ALASKAN AIRPORTS AND INTERNATIONAL AVIATION FACILITIES THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1947 UNITED STATES SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON Anchorage, Alaska. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at Anchorage, Alaska, Senator Homer E. Capehart (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senator Capehart (chairman of the subcommittee), Senator Cain, and Senator Ellender. Senator CAPEHART. Will one of you gentlemen come forward and take this chair for the official hearings on Senate bill 1396, introduced by Senator Cain, which authorizes the construction, protection, operation, and maintenance of a public airport in the Territory of Alaska, and on S. 1371, introduced by Mr. Magnuson, to authorize the construction of a class IV airport in the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to the location of the airport. The bills are as follows: [S. 1371, 80th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the construction of a class IV airport for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to the location of the airport Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics (hereinafter referred to as "Administrator") is hereby empowered and directed to construct for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, a class IV airport, said airport upon completion to be transferred to the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, without charge therefor and thereafter said city to be solely responsible for its care, maintenance, and operation. SEC. 2. The Administrator is authorized to construct any public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to whatever location may be selected. Upon completion said highway and bridge shall be transferred to the Territory of Alaska without charge and thereafter be maintained by the Territory. SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act the Administrator is authorized to acquire, by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise (including transfer without charge from other agencies of the Federal Government or the Territory of Alaska), all lands, easements, and rights-of-way necessary or desirable for the construction of said airport, highway, and bridge. SEC. 4. The Administrator is authorized to perform such construction work, in whole or in part, (a) directly, (b) by contract with private persons, or (c) through use of the facilities and services of any other agency of the Federal Government or the Territory of Alaska and said other agencies are hereby authorized to perform such work on a reimbursable basis for the Administrator. SEC. 5. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $5,000,000 for the construction of said airport, highway, and bridge, said appropriation to remain available until expended. 1 [S. 1396, 80th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To authorize the construction, protection, operation, and maintenance of a public airport in the Territory of Alaska Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics (hereinafter referred to as the "Administrator") is hereby authorized and directed to construct, protect, operate, and maintain within the Territory of Alaska at such place as he may deem most appropriate a public airport (including all buildings and other structures necessary or desirable therefor) adequate for the needs of the air-transportation services and air commerce of the United States serving the Territory of Alaska and foreign countries by way of points within the Territory of Alaska. SEC. 2. For the purpose of carrying out this Act the Administrator is authorized to acquire by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise (including transfer with or without compensation from Federal agencies or the Territory of Alaska or any political subdivision thereof), such lands and appurtenances thereto as may be necessary or desirable for the construction, protection, maintenance, and operation of said airport: Provided, That the amount of land so acquired (exclusive of easements and rights-of-way) shall not exceed five thousand acres. SEC. 3. For the purpose of this Act the Administrator is empowered to acquire by purchase, lease, condemnation, or otherwise (including transfer with or without compensation from Federal agencies or the Territory of Alaska or any political subdivision thereof), rights-of-way or easements for roads, trails, pipe lines, power lines, railroad spurs, and other similar facilities necessary or desirable for the proper operation of the airport. SEC. 4. The Administrator shall have control over and responsibility for the care, operation, maintenance, and protection of the airport, together with the power to make and amend such rules and regulations as he may deem necessary to the proper exercise thereof: Provided, That the authority herein contained may be delegated by the Administrator to such official or officials of the Civil Aeronautics Administration within the Territory of Alaska as the Administrator may designate. SEC. 5. The Administrator is empowered to lease under such conditions as he may deem proper and for such periods as may be desirable (not to exceed ten years) space or property within or upon the airport for purposes essential or appropriate to the operation of the airport. SEC. 6. The Administrator is authorized to contract with any person for the performance of services at or upon the airport necessary or desirable for the proper operation of the airport, including but not limited to, contracts for furnishing food and lodging, sale of aviation fuels, furnishing of aircraft repairs and other aeronautical services, and such other services as may be necessary or desirable for the traveling public. No such contract shall extend for a period of longer than ten years and the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes shall not apply to such contracts or the leases authorized under section 5 hereof. SEC. 7. Any executive department, independent establishment, or agency of the Federal Government or the Territory of Alaska, for the purposes of carrying out this Act, is authorized to transfer to the Administrator, upon his request, any lands, buildings, property, or equipment under its control and in excess of its own requirements which the Administrator may consider necessary or desirable for the construction, care, operation, maintenance, or protection of the airport. SEC. 8. Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any rule, regulation, or order issued by the Administrator under this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or to imprisonment not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment. SEC. 9. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions of the words and phrases used in this Act shall be the definitions assigned to such words and phrases by the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, as amended. SEC. 10. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $8,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, said appropriation to remain available until expended. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated from year to year such sums as may be necessary for the proper maintenance, protection, control, and operation of said airport or as may be otherwise necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Senator CAPEHART. These are two Senate bills introduced by the two gentlemen whose names I mentioned and we likewise are holding hearings on H. R. 3510, introduced by Mr. Howell, which bill was referred in the House to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and was reported to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered it to be printed. H. R. 3510 is a companion bill to Senate bill 1396. We are likewise holding hearings on H. R. 3509, introduced in the House by Mr. Howell, which is a companion bill to S. 1371. We've got to get the record set up properly, and gentlemen, we'd like to have you, if you will please, direct your testimony and your remarks to Senate bill 1396 in this instance. I presume you have no interest here in Anchorage on the Fairbanks' bill. If you do, we will be happy to hear from anyone that does; otherwise, if we may please direct our remarks to S. 1396, which is a bill to authorize the construction, protection, operation, and maintenance of a public airport in the Territory of Alaska and I presume you Anchorage people are optimistic enough to believe that this airport is going to be built here in Anchorage. There is nothing in the legislation that says it shall be built in Anchorage. It gives the Civil Aeronautics Administrator the right to build it wherever he sees fit, not necessarily in or near Anchorage. The other bill specifically calls for a class IV airport to be built in or near the city of Fairbanks and turned over to the city of Fairbanks, but I presume that there is no question but what the Civil Aeronautics Authority has already decided that they will build this airport in or near Anchorage. At this time I would like to insert in the record reports from the Secretary of Commerce, Department of War, Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Works Agency on S. 1371; and from the Department of Commerce and the Civil Aeronautics Board on S. 1396. (The reports are as follows:) Hon. WALLACE H. WHITE, Jr., THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In further response to your letter dated June 3, 1947, requesting the views of the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics concerning S. 1371, a bill to authorize the construction of a class IV airport for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to the location of the airport," I am transmitting a memorandum, dated June 20, 1947, from the Administrator to the Solicitor of this Department, making reference to his memorandum dated June 16, 1947, also attached, commenting on H. R. 3509, the companion bill to S. 1371. In view of the considerations outlined in that memorandum and in the attached letter which Mr. James M. Landis as cochairman of the Air Coordinating Committee sent to the chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreogn Commerce on June 17, 1947, in regard to this matter, we concur with the other interested departments and agencies in supporting this bill provided that it is modified to incorporate the following amendments which are mentioned in Mr. Landis' letter: Line 6, section 1, after "airport" where it appears the second time, insert the following: "including the land and all facilities thereon." Add the following section and renumber the succeeding sections accordingly: "SEC. 2. As a condition precedent to the transfer of the airport pursuant to section 1 hereof, the Administrator shall receive from the city of Fairbanks in writing those assurances required from sponsors of airport projects under section 11 of the Federal Airport Act." Add the following new section: "SEC. 7. The Territory of Alaska and the city of Fairbanks are hereby authorized to contribute funds to defray the cost of carrying out the provisions of this Act, and the Administrator is hereby authorized to accept such funds on behalf of the Federal Government." The Bureau of the Budget has advised us that it has no objection to enactment of this proposed legislation if it is amended as above indicated. Sincerely yours, To: The Solicitor. WILLIAM C. FOSTER, Acting Secretary of Commerce. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, From: Administrator, Civil Aeronautics. Subject: S. 1371, a bill to authorize the construction of a class IV airport for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to the location of the airport. Reference is made to the attached copy of my letter of June 6 to Mr. Edward Jarrett, clerk, Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, replying to his letter of June 3, 1947, requesting comments on the subject bill. The bill S. 1371 is identical with and a companion to H. R. 3509. Our comments on H. R. 3509, as set forth in my memorandum to you June 16, 1947, apply equally with respect to S. 1371. To: The Solicitor. F. B. LEE, for T. P. WRIGHT, A-1. CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION, From: Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. Subject: H. R. 3509, a bill to authorize the construction of a class IV airport for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, and a public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to the location of the airport. Reference is made to the attached copy of letter from Congressman C. A. Wolverton, chairman, House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, dated May 21, 1947, requesting our comments on the subject bill. There is also attached copy of my letter dated June 5, 1947, advising Congressman Wolverton that our comments will be furnished to the committee through the Department of Commerce. The city of Fairbanks, Alaska, is one of