section 47114(c), to hire extra staff or hire consultants to handle environmental work. That work includes speeding up environmental reviews for airport projects, doing special environmental or noise studies, supporting environmental mitigation decisions, and handling environmental work for new or changed flight procedures like performance‑based navigation. With the sponsor’s OK, the FAA can also move funds that would go to the sponsor under section 47114 into the FAA account that pays for these activities. Except for those transfers, any accepted money must be put into the FAA account that pays for the work, used only for those costs, and kept until spent. No money may be accepted or moved in any year unless the FAA spends at least as much that year as it spent in fiscal year 2002 on these activities (excluding amounts accepted under section 337 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (115 Stat. 862)).

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §47173

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)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—
(1)to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with an airport development project;
(2)to conduct special environmental studies related to an airport project funded with Federal funds;
(3)to conduct special studies or reviews to support approved noise compatibility measures described in part 150 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations;
(4)to conduct special studies or reviews to support environmental mitigation in a record of decision or finding of no significant impact by the Federal Aviation Administration; and
(5)to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with new or amended flight procedures, including performance-based navigation procedures, such as required navigation performance procedures and area navigation procedures.
(b)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)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)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).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 337 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, referred to in subsec. (d), is section 337 of Pub. L. 107–87, Dec. 18, 2001, 115 Stat. 862, which is not classified to the Code.

Amendments

2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–95 substituted “services of consultants—” for “services of consultants in order to facilitate the timely processing, review, and completion of environmental activities associated with an airport development project.” and added pars. (1) to (5).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 2003, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 3 of Pub. L. 108–176, set out an

Effective Date

of 2003 Amendment note under section 106 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 47173

Title 49Transportation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73