Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 3, September 1, 2024
5.1 The
licensing process, as envisioned in this Regulation, requires that the
Department inspect each existing public-use airport in the State by a
representative of the Office of Aeronautics. All existing public-use airports
shall automatically be included in the process. The inspections shall be
conducted using the methods described in this section. Successful completion of
the licensing process shall result in the issuance of an operating license for
an airport. New public-use airports shall request a license in writing from the
Delaware Department of Transportation, Office of Aeronautics. To adequately
describe these steps, this section consists of the following: licensing
criteria, annual licensing program, and new airport licensing process. Each of
these steps is described below:
5.1.1 License
Criteria.The Department hereby incorporates by reference FAR Part 77; FAA
Advisory Circular 150/5300-13, Airport Design; and such other federal or state
regulations as may be referred to herein. Licensing criteria have been
developed for two specific areas of airport or heliport facility operation. The
first involves the requirement of each public use airport to obtain and carry
minimum levels of liability and property insurance. The second involves the
requirement for displaced thresholds at runways obstructed by existing
roadways, railways, or navigable waterways. In order for a public use airport
or heliport to be licensed in Delaware, it shall comply with all standards and
regulations pertinent to these two areas.
5.1.2 Minimum Insurance Requirements. As a
part of this new regulation, it is required that public use airports carry a
minimum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) in liability insurance covering
bodily injury and property damage liability in any one accident, along with
fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000) coverage for property damage for each
accident. Certificates of insurance, issued by an insurance company licensed to
write such insurance in the State of Delaware, shall be filed annually with the
Department of Transportation, Office of Aeronautics, as a part of the licensing
procedure. The Department shall be notified of any insurance coverage lapses at
public use airports in Delaware.
5.1.3 Displaced Threshold Requirements.
Delaware public use airports and heliports should be physically suitable for
aviation, in accordance with the aviation purpose intended and operated in a
safe manner. Runways that are obstructed, as defined in FAR Part 77, either by
highways, railways, or navigable waterways shall have the thresholds of the
impacted runways displaced by the appropriate distance. A displaced threshold
has been defined as an artificial threshold for a runway which shortens the
landing length of the runway in the direction of the displacement. The portion
of runway behind a displaced threshold may be available for takeoffs in either
direction and landings from the opposite direction. The displacement is caused
by the need to provide clearance over an obstruction to air navigation, based
upon an imaginary approach slope, which is defined in FAR Part
77.
5.2 For a public
roadway, a clearance of 15 vertical feet is needed; for an Interstate Highway a
clearance of 17 vertical feet is needed; for a railway, a clearance of 23
vertical feet is required; and for a navigable waterway, a clearance equal to
the highest mobile craft to transverse the waterway is needed. For example, if
the imaginary surface has a 20:1 slope, a 15 vertical foot clearance at the end
of a runway will require 300 linear feet of displacement.
5.2.1 [Appropriate displacement markings
shall be painted on paved surfaces in accordance with FAA guidelines and shall
be installed as in-ground flush markers or other suitable FAA approved markings
on turf strips.]
5.2.2 [Appropriate
displacement marking shall be painted on paved surfaces in accordance with FAA
guidelines and shall be installed as in-ground flush markers or other suitable
FAA approved markings on turf strips.]
5.2.3 Annual Licensing Program.Each of the
airports listed in Section 4 of this Regulation are subject to annual licensure
by DelDOT through the Office of Aeronautics. To carry out this program, the
Office of Aeronautics shall implement the following steps:
5.2.3.1 Inspections. Beginning in 1998, the
Office of Aeronautics shall conduct annual on-site inspections of each
public-use airport in Delaware, in accordance with the criteria set forth in
this Regulation. Existing public-use airports need not apply for a new license,
but shall automatically be included in the licensing process. Inspections of
each airport shall be conducted by personnel from the Office of Aeronautics.
The Office of Aeronautics reserves the right to conduct inspections at its
convenience and is not limited in the number of inspections that it may conduct
at an airport during any one year period.
5.2.3.2 Inspection Period. While the
inspections for licensure do not need to be conducted within an exact 12 month
period, they do have to occur at least once in each calendar
year.
5.2.4 Validity
Period. Licenses issued during 1998 will be valid until December 31, 1999; in
subsequent years, licenses issued will be valid until the end of the following
calendar year.
5.2.5 New Airports.
In the event that a new public use airport is developed, or a private use
airport desires to become a public use facility, the airport owner shall submit
a request for a license in writing to the Office of Aeronautics, along with a
copy of the FAA airspace approval for the airport. Within 30 days of the
receipt of the written request, the Office of Aeronautics shall inspect the
facility using criteria specified in this Regulation. From that inspection, the
Office shall either issue a license or cite the conditions requiring correction
before a license can be issued.