the large population, distribution, and trading centers of the Territory of Alaska, in connection with which it is dependent, to a great extent, on air transportation for passengers, cargo, and mail. The existing civil airport at Fairbanks is considered unsafe for aircraft larger than the Douglas DC-3 type and is marginal and inadequate even for aircraft of that size. Further, the Fairbanks airport in our opinion is not worth improving because of physical characteristics and the proximity of the airport to the city and Ladd Field, an Army installation. At the present time the greater portion of civil air traffic in and out of Fairbanks is being accommodated at Ladd Field under authority of the Secretary of War. However, the Secretary of War has advised the Secretary of Commerce that the War Department will be unable to permit the continued use of that facility by civil aircraft after November 1, 1947. Shortly after receipt of this notification this Administration urged the city of Fairbanks to take the necessary steps to obtain a grant of funds under the Federal Airport Act for the development of an airport capable of accommodating the traffic now being served by Ladd Field. However, in view of the small population of the city and its great need for streets, schools, sewage disposal facilities, and other utilities, it is doubtful that the city could raise the funds required as its share of the cost of construction of such an airport. Further, it is my understanding that the Territory of Alaska is unable at this time to render any financial assistance to the city for such purpose. In view of the foregoing, it is our recommendation that the Congress appropriate funds for and authorize the construction of an airport of class IV size for the city of Fairbanks, Alaska. The proposed bill, H. R. 3509, would authorize the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics to construct a class IV airport for the city of Fairbanks and, upon completion thereof, transfer the airport to the city without charge, the city to be thereafter solely responsible for its care, maintenance, and operation. Sponsors of projects for airport development under the Federal Airport Act not only are required to bear a specified portion of the cost of such airport development but, in addition, must furnish the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics certain assurances in writing relating to the manner and method of operation of the airport. Among the assurances that the act requires sponsors to make are that (1) the airport will be available for public use on fair and reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination; (2) the aerial approaches will at all times be adequately protected; (3) the airport will be available to the United States for use in common with other aircraft without charge, unless such use is substantial; (4) building space will be furnished free of charge to the Federal Government for air-traffic control operations at the airport; and (5) the airport and all records will be available for inspection by the Administrator or his duly authorized agent. In our opinion, the city of Fairbanks should be required to give at least the same assurances regarding the operation of the airport contemplated in H. R. 3509 as are required of a sponsor of a project under the Federal Airport Act. It is therefore our recommendation that the provisions of the bill relating to transfer of the airport to the city of Fairbanks be revised to provide that the airport shall be transferred to the city on the condition that the city agree to comply with all sponsorship requirements prescribed in section 11 of the Federal Airport Act and any regulations issued thereunder by the Administrator of Civil Aeronautics. Section 2 of the bill authorizes the Administrator to "construct any public highway or bridge from the city of Fairbanks to whatever location may be selected" and provides that "upon completion, said highway and bridge shall be transferred to the Territory." Section 5 authorizes the appropriation of funds for the construction of "said airport, highway, and bridge." It appears that, although reference is made to "whatever location may be selected," the drafters of the bill had in mind one particular location requiring that an access road, which will involve the construction of a bridge, be provided from the city to the proposed airport. Inasmuch as it is possible that some other site may be. finally selected for the proposed airport, it is recommended that the words "and bridge" be deleted from the second sentence of section 2 and from section 5 and that the first sentence of section 2 be amended to read as follows: "The Administrator is authorized to construct a public highway, including any necessary bridge or bridges, from the city of Fairbanks to whatever location may be selected for the airport." Hon. CHARLES A. WOLVERTON, T. P. WRIGHT, A–1. AIR COORDINATING COMMITTEE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUILDING, Washington, D. C., June 17, 1947. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. WOLVERTON: With reference to your letters of June 6, 1947, concerning H. R. 3510 and H. R. 3509, the Air Coordinating Committee wishes to present for your consideration, and that of your committee, certain factors which are adversely affecting commercial air transportation in Alaska and which are giving rise to an urgent need for such legislation. These bills provide respectively for the construction, maintenance, and operation of an international airport in Alaska and for the construction of a class IV airport at Fairbanks, Alaska. Last November, the Secretary of War wrote to the Secretary of Commerce stating that in view of increased military activity at Ladd Field, Fairbanks, and Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, the War Department would be unable to permit the continued use of these fields by civil aircraft beyond June 1, 1947, for Ladd Field and November 1, 1947, for Elmendorf Field. As you no doubt realize, these two cities are the major centers of population, distribution, and trade in the Alaskan Territory, which to a large extent is dependent on air transportation for the movement of passengers, cargo, and mail. Unfortunately, the existing civil airports at Fairbanks and Anchorage are unsafe for aircraft larger than DC-3's and are both marginal and inadequate even for that type of aircraft. Neither airport, in the opinion of the Civil Aeronautics |