The Honorable Edward A. Pease
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Pease:

I have been asked by our Washington office to respond to your letter, dated January 24, 2000, regarding Indianapolis Terry Airport and the concerns raised by members of the Boone-Hamilton Property Owners Association. Their letter to your office lists five specific items of concern. The following addresses those concerns.

Mitigation of Wetlands. The responsibility for enforcing the mitigation of the wetland and/or imposing fines lies solely with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Van Sickle is obligated by the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct the 11. 5 acres of wetlands on this site or at another equal or better location. This obligation is not dependent on the further expenditure of federal funds for construction of the wetlands. A project for wetland mitigation was included in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) FY-97 Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) for $164,000. Due to the intense competition among higher priority projects and limited available funding, the FAA was not in a position to offer funding assistance under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for this project in the FY -97, -98 and -99 fiscal year programs. The FAA will continue to consider this project for funding in the FY-2000 ACIP.

Underground Storage Tanks. Both underground and above ground fuel tanks are regulated by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Responsibility for maintaining the tanks and associated piping lies with the airport owner/operator. Fuel storage tanks are not regulated by the FAA and are not eligible for federal funding under the AIP.

Accountability for Expenditure of Federal Funds. The AIP grant process reimburses airport owners for 90 percent of eligible and allowable costs incurred in the design and construction of eligible airport development, including the land required for this development. All of the past AIP grants given to the Indianapolis Terry Airport were for eligible engineering and construction to upgrade the airport to meet FAA standards for aeronautical activity and to ensure safety of aircraft operations. The FAA also participated in the purchase of land to protect the runway surfaces as well as land for development of a future crosswind runway. The FAA Airport District Office provides oversight for all development included in the AIP grant and reviews all grant payment requests. We are not aware of any improprieties in the expenditures of AIP funds at this airport.

To date there have been no AIP grants issued to Terry Airport for the actual construction of a crosswind runway. If an airport owner wishes not to proceed with constructing a runway for which the land was previously purchased, and subsequently proposes to sell or use the land for nonaeronautical purposes, then he must either reimburse the FAA for the federal portion of the current fair market value of the land or reinvest the proceeds in another eligible airport improvement project or projects approved by the FAA. We note that as of this date, we have no request by the owner of Terry Airport, Mr. Ramon Van Sickle, to transfer ownership of the airport or to consider any proposed alteration of the development depicted on the airport layout plan. We assure you we will continue to monitor the airport's use of the property purchased with federal funds.

In the matter of airport revenue, Terry airport is not required to submit information regarding the expenditures of airport revenues to the FAA for review or audit because Mr. Van Sickle has not received a federal grant since the October 1, 1996 date of the FAA Reauthorization Act. The FAA requires airports to have sufficient funds available to assure operation and maintenance of items funded under the AIP grants, as well as their own share of the grant agreement. Fuel sales, hangar rents, tiedown fees, and fixed base operator revenues are the domain of the airport management and should be sufficient enough to make the airport as self-sustaining as possible. Any income generated by leasing the property acquired for airport development with federal funds must be utilized for operating and maintenance of the airport.

Environmental Assessment and Noise Compatibility Study. The FAA requires all airport owners to conduct an environmental assessment of any proposed airport development for which Federal Funds are being requested. An environmental finding must be made prior to the issuance of an AIP grant. The State of Indiana is also part of the environmental review process. On June 11, 1991, a Finding of No Significant Impact was approved for the future airport development shown on the Airport Layour Plan (ALP), including a new crosswind runway. The crosswind runway allows 95 percent wind coverage. However, no programming or funding for this runway has been accomplished. The FAA has participated with AIP funds in the purchase of land for the runway to ensure that adequate runway safety areas and approaches have been obtained.

Aircraft noise is considered as one element of an environmental assessment, however Noise compatibility studies are only eligible for federal funding under the AIP at commercial service airports. Terry airport does not currently exceed, nor is it forecasted to exceed, the minimum noise contour level of 65 DNL associated with noise compatibility planning studies. For the year 1999, Terry airport had approximately 49,000 total aircraft operations, which is well below its potential operational capacity.

Tax Impacts. State and local taxation as well as the tax impact to the citizens of Boone County are beyond the purview of the FAA. This is a concern of the local governments that have jurisdiction over the airport and any airport business enterprises.

We trust that this letter satisfactorily addresses the concerns raised by the Boone-Hamilton Property Owners Association. If you should require additional information, please have a member of your staff contact Ms. Pene A. Beversdorf, Assistant Manager, Chicago Airports District Office at (847) 294-7474.

Sincerely,

Cecelia Hunziker
Regional Administrator
Great Lakes Region

Enclosure
Transmitted Correspondence