By Matt Fogleson
If it had been a flight, we all would have been constantly refreshing our screens for the ETA and wondering in frustration: Why such a long delay, and why so bumpy?
Fortunately, the wait for the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration finally is over after President Joe Biden signed it into law on May 16. Among the highlights for the civil engineering community in the five-year reauthorization: the availability of $19.4 billion for airport infrastructure improvement grants over the course of the legislation.
What is happening?
The FAA reauthorization had been long delayed as the two U.S. congressional bodies worked for more than a year to reach an agreement; the process was especially protracted in the Senate. To keep the aviation system afloat, a series of short-term extensions kept the FAA funded in the time between the previous authorization’s expiration last year on Sept. 30 and the long-term commitment’s passage into law two months ago.
Breaking down the FAA reauthorization:
The infrastructure grants are an important slice of the $105.5 billion package, which also contains $66.7 billion for FAA operations, $17.8 billion for facilities and equipment, and $1.6 billion for research, development, and engineering.
The law strongly emphasizes safety, including a section called “Zero Tolerance for Near Misses, Runway Incursions, and Surface Safety Risks,” which creates the Runway Safety Council to address surface safety risks.
And with passenger traffic returning to – and in some cases exceeding – pre-pandemic levels, the need for reauthorization was magnified.
What does it mean for civil engineers?
Funding for the Airport Improvement Program had been stagnant, sitting at $3.35 billion per year since fiscal year 2012. The reauthorization increases that number to $4 billion per year, an increase of about 19%. The extra funding is a welcome sight after the aviation sector received a D+ in ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
The benefits of the increased funding and stability resulting from the reauthorization can’t be overstated for those doing civil engineering work in the airport sector, says Tor Anderzen, P.E., F.ASCE, a civilian community planner for a civil engineering squadron at the Pacific Air Forces’ Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, and the incoming director of ASCE Region 8.
“It gives the airport community a chance to plan and execute their improvement projects in a predictable way,” Anderzen said. “When you are under continuing resolutions, you don’t know for sure how much funding you are going to have at any given time because appropriations cannot extend beyond an authorization.”
Amiy Varma, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, chair of ASCE’s Aviation Council, which operates as part of the Transportation & Development Institute, echoed those sentiments.
“Stopgap brings a lot of uncertainties,” Varma said. “That really affects the programming airports can do. They usually kind of shelve big projects, and they try to kind of deal with things. It’s good that we have this authorization for five years now, so they can plan better.”
ASCE’s report card indicated, under pre-COVID projections, a $111 billion shortfall over 10 years between the aviation system’s growing needs and funding availability. That figure has likely grown.
The new law, coupled with an infusion of money from other legislation, such as 2021’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, should boost the effort to close that gap.
“More money will be available,” Anderzen said. “Is it enough to catch up to the funding shortfall? No, but it’s still better than where we had been.”
The reauthorization lacked in one area that ASCE has long championed: the removal of the cap on the passenger facility charge, which is levied on each enplaning passenger at a commercial airport and is a critical revenue mechanism for airport improvements. The PFC’s federally mandated cap of $4.50 has been in place since 2001. ASCE had asked Congress to raise or eliminate the cap to provide more money for airports. With a federally mandated cap on how much they can charge passengers, airports struggle to keep up with infrastructure investment needs.
While the cap remains, there is a silver lining. The reauthorization allows airports that are charging the maximum $4.50 to keep a larger percentage of their primary entitlements. Previously, airports had to turn back 75% of their AIP apportionment funding. Under the new rules, airports will instead turn back 60%.
“It is a recognition that the PFC cap has reduced what you get for it by saying, ‘Well you can keep more of your base entitlement,’” Anderzen said. “So while we would have liked to see the cap either increased or gone completely, it’s still an improvement for medium and large hub airports.”
As for small airports, Anderzen and Varma see plenty of benefits in the legislation.
The Essential Air Service program, which provides money to small airports to pay a portion of the cost of providing commercial service, will receive $340 million in FY2025 and gradually escalate, reaching $350 million for FY2028. This will benefit about 60 communities in Alaska and 115 in the contiguous U.S. The smaller airports “just don’t have enough traffic that it’s cost-effective to provide service without getting some help,” said Anderzen, who worked as a civil engineering consultant for civilian airports from 2005 to 2022. Additionally, the reauthorization requires a quick response – within six months – from the U.S. Department of Transportation to applications for new airports to enter the EAS program.
The various forms of additional funding and the certainty provided by the five-year reauthorization should allow owners, planners, and engineers at rural and small airports to make the necessary improvements. When operating under continuing resolutions, airport owners – often municipalities – are hesitant to front-end the construction cost, not knowing when they will be reimbursed.
“If they were having issues of how to increase service, attract people, or preserve the service operations they have currently, the bill should help,” says Varma, who was a faculty member in North Dakota State University’s civil engineering department for 30 years before retiring four years ago and starting AAAJ LLC, a firm focusing on transportation, planning, engineering, and information technology consulting and research. “This funding will help a lot of rural and small airports.”
Varma also was impressed with the law’s focus on cybersecurity. Under the legislation, the FAA will establish a cybersecurity threat management process and create a committee to make recommendations on civil aircraft cybersecurity. The Government Accountability Office also will review the consideration and inclusion of aircraft cybersecurity into the strategic framework for aviation security.
What’s next?
With the reauthorization having received Biden’s signature, it is the law of the land through FY2028.
Also of note
There are plenty of other happenings in Washington, D.C., that will affect civil engineers. A sampling:
- The House and Senate have marked up their respective bills in an effort to pass the 2024 Water Resources Development Act. Read ASCE’s policy memo.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has finalized rules requiring projects using FEMA funds after disasters to construct or rebuild to stricter standards to help guard against flood risks.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $1.8 billion through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program, supporting 148 projects across the country.
This article is published by Civil Engineering Online.
