UPDATE SUPPLEMENT 163 Guide 9.28.22 1

C&S Companies © 2022 | Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell | Navigating Section 163 | section163.com 1 Navigating Section 163 The FAA issued a revised internal guidance memorandum in August 2022 that changed several elements of the agency’s policy guidance on application of Section 163. In addition, in September 2022, FAA issued a proposed policy on land use which also indirectly affects its Section 163 decisions. Pending a revision to the Navigating Section 163 guidebook, please review the following summary of the key changes in agency policy. Portions of a Project The most important change to agency guidance concerns the definition of a project for purposes of Section 163. Prior agency policy allowed an airport sponsor to avoid FAA approvals or ALP approval for any portion of a project that would be subject to Section 163. This allowed airport sponsors to subdivide larger endeavors into smaller pieces to take advantage of Section 163. The FAA has revised its policy guidance to provide that if any portion of a “project” requires FAA approval, then the FAA retains approval authority over the entire project. This change appears designed to assert agency approval authority even if only a small portion of an endeavor would be subject to FAA approval authority. The term “project” is not defined in Section 163 or in any existing agency guidance document. The agency has not provided any guidance on what constitutes a “project” for purposes of this guidance. That term is not used in NEPA or any other similar…

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PSCAA Advisory Council Meeting Agenda
Add to CalendarMWednesday Mar 11, 9:00am - 11:35am
1904 3rd Avenue, Suite 105, Seattle, WA 98101
Call to order – Roll Call – Quorum Established – Land Acknowledgement We would like to acknowledge that our Agency operates in four present-day counties, which are the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people, past and present. This acknowledgement does not take the place of authentic relationships with indigenous communities in our jurisdiction and [...]